Birkie 2019: Half Way to 100

My first six Birkies I skated. Then I took a three year hiatus while living in New York. My last five Birkies have been classic. This year’s Birkie was special for two reasons.

First, this was my first time in the Women’s Skate Elite Wave. Ever since learning this wave existed 15 years ago when I did my first Birkie, I wanted to be in it. As far as I know, this is the biggest women’s only wave in North America. Both the Birkie Classic Elite Wave and the City of Lakes Loppet’s Best of the Loppet Wave combine genders. Last year when I did the Tour of Anchorage I got to ski out of the women’s elite wave but there were only like 16 of us. So the Birkie Women’s Skate Elite Wave is fairly unique.

Second, if I have my ski marathon count right, Birkie 2019 is my 50th ski marathon!

Talking with Kikkan and holding her gold medal at the Birkie Expo. Erik wasn't quite as enthused. Photo: Fischer rep

Erik was more excited by the backyard snow cave he made and slept in the week before the Birkie.

                                                                            ***


I got into the Women’s Elite Skate Wave based on my classic performance. Given I didn’t technically qualify based on skate results, I had some qualms about being in this wave. In a lot of respects, I felt like I didn’t belong.

What if everyone just leaves me in the dust off the line? This is stupid, I told myself. I have raced alongside, kept up, and even beat plenty of women in the elite wave previously.

I figured if I had a really really good race I could get into the 30s. If I had an average race I’d ski into the 40s. I didn’t want to think about a bad day.

What if I didn’t re-qualify for elite wave?

Unlike the past few years that I’ve been doing the classic race, the skate race is shorter- both in terms of kilometers and speed. I anticipated being about 40 minutes faster than if I was classic skiing. This meant I could push harder earlier on. I remember getting to the Boedecker Feed Station my first year in the classic race and thinking I was at OO. Indeed, Boedecker is 20.5 km into the classic race and OO 21 km into the skate race. I’m not a strider and Birkie Classic has always been tough. It’s hard enough for me to stride on fresh legs and on tired legs the focus and effort seems completely impossible.

I was excited to race on fresh corduroy, but as we drove to the start in a snowstorm, I realized we’d be slowed by powder covering the corduroy. This wasn’t all bad- I do better in slower conditions where my fitness rather than technique shines.

The women all got in the starting pen early. I was one of the last to arrive as I wanted to stay warm. There was plenty of room on the right and I got in the third row. I saw my old college teammate, Meleah, and she remarked how different this start was compared to our 10th Wave start 15 years earlier when we both skied the Birkie for the first time.

The gun went off and we got off to what was the most chill start of any race I’ve done all year. Soon we were skiing three wide. I noted who was passing me and who was skiing around me. I was pretty sure I was near the back, but not the last one, and had no trouble keeping up. Once on the Powerline we narrowed into a single file line and by the time we got into the woods I was skiing in a little pack- mostly of Lemons (the adult Loppet Nordic Racing team)- Angie, Kitty, and Mary- and a woman wearing old Michigan Tech spandex.

Meleah passed me as we headed into the woods. I tried to go with her but was at the back of my pack and didn’t want to work so hard going around everyone in the fresh snow so I stayed put.

My skis seemed to be running about as fast as the others. I haven’t done much pack skate skiing- especially not under similar terrain, and so spent some energy trying not to step on poles or skis. I still did a few times but I was really trying not to. Even in our small pack, there was still an accordion effect on the hills. It was nothing compared to skiing out of Wave 2.

We climbed the 5 K hill and passed a woman. We were passing the Spirit of 35 skiers and giving each other encouragement. I stayed at the back of my pack, sometimes trying to copy Angie’s perfect V-2 technique, noting that I wasn’t having any problems keeping up with these women. I worked hard on the uphills but was able to recover on the downhills.

Skiing early on. Photo: Bruce Adelsman

As we began the climb to High Point, Kitty moved to the front of the pack. I thought she might try to break things up but she didn’t. I pushed a little on the hill to High Point. Angie and Kitty broke away a bit and I moved ahead of the others to close the gap. Suddenly it became obvious that my skis were fast. I easily closed the gap on Angie and Kitty and then moved to the front to take the pull. I felt better skiing out front, setting the pace and not having to worry about stepping on poles.

Finn Sisu waxed my skis this year, so they should take all the credit for my fast skis. I only have one pair of racing skis and so by happenstance the medium flex and factory grind was good as well.

I got a lead but then didn’t push the uphills to allow Angie and Kitty to catch up. They caught up and we continued to ski together until OO. I pushed on the steep hill coming into Boedecker. I don’t ski steep hills well and my quads started to burn and that’s when I started to get tired. The lead pack from the men’s race, which started 20 minutes after ours, passed us a couple kilometers after Boedecker.

At OO I took a long drink and Kitty pulled ahead over the new bridge. I didn’t gain on her much until we hit the flat section of the Korte start. I don’t like skating flat sections but the snow was soft and my skis fast and soon I caught Kitty. I decided to pass her right where Bruce was taking photos. Kitty followed behind me for the next few kilometers. We passed a couple more women.

Skiing with Kitty. I think I passed her just after this photo by Bruce Adelsman

Around the time that another big pack of guys passed us, around 25 km to go, Kitty fell back and I skied the remainder of the race by myself.

But I wasn’t really alone. A steady stream of Elite wave guys were passing me- a bunch whom I know.

“You’re having a good race,” Andy Brown said when he passed me. This was helpful info because other than the pack I had been skiing with and managed to drop, I really didn’t know how many other women were behind me.

Nate’s pack passed me just before Gravel Pit. They accordioned on the next uphill and briefly I was able to ski with those guys but they got away pretty quick.

I’ve always been competitive with the guys and so when they passed me I had this instinct to stay with them or go chase them. No Elspeth, let them go. Their bib numbers are too low. You can’t keep up with them.

Between Gravel Pit and Mosquito Brook #43 passed me. I promptly passed him back on the next downhill. He passed me back up on the uphill but now I was easily able to stay with him as I V-2’d behind him. His skis were so slow. We yo-yo’d a bit until my teammate Andy Schakel came up on us. My skis were running faster than Andy’s even though we were waxed the same so we had a conversation about ski flex before he and #43 pulled away from me on an uphill.

#43 and Andy Shackel skiing together before they passed me. Photo: Bruce Adelsman

I passed another woman or two, then came into the Mosquito Brook Feed Station. As I had missed the last one, I stopped long enough to drink one whole energy drink and take down a gel. Then it was onto the Mosquito Brook Hill. This hill isn’t very steep and I like it. Another train of men passed me, including one who I routinely rollerski with in the off-season. I hopped on the back of their pack and easily V-2’d behind them up much of the hill, cheered on by the 39 K club. It was fun having people’s names on their bibs. Then I knew who I was passing and a couple guys I didn’t know read my name and cheered me on. I could also always tell whether the spectators knew me or were reading my name based on their pronunciation of my name:)

Those guys broke away from me on the next couple downhills and then we were on to B Hill. Unfortunately most of the spectators now gravitate towards the much easier hill after Mosquito Brook leaving a lone guy in a priest costume with a drum cracking jokes.

Uff-da, I was getting tired now as the priest said, “I know you guys have paid a whole lot more to hear worse stuff.”

The course rolls to Fish Hatchery. I passed back a couple bonked men. My stomach was queasy so I discarded the gel I grabbed at the Feed Station. Then it was onto the big hill coming out of Fish Hatchery. I wasn’t feeling as strong as I hoped. Prior to the race I imagined myself V-2ing up this hill- but that wasn’t happening. I passed a couple women. I V-2’d part of the hill and tried to not let the men passing me get too far out of sight. But mostly I thought about how easy it was to skate as opposed to stride up the hill. Even when dead tired I can still hold together decent skate form. Not so at all for striding. I mused in the full preview of the 30 lots for sale and this tortuous hill that I enjoyed so much more skating. It appears as though not a single lot has sold. I wasn’t inspired to buy one.

I caught the last guy who passed me on my rocket skis on the next downhill. I took a water bottle at the special feed, then was crossing 77. He pulled ahead of me, and a couple other men passed me. Again, I had envisioned myself with the energy to V-2 up that last big uphill, but was too fatigued. I did V-2 some, wished Ingrid Remak was playing her accordion, and was again so glad to be skating.

Erik hadn’t caught me yet for which I was both glad and worried. It seemed like lots of elite guys had passed me but I really hadn’t been keeping count. I wanted to beat him to the line but I also wanted him to do well.

I tried tucking in behind a guy on the last big downhill. My skis were still running fast and I noted no drag at the dirty snow on the road crossings. Then we emerged onto the lake. This is my favorite part in the classic race because I can just double pole but now I had to skate and again, flat skating terrain isn’t my favorite.

But my skis were fast and I felt surprisingly good. I definitively re-passed #43. Then I passed another woman. Someone tucked in behind me.

“Elspeth, you’re kicking ass,” he said. I didn’t recognize the voice.

“I skied a long ways with Erik. He isn't too far behind me.” OK, so he must not just be reading my name and must actually know me.

Then Phil Rogers pulled around me. He’s such a beast and he told me I was kicking ass! What a compliment!!! In my recollection, he was the last person to pass me.

Phil (in purple) leading Erik before Phil put down the hammer. Photo: Bruce Adelsman

I kept skiing fast, alternating between V-2 and V-2 alternate. As we rounded a slight corner there was Meleah ahead of me and I was gaining on her fast. I caught her, skied behind her a tad, then passed her. There was another woman ahead of me and I kept up the tempo to catch her. Again, my skis didn’t slow at all as I came off the lake. I passed the woman on the outside of the corner heading onto the bridge over hwy 63. From the top of the bridge the finish looks like it’s a long ways away but I just V-2’d strong past that super large high volume crowd. I was tired at the finish but had paced myself well and could still finish strong.

Erik finished a minute after I did and so I won the battle of the sexes on the day. It was mighty convenient to finish at the same time and get our skis together in a bag.

I ended up 42nd woman- well inside the Women’s Skate Elite Wave but as always was hoping for just a bit better. Note, as always, I wanted to do better. Why can’t I just be happy?

I was really stoked about my overall place though- 337! That means I beat a lot of men (shhh, don’t tell them, some don’t like to hear that:) Well into the top 10% overall but I do feel like I cheated a bit getting the best snow conditions of the day. It does make a huge difference- not just in time, but in the enjoyment factor as well.

On the way home on Sunday we skied at the Timberland Trails near Cumberland, WI. They hadn't been groomed in a couple days so we had a slow slog through a few inches of powder but fortunately only encountered this one area of crazy drifted snow. In between the drifts it was down to the corduroy. Gotta keep training now that I'm half way to 100 ski marathons! Photo: Erik

And My Axe Collection is Complete [for now]: Finlandia 2019

Given there’s four different races at the Minnesota Finlandia (50 km skate, 25 km classic, 25 km skate, and 25 km pursuit) and not a lot of female participants each year, I’ve really been able to rack up the prizes, in particular the axes. Indeed, I’ve won the last 6 times I entered meaning I have 6 axes! Erik won his first axe last year so collectively we have 7 axes. One of these axes is significantly less embellished than my others. That one has been banished to the upstairs closet. The other 6 adorn our dining room fireplace.

Heading into the Finlandia I didn’t need another axe. But at the same time I wanted another axe. But not just any axe. I want an axe with a gnome scene on it. Wow, I have become quite an axe snob.

So with this in mind when I went to register for the Finlandia, I thought a bit about which race I might be most likely to win and which race’s axe might have a gnome scene on it. I had intended to do the classic race, but now I was having second thoughts. But all this was stupid. It was impossible to know what the axes looked like and who might be in my race (well, I could defer my registration to the night before and see who was registered for each race and go from there but I still probably wouldn’t see the axes ahead of time).

All this got me thinking, I don’t need another axe. And last week for Mora I was thinking, I don’t need another Swedish Dala horse. I’m starting to feel bogged down by all my stuff. Why do we need these prizes? Why can’t we just go out and race and not get anything for it?

Most, but not all of my Dala horse collection.

I signed up for the 25 km classic, as I have my last 4 times.

In terms of waxing/ski preparation I’ve had a couple firsts this year. The first “first” was at the City of Lakes Loppet when I actually brought warm-up skis to preserve the life of my fluor topcoat on my racing skis. The second “first” was intentionally not waxing my skis before a major race. Finn Sisu waxed my classic skis for Mora and since conditions were about the same for the Finlandia, I opted to just brush my skis and hope whatever worked at Mora would work for Finlandia, nevermind that they had been skied on for 42 kilometers in between. I figured I couldn’t do a better job than what Finn Sisu did.

The Finlandia is my hometown race. We stay with my mom every year and are greeted by my brother and his girlfriend who handle registration (my brother is also on the board). I know everyone on the board and all the local skiers. It’s a family party every year and throughout the years my mom has hosted a lot of Finlandia skiers. The night before the race we had a pretty epic dance party with my 18 month old niece.

My bro and his daughter (my niece) after the race. I love her hot pink Carhart jacket:) Photo: Dave Harrington

I took a peek at the registration list at packet pick-up. There were some fast ladies in my race- Kerrie Berg and Molly Watkins. Hmmmm...I wasn’t about to give up in the race but an axe seemed pretty unlikely.

Other than eating a bit too much for breakfast, I felt good when I arrived at the Finlandia start. I tested out my skis which seemed to have good kick with SWIX VR40 even though it was barely zero degrees at the start. I wore the same layers I had for Mora given temperatures were similar; except I used my lobsters this time for handgear. I warmed up a bit and then got in the starting line.

I noted the other women in my race- the aforementioned Kerrie Berg and Molly Watkins. Allie Rykken was also there! I lined up in the 2nd row, behind my bro. Erik was next to Leif and Bjorn Adelsman next to me. We were in the midst of a conversation when the air horn went off and the race started. Molly just took off in her old bumblebee U of M suit. At least she was easy to spot:) I skied alongside Allie and then Kerrie came by me. I tried to not let Kerrie get away (Molly was already well away) and tucked in behind Kerrie.

The classic and pursuit line-up. I think my bro and Erik were turned around like this when the air horn went off since there wasn't any count down. Photo: Dave Harrington

The first hill is a steep downhill ski run and I herringbone ran behind Kerrie up that hill. The course then levels off a bit but still climbs up an easier green downhill run. Somehow I managed to stay behind Kerrie, actually striding. In hindsight, I’m super proud of myself to have strided up that part of the hill because striding is not my strong suit. Once we got up the hill I wasn’t completely spent either. Kerrie took off with her strong double pole. A few other guys were pulling away from me, too, but I kept going and after going around a field and down a big hill, I was reeling in the guys.

As we gradually climbed to the eastern section of the course, I passed an NDSU guy in the pursuit race and then Bjorn. Now I was skiing in a pack with a guy in a blue suit and Chris Broderson. I kinda wanted to pass both of them but it was also nice to settle into a pack that I had no trouble keeping up with. I tried to work on my striding. My kick was excellent. A few times I either tried to pass Chris and the blue suit, or Chris tried to pass the blue suit, but we were unsuccessful. It was slow outside the tracks and it seemed like he sped up every time we tried to pass him.

Somehow I got past Chris and then I was skiing behind blue suit. We seemed to have gapped Chris and Allie. We were in a mostly flat section with small hills. We were going a decent pace on the uphills but we were going really slow on the flats. I was able to readjust my pole strap on the flats and not lose ground. I worried Chris and Allie would catch up with me. The NDSU pursuit guy caught up with us. I tried to pass blue suit on an uphill outside the tracks but got quite tired doing so. Finally, there was a long, just fast enough to tuck downhill. The NDSU guy and I got in the tracks and passed blue suit who was outside the tracks.

I skied fast and hard for a bit to drop blue suit. The NDSU guy stopped at the water stop and I skied on by myself for awhile. The NDSU guy caught up to me just as we headed onto the “island” but then I think he fell over on a herringbone hill as I got some time on him. The lead skate pack (they started 15 minutes after the classic) passed me on the backside of the downhill area (the tracks were clearly faster) and then Bjorn made a comeback and passed me back up. I was able to hold off the NDSU guy though. There’s a couple steep hills toward the end of the east side- I herringbone walked them as fast as I could, not able to muster the energy to run up them.

The NDSU guy behind me followed by Bjorn making his comeback (note, Bjorn is wearing a blue suit but is not "blue suit." The lead skate pack is coming up on us as we made our way up a hill on the east side of Buena Vista. Photo: Monty Draper

Then we were through the tunnel and onto the west side. Bjorn was getting away, but not so far away that I couldn’t see his beautiful striding technique which I tried to mimic. I kept skiing hard, now quite sure I had a sufficient gap on Chris and Allie. The west side snakes back and forth and so I frequently saw skiers both ahead and behind me.

Soon I was through the west side aid station and heading out onto what is called “Cann’s Loop.” Now there were only 5 km left. I kept trying to push the pace but walked up “The Wall” which is a steep hill deserving of its name. The hill coming off The Wall is a screamer and almost gets me every year. Then there’s a couple rolling hills before we circle back and climb a hill adjacent to the wall. Brett Arenz passed me skating and as I started up the hill I could hear another skater coming up behind me. This got me to break into a herringbone run. I climbed the hill, rounded a corner and could still see Bjorn ahead of me. I set my sites on chasing him down.

We went down and up and then there’s a straight section heading south. Bjorn appeared to be fading and this gave me more motivation. On the uphills I did as much striding as I could but sometimes got out of the tracks to herringbone. Then I was past the aid station again and heading to the finish with less than 2 km to go. I was gaining fast on Bjorn but he was holding his own. Finally, on the last uphill, I passed him. Then it was through the tunnel, down a small hill, and a long straightaway to the finish. Bjorn rallied and double poled away from me. Bjorn finished one place in front of me last year and again this year, but we were 10 minutes slower this year owing to some slow snow conditions.

Kerrie leading Molly in the bumblebee suit. Photo: Monty Draper

I ended up in third and so won the wild rice! My pantry supply has long been depleted so I’m looking forward to making some wild rice soup. Perishable prizes are always good (literally and figuratively). Overall I was happy with my race. And for this year at least we can keep our current fireplace axe feng-shui. The other two ladies were five plus minutes in front of me and I don’t think I had that in me. I always wonder if it’s more of a mental block rather than physical block keeping me from staying up with the fast women but when Molly took off at the start I couldn’t go any faster and same thing when Kerrie Berg got away.

A not very good podium photo w/ Kerrie (middle in first), Molly (left in second), and me in third. Photo: Dave Harrington

Our axe feng-shui (uh, just look past all the other clutter:)

Of note, not a single axe had a gnome scene:) The women’s axes all had flower patterns (although there were some new chic flower patterns this year) and two of the men’s axes had scenes. One was a brown bear scene but the other were a couple fighting moose:( I didn’t like that axe.

Not at all sad to have missed winning this axe- it went to a men's winner

On the way home we decided to ski at Lake Maria State Park. Similar to my previous experiences skiing at other Minnesota State Parks, while these double tracked classic trails stir up connotations of granny skiing, these trails are only appropriate if your granny has a Zach Handler affinity for tricky downhills. Fortunately, the snow was plentiful at Lake Maria State Park but I did my most snowplowing of the season and these hills were labeled “Intermediate,” not “Expert.” I know I’m not the best downhiller, but even Erik had to do some snowplowing! Yes, I saw him snowplowing:)

A common Zach Handler trail report.

The Bubble: Mora Vasaloppet 2019

A couple days before Mora I got to thinking about the racing experience: a discrete period of time in which I’m unplugged from the reality of life. While racing I turn off my phone. I won’t respond to any texts, emails, or calls. I won’t have real conversations with anyone or stop and rest. I can’t google whatever I want. In fact, I won’t be thinking much about anything to google. I’ll be focused on skiing hard, racing my competitors, and staying on my feet. I’ll interact a bit with the other racers, volunteers, spectators, and Bruce taking photos, but for the most part, I’ll be alone inside my head. For a couple hours I’ll be a little bubble weaving around some lakes, woods, and fields in a little section of land in central Minnesota, completely oblivious to the outside world.

Once again this year I registered for the classic race. While my training wasn’t bad, I wished to have a bit more time on snow and feel more prepared- not unlike any other year. I didn’t dwell too much about the race in the couple days before, but was a bit worried when I tweaked one of my ab muscles shoveling the day before now that winter has finally arrived.

With the cold weather predictions of most of the race hovering around zero, I decided to wear two layers of long underwear/spandex under my racing suit. I had all this on, plus my warm-ups and a down jacket when I went to warm-up. Needless to say, I got toasty before the start. This kept me warm in the port-a-potty line and right up until the start. I had put my skis down in the second row and after taking off my warm-ups only made it back there with three minutes to spare. This also helped keep me warm. I never felt cold out there as I’ve finally learned to do two layers under my racing suit at these temps.

In the starting line I looked around for all the other yellow bibs indicating my fellow female racers. Mora has always done this one right- and continues to do so- making the women easily identifiable. The gun went off immediately after the National Anthem was complete without a countdown which seems to happen every year so we were all ready. The start didn’t seem as fast as previous years and I tried to keep Josie in my sights as I skied around a couple other women.

My bro (in the green flying fungi suit in the middle and me, second women's bib to his right) at the start. Photo: Bruce

Trying to keep Josie (far left in the Fast Wax suit) in my site (I'm in the women's bib behind my buddy Dave in the red Finlandia hat). I'm still holding hope that one day I can ski with Josie! Photo: Bruce

On Mora Lake the pace still seemed fairly frantic to me. I passed one woman but then was skiing alongside Kerrie Berg. I thought it was faster outside the tracks but everyone seemed to be skiing in the tracks. I mostly skied outside the tracks. I tried to stay with Kerrie and did a good job on the herring-bone hill coming off Mora Lake and was even able to ski side-by-side with her until the Nordic Center when she got away. I noted how strong her double pole was compared to mine. It was similar last year and while I tried to work on this over the summer months I guess it was ineffective.

Kerrie Berg. Photo: Bruce

My pole straps and handwear were driving me crazy. I often have a problem with my bulky mittens and lobsters falling down my hands no matter how hard I cinch my pole straps, especially on my left watch hand. I debated using a light pair of lobsters that usually don't cause me this problem but was like “Elspeth, it’s going to be really cold, you better wear your mittens.” They had worked fine as far as I could remember in the Loppet Classic Team Sprint but ended up being a disaster at Mora. Both of my mittens kept falling down no matter how many times I tightened them. I never held onto my pole grips and instead all the power went through my pole straps. As a result, my hands pained me the entire race and in the days after.

After going by the Nordic Center, I was skiing by myself feeling like the entire classic field was ahead of me. I knew this wasn’t true but I never looked behind me- only ahead. I could finally settle some. In the first winding section, I would look back to see if any yellow bibs were close. A couple skiers passed me and always I waited with baited breath to see if this was a white bib or a yellow bib. Part way through that winding section a yellow bib passed me. She was skiing in the tracks and I out of them. We skied evenly side by side for a couple kilometers, neither of us saying anything to each other, each thinking our own thoughts.

Skiing side by side with 3rd place woman, Rose Doda. Here you can see my mittens that caused me so much trouble. I did give shouts out to Bruce while in my bubble but was too focused to play goofy for the camera like some of my fellow skiers [Devin] Photo: Bruce

I was somewhat hoping to ski the whole race with that girl but once we hit the small hill on the first classic-only section she had a lot better kick than I did and she got away. I saw her on the next lake and she had really made up some ground. And so I skied on alone.

Josie- always smiling- even through her face tape. She's my S-hero and part of my motivation to train so much. Photo: Bruce

As we returned to the loop around the Nordic Center on our first lap I got passed stealthily by Chris Broderson with nary a word. Chris started skiing a couple winters ago when he met my skier friend Emily. The two subsequently got married. He has been training a lot over the past couple years and has been using me as his benchmark to measure his success. He has testosterone on his side and has been rapidly improving. I knew I’d have to watch out for him based on his improvements.

Chris Broderson. He tells me I'm his motivation to train so much:) Photo: Bruce

“Oh no, you’re not going to beat me,” my psyche raged as I tucked in behind him. It was a bit hard to get used to his shorter, albeit powerful and effective, movements. When we got back on Mora Lake he dropped me with his strong double pole even though I tried to follow his tempo. We passed a classic skier, Chris crossed the skate lane to ski in the outside track, and I caught back up with him. I emerged off the lake onto the herring-bone hill just ahead of him and passed another guy. There was another skier I had passed and so kept hearing somebody behind me who I assumed to be Chris (Chris later told me he poled between his legs on that herring-bone hill, fell down, and I was gone, so it must’ve been the other skier I passed who was hot on my tail for awhile).

OK, I really thought I was going to be in a photo with Chris cause Bruce was right there around the time when he passed me- but he just passed me so fast he was already out of the frame! Photo: Bruce

A couple kilometers later I passed my friend Dave and then another classic skier. I was now mixing it up with the skaters, including my buddy Byron who passed me, I passed him back on a steep herring-bone hill, and then he passed me back up and I skied with him until the first classic-only section. That first classic-only section was nice. It included a small to moderate striding hill, a downhill, a corner, and then a fun downhill onto a lake. There weren’t many other skiers around. I also got super turned around on that lake.

Now I could see that I had indeed gapped some time on Chris as well as the fifth place woman. The tracks on the north-south part of the trail were bomber fast compared with everywhere else. I kept trying to push the pace so to not let others catch up with me. I mostly skied out of the tracks but occasionally jumped into the tracks. Often conditions felt slow and my hands hurt but otherwise things weren’t so bad. I tried to keep the work rate high. I finished almost four minutes behind the guy ahead of me.

There weren’t too many people to catch in the last few kilometers. I felt bad lapping some skiers who still had another whole lap to go- it would be a long day for them but perhaps they weren’t so much in the bubble and therefore weren’t pushing the intensity and focus for that long.

Finishing with my ice beard. Photo: Bruce

I ended up 4th female (of 47 finishers) for the third year in a row:) I still won my age class and ended 33rd of 187 finishers (there were quite a number of DNFers in all the races who called it quits after one lap).

My bro had a good day, too! He finished 13th in the classic and got his first horse.

My bro back on form. Photo: Bruce

It’s always fun to burst the bubble at the end of the race and talk with everyone about how their race went. We often have similar experiences.

Bubble bursting talk with Josh Doebbert (on the right) where we both agreed it was faster outside the tracks. Photo: Bruce

The last few years my back (my lower paraspinal muscles) have been super sore after double poling so much. This year I tried to do more double pole intervals leading up to the race. While my back was still sore this year, it was much less than in previous years. My right lower triceps was bothering me more though instead. It’s too much force on the body to come away unscathed:)

I was sad my bro couldn't stay for awards to share the podium with me. I guess that's what happens when you have an 18 month old. He missed the memo that at the Mora Vasaloppet the horse winners usually bring their kids onstage rather than their skis:) Maybe next year. Photo: Erik

Loppet 2019 Recap

Classic Team Sprints

Temps warmed to a balmy couple degrees below zero for Thursday’s sprints. It still felt cold, especially because it was dark. The initial details of the event were a bit vague other than mentioning ABAB format of 1 km with an $800 purse but finally a few hours before the race it was posted that there would only be one heat for each category (ie. each age group and sex).

I had intended to arrive at Wirth a bit early to catch some skiing on natural snow in the waning daylight and to get in a good warm-up on the course even though our official start time wasn’t until 6:45 pm. My plans were foiled when my car wouldn’t start. I eventually made it to Wirth but had trouble finding a parking spot in the old chalet lot. The lot was crazy and people were parked haphazardly everywhere so I followed suit. By now it was dark but I still had plenty of time before my race.

I began my warmup at 6 pm. It quickly became apparent that the races were behind schedule (juniors went first) and so I skied for nearly an hour back and forth over the new bridge by the Trailhead and then ran and jumped for 10 minutes prior to the race.

I raced with my Vakava teammate Kathleen and was our A skier. We lined up and were given directions and then I don’t even remember much of a “Ready, set, go.” Instead the starter just said “Start.” It was a classic sprint but they started us in the exchange zone so there weren’t any tracks. The snow was slow as it was new and had been cold and in addition there was freshly falling snow. I planned to stride off the line which is what just about all the other women did but my pole got stepped on and just like that everyone got away.

I think I was the last one trailing into the first corner. I changed tracks twice on my way up to Coach’s Corner and managed to pass 2 women and make ground on a couple others. Mind you, these were not pretty lane changes and I didn’t do much pretty striding- the snow was too slow for much glide. I felt way behind coming into the first exchange.

The air was cold and despite what I thought was a decent warm-up I was not prepared for that intensity in the cold! It took me much of Kathleen’s lap to recover.

I was stoked when Kathleen came back into the exchange zone in 3rd place!!!

She gave me a super nice push but I was striding because the snow was so slow I couldn’t use it too much. I was by myself on that second lap. I did notice I was able to double pole farther up the hill to Coach’s Corner on my second lap. I skied as fast as I could and had good energy and was able to maintain our 3rd place.

After I put my warm-ups back on, I headed to the finish to cheer in Kathleen. She brought us into second! We were a long way off first, but those girls are pros so not really in our league anyway.

And that $800 purse was for real. In addition to getting another earring holder, we got a big check (OK, literally the check was big in size, not monetary value). Since I’ve made a whopping $50 in prize money at ski racing (and incurred infinitely more times that in expenses) in the past 12 years since I graduated college, I don’t think I’ll be quitting my day job anytime soon:)

Kathleen and I with our big check! Photo: Spencer Davis

Sunday’s Long Skate

And we’re swinging!

That’s the term I came up with a couple years ago when looking at NOAA’s hourly weather graph when the high fluctuates by more than 30 degrees within a couple of days.

What I mean here is going from a predicted high of -4 ℉ on Thursday to 36 ℉ by Saturday.

OK, I failed to screen shot the 48 hour swing but here's a much more minor swing of almost 30 degrees between the day's low and high.

The trail reports from the Loppet were promising for a point-to-point race on Sunday but I remained skeptical knowing that we didn’t have a ton of snow and we were about to swing to highs in the upper 30’s.

Late afternoon on Friday we skied at Hiawatha Golf Course. I made the mistake of using my B skis when rock skis were clearly in order. Hmmmm, “I wonder if all those Loppet shoveling parties have worked miracles?”

The Loppet officially recommended B skis for Saturday’s classic race.

Typically I wax my skis two days before a race so I can do more resting the day before. Given the trail reports were in flux and I was holding out for the course to be switched to the man-made loop at Wirth (where I could just use my good skis and focus on skiing hard and fast- not grass and rock dodging), I waited to wax my skis. Finally on Saturday morning I put a layer of high fluoro wax on both my A and B skis.

On Saturday we headed to Wirth for the Orienteering race. Erik raced and I volunteered. Afterwards I classic skied for a bit on the Front 9 and then over to JD Gardens, on Wirth Lake, and Jar Hill. Conditions on Wirth Lake were good but everywhere else snow coverage was really thin with frequent bare spots. I used my B classic skis which were fine for going slow and picking my way through things, but I would have wanted to race on my rocks skis.

Erik in the Ski-Orienteering race. But wait,  you can't see him in that camouflage suit! Photo: MNOC

As trail reports on Saturday continued to propose a point-to-point course for Sunday, I was frustrated. I knew the conditions would be less than ideal and wanted to use my rock skis. But my rock skis really suck- the bases are falling off, they are way too soft, etc. So I knew if I wanted to actually race, I would have to use my B skis. I also had a thought of running the course carrying my boots and skis:)

Anyone who remembers back to the 2005 Loppet probably wasn’t too surprised to wake up Sunday morning and learn all the events had been moved to Wirth:):):) I was relieved to learn we’d just be skiing man-made. It did mean that I had to wax up my good skis so used that hour start delay to do so. I put on another high fluor layer and then should note that Erik is our “top coat guy.” He does the rilling (which I’m glad we did for the race) and pure fluoros.

My "top coat guy" (left) skiing with our college friend Travis. Photo: Bruce Adelsman

I saw the man-made course had been changed a bit and got to the start in time to ski the new course. Some parts were freshly groomed and just about perfect (although with all the skiers things would get soft) and a few places hadn’t been groomed recently and were rock solid. The Drevil’s Drop hill was a bit slow. If conditions are really fast I don’t tuck on that hill but it was a slow day so I noted to tuck in the race. I was a bit disappointed to learn we would only be skiing 3 laps for a distance around 20 km. It would make for a short race and not ideal training for the Birkie.

There were a lot of skiers in the Best of the Loppet Wave and things were quite congested at the start. I was glad to see there were many women around my speed and that I would probably have company for the race, unlike last year. We started and those of us in the back had an extra long double pole and things didn’t really get settled until we got around the Twin Lakes Loop and started climbing to Coach’s Corner. Everyone was considerate though and nobody stepped on my poles or skis.

The Best of the Loppet Wave starting. I was way in the back. Photo: Bruce Adelsman

On that hill to Coach’s Corner I found my pack of Stephani Johnson and Nicole Harvey. We skied mostly together for the remainder of the short race. My skis were pretty fast thanks to my top coat guy:) Maybe not the fastest, but I definitely passed some people with slower skis. The whole race went by super fast. I wasn’t sprinting but felt like I was skiing my 5 km pace the whole time. My strength is distance and I just kinda have one speed. I never felt relaxed but for the most part could think about my technique. At one point on some of the V-1 hills (yeah, OK, you fast people out there might say there aren’t any V-1 hills:) I had to remind myself to glide longer on my poling ski. There’s just so many fun transitions on the course that I never really thought about being tired or that I was breathing too hard.

Skiing the hill coming off the Twin Lakes Loop. Man, I think my downhill skills are relatively good but I don't look like it in this photo. Makes me realize I need to be even more aggressive on the downhills! Photo: Bruce Adelsman

By the start of the third lap we were lapping some skiers. They mostly skied on one side of the trail and passing was never difficult. It never felt congested and the course held up well. I did feel a bit bad passing some of these skier who still had 1.5 laps left when I only had 0.5 but I tried to cheer them on whenever I wasn’t too out of breath from going uphill.

Putting in a couple V-1's over the bridge by the Trailhead. I was doing a lot of V-2 out there and should've V-2'd this bump as you can see Stephani doing behind me. Photo: Bruce Adelsman

Overall I felt strong and did good on the downhills- all except the new left hander heading to the new bridge by the Trailhead. That hill was hard packed and almost every time down I curbed way too much speed snowplowing down the first part of the hill (I stepped turned by the bottom every time). I guess it’s good to have something to improve on:)

Well, at least I wasn't the only one snowplowing this downhill. Note, I'm not actually in this photo by Bruce Adelsman.

I didn’t have an extraordinary race but wasn’t expecting that. I finished about where I lined up in the start area. It was fun to have some other women around me and not feel like I was last. Now I’m looking forward to some longer races.

Thanks to everyone who came out to cheer!