World Cup 2007
10km Individual Classic
Kuusamo, Finland

Yesterday was a good day. Today was not as good. When I stepped out the door this morning I was greeted with rain and a warm wind. The roads had turned from snow to ice. Not the ideal conditions for a race day, yet I looked forward to another opportunity to see what I could do. I packed up my gear in good spirits and hopped on a bus to the race venue. When I arrived people were zooming around everywhere, testing wax, carrying skis and checking the course. I felt calm amid all the hustle and bustle.

I started my warm up with an easy jog. My body felt surprising good after the hard effort yesterday. With an hour to go until start I went out on the course with one of our US team waxers. I skied a few short loops on each of two pairs. Neither pair was kicking well enough so I handed my skis back for a few adjustments. I decided on my stiffest pair with the promise that more kick would be added. Then I set off around the course to check the conditions. I gradually increased the pace until I was cruising around at race speed to ready my body for a hard effort. The rain was pouring down, and by the time I came back to the wax tent to change into my race suit, I was totally soaked.

Wax was still being added to my skis as I jogged around in the start pen. With about three minutes to go, my skis were finally ready and I stepped into line for the starting gate. I slid my skis back and forth and gave myself a pep talk. ÒBe aggressive, quick and fast,Ó I told myself. Then I paused for a moment at the start wand and took off. The stadium layout was slightly different from yesterday so I cruised around a hairpin turn before double-poling out of the stadium and down the big hill.

I settled into a quick and aggressive pace. I could tell I was gaining on the skier ahead slightly. I was able to stride up most of the hills, although I was relying heavily on my arms to keep my momentum. Just after the 1km mark there was a long herring-bone hill and I focused on being light on my feet. I made it through the first two kilometers feeling pretty good, excited with my quick pace. The course then turned upward again and passed by the wax tent. I strided hard up the hill but had to get out of the tracks halfway up to herring-bone. My skis were slippery in the soft, wet snow and it was a struggle to keep pace over the top.

The next section included another big climb. I strided up the hill, shortening and quickening my stride as the hill steepened, trying to stay in the tracks as long as possible. But my skis began to slip and I had to switch to herring-bone. It was hard to be quick in the soft snow. I tried to keep my head up to prevent my hips from sinking back, and repeated Ò1-2, 1-2Ó in my head to keep a rhythm. My legs and arms burned as I crested the top. Next was a tricky downhill. In training there had been a burm to ride around the turn but today course workers were shoveling snow into the middle. The snow grabbed at my skis and I fought hard to stay on my feet.

The next kilometer brought me back toward the stadium and up the monster hill. Again, I tried to quicken and shorten my stride to stay in the tracks. Halfway up I lost momentum and switched to herring-bone. My energy was draining as I came through the stadium, fighting a headwind. One more time around, I tried to psych myself up.

As I made my way around lap number two I caught the skier ahead, but got passed by racers starting their first laps. I was still struggling to kick up the hills and my plan to hang on to the skiers coming by didnÕt work out. I kept trying hard, but knowing I was loosing valuable time every hill started to wear on me mentally. I tried to focus on each section of the course ahead. The big herring bone hill in the eighth kilometer was a big challenge. I kept pushing hard all the way to the finish and was relieved to finally cross the line.

Not such a good day. I ended up in 68th place about 13% behind the winner, about a minute and a half off where I wanted to be. Darn!

Today was my most challenging condition for classic skiing and it proved once again that I need to continue working on my technique to conquer such conditions. This was a good experience for me. I need to get my butt kicked hard every once and a while to remind me to keep training hard.

Next, the US team and I are off to central Europe for 10 days of training before the next world cups in Cogne, Italy. Snow is scarce but we will find it! IÕm looking forward to training well and preparing for the skate sprint.

Sorry this report is a little rushed here at the end, have to catch the bus to the airport.

You guys are awesome, thanks for all the encouragement!

Cheers,
Kikkan :)