Erik Skis the Pepsi Challenge

I started this winter with high hopes of putting in some serious skiing. While that hasn't quite panned out (I'm lucky to get out once a week), I'm not letting it stop me from doing the races I signed up for. Today I skied the classic 26 km Pepsi Challenge in Biwabik, MN. With all the stellar training I put in I knew I was going to be a contender in today's race. After getting winded in my warm up, I staked out a spot in the starting area and enjoyed the warm winter morning, it was 5 degrees above zero.

Rather than give a lengthy race report (see Peter Nelson's blog, Ironman and Beyond for stellar examples of truly in-depth race reports), I decided to include this helpful graph of my race. I thought this might help analyze my performance in order to improve in my next race. In the eating chocolate department and b-s'ing with the aid workers I was unstoppable today. Otherwise I think it's clear I spent far too much time limping, crawling, and walking rather than racing.

In all honesty, even if my legs would not agree, it was some of the most fun I've had skiing. Often times when you're racing you don't even notice the scenery. Not today. It was truly a winter wonderland. Pristine snow covered meadows with a light snow falling and just enough sun to give each snow flake a little sparkle. Truly beautiful. If I can find some pictures I'll post a few.