If you ask me for my evaluation of last weekend’s Apostle Island Inline Marathon, you may receive two completely different answers. The short version is I skated well and I’m thankful for all the heartfelt congratulations on my first win as a pro. It has taken years of training to reach this point and it means a lot to me to be surrounded by supportive friends. That also means I have a very short blog entry to write and we’ll chat again next time. So let’s get to the self-indulgent long version, shall we?
Coach SZ and I had been carefully monitoring my recovery from Denmark training camp leading up to this race. Thrown in a bit of jetlag and some early symptoms of a cold, I was not sure if my body was ready to race came Saturday morning. Fortunately, I had an amazing training session last Wednesday skating with GN at the trails. Shins did not lock up and I had the top-end speed I last saw in Denmark. It really boost my confidence and I remained relax on the long drive from Thunder Bay to Wisconsin.
The weather forecast did not look favourable and I was bracing for another rain race. No matter, I had my trusty Storm Surge and Streetfight rain setup. On race day morning, it was cold and drizzly. I was too occupied thinking about my lack of warm layers than stressing out about racing. I suppose that was not a bad trade off. I did my usual warm up of jogging, static and dynamic stretches, working up to race pace on skates, and a few accelerations. I did not feel particularly strong but it was nothing to complain about. My rain setup felt good on the wet but smooth pavement.
I had my sight set on keeping up with last year’s winner Kara Peterson (Adam’s Test Team). It was 2009 Minnesota Half Marathon when we last raced against each other. From all account, I knew that she is strong and capable of staying with the lead pack. She also has plenty of teammates in the lead pack. I only hoped my fellow teammate Nadine and I could both successfully latch on to the lead pack right from the start. I positioned myself directly behind Andy Kostka from Hoigaards since he trained with us in Toronto last summer and I had good grasp of how to skate efficiently in his draft. The start was tame but my clumsiness with the timing mat meant I quickly lost my target draft. Oops. Luckily, Andy’s teammate Conrade Thomas sped past me and I did not dare to risk losing the draft this time.
There were numerous surges and attacks from Adam’s Test Team. I focused on anticipating the change of pace and recovering as much as I could between the surges. Some people moved up, some people got dropped, some people attacked, the first lap was a blur. Kara and I were the only women in the lead pack so my job was to simply hang on. Alas, after 15km of intervals, my legs desperately wanted a break. I started to get gapped a few times and had to claw my way back to the pack. My time in the lead pack was numbered and Kara continued to look strong.
Between the end of lap one and the next water station, I got dropped. I resisted the urge to keep skating and just leisurely rolled along while keeping my eyes out for the chase pack. It seemed like a long time before the pack materialized and I noticed another Hoigaards skater got dropped just ahead of me. The pack was much smaller than I hoped with two skaters from Midwest Skate Club and an independent skater. Five of us grouped up quickly and my race to stay second place started. I had no clue if other pro women were right on our heels so I negotiated with the guys to help fend off the next pack as long as we could. I couldn’t care less about field sprinting with these guys since it would not make a difference with my placement in pro women.
Well, we tried. We were caught by the next pack before we completed the second lap. The lead pack of pro veteran and grand veteran barrelled toward us and I quickly jumped in the pack. Coincidentally, I was directly in front of Max Muscle’s videographer! You can watch the whole thing captured on video starting at 4:45. I was in red/black/white with “Kickin’ Asphalt” printed across my backside.
First thing first, I scanned the pack for other pro women. There was one woman I did not recognize nor seen her at my starting wave. Just to be on the cautious side, I kept tabs on where she was in the pack. As the pro vet pack started the third and final lap, attacks started happening and skaters tried to move up in the pack. I was well-aware that had I gotten into the mix and interfere with their races, these guys would not be too please to tolerate me in the pack. I was also a little concern that my teammate Steve was nowhere to be found.
It was inevitable that the large pro vet/grand vet pack would split. I was not too concern with getting caught up in the excitement though. Let’s just say I was not gunning for a personal best finishing time anyway. I was in the back half when the pack split and at that point, I only needed to finish the race with the pack to maintain my placement. I pulled strong when it was my turn but otherwise I stayed out of other people’s way. It was unusual to watch the field sprint unfolded as if I was a spectator.
Race result is available here. I finished the race at 1:19:28, almost four minutes behind Kara Peterson. It was only well after we finished the race when I realized Kara raced in Masters so technically, I won the Pro Open Women category. However, for all intents and purposes, I don’t see this race as a victory. I came second in a race that I did not yet have what it takes to challenge the winner. I am closer than I ever did in the past but I am not there yet. Having said that, it sure felt nice to sweep the podium with my teammate Nadine. It is my motivation to repeat this photo in future with a genuine win.
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