Gus Kaeding, Maria Stuber, and Bryan Cook post-Birkie (photo courtesy of Maria Balsamo)
My Birkie week started out on Wednesday with Ski and Tea clinic #5. Ski and Tea is a women’s group in Hayward, WI, that meets every Friday to train hard and have fun. This awesome women’s group has partnered up with the CXC Elite Women’s team for a series of clinics. The purpose of the clinics was to have one women’s group helping another women’s group. The CXC Elite women have helped Ski and Tea women to ski more technically sound and confident, while the Ski and Tea women have helped the CXC Elite women fund their skiing careers and make it financially possible for us to follow our dreams. Each of the CXC Elite women has had a chance to lead a technique clinic on either dryland or snow. My clinic took place in September, (you can read about it HERE). My teammate Caitlin Compton was scheduled to host the Ski and Tea clinic last week; however, since she is at the World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic, her teammates were happy to fill in for her. We had a very good turnout for the clinic considering it was on a Wednesday. We had four different stations, one for classic arms and double pole, classic legs, skate arms and downhills, and skate legs. After the stations were complete, we ran a snowball biathlon relay race in honor of Caitlin Compton who competed for the USA Biathlon team last year. The Ski and Tea clinic was a ton of fun and a great way to start out the Birkie week festivities (photos to come).
On Thursday I was scheduled to compete in the Elite Sprints and I had volunteered to help out with the Barnebirkie events. Unfortunately, Bryan was sick and I had an itchy throat and a high morning heart rate so I opted to stay inside all day, avoid the cold, and try to stay healthy. Fortunately, this worked! By Saturday morning the itching had subsided and by some Birkie miracle, I did not catch Bryan’s cold.
Bryan Cook (left) and Matt Liebsch (center) lead out the Men lead pack (AP PHOTO/PAUL M. WALSH)
My first Birkie was incredible. It was everything anyone could ever ask for in their first Birkie experience. I decided before the race that I wanted to race to win….so the plan was to finish with the leaders, OR experience a true Birkie Bonk. I did this very well. The leaders took the race out like a 15K, so I did too. The lead pack broke into just five of us after about 8K. I kept going with them as long as I could…I made it a little ways past the high point, and then I started feeling bad. I tried to get some honey stinger, and they were all frozen and so was my water bottle, so I did not eat or drink much (exactly what everyone I talked to told me not to do). Then I started to go slower and slower. I fell off the back and skied by myself for a long time, and the elite wave men that I had passed started passing me back. Finally, women started catching me. I stayed on the first pack of women that caught me for about 3 K which happened to be Evelyn Dong, Kristina Trygstad-Saari and Kristina Owen. Soon, Trygstad made a move and I had to drop off. Then I was alone for a while longer and I found myself tucking on some flats. Every time I tried to V1 my legs would kill. I skied with some men on and off, and my high school buddy Chris Martin pulled me for about 10K which was a huge saving grace. Women caught me one by one. It was another Birkie miracle that I stayed in the top 10. I knew the women were coming for me and I was extremely happy to see the finish line. I was moving very slow, but I was fighting, focusing on technique and transitions the whole way. I have a whole new understanding for the Birkie Fever.
Maria Stuber and Kristina Trygstad-Saari South of OO (photo courtesy of SkinnySki)
Gus Kaeding and Bjorn Daehlie's Main Street sprint finish (AP PHOTO/PAUL M. WALSH)
Matt and Grant Liebsch at the finish line (AP PHOTO/PAUL M. WALSH)
It was a little bit different for me to not be on Main Street watching my family and friends finish. I have been to the Birkie every year (except one) since 7th grade and I am usually a spectator or I do the Korteloppet and race to the finish to still catch the leaders. Either way the Birkie is amazing. Mark your calendars for Birkie 2010 (2/27/10).
The Stuber Family post-Birkie