Well, my ski season has officially come to a close with the 2011 American Birkebeiner (aka The Birkie). Some of you may know about this, but my guess is that most of you have no idea what The Birkie is all about.
The Birkie is the LARGEST cross-country ski race in North America. This year there were over 8000 participants in the three different races: Prince Hakkon which is 12K, Korteloppet which is 23K and the Birkie which is 50K. This race draws people from all over including European countries. There are also several other events that are happening during the week leading up to the races, but last Saturday was race day.
The Birkie course has been described by many as the Autobahn of ski courses. It is quite wide and fast in good conditions. There is quite a bit of climbing with a total of about 2600 feet of climbing over the 31 miles. The first 5K is fairly flat but then the hills come fast and furious. There are several significant climbs on the course, with 4 of them happening from 10K to go to 3K to go. The last 3K are then skied across Lake Hayward with the finish being on Main St which is filled with snow and packed.
I went up on Friday with a group of 4 other people, and got to Hayward around 2pm. The temp was a whopping +9F degrees. We got our packets and bibs, I picked up my skis which I had sent up earlier in the week to have a race wax service do for me and then headed over to the Birkie trail for a ski to stretch the legs. We skied from "OO" which is the halfway point for the 50K race. The groomers had not done the final grooming, but we got a good sense that it was not going to be a super fast day due to the coldness and abrasiveness of the snow, but it wasn't going to be a slog either.
Sat morning the alarm went off at 5:30am. I got some food into me for the day and we made our way to the parking lot to board buses to the start line. Logistically the Birkie is a nightmare, but having gone through the routine many times, I knew what to expect. So the 2 mile long line of cars waiting to turn into the parking lot didn't phase me in the least.
We made it to the start area, I made my final "preparations" for the race, and got into the chute and waited for the next 15 minutes until my wave started. Luckily it wasn't windy as the temp at the start was -9F degrees. The plan was for me and one of the guys I came up with to ski together for the first 5-6K easy and then when the hills start begin to ramp the pace up slowly.
The gun went off and my skis felt really fast. I took it easy, but with the speed of my skis, I was able to move around people and make my way forward. Once the hills started it began to thin out and people were now skiing in groups. There was about 10 people I was with and various people would set the pace. I made it over the high point at 13K in good shape and started to push the pace a bit more. On the big hills before "OO" I again pushed the pace and felt really good. I quickly got a gel down and continued working hard. At about 35K I started to fell a bit taxed, so I grabbed another gel. At this time it was pretty frozen, so I had to take a bit, let it melt in my mouth and then finally swallow it. It took me some time to do, but I finally finished it just in time to hit the first of the last four climbs (Mosquito Brook Hill). This is a LONG hill that seems to go on forever especially when you are in a bad spot. I told myself to just keep the people in front in sight and once the gel kicks in I'll be able to catch them. Sure enough once I got over the hill and made my way over the rollers, I was good to go. The second hill (aka Bitch Hill) was next and I didn't have any problems. This is a shorter hill, rises only about 80ft or so in about 1/2K, but is steep and tough. Once over that, again more rollers and onto the next hill. By this time I had pretty much caught everyone I was skiing with earlier except for one guy. On this hill I pushed the pace and ended up catching him at the top. Once over this hill you go through a field, and cross Hwy 77 and start the final climb before you come out to Lake Hayward. The "Hwy 77 Hill" is one of the toughest climbs of the race. It is quite long (1.5K or so) and has a pretty good pitch to it. It also comes at about 45K into the race. I was feeling good and was able to keep a nice tempo up the whole climb. Once to the top it is a quick shot down to Lake Hayward and only about 3K to go. I skied as hard as I could catching and passing groups on the lake as much as possible. Off the lake you get onto Main St. which is just a wall of noise from the fans on both sides of the street (much like a Tour climb). I skied as hard and as fast as I could and I crossed the finish line feeling spent yet happy with my race. My time of 2:55 was not my fastest but my placing in both the overall and age group where good (753 overall and 90 in my age).
The temp at the finish was +5F degrees. There were quite a few people that had issues with frostbite, myself included but only a small area on my cheeks. As I reflect on the race, one of the things that I was really happy with was that I never panicked, never got down, but always kept positive. I think part of that is that I have finally figured out this race as this was my 13th Birkie.
I've already started thinking about 2012 am excited to continue to push myself with this event. The Birkie is like nothing else I have done including bike races, marathons, triathlons, etc. I truly do have "Birkie Fever"!
Thanks for reading,
Jim
The Birkie is the LARGEST cross-country ski race in North America. This year there were over 8000 participants in the three different races: Prince Hakkon which is 12K, Korteloppet which is 23K and the Birkie which is 50K. This race draws people from all over including European countries. There are also several other events that are happening during the week leading up to the races, but last Saturday was race day.
The Birkie course has been described by many as the Autobahn of ski courses. It is quite wide and fast in good conditions. There is quite a bit of climbing with a total of about 2600 feet of climbing over the 31 miles. The first 5K is fairly flat but then the hills come fast and furious. There are several significant climbs on the course, with 4 of them happening from 10K to go to 3K to go. The last 3K are then skied across Lake Hayward with the finish being on Main St which is filled with snow and packed.
I went up on Friday with a group of 4 other people, and got to Hayward around 2pm. The temp was a whopping +9F degrees. We got our packets and bibs, I picked up my skis which I had sent up earlier in the week to have a race wax service do for me and then headed over to the Birkie trail for a ski to stretch the legs. We skied from "OO" which is the halfway point for the 50K race. The groomers had not done the final grooming, but we got a good sense that it was not going to be a super fast day due to the coldness and abrasiveness of the snow, but it wasn't going to be a slog either.
Sat morning the alarm went off at 5:30am. I got some food into me for the day and we made our way to the parking lot to board buses to the start line. Logistically the Birkie is a nightmare, but having gone through the routine many times, I knew what to expect. So the 2 mile long line of cars waiting to turn into the parking lot didn't phase me in the least.
We made it to the start area, I made my final "preparations" for the race, and got into the chute and waited for the next 15 minutes until my wave started. Luckily it wasn't windy as the temp at the start was -9F degrees. The plan was for me and one of the guys I came up with to ski together for the first 5-6K easy and then when the hills start begin to ramp the pace up slowly.
The gun went off and my skis felt really fast. I took it easy, but with the speed of my skis, I was able to move around people and make my way forward. Once the hills started it began to thin out and people were now skiing in groups. There was about 10 people I was with and various people would set the pace. I made it over the high point at 13K in good shape and started to push the pace a bit more. On the big hills before "OO" I again pushed the pace and felt really good. I quickly got a gel down and continued working hard. At about 35K I started to fell a bit taxed, so I grabbed another gel. At this time it was pretty frozen, so I had to take a bit, let it melt in my mouth and then finally swallow it. It took me some time to do, but I finally finished it just in time to hit the first of the last four climbs (Mosquito Brook Hill). This is a LONG hill that seems to go on forever especially when you are in a bad spot. I told myself to just keep the people in front in sight and once the gel kicks in I'll be able to catch them. Sure enough once I got over the hill and made my way over the rollers, I was good to go. The second hill (aka Bitch Hill) was next and I didn't have any problems. This is a shorter hill, rises only about 80ft or so in about 1/2K, but is steep and tough. Once over that, again more rollers and onto the next hill. By this time I had pretty much caught everyone I was skiing with earlier except for one guy. On this hill I pushed the pace and ended up catching him at the top. Once over this hill you go through a field, and cross Hwy 77 and start the final climb before you come out to Lake Hayward. The "Hwy 77 Hill" is one of the toughest climbs of the race. It is quite long (1.5K or so) and has a pretty good pitch to it. It also comes at about 45K into the race. I was feeling good and was able to keep a nice tempo up the whole climb. Once to the top it is a quick shot down to Lake Hayward and only about 3K to go. I skied as hard as I could catching and passing groups on the lake as much as possible. Off the lake you get onto Main St. which is just a wall of noise from the fans on both sides of the street (much like a Tour climb). I skied as hard and as fast as I could and I crossed the finish line feeling spent yet happy with my race. My time of 2:55 was not my fastest but my placing in both the overall and age group where good (753 overall and 90 in my age).
The temp at the finish was +5F degrees. There were quite a few people that had issues with frostbite, myself included but only a small area on my cheeks. As I reflect on the race, one of the things that I was really happy with was that I never panicked, never got down, but always kept positive. I think part of that is that I have finally figured out this race as this was my 13th Birkie.
I've already started thinking about 2012 am excited to continue to push myself with this event. The Birkie is like nothing else I have done including bike races, marathons, triathlons, etc. I truly do have "Birkie Fever"!
Thanks for reading,
Jim
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