City of Lakes- Hoiggard's Classic Marathon

This past weekend I raced my second race of the year!  I was so excited to actually be racing again after preparing for and cheering on my kids in so many of their high school, JNQ, and CXC/MYSL Cup races.  My training isn't where I would like it to be, and I'm just getting over a sinus infection so I didn't want to go too hard at the beginning of the race. 

I got off to a great start and skied and nice pace with team-mate Kathleen DeWahl.  I had fast skis (waxed with Fast Wax- HSLF10 teal, then HSF10 green, and top coated with Flight Cold.  I also put in a light structure using the Finite Ski Tool.). 

My kick wax was on the light side, so I ended up herringboning most of the bigger hills in and around Theodore Wirth park.  After we crossed over Theodore Wirth Parkway I was happy to have erred on the side of having too little kick wax because it made my double poling efforts more effective, and there was lots of double poling ahead.  I had caught up to Alice Flanders by the time I reached the Butler/Erickson trails. 

She gapped me at a feed station (yes, private feeds would sure be nice) and I didn't catch her again until just before reaching the lakes.  By the time I hit the last lake I was skiing in a nice group.  Team-mates Scott and Hans were taking most of the leads going across the lake, Alice was still in the back of our pack.  I was pulling just as we were leaving the lake before entering the golf course.  I inadvertently put a gap on the pack.  Looking back I  considered waiting for my team-mates who had helped pull me across the lake.  After a few poles I decided this was a bad idea since Alice was most likely still with them.  I was feeling strong and enjoyed the hills of the golf course.  Several times during the race, skiers told me I had fast skis.  I think my fast skis were a combination of the Fast Wax brand of wax I chose for glide wax, using minimal kick wax, and skiing really hard over the hills before relaxing into a tuck.  I was happy with my 2nd place finish in the women's category, especially considering I was the only one over 40 years old on the podium.  A big congratulations to Natalja Naryshkina (1st woman) and Josie Nelson (3rd woman).  It was an honor sharing the podium with you both.

Now I better get waxing my kids' skis.  Two of my boys are heading to State along with their team-mates from Stillwater High School. We are very excited for both the Stillwater girls and boy's teams.