- DESNE Machine up and running. This and other work issues are the reason the blog fell by the wayside, since I usually outlined the posts at work (I know, not really the best employee all the time). Now between having a lot of actual work to do at work and making myself a resolution to work more at work blog posts will have to be laid out and written from home, competing with exercise, video games, cleaning, sleeping, and making delicious food. Work is more fun though with a new machine to play with, at least when it works right.
- I ran a couple marathons last fall. I paced Brooke Beskau at the twin cities marathon, her first marathon. She ran an impressive 3:13:00 over ten minutes faster than my first marathon, also twin cities. I also ran the rails to trails marathon in Norwalk, WI. I set a new PR of 2:51:49, but could have run faster if I were more patient and didn't try to keep up with the race winner.
- I went up to Canmore to watch world cup racing and did some great skiing at Canmore, Banff, and Lake Louise. Emily and I skied over the continental divide from Alberta into British Columbia, and it was great fun getting to see world cup racing up close and personal.
- The early ski season was a struggle with a lot of rain in January, so my first big race was City of Lakes. I raced hard at the beginning, sat in a good pack for butler bog, and ended up with my highest place ever. I then really struggled with the double pole heavy shortened Mora course and just barely held off Audrey Weber. I tried the 50k at Finlandia and finished 3rd behind Wyn Roberts and John Munger.
On to the Birkie. It was lucky number 13 for me. Even after a good race at City I wasn't really sure where my fitness was after a rough January. I got to the line a bit late and lined up next to Blake Hillerson near the back. There was a lot of fresh snow so lanes formed quickly, making it pretty easy for me to move up in the first couple flat km. I continued to push a bit to move up through the powerlines, I was feeling pretty relaxed still so I wasn't worried. I passed Bjorn and gave him a wave as I went by. After the big 7km climb I tucked into a pack and settled down.
I tried to stay near the front of the pack, but most of their skis were running a bit faster than mine, so I would lose a few spots each downhill. On the gradual uphills though many of them broke into V1 pretty quickly so I could easily skip over, take a couple strong V2 strokes and move back up near the front. I took a couple turns pulling but didn't push the pace, knowing I couldn't easily get away with my slower skis and not willing to try getting away on my own. My running partner Nichole was at OO cheering, so it was great to see her, and my folks were working the gravel pit aid station at 31km, and I actually saw them this year and said hi as I went through.
Shortly after the gravel pit I decided I was still feeling good and I should probably try to make something happen, so I went to the front and racheted up the pace with a strong V2 up a gradual climb. I pushed on for a couple km. This section of trail was somewhat fresh in my mind because Jeff and I skied this as our boxing day ski this year. I was bonking that day, but I felt great today, so I kept pushing a bit even though I heard skiers behind me and assumed most of my pack was still there. I finally hit a good downhill and went in to a tuck, when the guy behind me yelled "Mr. Craiggerton, hop in the tracks". I recognized Bjorn's voice right away, and a quick glance back showed that he was the only one of the pack who had hung on with me.
I let Bjorn take a pull and tucked in behind him. I asked him about his recent engagement and got a very enthusiastic affirmation, followed by an admonition not to distract him while he was racing. We traded off pulls a few times over the next several km and passed a few solo skiers and small groups here and there. We started passing some of the elite women, who had started 20 minutes ahead of the men this year. Bjorn's skis were running a bit faster than mine, so I got a couple good pole pushes from him on a couple of the downhills, and when I gapped him a bit on a couple of the climbs he was able to get back in contact pretty easily. He took over for a bit when we hit the lake, but I could see another skier up ahead that I though we could catch, so I made it my goal to get us up to him. I took a good long pull, but when I looked back Bjorn was out of contact. I decided to push on and caught the skier ahead just as we were going by the torch on the finishing stretch.
It was a gorgeous day for being outside, so after we changed and I got a more detailed account of Bjorn's proposal and engagement we grabbed some food and headed out to cheer. We went looking for Travis, but he had finished already, and when we were on our way back Jeffy was sitting by the bank with his stuff. He was wearing jeans and just sitting around, and I thought there was no way he had finished the race already, so I was a bit worried something happened to him. I asked him and he just gave a sigh and said "I skied fast, I'm really tired". He had a great race and only missed making elite wave by 3 minutes or something.
One of the things I love about the Birkie is how many people I know there. After the race it's just a matter of wandering around, eating as much as possible, and talking to everyone I recognize. Mary Beth Liebsch said Matt was the first American in but just missed out on the money. Molly Watkins was 4th in the classic race, just missing a podium in a sprint to the line. Travis was top 20 in the classic race as well, good for him since he was skiing most of the race by himself. I eventually got around to checking my results and found out I had finished 57th, my best ever finish, even if the time was slow because of the fresh snow.
I think next year I'm jumping ship to the Birkie classic race, so this was a very good way to go out with a bang on my skating run. There is more ski season left to come, so another blog post will be along soon.
I tried to stay near the front of the pack, but most of their skis were running a bit faster than mine, so I would lose a few spots each downhill. On the gradual uphills though many of them broke into V1 pretty quickly so I could easily skip over, take a couple strong V2 strokes and move back up near the front. I took a couple turns pulling but didn't push the pace, knowing I couldn't easily get away with my slower skis and not willing to try getting away on my own. My running partner Nichole was at OO cheering, so it was great to see her, and my folks were working the gravel pit aid station at 31km, and I actually saw them this year and said hi as I went through.
Shortly after the gravel pit I decided I was still feeling good and I should probably try to make something happen, so I went to the front and racheted up the pace with a strong V2 up a gradual climb. I pushed on for a couple km. This section of trail was somewhat fresh in my mind because Jeff and I skied this as our boxing day ski this year. I was bonking that day, but I felt great today, so I kept pushing a bit even though I heard skiers behind me and assumed most of my pack was still there. I finally hit a good downhill and went in to a tuck, when the guy behind me yelled "Mr. Craiggerton, hop in the tracks". I recognized Bjorn's voice right away, and a quick glance back showed that he was the only one of the pack who had hung on with me.
I let Bjorn take a pull and tucked in behind him. I asked him about his recent engagement and got a very enthusiastic affirmation, followed by an admonition not to distract him while he was racing. We traded off pulls a few times over the next several km and passed a few solo skiers and small groups here and there. We started passing some of the elite women, who had started 20 minutes ahead of the men this year. Bjorn's skis were running a bit faster than mine, so I got a couple good pole pushes from him on a couple of the downhills, and when I gapped him a bit on a couple of the climbs he was able to get back in contact pretty easily. He took over for a bit when we hit the lake, but I could see another skier up ahead that I though we could catch, so I made it my goal to get us up to him. I took a good long pull, but when I looked back Bjorn was out of contact. I decided to push on and caught the skier ahead just as we were going by the torch on the finishing stretch.
It was a gorgeous day for being outside, so after we changed and I got a more detailed account of Bjorn's proposal and engagement we grabbed some food and headed out to cheer. We went looking for Travis, but he had finished already, and when we were on our way back Jeffy was sitting by the bank with his stuff. He was wearing jeans and just sitting around, and I thought there was no way he had finished the race already, so I was a bit worried something happened to him. I asked him and he just gave a sigh and said "I skied fast, I'm really tired". He had a great race and only missed making elite wave by 3 minutes or something.
One of the things I love about the Birkie is how many people I know there. After the race it's just a matter of wandering around, eating as much as possible, and talking to everyone I recognize. Mary Beth Liebsch said Matt was the first American in but just missed out on the money. Molly Watkins was 4th in the classic race, just missing a podium in a sprint to the line. Travis was top 20 in the classic race as well, good for him since he was skiing most of the race by himself. I eventually got around to checking my results and found out I had finished 57th, my best ever finish, even if the time was slow because of the fresh snow.
I think next year I'm jumping ship to the Birkie classic race, so this was a very good way to go out with a bang on my skating run. There is more ski season left to come, so another blog post will be along soon.
