Europa Cup
Yesterday I raced a 15k classic in Lillehammer Norway. I had high hopes for the race as the event and this particular course played to my strengths. I made a poor choice on skis though. I went on a pair that has always been extremely easy to kick on because of its uniquely low pocket. I underestimated the abrasiveness of the fresh snow however and I lost all of my kick wax but a trace amount of binder. The skis literally needed nothing more than a spritz of wax remover and a wipe with a paper towel and they were clean. Its hard to believe that I still make such rookie mistakes at this stage in the game.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to change my insulin dosing strategy as the one I had been relying on for 15ks for several years was now driving me too low while I raced. The old dose was a several unit bolus taken as a half hour extended bolus thirty minutes before race time. The new dose is a 50% increase to my basal insulin one and a half hours prior to the race. Using this strategy my glucose was 130 before yesterday’s race and 160 at the finish. The sugar was perfect but the race was compromised by poor skis so I do not consider it a good test of the theory.
My focus of the year is on the 15k classic at the Olympics. If I continued on the original racing plan of following the world cup to Davos and then returning home for Nationals I would only have two 15k races between now and the Olympics. Since I was blindsided with insulin dose problems I have decided to abandon the World Cup next weekend and race two Europa cups in Austria instead. There is a 10k skate on Saturday and a 15k classic mass start on Sunday. Making this Change has been pretty last minute and a bit stressful but the logistics are taken care of now and I feel good about giving myself two good practice races to get myself and my season on track.
