March blog from Sam
Hi all,
(Conditions in SilverStar generally looked like this)
Sam from the Marathon Team checking in! While it’s warm in the metro, the snowmaking loops are hanging on and there’s still one more weekend of racing, with a few of us headed up to the Great Bear Chase soon. My season has been all about going back to basics, which in many cases involved workouts and mindsets that worked for me in high school/ college. I’ve also been coming back from low iron, which I discovered in the late summer/ early fall; thankfully I caught it just before it became anemia, but it’s definitely been a “race my way into shape" kind of season.
It kicked off with a trip to Silver Star, which was pretty awesome. I found it particularly interesting how the nordic trails intersect the alpine runs, not sure that would fly in the US. Then there were the early-season races at Elm Creek, as well as the Cable SuperTour, all of which served as a solid fitness boost for upcoming marathons.
(Seeley Hills Skate, pic from American Birkebeiner Foundation)
The Seeley Hills Classic was first, which was on a manmade loop again, but longer than last year at 35k. I had a decent race and got 5th, but then after watching White Chicks that evening and laughing a ton with the team, I rallied for 2nd a day later in the inaugural Seeley Hills 20k Skate. Coincidence? Who’s to say, but I tried my best to watch a silly movie the night before every race after this. The event was really smooth for being organized on such short notice, I hope they do it again!
(One of the dogs, Breck, being a good boy)
Then I went to Vermont for the Craftsbury Classic Marathon, which turned out to be fortuitous with the cancellation of the Noquemanon. That was three loops of a mostly natural 15k course, and I had to remember how to stride for several minutes at a time; by the third lap I had it down, and ended up coming in 4th. It was good to be back in New England and see friends from my UVM days, as well as Mom/ Dad/ the dogs.
(Mora skate podium feat. fellow Mainer Willson Moore, pic from Vasaloppet USA)
Next was City of Lakes Loppet weekend, which had 25k races on the snowmaking loop. I got 5th in the classic race on Saturday and had aspirations to skate Sunday, but woke up feeling mildly ill, so sat it out; thankfully whatever it was passed in a few days, and my attention turned to the next weekend’s Mora Vasaloppet.
We got some good snow the night before the skate races, so the 12k loop they prepared was in great shape, albeit a bit soft. I ended up 3rd in the 48k, which was completely unexpected, and then 4th the next day in the 45k classic; I was pretty proud of this, I didn’t know I could race two marathons back-to-back and feel pretty darn good.
The classic Birkie came next, and while I didn’t feel super sharp, I still ended up 6th and was much closer to the podium than I thought; plus, it was fun to do the full course and spend time with the continental/ regional teams watching various movies about beavers. I may switch to skate next year, stay tuned.
Finally, this past weekend was the Pepsi Challenge 50k skate at Giant’s Ridge, my first time skiing that venue. It was really fast snow and a lot of fun to rip around with some of the guys I’ve been close to this season. I settled for 4th, but still had some good tactical takeaways.
Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the season so far, I get 4th place more often than I’d like, but it’s motivating me to focus on what I can control better and move onto the next one, instead of spending too much mental energy on finding a reason for why a race went the way it did. Thanks for reading!
