Tom Keefe Ski Life Diary

On Feb. 12th I started training with an 80k classic race over in Ashland Maine. My only goals were to ski consistant laps and to avoid hitting the wall. I figured that this would be a great way to start training and preparing for the national championship 50k in late March. If I could go hard for 50miles then I knew that I would be able to make myself go ever harder for 32 miles in March. However, I needed to test myself and to see how hard, fast,and for long my body would hold up for. Based on how the race went, I would know exactly what needed to be done to succeed in March.

The race started around 8:30AM with a temp hovering around or just below zero. There was about 10-15skiers, most of which were participating in the 40k with a few of us trying to hack out the 80. It was 5laps for the 40k and 10laps for the 80k. I was still skiing well at the halfway mark while skiing at 24-25minute 8k lap pace. Up until this point I skied behind Will Sweetser, one of the MWSC coaches, so that I could learn how to pace myself for such a long race. I also took feeds when Will took them, which was more often than I expected. Good thing I copied Will or I most likely would have hit the wall sooner than I would have liked. Will Pulled out after 50k, but I was determined to finish this race and I planned on trying to ski even harder for the last 30k. At this point I was the only one left doing the 80k, so I had to finish! I came through the 58k mark around 2:55 where Will was standing with food and drinks. Words cannot begin to explain how excitied I was to see Will with food! I now knew that Will would be feeding me for the rest of the race and if I did as he said then I should be able to finish the race, and hopefully finish it with a bang! Will shouted out my split times as I came through each lap letting me know if I was still on pace to break the course record. At this point I was trying to increase my pace without bonking and to hold on just enough to actually break the record. The course record was held by former olympian John farra at a quick 4:40:25 seconds. On lap 8 I put my head down and went for it. Go big or go home I said to myself...you can make it! By lap 9 I was starting to see stars, and by lap 10 I had forgotten where I was or what I was actually doing there. I could hear Will shouting at me and he looked happy, but I couldn't really focus on what he was telling me. I was begining to really feel the first 40miles at this point. I knew that I really had to dig deep and hammer it home on lap 10…it was my last lap and last chance to beat the record and to really see what I was made of. I gave it everything that I had and when I crossed the finish line I looked up to see 4:11:02seconds. My 10th lap was my fastest lap of the day. I was really happy, but more tired then I have ever been.

That was the best effort that I have ever put forth and I'm hoping that I can do the same at International Spring Series in a few weeks time. I'm especially happy when I compare my time to the winning times at this years Mora Vasaloppet in Sweden, one of the world's biggest races. The winner came to the finish line at 89k with a time just over 4:34minutes. My friend Jerry, who lives and trains in Sweden finished 2nd overall...2 seconds from the win!

All I need to do now is to kick this cold that I have been fighting with for the past week and start training again, so that I am ready for the 50k!

It's tough to have a cold when the conditions up here in Northern Maine are excellent! There is tons of snow and the trails are going to be perfectly groomed for spring Series. After this weekend we will be the only place in New England that still has great skiing. Currently we have a solid 1-2foot base that will most likely last until late April. Can't get much better than that!

Tom

Tom Keefe is a member of the Maine Winter Sports Center team currently racing on the national circuit with goals of being ranked among the top 20 skiers in the US for 2005-2006 and to be chosen for the 2010 US Olympic Team. Follow Tom's ski racing adventures this season on SkiReg.com to get an inside look at his progress to be a top ranked US skier!