This Coming Week, and Maplelag in Review

We're approaching the final stretch. Here's a blow-by-blow of what's ahead:

-Monday, 1/27: School is Canceled. Take the time to rest and recover. Do everything you can to eat well,  drink enough water, and get ahead on school.
-Tuesday, 1/28: Regular practice: be prepared to skate and classic (if you have classic).
-Wednesday, 1/29: Practice at Riverside, Team Photos: bring your team jackets (extras would be nice), or else a black jacket/top.
-Thursday, 1/30: Conference Championships at Andes Tower Hills[map] (postponed from Tuesday, more details forthcoming). No busing or shelter for people not racing at this meet this day.
-Friday, 1/31: Same as Tuesday

Also:
-Monday, 2/3: The section team will leave for Maplelag[map] after school.  There will not be a regular practice for other members of the team, but everyone's encouraged to ski if they are able to. There will not be a bus to Riverside; students may have to take their regular bus home both Monday and...
-Tuesday, 2/4: Section races will take place at Maplelag. Section skiers should expect to help pay for the extra expenses for this trip.
-Thursday, 2/6: Junior High championships (this includes 9th graders not racing at sections) will be racing at Riverside. Other skiers will have a regular practice at Graystone or the North Loop.
-After the Jr. High Championships, practices will be optional for skiers who did not qualify to compete at the state meet.

Maplelag in Review:
This past Saturday, two vans full of skiers left for Maplelag to preview the section course. About three hours later, two vans full of skiers fell in love with Maplelag resort in northern Minnesota. Bottomless cookie jars and endless supplies of hot cider and chocolate contributed, but the most important factors were the gorgeous wooded trails and the authentic northwoods ambiance and decor of the lodge (there's a library with towers featuring stained glass and panoramic views).

The trails weren't built for racing - they're narrow and winding. But this makes knowledge of the race courses even more valuable. I hope everyone spends a little time thinking their way through the different courses in the time leading up to sections. Here's a breakdown from what I remember:

The skate course starts gradually uphill, but quickly sends you down "Kamikaze Hill" a steep downhill that takes a sharp left. Expect the inside line to be pretty glazed over by snowplowers, and try to drop into it from the outside. Stay on your feet, and step turn as much as you can to carry speed through the rolling section before you make the left turn to head up "Suicide Hill". Wide enough for 3-4 skiers, this will be prime passing real estate. Ski hard and keep your head up so you don't get stuck behind someone who's struggling. There's a right turn back onto the single track, where the climbing continues for another 500 meters or so. After this climb, the course is rolling, but mostly downhill. Take the inside of corners, but remember that the snow will often be softer at the edges and your poles can punch through. Draft skiers down hills and slingshot past them. There are a number of opportunities to develop a lot of speed by staying in a tuck and skating in the second half of the course.

The Classic Course was pretty featureless - no "Suicide Hill" or anything - just consistent rolling terrain with a lot of winding turns. The biggest considerations will be 1) staying upright through the turns, which will be more challenging during a faster, more tiring race, and 2) transitioning between techniques effectively. Because it is so rolling, you will switch between double poling, double-pole kick, and striding literally dozens of times. Keep your eyes up and anticipate hills; getting into a stride while carrying momentum is going to make a huge difference (and you will probably overtake a lot of racers if you do this well, so make sure you don't ski on top of someone). Every little bit of hesitation will cost you valuable time; every bit of momentum you can carry as you start to stride will get you hugely closer to the top of the hill.

Thanks to the people who were able to make it on this adventure for making it such a great day!