Halftime Show
Yep, you guessed it. Where else could I be found on a Sunday afternoon than in front of a flat screen TV watching the 2015 NFL playoffs? Sometimes a guy’s just gotta get on board if he’s staring down the barrel of a 25 year career where things like football, guns, strange calls, puke, poop, hunting, fishing, more hunting, more guns, and what’s for dinner are the main topics of conversation during a 24 hour shift. I’m five plus years into the firefighting thing and so far I’ve managed to find an appreciation for a sport that used to leave a sour taste in my mouth (long story there- but while at MSU our Cycling Team received a whopping $500 stipend from the University while the Cat football team had endless resources, free school, and apparently cocaine supplied by the assistant coach). Haven’t quite managed to fall in love with guns and hunting yet though… perhaps a little outside the “vegan lifestyle” (though I admit to tasty Ceres Bakery treats and venison hunted by friends). Not to dwell on the football thing, but as a fellow athlete, I’ve actually found myself blown away by the talent and athleticism pro footballers have. Though I’m not quite sure it merits million dollar contracts. But then again I’m 5’10” and a buck fourty-five so I never really had the opportunity to make a go at that sport. And obviously if on a casual Sunday on shift we are able to catch a few minutes of the game between calls, I’m still supplementing the entertainment NFL provides with writing a blog. Though you the reader may be the one paying the price for that, sorry.
Changing gears…
(she won me a growler!)
Last weekend was the official kick-off (notice the football pun) to the 2015 Skimo season in Wyoming at the Wyoming Rando Roundup. Jen and I had a funtastic weekend skiing a little Teton Pass backcountry with our good friends Alan and Lizzy, then racing at all three ski areas in the region. Saturday morning was the Targhee Classic where we had the pleasure of hitting all the high points of Targhee (Mary’s Nipple, Peaked, and Fred’s) with 5000′ of climbing and a copious amount of incredibly loud powder (a.k.a. hockey ice on a slope). Saturday night after just enough time to drive over the pass, eat two lunches, and put on wet icky spandex and boots we sauntered over to Snow King for the Sprint race under the lights. This was some serious fun, and pain. We each had the blessing of starting off with a time trial, which was around 8 minutes or so, and then the top 12 had an all out battle slapping skis and poles and blowing bindings to try and beat each other to the top of the short skin/boot/skin climb to the harry rutted gate bashing slalom to skate back up hill for the finish.
(Pardon the blur, it’s not the camerawoman, it was just that we were that fast…)
Even though I was reluctant to do the sprint as it was cold and I really wanted to rest up for the big day at Jackson, it was probably the funnest race of the weekend. Turns out I did all right too. Sunday we woke with aches, groans, and moans, but at least the skin suit was dry! Alan, Lizzy, Jen and I all rolled out to Jackson Mountain Village for the big daddy of them all. Eight thousand feet of climbing, topping out at over 10,450′, and over 70 of the most legit Skimo racers in the U.S. helped me to ready myself to not battle the racers out there, but just win the internal battle. My goal was to start off steady and hope to gain ground and strength as the race went on. The whole weekend was really just about finding acceptance that I hadn’t been able to train like I wanted, I hadn’t raced yet, and it’d been a few years since I was up against the big boys of Utah and Colorado. I found solace in convincing myself that it isn’t about the result, and to be proud of a performance that I was capable of, not what others were. Fortunately, it worked out! I started up the first major climb at a relatively comfortable pace, staring hundreds of yards up the slope at some thirty racers in front of me. 
At one point I heard some ridiculously fast steps right next to me and some very fast breathing. I looked over to find Stevie Kremer, likely the top female Skimo racer in the states charging along next to me keeping me honest. I gladly let her jump in front for a bit while I fueled up on a nice morsel of humble pie. Once we got through the first big climb, I really began enjoying myself and focusing on my presence in the moment. Challenging steep skiing, lots of transitions, fun and sporty boot packing, and really difficult skin tracks helped me to chomp my way through the field and make up for what my parents DNA did not gift me with. By lowering my expectations and focusing on my own inner race, I feel like I really was able to squeeze the best performance out of my body while enjoying the process all the while. Battling times of cramping, times of wanting to be a little lazy, focusing incredibly hard on the simple task of “boots, bindings, skins” fueling and pacing became my whole world for almost three hours. And the best part was that a bunch of friends, acquaintances and my wife were all going through a similar experience at the same time. I bombed down the final run grabbing a few more places thanks to some slightly risky descending and transitioned to getting ready for the final stage of the Wyo Roundup… a 9 hour drive home so I could go on a 48 hour shift Monday morning. It was a bummer to miss the after party as that’s when the real camaraderie is made, but I needed rest before this big week. Nonetheless it was a fantastic weekend, great skiing, great racing, and sharing it all with really great people. I even surpassed my hopes and ended up 11th in the overall results.
This dreamy weekend getaway turned into an epic week of being a big kid with multiple auto bills, snaking the main sewer drain of the house, oh wait, that was last week, working with Ridge Academy and meeting the awesome new student athletes for the semester, setting course for the Whiteout, racing the Whiteout, and 96 hours of work at the ol’ firehouse. Yeah, the saying you gotta pay to play rang loud and clear this week and I’m thankful for a great job, great coworkers, and a super supportive and understanding girlfriend-wife.
I’ll leave you with a few photos from setting course for the Whiteout and some race shots from local photo stud Pete Suidara. Big thanks to all the support and cheers from local friends yelling at me to go faster, Billy O’Donnell and the Ridge Academy, Josh Knight and Whitefish Mountain Resort, Dynafit, and CAMP-USA for making the pain as enjoyable as it can be.
Oh… and in case you wondered what Vegans make for Football Munchies… who knew Bac O’s were vegan???
Oh… and a final thing I wanted to share from the week. Brandon French, who we all know is superhuman, gladly came and picked up my new Dynafit race gear hooked up through Ridge and mounted it to perfection for me and returned it with a smile. We all know Brandon would love to be back out there smashing us into the powder showing us how to really go up hill, and we all hope that day comes soon. But it really touched me that he helped enable a friend to pursue that passion with a big heart and a big smile even though it was probably a hard lump of cheese to swallow. So thanks B, I love ya!
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