Well, the big race is over and we’ve had a great weekend with Paul, Bette, Annie and Lucy (Bette’s sister-in-law and neice) talking about race prep, waxing, trail conditions, weather and, of course, many post-race stories.
Ben came in at 5:43:51, doing a good job of pacing himself throughout the race after some counseling from Sage Birkie morning (”Ben, don’t race.”). He got some leg cramps about halfway, but managed to battle through and even had enough energy to hit Hayward Lake in good form, and even doing a little V2 (double-pole skating) down Main Street!
Paul and Bette came in with the EXACT same time of 4:29:43 after skiing together the entire way. What a team! You can look up anyone’s Birkie time and stats by following this link.
All in all, we got a good dose of Birkie fever and are already looking forward to next year!
Paul, Bette and Sage at the finish line waiting for Ben and Marggie on Main Street in Hayward. The weather started out cold, but by 2pm it was 25 degrees and sunny. A gorgeous day for skiing. Photo by Annie Colville.
We are up in Spooner this weekend for the 2005 Birkie. Ben starts at 9:50, so send thoughts of strength, patience, and tenacity for his race. Paul and Bette are providing wax help and ski advice, and there’s a whole lot of carbo-loading going on (even sagwagon Sage). Then it’ll be a big birthday celebration tomorrow evening for Paul’s 60th birthday–don’t know how energetic it’ll be, since most everyone will be horizontal. Hopefully they’ll get up for birthday cake. We’ll update you tomorrow on how it all went. May everyone have a safe and good race tomorrow and GO BEN GO!
In anticipation for the American Birkebeiner ski race, the Hayward Lions put on a roughly half-distance race two weekends prior. Ben and Paul both participated this year. It was a beautiful day and the course was in perfect condition, taking place on the same trail as the Birkie, from Telemark Lodge in Cable to highway ‘OO’ near Seeley. Despite numerous attempts by himself and others, Ben pushed a little too hard early on, gettting caught up in the energy of the race and struggled toward the end. His time wasn’t bad, at around 2:10, but boy did he feel gray at the end. Everyone, including Ben were a little concerned about his prospects for the 51km Birkie, but after a little analysis, Ben figured if he were able to slow down and pace himself he could do it. Stay tuned a couple weeks and find out!
Here is a nice gallery of images from the race.
Ben has now participated in two Tuesday night 10k ski races put on by the MadNorSki club out at Elver park. Last week he came in last, despite his goal of second-to-last. This week, he managed to pull it off, and dropped 5 minutes from his overall time coming at just over 45 minutes. Woo-hoo!
Ben and Dick Steinle, a new friend from FUS at Razorback Ridge near Eagle River. Taken by Dave Blough, another new friend.
Elver Park was great last night. The entire West trail is lit for clasic and skating. There’s a good amount of trail and it’s pretty hilly in places so it gets challenging. I’m looking forward to skiing it this weekend to get a better lay of the land and make sure to use the entire trail system.
As of last night, our big snow is still pretty fresh, so it’s soft in places and I had a few pole plants wash out as a result. Plus the MadNorSki club was holding their weekly night race at the time so things got a little chewed up as well, but generally the course was fast and good. I expect the conditions to be excellent as of tomorow after a few more groomings and slightly warmer temperatures. I just hope our snow lasts as it’s supposed to get even warmer next week - Ben
Wooo hoo! On top of getting 3-4 inches over the last few days, Madison got another 5 or so last night. We woke up to a winter wonderland. We’ve been waiting for a good solid snow for skiing and we finally got it. Tonight the lit trails at Elver park should be groomed and we’ll finally get some Birkie training in close to home. Can’t wait.
