Skate Races

Orli-

The morning of the sprint qualifiers the sky was blue and the sun was bright yet it was still somewhat cold. I was worried about the hills being icy, but they were fine during the race. The course was beautiful. It started downhill then circled around through the woods and back up a hill to the finish. The altitude was not very noticeable during the sprint, however afterwards it took longer to catch my breath. Sprints are not normally my strong point, so I am pleased with how I finished. After going back to the hotel to rest and eat lunch, a few of us headed back up to the venue to cheer on our teammates in the heats.

The 5k skate on Wednesday was my best race of the week. The weather was a mix between snow and rain, and the condition and speed of the course was changing rapidly. I also was able to do a skiing warm up on this day, although I mixed in a bit of running. I did not know what to expect because of the altitude, so I started out on the first lap L2-L3 because I knew the altitude would make the race more complicated and I would be more likely to bonk if I started out too hard. The first lap felt really easy though I’m glad I paced myself the way I did because the second lap felt much harder. I felt especially tired as I crested over the top of one of the last large hills. I was happy to finish in 25th, much higher than I expected.

The start of the sprint

 

 

 



 



 

Callie-

 

After some training and getting used to the altitude, came the races. It was very different racing in altitude. For me, it wasn't necessarily bad, I just had to get used to the difference. At altitude, I have realized you need to go out even slower than you think you have to because it is so much harder to catch your breath. Back home, I would usually start a race at L4, but here the first half of the race I need to do L3 to keep my breathing in check. The first race was a skate sprint qualifier. In the qualifier I went out hard because it was only 1k but I still got tired very quickly. By the last 100 meters, I didn't have much more to give and I placed 46th, not in the top 30 that move onto the heats. After this race, I was slightly disappointed I didn't qualify, but also excited because I now knew how to race at altitude better. After the race I set a personal goal to be top 30 because I knew I could do it. The second race was a 5k skate. My strategy was to feel powerful but not quick on my first lap. I needed to make sure my breathing didn't get out of check. So after completing my full running warm up due to the lack of snow, I set out on my first lap. The first lap I achieved feeling powerful but not too quick. The course had one big hill and I planned to be smooth up that hill on the first lap and I did. When I got to the second lap I sped up a little, then quickly realized I still needed to slow it down a little bit. I slowed down and reserved all the energy I had for the finishing stretch. At the end of the day I was 28th and very happy! I'm looking forward to the classic race to come!