The Results

Well, obviously we made it.  Believe me, there is more than on Norsky here!

Knut realized about 4 hours into our drive that he forgot his energy pouches and water bottle and the hip pack he uses to carry extra wax.  So we had to make a stop at a ski shop, which in Birkie land on the day before the Birkie is like going to a jewelry store on Christmas Eve.  He got most of what he needed, but not as nice as the things that were left home.  During the race, however, his new water bottle froze, which his other one wouldn’t have.  I’m sure that carrying around a hunk of ice like that wasn’t fun, but he rationalized with me that it wasn’t any heavier than water!

So, it was a very chilly morning for the race.  Knut’s uncle was nice enough to drop Knut off at the starting line so I got to sleep in for the beginning of the race, and of course, checked out the yarn store here before heading to the finish line.  I cannot help it.

Solveig and I bundled up and it started to lightly snow by the time we got to the finish line.  I was worried that I had already missed him because he didn’t come for awhile, but he wasn’t at our meeting spot.  I couldn’t remember the bib edging color for his wave, but the lady next to me assured me that the wave we were seeing was mostly wave 2, and he was in wave 3.  I knew what he was wearing though, and since he does the classic version of skiing, I knew which lane he would be skiing in downtown. 

After waiting in the cold for about 20 minutes, I saw someone who was wearing the exact racing suit as Knut, and in the right lane, but he was an old man.  It couldn’t be him.  However, as the skier sped 3 feet in front of me as I was standing on the sidelines, my jaw dropped as I realized it was Knut.  So I snapped a picture quick.

Although, I don’t think you can see him in this picture.  He’s way past the finish on the left, but I think I’m the only one who sees him.  He had a navy top and gray pants.

Aaaaaand this is why I thought he was an old man:

He would drink the warm water they give at the checkpoints so fast that they would drip down his goatee and by the time the race was done, it was one big chunk of ice.  It didn’t take long to melt, and he had a couple bowls of soup before we headed out to lunch together.  For those curious, he was wearing his heart rate monitor for the race, and he supposedly burned just under 5000 calories during the race.

He made the 25th percentile this time, which was one goal of his.  He finished in 3 hours and 25 minutes, shaving 30 minutes off of last year’s race.  He was 13th in his age group and 177th overall.  He’s very pleased with his time.  So besides a few blisters and a very sore body, he’s feeling good.  Right now he and Solveig are snuggling on the couch.  She has fallen asleep, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he tipped over any minute now…