{"id":1,"date":"2014-11-24T01:44:14","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T01:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wisconsinverbs.nfshost.com\/?p=1"},"modified":"2015-02-16T11:03:50","modified_gmt":"2015-02-16T17:03:50","slug":"so-i-signed-up-for-the-american-birkebeiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisconsinverbs.com\/so-i-signed-up-for-the-american-birkebeiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Skis: So, I signed up for the American Birkebeiner"},"content":{"rendered":"
The American Birkebeiner<\/a>, or Birkie, is a 51K skate or 55K classic cross country ski race. It begins in Cable, Wis. and ends in Hayward.<\/p>\n Yea, I’m signed up to ski about 32 miles about three months from now. I simply hope I can finish it. As a secondary goal, I’d love to finish it in a respectable time \u2014 though conditions can vary and I have no idea what my goal respectable time is yet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My parents strapped skis onto my feet while I was still in grade school. I was always jealous of my friends who went downhill skiing while I was “uphill” skiing. My early education consisted of wooden classic skis with three pin waxy shoes and poles with plastic baskets at the bottoms which were prone to breakage. My Dad groomed a ski trail that had some fun little hills, so there was a lot of herringboning<\/a> up the hills and falling down them.<\/p>\n Over the years, my dad picked up skate skiing then started racing in the Birkie. Last year \u2014 he completed his 20th event \u2014 which qualifies him for the esteemed Birchleggings club, complete with a special-colored race bib.<\/p>\nWhy Ski?<\/h3>\n