15K Mass Start Skate Race
As many of you know, I have spent the past couple months doing very low intensity training and lots of easy distance. I was feeling very tired and I wanted to shake that feeling before the race season started. So I waited, and waited, and waited. Now, my heart rates are finally coming back down to normal and I am getting back into the swing of things.
Yesterday was my first distance race of the year and it went pretty well. The results do not look awesome, but that is why it is important to read this post. My goals were to to go out smart, push it hard, and not blow up at altitude. I spent the first 3+ K somewhere in the middle of the lead pack. Then, the girl in front of me started to drop off. I went around her but I couldn’t quite close the gap, and I spent the next 3+ K fighting hard and pulling some other girls with me. At about 7K I got really tired and I hit a bit of a wall. People started passing me like crazy and there were some huge climbs left in the race. So, I slowed down a little and I spent the next 2K skiing very relaxed and trying to glide. This was scary because I was unsure of my fitness status, and it is very easy to go out too fast at altitude. But, I did recover and it only took a couple of kilometers. I was able to catch a few of the people who passed me and I finished strong. I even passed a girl on the home stretch and I was coming up an a pack of girls. The fact that I was able to recover at altitude and finish strong was very encouraging. Hopefully, with a couple of weeks of interval training I will be right back where I left off.
Caitlin Compton, CXC Elite, 15K Skate Champion
My teammate, Caitlin Compton won the race by over 30 seconds, which is very hard to do in a mass start race. She blew everyone away after the first 5K of the race. Kristina Owen was our next girl finishing 13th, Jo Jo Winters came in 17th place, and Heather Zimmerman and I were not too far behind. The boys had a good day as well. They stuck together most of the race and finished 8 (Gregg), 10 (Kuzzy), and 13 (Cook).
Race day morning in Silver Star, B.C.---beautiful.
The Boys 20K Skate race, getting started.
the boys race at 5K, can you find the fall?
Caitlin on the podium
Maria Stuber, Jo Jo Winters, Caitlin Compton, & Kristina Owen
Today was another good day for the CXC team. It was a classic sprint race and everyone who competed on our team made it into the heats. Garrott Kuzzy qualified 1st and looked awesome in all of his heats. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite have it in the final and placed 5th overall. My NMU teammates had an amazing day. Morgan Smyth finished 2nd overall and Lindsay Williams, and Lindsey Dehlin were 7th and 8th, respectively. I took lots of pictures and I will post the good ones later.
