Classic ski racing still undefeated lifetime against Marty

Saturday I competed in a classic 10km race out at Harriet Spencer. It was nice to race close to home, and the snow held up really well despite a recent warm-up that has melted the snow everywhere else in the Rochester area.

We got up there early and tested a few different kick wax combos but ultimately settled on hard wax instead of klister...I think it was the right decision. The kick wax was not the issue, it was the operator! I was a complete train wreck technique-wise. There wasn't one section of the course where I felt in any type of rhythm striding, and the only thing that got me around the course at all was excellent glide and a lot of double-poling, which brought about the following analogy from Jason:

"Think of classic skiing like bow-hunting for a bear. It takes some precision. Of the three major classic techniques, here's how it would relate to trying to kill a bear with a bow and arrow:

- striding - trying to shoot the bear with the bow and arrow.

- kick, double-pole - trying to kill the bear by throwing the arrow at it.

- double-pole only - trying to kill the bear by throwing the bow at it."

I think that pretty much sums it up! One of these days I'll figure it out, and considering I'm doing a 15km classic mass start on Sunday, let's hope that day is soon!