The Forecast Calls for Pain: Lake Placid Loppet 2010
After 20-odd years of skating, I decided change is OK and skied classic.
Skating tips to tails in tight formation, three skiers hammered past me on the long gradual climb to the 3 Trails Cutoff. Jake Hollenbach, David Cahill, and Benjamin Lannin, the eventual overall 1-2-3 finishers of the freestyle Lake Placid Loppet.
Run on the trails of set for the 1980 Winter Olympics, skiers can register to race the 50km Loppet or the 25km distance in either freestyle or classic technique. The race organizers are merciful: the traditional course is 2 25-kilometer laps, where the 50km event in the winter Olympics snaked over Porter Mountain, Russian Hill and Ladies' 5km three times. Although the snow cover was a bit thin this year, the trails were in great condition. The ORDA crew did their usual excellent job of grooming.
Cascade Mountain's rocky summit glowed white in the early dawn as I drove up Route 73, thirty minutes before sunrise. In the stadium, the temperature was 2 degrees as I tested glide on 2 pairs of skis. Solda HP05 was faster than S20, and seemed to kick and glide more freely back up the hill. Done deal; I applied kick wax.
We all took off like the gunshot that sounded the start. Four skiers quickly gapped the remainder of the field, out of sight by the time I turned on to East Mountain. For the next 7 km, I hopscotched back and forth with 2 other guys. Finally, I went off the back as we crested the high point of Porter Mountain. I skied the downhills aggressively and pushed the pace. However, the field for the 50km classic was thin, and for most of the race, I skied in no man's land.
Leaving the stadium at the end of the first lap, I felt great, but I began to slip on middling climbs that had been no problem at the start. Whether my technique was eroding or the temperature was rising, I didn't care; but I didn't want to herringbone out on Porter. I gritted my teeth and hopped out of the tracks to cork in some more wax. As I did, Anatoliy Merzenin, the eventual 65-69 age group winner, glided past me with big, loping strides. Three kilometers later, approaching the first feed on Porter, I caught him and pulled away. Eventually, I paid a price. I focused on maintaining a steady pace while skiing alone, and I managed for awhile. As Bill Henry said once, "This place just wears you down." Anatoliy gradually reeled me back in. I stuck with him as long as I could, but he dropped me with four kilometers to go. I pushed it up Brookside, and double poled hard into the finish.
The fields for both the skate and classic 50's were small: around 20 classic skiers and under 60 skate marathoners. Fifteen years ago, I recall rather larger fields. The temperature never approached the weatherman's predicted high for the day, and when I took off my gloves, one finger was white to the first knuckle with frostbite. But the only other skier in my age group, someone I’m not acquainted with, dropped out, so I won my age group by default. While I'm unsure what happened to him, I know now that I DNF'ed several cold races over the years until I finally figured out that I wasn't dressing warmly enough. I'll take it.
At the awards dinner, my buddy Colin and I sat with Vic Laport, his friend Jean and four Cornell University skiers. While one of them crewed, the other three raced and cleaned up: Bridget Hass took an age group 2d place in 50k skate; Lisa Gerstenberger won her age group in the 50k classic, and Luke Strauss took age group silver in the 50k classic. The next day, they all planned to ski a college 10k classic race on the biathlon side of Mt van Hoevenberg! Those guys are some bulldog skiers.
The photos below from the day before the race. To view full-size images, please click on the thumbnails.
