When my coach Patrick asked me what the goal of doing a Cross Country Ski Race was I said, "to give it a go and have some fun." But also in the back of my head was my competitve ego saying "me want more sports!" See, all my life i've competed at as many sports as possible. Besides golf, i've enjoyed all the sports i've tried and as a result have taken part in many types of tournaments or races. All except nordic skiing that is...
Sunday i was on the start line of the 30th Whistler Loppett ready to go. Stevo told me it would be a quick start and it was. I got in a good position leading up to the first climb where i bridged up to the front group of 3. I was also told to stay with the group as long as possible due to the gains in drafting. This i did, all the way up to the peak elevation of the course. Then the downhill section began... I put in a surge past the others and got into a good tuck. I figured my downhill ski racing days would start to pay off here, yup i looked over the shoulder and had a gap on the others. Not for long though as soon i ate my own words by succombing to a brutal yard sale on a tricky corner. The guy behind my narrow missed running me over as i got to my feet. No problem i told myself as i collected myself just relax and work your way back up, ok maybe not, my pole was freaking busted! As i proceeded on down the hills i was looking for someone with a spare pole. Maybe 5mins later i got one, but it was useless and kept slipping. Luckily i changed for another and it was alright. By then i was caught by the second group. We climbed up to the peak again and started to head down, i took the decent more cautiously this time but guess what i still bailed. The first thought that came to mind now was did i break the pole i just borrowed? No, pheeew. The second group left me sprawled over the track and i ended up eigth. Good fun and great food afterwards. What is painfull is that i'll have to wait like 10 months till i can redeem myself at another loppett, geeeez.
2 comments:
this had me laughin out loud as i thought back to the 1st and only russell latern ski at mnt macpherson. remember that? dad bailed round the last corner down from the main loop, then you, then me and the only one who managed to avoid the family yard sale was mum.
guess you've been perfecting the down hill yard sale nordic stylie for a while eh?
A good yardsale can adjust your back, so no chiropractors needed.
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