Compton winning the 2008 US Skate Championships ©CXC
West Yellowstone – Season Openers
After a great two weeks of training mostly on the Plateau in West Yellowstone I was feeling great before the start of the 2008/2009 season opening SuperTour competition. We had an early morning and an unusual course for the 11km classic race. The race started about a kilometer from the upper gate on the plateau and descended for the next five kilometers, then climbed a small hill, and finally swung around a cone and did the exact opposite route returning to the start area at the top.
I was really confident in my new Salomon classic skis with a Finn Sisu uni-grind. They felt great during our 1-minute pickups on the course a few days earlier! So a few minutes before the race started I had tested my race skis and was ready to go but had to take my warm-ups off. I don’t have zip-off pants so I quickly jumped out of my skis and threw my clothes by my other belongings. I jumped back in my skis and headed for the start.
I watched the girl ahead of me start and prepared for my turn to race. I left the gate and began striding feeling like I had pretty good kick. I started double poling like the girl ahead of me but soon realized that my skis were not gliding! I continued to double pole the entire first half of the course making very little distance for the amount of energy I was using. I felt great so I put my head down and skied as hard as I could the whole way. I crossed the line and wondered what had happened to my awesome skis I had tested a few minutes prior to starting.
I turned the skis over only to find GLOBS of kick wax way over the pocket I thought was needed for this pair of skis! I also noticed a huge nick in the base and red glide wax in the groove! I was so confused!!! I couldn’t believe my skis were such a wreck. I turned them sideways looking for my zone marks but couldn’t find them. Had someone removed them? I then turned the skis over and saw the reality! I didn’t ski on my own skis! I looked over to where I had left my skis when I took my warm-ups off and sure enough, there they were, still sitting with bindings open ready to race. I had raced on Heather Zimmerman’s warm-up skis! Big rookie mistake! I will never make that one again.
The 9km skate the following day was a great opportunity for me to prove my fitness and also my ability to race on my own skis. We started down near the lower gate and climbed up towards the upper plateau. I felt great during the race and found that the hills were by far my strongest area. I crossed the finish 2nd and then moved back to 4th overall and the second American. I was much happier with my race because I had used my own skis and I feel like I’m in a good place with more racing ahead.
I will be racing a skate sprint and another 10km classic race this weekend here in Silver Star and then head to Vancouver for three more races before I return home. I am staying healthy and motivated and look forward to the weekend. I have been following the trail updates around the Twin Cities and I am already excited to see guaranteed snow when I return!