Reipas Sports Complex, with a hint of Norway

-5C, cold, old snow, perfect day for a double pole HAMMER FEST. Today was a 7k classic race at the Tapiola Reipas Sports Complex, here in Thunder Bay. It was well attended, with the usuals: Steevfe Hart, Chris Butler, Timo Purias, Mike Somppi, Werner Schwar, and myself. As a must at the Reipas Club, you have to have the Finnish Weiners, I couldn’t wait until after the race, it’s tradition.

It was a mostly flat loop of 3.5k with a few gradual uphills, and downhills and one steep harring-bone hill. Butler (a.k.a Boerre Naess) and I ( a.k.a Tor Arne Hetland) decided we would test our double pole strength by doing the 7k on skate skis with skate poles. Steevfe gave in to peer pressure and skied on skate skis aswell, but opting for the shorter classic poles. Somppi held fast sticking to his classic Hibbies…Only time will tell.

17 minutes or so later, after completely hammering, the standings were as follows:
1st- Steevfe
2nd- Somppi
3rd- Hetland
4th- Naess
5th- Timo

So although Somppi got us marginally I felt very pleased to have put an awesome ski in hammering the double pole. Next time I feel that choosing the shorter classic poles may be been a wiser decision, and with doing no double poling with skate poles, I’ve found an interesting set of rhomboid muscles between my shoulder blades that have been torn to shreds, I think Naess’ lats took the brunt of his skate double poling.

Next week, some solid resting with sprints, and off to Callaghan Valley Thursday.

Some short videos by an enthusiastic Pate Neumann of Hetland, and Naess harring-bone up a short steep climb.