skiing is hard

i did not know what to call this blog, potential title's included:

1. in the pain locker
2. i got a long way to go
3. waxing is a science beyond me

first race of the year for me took place at grand beach today and it was painful, rewarding, but painful. ski racing is fun and it is quite the work out. after my first loppet last year it took me three days before i could put my pants on without sitting on the edge of the bed and using my hand to lift my knees up. not in that type of pain today, but i am feeling it.

the other thing, and definitely the more important, is that my techniqe sucks. it is one thing to ski around windsor, but skiing around grand beach with those hills is another. only bit it twice, but it was watching the 13 year old kid pull away from me that was somewhat humiliating. like biking, learning good techniques and building skiing muscels will take some time.

the other thing that i am discovering about x-country ski racing is that waxing in iffy conditions: colder (borderline between two different glide wax ratings) and fresh snow, made today's wax choices difficult. yesterday i spent the morning at the shop putting on what i thought would be the right glide wax and today i felt like i was skiing in sand. the grip wax was not an issue, but the glide was not what i wanted. now, i don't think anyone had great glide, the fresh snow took care of that, but some seemed to be faring better than others. i know that waxing can be tricky and it can also be expensive with some waxes running $40-60 and more. i am not about to spend huge bucks on waxes (one expensive hobby is enough). waxing also requires a fair amount of knowledge and creativity, one of my fellow competitors used two different waxes and a fluro powder. you can do quite well with some of the more reasonable waxes, but i do need to pay better attention to upcoming conditions and i really need to get my waxing bench made so i can change waxes if needed.

all that said, i'm looking forward to the next race