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| Buena Vista ski area north of Bemidji--the hill on the left is the one that Finlandia skiers have to ski up. |
"Would you like to do the 10 K classic with me?" I asked Enrico.
"O.K," he said.
On Saturday morning, it was 8 below. It was then that I found out that Enrico had not brought his ski boots. Maybe when I asked him to ski 10 K, he meant 0 K, as in zero kilometers. He encouraged me to participate without him, so we headed up to Buena Vista, a ski area north of Bemidji. I got checked in and soon found myself at the start line, cheering on the Bison skiers who were doing the 25K freestyle, 25K classic, and 50K. The 10K skiers like myself started last. I had never skied here before, so the course would be new to me. There was a very small field of 10K skiers--at first it looked like we would each have our own start lane, but then a couple of the Bison skiers came up--Andrew and Klarissa, who is a downhill skier just learning to cross-country ski. Good for her!
This was the first time I've been in a ski race in several years, and I was feeling some pain after that big uphill when I was reminded that all the skiing I do is on flat terrain. However, I felt toasty warm after it (and my poor husband was probably freezing), my kick wax was good, and whatever glide wax was on my skis from last time they were hot-waxed (maybe 2 years ago?) was okay. I would catch up a bit to the guy in front of me in the bright orange jacket whenever we got to a downhill section, so at least my wax was not the worst it could be. I just focused on using my best technique and enjoying the nicely set tracks, soft snow, and new views.
At the first checkpoint, I met up with one of the two Bison skiers who had also elected to do the Tour, a nice young man named Andrew. He did not have good glide wax AND he was doing skate technique, so it was rough going. I cheered him on.
Shortly after that, those of us on the 10K followed a sign to turn off the main trail. We skied a brief shortcut before rejoining the main route. Now there were skiers passing us--both skate and classic skiers doing the 25K freestyle, classic, or pursuit (half of each) and the 50K skiers. This was fun for me because I could glance to my left when I was being passed and if I saw a bright yellow lower leg, I knew it was a Bison skier, so I cheered them on. "This is the way to be a spectator," I thought, "Cheer from inside the race." Let's call it embedded cheering. I was warm, getting a good workout, and getting to see the technique of lots of different skiers while encouraging them.
After awhile, I caught up to the man in the orange jacket again. He was setting a good pace, so I was content to stay behind a few lengths. But then he stepped out of the track, looked back, smiled, and said, "Have a good time," so I had to pass him. I put a bit more effort into my pace for a few hundred yards, so he wouldn't regret ceding the trail to me.
The trail curved around the back part of the downhill ski area and a few sections were quite steep to get up. One longer steep section was kind of discouraging, so I settled in for a long herringbone slog. I did not try to run or jump up that section. Then we came to one of the ski lifts. I eyed the snowboarders descending the trail above me. There was no border between the downhill slope and the cross-country trails, so I just wanted to make sure they didn't run into me. I was glad to pass that section.
The trail curved around some more--it was really lovely and there were some fun downhill sections, a couple of which were quite fast, but with a good track that slowly evened out at the bottom, so it wasn't too scary. One of the NDSU skiers--Mitch, I think--passed me and called out, "Looking good!" Those Bison skiers are so kind. I'm here to cheer THEM on, not vice versa!
Soon I came to an intersection, and the people there kindly pointed me in the right direction for the 10K, and then I was descending toward the stadium area--I could see Enrico at the bottom of the last downhill where I had to make a right turn and head up the slight uphill toward the finish line. "Don't crash," I thought. I made it around the corner with a few step turns, then focused on making my best strides to the finish.
At the finish, there was Andrew, and he kindly gave me a cup of Gatorade and said he thought my time was about 42 minutes, judging from his own time. The race organizers don't give bibs or track the time of people doing the 10K tour, so I was glad to get this information, even though it's just an estimate.
I then had to ski a bit to "cool" down. After that, Enrico gave me a coat, and we cheered on more Bison skiers who were finishing their various events. Enrico and I didn't stay for the 50K finishers, though, because we wanted to get to the ski shop before it closed to see if we could get some boots for him.
This was a fun event, and I highly recommend embedded cheering--so much warmer than standing on the sidelines!
I think the best part Finlandia Grace yes the lunch afterward. It is all locally grown and prepared foods served by locals and there is an out-of-tune piano playing in the background. It's a good place to chat with fellow racers. This is my favorite all-time race.
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