Race Day

I'm finally getting around to catching up on some of the posts I wanted to write while I was waiting for my AC adapter. By the way, I should share here how much I've been enjoying blogging lately. I am totally not the scrapbooking type (nothing against the scrapbooking type), nor do I journal or keep baby books - so this has been a great way for me to chronicle our day to day life. I'm totally thinking about putting it into book form as I've seen other bloggers do. I think it's such a great idea and a really convenient way for me to get all my pictures off my computer and onto paper.

Anyhow, moving on...

I have gone up to the mountain with Justin on race day for 4 years now. I think he has been in the race a total of 5 or 6 times but did other legs of it. This year we got up at 4:30 in the morning, I made some quick breakfast burritos and got dressed. Justin poured us up some big old travel mugs full of coffee and then we got the kids up, left them in their pajamas and headed up to the mountain. The kids slept part of the way up so they were a little more rested by the time the race started at 8:30.

This year we had a beautiful race day - sunny and clear. Aside from the very first ski year, we generally get rainy and cloudy. Last year my little brother came up with us to help with the kids but it was so rainy and miserable that we had to stay in the lodge the whole time. This year I actually had to start un-layering the kids it was getting so warm.

The Ski to Sea race includes 7 different legs performed by 8 team members. The race starts at Mt. Baker with a cross country ski leg. The CC skier then passes off to the downhill skier who climbs a thousand foot vertical ridge for about 25 minutes and skis down for a grand total of 5 minutes. The skier then hands off to the runner who runs down the mountain. He/she passes off to a road biker who passes off to two canoers (canoists?). They then pass off to a mountain biker who passes off to a kayaker who finally ends the race in Bellingham Bay. It's great fun and a huge Whatcom County tradition - 400 teams race (Justin's team came in 37th this year!). The teams are put together into different divisions and all different sorts of people participate - men, women, professional, recreational, young and old alike. The event includes a kiddies parade, a grand parade, a junior race, the main race and ends with a festival with food, crafts etc. in south Bellingham. If you don't know Bellingham - it is the home of Western Washington University and home to a lot of outdoorsy hippie types. While I don't always fit in perfectly with either of those crowds - the combination usually makes for a lot of fun events and activities to participate in throughout the year. It's such a great area to live in. Beautiful and green most of the time and close to the water and mountains as well as Seattle and Vancouver when you need a little city fix. I love it.

This year was no exception to fun. Justin and I always jokingly chat about how many kids we'll have to have before it gets too difficult for me (I get to manage everyone while Justin is racing)... I hope we never end the tradition. In fact, maybe one day we'll have our own team!

Cookie Monster was in the lodge giving away
Baker's Breakfast Cookies.
(which I happily eat every morning with my coffee)


The fam.
Adia's face evidence of the 5 am wake-up.


The smooth ridge going up to the right is the ridge the skiers climb. If you click on the picture you can see the single file track going up and right.


Justin and the cross country skier right after Justin's race.


The poster!


You can get an idea of the number of racers.
400 cross country skiers, 400 downhillers, 400 runners + spectators and officials all at the mountain at once.


The only semi down side to the race... waiting until 11 for them to open the road down from the mountain. We left at 5 am - got home at 1 pm. Fortunately, both my kids are good car nappers.
(can you spot our van?)