I won the Ski-O race! The What?

Because last week’s 25k ski race was not humbling enough, I decided to sign up for a ski orienteering race. It's an orienteering race with a map, just on skis.

And once again, I signed up for the longer version of 11 km. But when I woke up in the morning and checked the temperature which noodled around 5 degrees, it did not take a lot of convincing myself that the shorter 5k race would be just fine for me.

It was sunny but cold. By now, I've gotten the hang of how to dress for the Minnesotan winter - just put on every winter apparel you find in your closet! Since it had snowed the day before, everything was covered in white. A great day to spend outside!

Everyone registered and received a bib number and an electronic punching chip (to punch into the control points which are located on every check point as proof you were there).

Depending on the race promoter, there are multiple options to prove that you  have been to a check point. For our race, we used electronic punch chips which are worn around a finger. When you arrive at a check point, you stick the punch chip into a control point which records the time of your presence

All the participants, maybe 50 in total, got into a bus and we were driven to the start line. We started on a frozen lake. By now it had warmed up to a balmy 7 degrees. I decided that my warm up jacket would be my racing jacket as well. There was no way I would take any layer off.

"All the racers for the 5k short course to the line! Go!"

Well.... I was still fumbling with my map which was given to us a minute prior. Once I was able to attach the map with a safety pin to a band (not an easy task with two sets of gloves) so that I could wear the map around my neck, off I was.

Still working on the setup for my map while the competition is going for the first checkpoint

From my humbling orienteering experience in adventure racing, I had some sort of practice in reading maps.This is how the map looked like:

Map for the short course

Few checkpoints of the course

Here you can see few checkpoints (CPs).  Since there were so many landmarks, a compass was not needed for this race. 

The green lines are ski trails. The pink line is the shortest way from one check point to the next, yet that does not mean that it is the most preferable. 

For example, from CP 1-201 to 2-202 the pink line would leave over a bridge. Thus, for an orienteering race, you most likely race more than the given distance. 

The race went over a few lakes in downtown Minneapolis. It was a great venue.

Since the ski orienteering race was part of a Festival, all kinds of winter activities took place. I skied past an ice rink with speed skaters training, I went through an ice sculpture garden where artists shaped impressive statues out of snow, I passed some skijors warming up for their race, plus I got cheered on by the winter enthusiasts who were not deterred by the temperature.

Oh yeah....and me stumbling passed all of these events with a map around my neck looking lost.

Where am I?

The race finished in a shopping street in the middle of the city; a ski trail had been made specifically for this Festival. 

I followed along this ski trail and approached the finish line. I didn’t realize that I was the first finisher overall until the announcer at the finish line said:

“And this must be Ali, the world-ranked ski-orienteering athlete…wait, the bib number does not match. Who is this racer? Let’s find out!”

They asked me who I was and how I was able to beat Ali. While I clarified that I raced less than half the distance of Ali, she was approaching the finish line behind me. (Apparently, my cross-country ski technique must have improved so astronomically that I got confused with a world-class racer!)

Now looking back the race was so enjoyable that I wish I had done the 11k race. Ski orienteering is so much fun and there are not many (if none at all) ski orienteering races around. A lot of kudos to Peter W. and his team to put on such a unique race in Minneapolis!

Posing with Ali. The finish line is in the middle of a shopping street.

What it means to race xc ski without technique

WARNING: This post might contain sarcasm.

Yesterday, I raced my very first cross country ski race - the Spirit Mountain cross country ski race in Duluth, MN. 

With a solid foundation of about four weeks being on skis, I knew exactly what to look for when screening the flyer of the race description – what is the cut-off time?  Although I was assured multiple times that this would be no problem for me, I was not entirely sold on it. Cross country skiing is said to be all about technique and the only accomplishment in xc skiing so far for me is that I actually move forward.

I had the options between 11k or 25k skating. No question, I chose the longer one. If there had been an option for 60k, I probably would have signed up for that one…always having the speed of a cyclist in the back of my head. Well….I would learn very quickly that skiing is a little slower than cycling. Just a little. Maybe a little more. Maybe quite a lot more for a beginner.

At the start line, the announcer asked everyone to place themselves in the order one believes to finish in. Well, that was easy. Taking the gunner position of maybe 100 starters, I was ready for my first and longest distance of 25k.

The snow was new and soft and as I learned later, was slow. Well, that made two of us. 

Within a few minutes of the race, I did not have to worry about poles or skis everywhere. I had the entire length, width, breath and depth of the ski trail for myself. 

It all of a sudden became very quiet and peaceful gliding in the soft snow in the Northern Minnesotan forest, only the noise of a crooked skating technique and an occasional German swearword.

It was almost too peaceful. I zoned out.  The last few racers that must have gotten lost behind me now finally passed me. But now, I had the forest to myself again. For a long time. 

I could have skied forever, if my triceps, biceps, back, deltoid, and lats wouldnt have started telling me that I usually dont use them quite that extensively.

Another issue was food. 

It would have taken me a solid three minutes to stop safely without crashing, take off the poles, take off the first set of gloves, take off the second set off gloves, reach into my back pocket to get a gel, eat the gel, put on the first set of gloves, put on the second set of gloves, struggle to put the two sets of gloves through the small handles of the poles and then keep going.

I opted for being hungry.

Time went by and I slowly chewed up the kilometers. And eventually I crossed the finish line. I had a blast! 

With the upcoming Birkebeiner of 50k, this was for sure a good experience as to what can be expected in two weeks!

Courtesy of slushsucks

Riding in Minnesota

Five months have passed since I moved to Minneapolis. Riding in Minnesota is a new experience with a lot more to come but here are the first discoveries I made:

Minnesotans embrace cycling. Everywhere you look there are bike trails, shared bike paths or some other way to make riding on roads safe. No one honks. Drivers give ample space when passing. No matter what weather condition, you always see commuters with creative protective gear on their way to work. It seems like every corner has a bike store. And these are not bike shop chains but local stores with a coffee shop inside and their own mentality towards cycling.  

Minneapolis offers a huge variety of riding. Sometimes, I have a hard time choosing between a gravel group night ride on remote roads, mountain bike ride on sweet single track or a lazy bike trail ride along the lakes. There are so many great options!

Through a weekly group ride, I was introduced to gravel rides and races. Riding on gravel has become one of my favorite ways of riding. There is an entire gravel race series in Minnesota, two of which I raced this year: the 100 mi Heck of the North and the 100 mi Dirtbag race. You get a cue sheet at the beginning of the race and then it’s all about using energy wisely and not getting lost. Afterwards, there is a get-together with a lot of beer. Minnesotans love beer!

I was also introduced to the night group rides. Here there are so many remote roads that is safe to ride during the night time. Without street lamps on those remote gravel roads, only the head lamps of the group and the moon light the way. It makes for an adventurous ride. 

With so many mountain bike trails in riding distance, I decided to start mountain biking. The trails are well-maintained and easily accessible so sometimes I have a hard time choosing if I want to go for a road ride or mountain bike ride. Single-track riding in the dark at the river bottoms is an experience on a different level. You are riding quietly along the river through the forest with an occasional unfamiliar sound of an animal or the reflection of a pair of deer eyes behind the trees. Reminds me of adventure racing! 

The snow storm last week did not deter the group ride from happening. It’s just not on bikes anymore but skis instead.  From that one week I experienced a snowy Minneapolis, I already can tell that Minnesota does not fall asleep during the winter. With the plenitude of cross country ski trails in town, I will be busy discovering all trails during the winter.