Birke - 50km Skate

When we are told to catch a bus from Hayward no later than 6:30 AM, they actually mean it!  We were running a bit behind schedule and pulled into the parking lot at Donnellan Field at 6:38 AM.  Not knowing if there was a parking spot left in the lot, Angie Robinson asked the attendant if we could park "here"; a spot partially blocking the lot entrance.  We took the attendants confusion for a "yes", and quickly vacated our vehicle.  We headed for the next loading bus as another bus pulled forward, next to the line of loading busses.  The driver open her door and asked if there were a few skiers that wanted to get on.  Angie and I ran over to the bus.  After about fifteen of us got on she closed her door and zoomed away.  We looked at each other and said, "that was weird, why didn't she wait until the bus was full?"  We were glad to be on a bus and headed for Cable. 

As everyone that skied these races knows, the ride to Cable took a bit longer than usual.  We finally pulled into Telemark about 7:50 AM; our race started at 8:00.  Certain we would miss our start, we pleaded with the driver to let us out ahead of the other unloading busses.  We were told there were procedures and we needed to wait our turn.  After getting released from our bus we ran for the start area.  My running wasn't quite as fast as Angie's since I had consumed an entire thermos of Gatorade on the bus ride up.  All I could think about was my bladder and how badly I wanted to empty it. 

As I approached the bag dump area I saw Brad Skillcorn.  Without saying a word he nodded "yes" and I handed him my bag which he relayed to the bag check truck.  I heard it announced that we had two minutes to the race start.  I ran to the nearest truck and finally emptied my bladder (sorry truck owner).  With one minute to race start I jumped over the start area fence and into my skis.  I still can't believe I actually made it to the start on time, and I was nice and warmed up from the run.

My race started off O.K. skiing with Jan Gunther.  We worked together for quite a few kilometers (20 or so?).  Just before OO I started to feel energy depleted;  I officially "bonked" not long after.  I have a really fast metabolism and needed a higher dose of calorie consumption than what I was getting, especially in the cold and slow conditions.  I have a few ideas for next year.

With about 17 kilometers remaining

 

With about 12 kilometers remaining (just before Bitch hill) I was in serious trouble.  I started feeling like I was floating and had to back my plodding down to a crawl (literally).  I oscillated between plodding and crawling for the remainder of the race.  With 100 meters to go I wasn't sure if I would actually cross the finish line, or if I would pass out on main street (how embarrassing would that be!). 

Crossing lake Hayward

 

I did finish and was whisked away to first aid on one of their golf carts.  Wow, first aid isn't such a bad deal.  They put me in a 80 degree room, brought me my clothing bag, fed me hot soup, barbeque potato chips and brownies.  Catlin stopped by and I was able to chat with her about her race. 

 

Hopefully next year I won't look quite as pathetic at the finish as I did this year.  But, I am very grateful for the wonderful volunteer that took care of me.

 

It's all a big adventure-