I think I was 5th out of 5 in age group. Waxing was difficult... I ended up skiing on fish scales. Lot of fast racers. The course (they moved the race to Loup Loup north) was a big climb and then a very technical down hill. The tracks were in tough shape all over the course so not much rest even on the gentle downhills.
Gunnar Hagen 10k classic (Cabin Creek Snoqualmie Pass WA)
My time was something like 32min49sec which is a personal best for 10k though I understand the course is really only 9k. First in age group but most of the fast guys were doing the 30k distance and their lap times (same course for both 10k and 30k... 30k racers did three laps) were quite a bit faster than mine. Wax was klister but I didn't get it quite right (only my second time ever using klister) and had almost no kick... wasn't too bad though because the course has a ton of double poling terrain and the climbs are all short so not too terrible to herring bone all the climbs.
Spokane Langlauf 10k classic
Great event again this year. This year my wife and I talked her mom and my cousin into joining us in the race. Three of us made the podium. I was looking to take three minutes off my time from last year. In the end my time was something like 38min28sec which was only about 45 seconds off of last year's time. The conditions were definitely slower this year though and comparing to some other racers I can see that I closed the gap on them a bit compared to last year. Conditions this year were klister and I got it to work pretty good this time. The best part was that I was able to hammer the double pole to the finish and beat the guy that I chased up the last hill.
Ozbaldy 10k skate at Cabin Creek Snoqualmie Pass
Icy and fast conditions. My skating needs a lot of work... my time was something like 33min23sec which is slower than my classic time on nearly the same course. I think I need more skate technique and more skate muscles.
Overall conclusion for the season: Faster than last year but still a long ways to go to catch the fast guys.
