Birkie Fun!

Yes, I said fun. This year it actually was enjoyable, for the first 38 km or so at least. After that, well, let's just say that four hours of doing anything starts to hurt.

The weather was great-- between 10 and 33 degrees during the race. The snow was good, not too deep, not too icy, just right. Even the troughs on the hills were navigable. I enjoyed the splitting off of the classic skiers, so that the trail was much less crowded. This year I could actually use the glide from the downhills to get a little bit up the next hill. I never had to wait in line to go uphill (unless I wanted to, which I sometimes did, because it's a nice break) and I only had two people step on my poles. I think I was actually smiling for most of the race.

The best part was that I achieved my goal of doing it in under 5 hours. In fact, I cut a half hour off my previous time, doing it in 4:42 this year. I'll probably move up a wave, but I have to admit, I sort of liked being in the uncrowded, uncrazed wave 7.

I want to give a shout out to Mr. 9th Wave Large Man, who probably doesn't know it, but he pulled me across the endless Lake Hayward so I could finish strong.

And to Mr. 7th Wave Dude Who Kept Ending Up In Front Of Me After Each Food Stop Even Though I Passed Him Several Times-- please do yourself and your fellow skiers a favor and sew up that hole in the crotch of your lycra.

And thank you to whomever sent me the cute guy at the finish line in the Rossignol gear who helped take off my skis and gave me a hug and said "you did it!" If I'd have known he was waiting for me at the finish line, I'd have picked up the pace!

Hooray for a good snow winter and a good Birkie. Congratulations to my teammates/family, Team Sturdy Women!