Well I have to say its been nice to be home, in one place, for the past couple weeks. Days have been filled with training, resting, a little work and of course some play.
After recharging in one place for a while, my schedule for the second half of the season is slowly coming together. I am looking forward to the Boulder Mountain Tour, which takes place right here in Sun Valley next weekend! The Tour is in its 36th year and this race is just as big of a deal as the American Birkebiner…well, at least for those that live here. It is a 32k skate race that begins at Galena Lodge and takes you down the Harriman Trail, through the Boulder Mountains and ends at the SNRA. While the total elevation is a net loss, it is a tough race with very little rest and recovery.
After the Boulder I will travel to Aspen, Colorado to take up a couple Super Tour races, a 5k classic and a 21k skate. The 21k Owl Creek Chase is on the opposite side of the spectrum compared to the Boulder. Instead of a net loss in elevation there is a huge net gain, bringing you all the way up to over 9,000 ft. whoa! Gotta get pumped for that one.
The following week will bring me to the Midwest where I will race another weekend of Super Tour races in Madison, Wisconsin. These races are fun and unique because they take place in the middle of downtown, around the capitol square. I will race a classic sprint and a 7.5k skate criterium, which will be a new racing format for me.
And then…its the BIRKE!!! Yep, already getting the Birke fever! This 52k race from Telemark to Hayward, Wisconsin is America’s largest cross-country ski race with over 7,000 racers!!!! It is definitely quite the scene with so many people, but fun to race in such a huge race.
That is the plan through February and then it will be time to recharge again and get ready for U.S. Long-Distance Nationals and the Super Tour Finals which are being hosted right here in Sun Valley the end of March! Lots of excitement for this valley…looking forward to it!
Until next time!
