Saturday's Sprint 10k was held in, I think, below legal temps. It was -10 at the
start and warmed to -5 or so at the finish. They delayed the start to
look like they cared but it didn't matter. The two best analogies I
heard about the conditions were "skiing on sandpaper and velcro" and
the snow on the shaded hillsides was so cold and dry you could almost
classic up with parallel skis. It was more efficient to run the hills
then try to skate them. The overnight temps were -20 and the snow
didn't warm up at all. My face was so cold I couldn't feel the rifle
cheek comb. I have never shot in temps so low and the wind chill on my
face going downhill must have been -30 or -40. I greased the hell out of my earlobes,
nose and cheeks so no damage but they were all numb. I had a hard time
speaking as my cheeks were stiff and I couldn't annunciate too
well.Trying to find the normal rifle feel I pushed the comb too hard
and sent my shots right. I'm a lefty so the pivot around the trigger
moves the muzzle right. I didn't shoot as well as I'd have liked. I'm
better then the results show and cold weather aside I am a bit
disappointed in my performance on the range. I finished 5th in age
group less then 1 second out of 4th spot.
Sunday it was warmer, maybe +15 but the wind was ripping. Flat calm w/
30+ mph gusts and blowing snow on the range made shooting not hard but
extremely difficult and frustrating. Skiing into the wind was like
going uphill. The poles swung wildly and one gust grabbed my ski and
pushed it into a V-board marking the P-loop and almost caused me to
crash. I think the wind actually pushed me back up! I was a 50%
shooting effort which I was told fantastic considering the conditions.
I spoke w/ 2 former Olympians and they shot worse than I did! There
were only 5 clean stops from all competitors all day. My zero was set
neutral and I waited for a lull to set it. Since I was set no wind in
a lull I just shoot and don't have to make adjustments. My prone went
well and the first offhand was in a blinding windstorm. It was
difficult to hold the rifle remotely steady. Out of a sense of pride I
didn't just "machine gun" the targets to sent the lead and save time
waiting. Get to the P-loop and get going. I couldn't do it although
the last shot I just sent and got out. Deb mentioned the feeling of not wanting to quit on the range but mentioned it is a race and if the wind is going to hurt you send
the lead and get skiing. Maybe next time. I finished 4th in age and the overall results were not published when we left.
Off to Canada next weekend and I'll send a report when I get home.
Kevin
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