Short race = lactic acid tourture

I participated in a cross country ski race yesterday. Just a very informal, small-scale local club race with some 20 people. The distance, 3 km, was the shortest I have raced for several years and I convinced myself beforehand that this would be a peace of cake. It turned out to be just the opposite!

I arrived quite late so there was no time for warm-up. I just put two thin layers of kick wax under the skis and then went straight to the start line. The pace was furious right from the go and after just one minute or so, my arms and abs were already hurting as the lactic acid started building up due to ferocious (for my standard, mind you) double poling. It was such a relief when I finally got to the first uphill, because changing to diagonal stride gave me a rest for a moment. But only for a moment. The hill was long and as I desperately tried to hang on to the guys in front of me I felt the lactic acid accumulating in my hamstrings and thighs.  I could barely make it over the top and into the downhill. At this point, after less than one km, my legs were so stiff I could hardly bend my knees as I glided down. It only got worse from there, because soon my lungs started burning as well. I still managed to stay in 8th place (which was marvelous for me) right until the very last half km.  On the final climb my legs said “no thank you”  and my lungs said “we agree with the legs” so I had to slow down and just walk the last part of the hill. On the final flat stretch to the finish line my arms and abs said “we agree with the legs and lungs” so I guess I was a pretty sorry sight as I stumbled across the line.  Some six guys passed me on this last part, so I finished in 14th place. Still managed to keep a handful behind me.

I couldn’t believe the torture and pain I endured for such a short race. I know that shorter distances obviously call for much faster pace, and perhaps it wasn’t a sign of intelligence to skip the warm up. But my lesson is that at my age the body prefers long-distance-slower-pace races.