Perhaps it's an indication that I happily live deep in a wonderful domestic rut, but I'm practically quivering with excitement for the City of Lakes "Freestyle Loppet" ski race on Sunday.
I've been checking the race website a few times a day to read updates on the course conditions, see appalling photos from last year's race in terrible cold, and generally soak up the vibe of the race. The organizers recently published a revised map of the course, which I've been duly examining with maybe a little too much intensity.
And but so, I've learned that I'm in the last "wave" of the Freestyle Loppet and as such won't start ski-racing until 10:55 - twenty-five minutes after the gun for the first, fastest wave. That's okay, since among other things it means I have more time to get up to Minneapolis. (It sucks that I have to commute to the race - about one-tenth as much as that it sucks that Shannon has to be home with the girls all day, just like any workday. On the other hand, skiing this race is my birthday present, so...) I've also learned that the race appears to be 33km (20.5 miles), not 35km. That's fine, too. Since December 1, I've skied 42 times, building up 35 hours and 450 kilometers of on-snow time. I did a 35km session a couple weeks ago without dying, so I know I can handle the distance.
The downside to being in the last wave is that of 700 people registered for my race, almost 600 of them will start ahead of me. Assuming I can go with decent pace, this means I'll have a lot of people to pass (though, honestly, not that many - I'm unlikely to be finishing in the top half of the race.) With help from a knowledgeable racer whom I've only ever talked to online, I've chosen a race strategy: go hard for the first 5000 or 7500 meters to get in front of as many people as possible, then hang as long as possible with the fastest group I can find. My source says I'll go much faster in a pack than alone.
Given that I've skied about 99% of my hours this winter alone and about 80% after dark, skiing in the daylight with others will be a nice change of pace. Between skiing in a group, covering the shorter distance, and being fueled by raceday adrenaline, I'm hoping for a finishing time of two hours or less, which would come out to a pace of about 3:30 per kilometer. Trouble is, I haven't skied that fast in training except during interval sessions. We'll see if the body can do it for real.