Rangeley Bonkathon

My Rangeley race was the antithesis of Bill Holland's Spring Fling (see below). I came into the Rangeley Marathon feeling wicked tired and run down. Too many races, too much waxing at JOQs, too many drives to Weston for junior practices and home from JOQs in snowstorms and never, ever enough sleep. However, I did not feel like I couldn't or shouldn't do the race. But neither could I get enough rest, try as I might due to all the above commitments. The skiing at the Tuesday Weston races was too good not to do them, so instead I cruised through about 1/2 the race that week and rested as much as I could. Lisa and I drove up to Rangeley in time to ski for nearly an hour on Friday, a nice level 1 work-the-kinks-out-after-a-long-drive sort of ski and a nice dinner together was all very relaxing. But, as with all big races, I slept terribly the night before and awoke not feeling too special. Plus, the temp never went below freezing so I was worried the course would be soft and slow and mushy. I wanted it nice and fast to reduce my workload and time on the course. However, I was delighted to find, upon going out for my warmup and testing skis that the course was hard and remarkably fast. Maybe I'd get through this thing ok after all!! Plus, it was staying cloudy and the temperature was not budging, so maybe the forecast warmer temps (and slow, mushy snow) would not happen. Things were looking up!

At the gun the pack took off across the field and down the first hill. I started on the outside at a mellow pace and was happy to find myself flying along with no effort whatsoever and in a tuck on a very gradual downhill. This was awesome! Sort of like Weston actually. The course trends downhill for 3 km and I had to do very little work. Because it was hard and a bit icy however you really had to watch your balance. I settled in on the first uphill and started the work with lots of companions. Dave Roberts from Maine was just ahead, fellow Weston racer Brandon Smithwood was back and forth with me, lots of Dartmouth and Colby skiers, etc. Because of the fast course the pack held together in a long line with little gaps here and there. The twisty turny parts of the course were just a blast, sliding around corners in a conga line, trying to take the best line to maintain speed, etc. This was fun! Eventually, about halfway through the first lap I found myself at the head of one of those groups with the lead pack a ways ahead stretched out but out of touch. On this long uphill I started fading and people started going by, Victor was the first of those in CSU Red to pass and slowly pull away. I was feeling it now.....But, at the top of the course you absolutely fly down for a long ways which allowed me to recover for the next section. Whipping around the left hand corner onto the flats I commented to someone about how awesome that downhill was.....and promptly spazzed and fell down.....my perfect record of zero falls ruined....Darn! That was when it all started to come apart....the next uphill was a struggle, but again I rallied on the next series of fun downhills at the end of lap 1, alt V2ing, cutting the corners, just flying along, which gave me hope....then I hit the 3+ km loop that completes the lap and that had noticably slower snow.....uh oh....too much work for little gain. I focused on getting onto that 3km downhill again.....but wait, it wasn't fast now.....darn....

About 1/4 of the way through lap 2 the sun came out, the snow turned to mush and my body soon followed....I rallied on the downhills but now you actually had to work on them and the uphills became slow slogs, one foot in front of the other. My brain focused on 1 km at a time, 1 hill at a time, 1 corner at a time. I stopped to drink and the CSU Red parade continued to pass me by and disappear around the next corner.....Michael Melnikov and then Wes Denering and then people I don't know....Dartmouth girls with dyed hair, old men, people whose technique stinks. I'll make it but its not going to be pretty. I rally again on the last big downhills to the stadium, grab water and Lisa and Joe Bouscaren, who both skied 25km, cheer me on to the last loop, which is now icing up as the shade moves around and I get spazzy. I resort more and more to just double poling, the sure sign that I'm sinking fast in the haze of exercise induced exhaustion. I stumble up that last little stinker of a hill to the stadium, refusing to resort to a coaches skate and thankfully make it to the finish. I'm in one piece, I can still talk but damn I'm tired! Chicken soup has never tasted so good. Wes notes that when I bonk I really bonk! Lap 2 is over 20 min. slower than lap 1 and I was none too fast on lap 1. My racing is now over for the season and I can rest.....after J2s and EHS and klister waxing untold numbers of skis......

Thank god Lisa could drive all the way home. Rest................