New pavement for NSIM 2017

[Spencer.Berry]

Just saw this post on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/NorthShore....83587781688863
Looks like there will be some nice new pavement.

[Alyosha]

I saw that today too and it convinced me to sign up for the race. I haven't been skating a ton lately and wasn't sure I wanted to commit to a marathon. A course which has, essentially, been completely repaved over the last five years, I can't turn that down.

[shesk8]

Whoo Hoo! Yes. Hope we see a course record set this year on the smooth pave!

[kufman]

Originally Posted by shesk8

Whoo Hoo! Yes. Hope we see a course record set this year on the smooth pave!

The wind will matter more than the pavement. If you have a headwind (which is a more common direction for the wind) even new pavement will do little to produce fast times.

https://www.windfinder.com/windstati...t_paul_airport

[gopherfan]

Though it is hardly the most important effect, it looks like hurricane Irma's westward shift has placed rain into the forecast for Northshore. The 10 day forecast looked completely dry until today. I know it is too soon to say for sure, but both Friday and Saturday now have rain all day and night. Boo. If the forecast holds, a 6mph ENE tailwind would probably ensure a course record.

[Spencer.Berry]

Guzman and Stelly 1st and 2nd






Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/race/show...thShore_Inline

[Alyosha]

Conditions could have been better but they certainly could have been worse, too. I only got sprinkled on at the starting line for a few minutes before taking off. One we got going the precipitation quit. Yeah, the road was wet, but it had rained hard enough earlier that it wasn't very slippery.

I started in advanced 3 and had a lovely, "brisk but leisurely" skate with a lovely group of people. Finished in about 1:31 which is about as good as this not so serious skater can hope for anymore. My son participated in the kids sprints for the first time this year which was a blast to watch. And the rest of the weekend was spent in the Duluth waterpark hotel - it's been a while since I've had such a nice weekend.

[ese002]

Originally Posted by Alyosha

Conditions could have been better but they certainly could have been worse, too. I only got sprinkled on at the starting line for a few minutes before taking off. One we got going the precipitation quit. Yeah, the road was wet, but it had rained hard enough earlier that it wasn't very slippery.

I agree except for the short stretch after the last tunnel. That was slick as snot even with the Storm Surges. It's a bit of a mystery why. That section was cement so there shouldn't have been oil. It wasn't exceptionally smooth either.

[Alyosha]

Originally Posted by ese002

I agree except for the short stretch after the last tunnel. That was slick as snot even with the Storm Surges. It's a bit of a mystery why. That section was cement so there shouldn't have been oil. It wasn't exceptionally smooth either.

A fair point, that as super slick there.

[Spencer.Berry]

Some local news coverage:
http://live-fox21online.pantheonsite...line-marathon/

[sxevegan]

Originally Posted by ese002

I agree except for the short stretch after the last tunnel. That was slick as snot even with the Storm Surges. It's a bit of a mystery why. That section was cement so there shouldn't have been oil. It wasn't exceptionally smooth either.

My guess is that traffic usually backs up on those off ramps, so vehicles sit there at a stand-still and drip oil.

I had MPC wheels with me that work great in the rain, but decided to take a risk and use G13s instead. Big mistake. During my warmup they gripped excellent on the first few miles of the course, but they didn't work very well on the rest of the course after that.

My thought process was that i wouldn't win a field sprint against those guys anyway, so i would roll the dice, hope that it would dry a bit, and attempt to skate away with superior rolling wheels later on in the race. Instead, the course got more wet, more oily, and whenever I attacked I floundered around like a total noob. Oh well.