A week ago, just after I signed up for the Bretton Woods Nordic Half Marathon, I came down with the stomach flu. I’m almost mended, and the plan is to head to N.H. tomorrow for packet pick up, touring the course, and no doubt lots of conversation about how to wax (old snow with temps shifting from low 30s to 40s during the race). This will be my first x-c ski race in 29 years, and I’m excited (and, I suspect, over-thinking it!). My plan is to just enjoy a few hours of skiing and not take it too seriously. In preparation, I thought I’d remind myself of what it looks like when I bite off more than I can chew. Last night I flipped through some pix of my first (only) half-marathon on Grand Manan Island last July (blogged about in Salt in My Eyes). This image is my reminder to take it easy this Saturday. Two miles into the half, and I looked like this:

Great, only 11.1 miles to go. Yup, it hurt the entire time. So this is my visual cue to have a blast on Saturday–to just cruise for the first 10k, assess how I feel, then pick it up or continue to tour to the finish.