December 8th, 2007
Quick post tonight, more to follow. Today we raced 10km classic once again. Although conditions had been great all week, this morning we encountered the classic waxing condition that is dreaded the most – right at freezing and fresh snow. Luckily for the women’s race, the snow tapered off for our three laps and the kick wax/klister mix I had on my skis worked fairly well.
I started off conservatively, a little distracted with a loose binding, and then worked my way up into the race. By the third lap I was finally finding my stride. I was able to ski with a red group skier for about 600m, before she fell on a downhill, and then finished off the rest of the race by myself. I was bib number 8, very early in the race, but posted the leading time when I crossed the finish line. I got to sit in the fur lined leaders chair for a minute or two, until a later bib came in a took the lead away.
When all the racers had finished my final place was 37th, 7% back from the lead. I was pumped to be closer to the winner than ever before in a World Cup distance race!! Unfortunately I will not be starting in the relay tomorrow (no female teammates to ski with), so I will begin my preparations for the sprint in Russia next week.
