This morning all of the skiers that are here at the Olympic training center did a rollerski race this morning called the Climb to the Castle. The Climb to the Castle is a 5 mile race up Whiteface Mountain. I want to emphasize the UP part of it -all but few minutes of the entire race is V1. At least the snow held off but it was still rainy, windy and foggy. But despite the not so great weather it was actually pretty good. I have been anxious about this race for the last few weeks because last year was extremely hard. I went out too fast and I blew up. But all of us girls started out a bit more conservative and relaxed. Around a mile and a half things started to pick up and I was able to hang on to the lead pack until a little after three miles. At the 3 mile mark I couldn’t hang on and I dropped back a little bit. Over the next mile and a half I held things together way more than last year and crossed the finish line breathing hard and feeling tired. I am happy with my race and feeling confident about the upcoming season.
Climbing to the Castle.
5 miles. Up hill. In the rain and wind. A perfect day to be a cross country skier.
