We did an individual start skate race in the tunnel this morning. We did 6 laps of the loop here, which comes to about 11 kilometers. Although summer races don’t mean very much because everybody is in different stages of their training and there is a lot of time before the race season, it was a great opportunity for me to test some of the technique changes I’ve been working on this summer. The conditions made for a great test because they were icy and fast, conditions that have been tough for me in the past. Chris Grover took some great video of the race.
I was really pleased with how things went. The best sign for me was my ability to elevate my lactate and heart rate (to 7.0mmol and 173bpm.) This shows that I was able to use my aerobic system and wasn’t being held back by the pace. I felt relaxed and controlled.
Unfortunately Andy Newell wasn’t able to compete because of stomach issues. Here are the results, which again don’t mean a whole lot.
| Bib | Last Name | First Name | Group | Total Elapsed Time | Split 1 Lap Time | Split 2 Lap Time | Split 3 Lap Time | Split 4 Lap Time | Split 5 Lap Time | Split 6 Lap Time | |
| 1 | 4 | Hoffman | Noah | USST/SSCV | 24:43.0 | 04:00.9 | 04:03.4 | 04:07.1 | 04:06.9 | 04:10.3 | 04:14.4 |
| 2 | 3 | Elliott | Tad | USST/SSCV | 25:42.9 | 04:13.3 | 04:20.1 | 04:08.6 | 04:13.7 | 04:25.0 | 04:22.2 |
| 3 | 1 | Packer | Eric | T2/Stratton Mountain Elite | 26:31.9 | 04:19.2 | 04:28.1 | 04:27.3 | 04:26.8 | 04:25.2 | 04:25.3 |
| 4 | 2 | Hamilton | Simi | USST/SVSEF | 26:55.0 | 04:14.9 | 04:27.0 | 04:28.7 | 04:35.5 | 04:36.2 | 04:32.7 |