Anchorage: Day Two

Today was nice and relaxed, woke up, went to Anchorage Mountain and Hiking, or AMH, the big ski shop here, and picked up a few essentials, like long underwear bottoms for John who had forgotten his in Laramie, not a great mistake when it's 11 below. And 11 below is exactly how cold it is supposed to be tomorrow when we are supposed to race, hmm. They've already moved the start back an hour and a half already, but considering the guidelines of -4F to start, and a HIGH tomorrow predicted of -11F, I don't think we're going to get to race. So, that being said, we are having a nice relaxing night of food, more Rocky, and "What is that, American Idol: Russia? Shit, that would be Russian Idol."~John Kirlin

I skied part of the classic course today, and it seems to much as I suspected, a very east coast course. Not many long hills, but lots of transitions and VERY steep hills. I am looking forward to this, because steep hills in the classic technique are one of my major weaknesses, and it will be very good for my to ski a bunch of these steep uphills this week in preparation for the season, they will definitely make most of the hills in the mountain west feel gradual, although long. 

The sprint course for tomorrow has three climbs, which get easier as the course goes. The first climb has a long gradual sections, and then two levels of a pretty steep climb, not quite steep enough to warrant herringbone, but steep enough that my crappy classic technique bogs me down and I lose a lot of speed in the steep parts, which sucks for a sprint. Oh well, just for training eh? After that hill, there is a really fun/fast downhill to steep uphill which you can double-pole up fast with effort, and then a good downhill rest into the stadium, and then one climb up around one end of the stadium, down again, and up another climb out of the stadium, this hill will most likely be double pole kicked, as you have a lot of speed going into it, and then some fast descents preceding the 150 meter uphill double pole to the finish, all in all over  minutes, so looooong, and slow. Brutal, but awesomely fun course, I'm hoping we actually get a chance to race it!!

Well, it's bed time here, talk to you tomorrow!!

Joe 

Peace