twenty-three

Well, the race has been run hiked.

It was a beautiful day up at Mt. Baker this Sunday for the Ski to Sea race. I arrived at 7:45am with two of my team mates to get ready, find the start line, and slowly move towards a frenzied state of nausea as my leg approached. For the first time in about 3 years, I was going to be skiing. Raised on skis as a kid up a Stevens Pass, it is second nature, but I was still pretty nervous and rusty.

We were joined by a bunch of INN friends and students up at the mountain, comprising at least 4 different teams. It was really fun to keep bumping into people I knew, from at Western, from church, from around Bellingham. Like I said before, the community connections this event creates are amazing.

As for my performance, it was pretty tough. The first time I did the downhill skiing leg, 6 years ago, the weather was pretty nasty, with clouds and a little wind. Sunday, on the other hand, was gorgeous. It was warm climbing up (I got a bit sun burned) and the view from the top of the mountain was beautiful. I pushed myself pretty hard this time, knowing a bit more of what to expect from the steep hill climb. I felt pretty good upon finish, knowing I'd worked hard, but also knowing that physically, I could have been more prepared. The steep snow climb (which makes up most of the "downhill" skiing leg) definitely requires some different muscle use than my normal running routine exercises, so I was pretty worn out by the end. I finished in 0:35:55, about 3.5 minutes slower than my first time. Nothing to get too excited about, but I'm proud that I finished strong nonetheless.

The rest of the day was a bunch of hurry up and wait. Waiting in the car to get down the mountain. Waiting in traffic to pick up our biker. Waiting at the finish line for our team to come through. It was fun to hang out with friends, compare stories from the other legs of the race, and just enjoy the beautiful weather. The rest of my team did awesome. Everyone pushed themselves and had a blast, so for me, that's pretty good.

Here's a picture of the happy skier! I'm already pumped for next year!

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