Birkie Fever Lives On

Yeehaw! Another Birkie done and dusted! 

While I am still quite far away from the minimum required for the Spirit of 35 wave (44 birkies!), I am starting to make some progress. This year marked my 5th Birkie, and it was one to remember. 

I love traveling to the Birkie and seeing all of the birkie bags and hats making their way through the airport. Every leg of my travel day, which was unfortunately quite long with delays, I saw somebody I knew, either an old teammate, coach, or distant friend, and even the people I didn’t know had that shared connection of heading to the same place with the same purpose. When I finally made it to Hayward, I met up with my friend and fellow GRP teammate Michaela, who I would be staying with for the weekend. It was so lovely to catch up and to have a good friend to prepare for the race with. 

Michaela and I at the finish line! 

The Race: 

The Birkie field usually stays together until about OO, where the surge for the last preem breaks up the group. This year however, the track was so fast and the draft so helpful, that we maintained a large group of about 20 women much farther into the race. 

Conditions were shaping up to be fast, but I didn’t realize just how fast until we started racing. My race goal was basically the same as the BMT, to draft as much as possible but still be near the front so I could react to any breakaway moves. I took a few turns at the front, but honestly, I did not feel sparky enough to actually push the pace. My body just felt a bit flat, likely fatigue and the overall lack of speed/L4 skiing in my training plan, so drafting was the perfect strategy for me.    

photos courtesy of American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation and Skinny Ski 

The race was relatively uneventful, and the group worked well together, with lots of skiers taking turns at the front, and everyone being self aware and careful when the draft accordioned the pack or made downhill corners crowded. The real break didn’t happen until around 15k to go, when stragglers started dropping off one by one. By 10k, the group was around 13 people, and by the 77 bridge crossing, it was a breakaway group of five, and my group, the chasing pack of four.  

I was in a chasing group of 4 women crossing the lake, and we were digging deep to reel in the breakaway leaders. We had almost reeled them back in, when they realized we were gaining on them and put in a big surge to stay away to the finish. The biggest concern in my mind going into the race was the lake, for two reasons: 

(1)The lake is always so dang hard. After racing nearly 50k on firm, fast trails, the snow often is completely different (and slower) on the lake, not to mention being completely exposed to the headwind. At that point, any increase in difficulty can be brutal. In my mind, I was prepared to dig as deep as I could to keep myself in a good position before charging down main street.   

(2) This year, with warm temperatures and rain in the days before, a narrow ribbon of snow, in some places only wide enough for one skier, had been piled up to cover the ice. If you ventured off that ribbon, you would need ice skates, not skate skis, to make any forward progress. Most years, the elite men catch and pass the elite women somewhere on the lake. This would have been an absolute disaster, as it was impossible to pass except in a few places, and at that point in the race, the finish line fever was blinding for both groups. Thankfully, because of the ripping fast conditions, the top 9 women all completed the race in a blazing 2:08 [Alaynna at 2:08:09, and me (9th) at 2:08:41] and the top 15+ women finished long before the elite men, thus avoiding almost certain chaos. 

Charging down Main Street! 

Although I finished last out of the chase group - my sprinting prowess still to be realized - I was so happy with how the chase group worked together to try and catch the breakaway. It can be easy to have an everyone for themselves attitude towards the end, especially on the lake where leading is exhausting. So, shoutout to Erin, Renae, and Annie for making those last k’s both incredibly hard but also satisfying. And of course, a huge thank you to Peter Holmes with SVSEF for fast skis! 

The Brief Debrief: 

As with all my races, I have both performance and process goals. These were my performance goals this year going into the race: 

Reach Goal/Estatic - Top 3 

Very Happy - Top 6 

Happy/Satisfied - Top 10. 

While I mostly stick to process goals, I do set performance goals for races like the BMT and the Birkie, where I have a general idea of where I might place compared to the field. My thought is that if I execute my process goals before and during the race, and barring any unforeseen mishaps, the range of performance goals are entirely possible. I set them as a range and attach positivity to each so that, as in this race, even if I was really close to being top 6, 9th still feels good to me and is something I can be proud of.  

The Birkie continues to be such a special race. There is no feeling quite like Birkie fever, and skiing down main street to the roar of the crowd never disappoints. This year, I really enjoyed skiing in the pack, and I felt more prepared for that type of racing after similar conditions in the BMT. I never know what the next season of racing will bring for me, but I always hope that it includes racing the Birkie! 

Michaela, Annie, and I enjoying post race spectating.                

Up next for me are a few marathons in Europe! And then I will be heading to Italy to cheer on Jake Addicoff at the Paralympics, and hopefully watch a few other events as well. I always feel so lucky to finish off my season with a race block in Europe, and I’m hoping that there is good snow, sunshine and plenty of cappuccinos in my future! 

February 28th | Geiser Tal Lauf Classic 40k 

March 1st | Geiser Tal Lauf Skate 40k 

March 8th | Engadin Ski Marathon 42k