Well, the post-Birkie blues have set in. It's Monday and I'm back in Houghton, after a weekend full of friends, family, skiing, food and relaxation. I would have done anything to get one more day at the cabin with everyone, but this is real life and unfortunately, I'm already back to reality.
Me and my friend Adam took off from Houghton to drive to my parent's cabin on Friday afternoon after class. It took us about 5 hours, after the time change and after picking up our bibs in Hayward. We both get really cranky when we're hungry, so once dinner time rolled around, I turned up the music and we both went silent for a good hour or so, until we arrived to a warm cabin filled with friends, family, dogs and of course, carbs.
After wiping the last of the alfredo from my plate with my 7th piece of bread, I cleared my place and headed into the "wax cave" with Adam and my dad and his friend to get to low down on the ski wax situation.
Both me and Adam classic skied the Birkie, since we're young and attend school in the frozen tundra of the UP which provides us with more than enough snow to train, whereas my dad and his friend both skied the Korteloppet, which is half of the Birkie, because MN was very snow-deprived this season (again). In addition, my good friend Lewis skated his first Birkie, and his dad did the Korte as well. Even my own mom skied her first race in a while! She classiced the Prince Hauken, a 12k race on part of the Birkie trail. Go mom!
So once we had everything ironed in, brushed off and corked in, I hit the hay for the 4:30 wake up call the next morning. As always, 4:30 comes way too fast, but I was so excited to ski my 2nd Birkie that I popped right outta bed and immediately got ready for the big day.
We ate our oatmeal, bananas and bagels, then took off around 5:30 for Cable. Once there, we got a ll situated and me and Adam got to the start in time for his wave one start and my wave two start.
Sooner or later, around 8:25, I was off into the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin with 12,000 others. For the first 15 or 20 km, I won't lie, but I wasn't sure I was going to make it. But once I hit 00 (the halfway point), I felt much better, and kept trucking all the way to mainstreet Hayward for the grand finale finish.
I forgot how many people are lined up along Hayward's main street. I also forgot how long 54km really is, and how good bananas taste when your body is put to the test. What a fun day. I completed the race in just under 5 hours, about 10 minutes slower than last year. So I was happy. Everyone else finished without any medical problems, and my mom finished too! Everyone was exhausted, but happy, as always.
Me and my friend Adam took off from Houghton to drive to my parent's cabin on Friday afternoon after class. It took us about 5 hours, after the time change and after picking up our bibs in Hayward. We both get really cranky when we're hungry, so once dinner time rolled around, I turned up the music and we both went silent for a good hour or so, until we arrived to a warm cabin filled with friends, family, dogs and of course, carbs.
After wiping the last of the alfredo from my plate with my 7th piece of bread, I cleared my place and headed into the "wax cave" with Adam and my dad and his friend to get to low down on the ski wax situation.
Both me and Adam classic skied the Birkie, since we're young and attend school in the frozen tundra of the UP which provides us with more than enough snow to train, whereas my dad and his friend both skied the Korteloppet, which is half of the Birkie, because MN was very snow-deprived this season (again). In addition, my good friend Lewis skated his first Birkie, and his dad did the Korte as well. Even my own mom skied her first race in a while! She classiced the Prince Hauken, a 12k race on part of the Birkie trail. Go mom!
So once we had everything ironed in, brushed off and corked in, I hit the hay for the 4:30 wake up call the next morning. As always, 4:30 comes way too fast, but I was so excited to ski my 2nd Birkie that I popped right outta bed and immediately got ready for the big day.
We ate our oatmeal, bananas and bagels, then took off around 5:30 for Cable. Once there, we got a ll situated and me and Adam got to the start in time for his wave one start and my wave two start.
Me and dad at the start
Our whole family (minus the pups) raced this year!
Sooner or later, around 8:25, I was off into the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin with 12,000 others. For the first 15 or 20 km, I won't lie, but I wasn't sure I was going to make it. But once I hit 00 (the halfway point), I felt much better, and kept trucking all the way to mainstreet Hayward for the grand finale finish.
So many skiers in one area...
I forgot how many people are lined up along Hayward's main street. I also forgot how long 54km really is, and how good bananas taste when your body is put to the test. What a fun day. I completed the race in just under 5 hours, about 10 minutes slower than last year. So I was happy. Everyone else finished without any medical problems, and my mom finished too! Everyone was exhausted, but happy, as always.
A glimpse of the finish down main street. So amazing.
All the racers!
The rest of Saturday consisted of nursing the sore muscles (my hip flexors felt like they were going to rip apart, and still do), sleeping, eating, and more sleeping. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend! And with that, counting down the days until Birkie 2014. 363 more to go...
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