Birkie Fever Keep Me Warm

Last weekend was supposed to be the Minnesota Finlandia, but it was cancelled due to lack of snow. I briefly considered heading over to Wisconsin for the Hinder Binder, but with a Saturday morning forecast of 4F for a high with 30mph gusts of wind my excitement for racing was a bit chilled. So instead of skiing around in spandex in -30F wind chills I slept in and then made chocolate chip waffles for breakfast. It didn't turn out to be too bad of a morning.

I did head out in the afternoon and ski for just a little bit, then went to watch Nichole's cousin Leighton race at Carleton. I hadn't been to a track meet in a while, and it was fun to get to watch a sporting event for a change instead of participating. I only ran 6k last week, and won't run at all this week probably, because I'm resting up for the grand finale of the ski season, the American Birkebeiner!!

The weather and course conditions both sound pretty decent for this year's Birkie, and I know there are a lot of skiers anxious about their racing fitness since there haven't really been any full length marathon races this season. I'm excited to get out there and see where I stack up in the skate race. I felt pretty comfortable sitting in the lead pack for much of the classic race last year, and while I know I won't be that high up in the skate race I'm hoping to use that confidence to move up considerably from years past. My best finish so far is 58th, so a top 50 is the goal this year.

The entire weekend promises to be a lot of fun. I love the Birkie because there are so many wonderful people there, it is in a fun small town in Wisconsin, and everyone hangs around the finish just celebrating winter and skiing and the end of a season. So tune in next week to see how it went, or if you are super curious check out the Birkie website for a course map, live skier tracking, race footage, and more!