Somewhat belated race report from last weekend's marathon at Lille, borrowed from an email exchange with teammates

Pre race

• - bugger-all skating during the week: work stuff (this is ironic, as I'm not actually doing any) has left me really unmotivated to train recently. Only a day and a half of it left now :-)

• + race-day preparation was so much better than my last race (Berlin half), though: well-hydrated, thorough warmup.

• - but psychologically, pssht. Took one look at the hairpin and thought "fuck this, should have done the Open".

The Race

• - very cautious at the start, not defending my place, and everyone overtook me. Need more agility/scrummage experience to skate in a seething mass without stacking/being stacked (which is what usually happens if I do push it)

• - lost the line completely as it went around the hairpin and I went off the haybale.

• + got a big cheer on the first lap when I was skating solo, made me smile

• - cornering crap, yes, I'm well aware of it. Getting better as the race progressed, but it still shares the shit out of me. Spent a lot of energy chasing people on the way out of corners

• + but honestly, the line we were in was not that fast on the straights and I had energy to spare. No cramps, but I don't get them anyway

• + surfaces mostly not a problem (except for finding a path through the first turn after the start line, which I never really managed).

• + worked well, skating with Fred

• + not collapsing quite as much on the right foot as Berlin. Moving the frame may have helped there.

• - barefoot in Junkers is not so good in hot weather as it has been over winter: sweat makes my feet slide around. Maybe try those nylon things, or get some white boot covers to stop them soaking up the sun as much.

• - as Fred says, we were stuck behind the girls at the end. Was a very relaxed pace for the last couple of laps.

• - a sprint with a bend in the middle of it, not my idea of a good time. I'm less of a single-speed merchant than I was last year, but there's still a way to go.

• + almost forgot to add: no skinsuits were trashed during this event, so I'm doing something right that I clearly wasn't for the second half of last year...

Post-race

• + what Hans said about the touchy-feely stuff: we may not do much as a team on the track but we do make a good club in the bar ...

• - feeling it a bit in my back today (should've done a warm down lap) but basically fine.

• Overall take-home message*: learn to go quickly round corners