Today was the Fisher Loppet up at Hardwood Ski and Bike.
I did not race which is probably for the best. Perhaps I'll give the 40km a shot next year and see what happens.
But today it was nice to spectate and see my lovely wife take 3rd place in her category despite having the worst skis ever manufactured by Fisher. They are truly terrible and and glide like bricks. We have agreed that she gets to buy the next pair of skis. This is tremendously generous on my part. I have my eye on a nice pair of Fisher RCS carbonlites/
I have been told that she'll divorce me if I post her picture here. So I'll go and post it on facebook...
But, the medal winning didn't stop there for Team Slowdad. No Sir! My family ensures I learn my place by constantly putting up better results than I do.
My 4 and 6 year old lined up side by side for the 5 and 6 year old .5 km race. Two skiers going off every 30 seconds.
It was warm out, at least +5 deg C, probably more, so it was getting a bit slushy, but our team had the secret advantage of having done all their training in snowpants, and now... the snowpants were off! This is a big deal and it confers, I believe, as big an advantage as taking EPO. Next year you'll see the entire Norwegian XC team training in snowpants.
I didn't hold out much hope for a successful ski prior to the race. Everyone was in full on crank. #1 was whining and complaining about pretty much everything, and # 2 was crying, yelling, and saying that he didn't want to ski AT ALL!
And of course nobody was listening to me. Hell I even bought everyone their favorite milk beverage but that bribe only lasted about 2 minutes.
So, we managed to get the recently removed and abandoned skis back on the appropriate feet and made it to the start. #2 was whining that Mom was going to have to help him and that he wasn't going to race.
As they got released from the start, the magic kicked in. I've seen this a number of times now and I think it's a good lesson for parents everywhere. It's likely your kid won't want to race during the entire lead up. It's also highly probable that they are going to love it while they are doing it.
So off they shot. My oldest hammering away like an obsessed Ivan Babikov with a look in his eye that makes my heart melt.
My youngest after the first 10 feet started yelling at Mom that "You're not allowed to help me!" He kept up that spirit for the rest of the 5 minute or so race and placed 5th, smiling the whole way.
My oldest took home gold. A very proud moment for him, especially after seeing the recent Olympics and learning what it means to stand on a podium. He is currently sleeping with a bunny rabbit and his medal.
My proudest moment? Just as he was turning to climb a small climb to the finish he cheerfully announced as he skied by. "Dad! I'm doing my best!"
Given that he was having fun while doing it, it's all I can ask for.
These are great results. You need to pick it up now or you will be last on the list for new skis.
Posted by: T | 03/08/2010 at 03:19 PM