Icicles On My Eyelashes…

Alright! This is the first Monday of Spring! That is a goooood thing!

I am in Yellowknife and it is “warm” temperatures for up North here…but it is still a wee bit chilly;)

But-cha-know… it’s all good!

Yesterday…I completed the most challenging trek of my life… (I was debating in my head if the West Coast Trail is harder, or if Frostbite 45 is harder… I’m going to say they are both EXTREMELY challenging…but if you compare one day on the West Coast Trail to one day hiking in the Arctic, the Arctic is harder!)

Race Day started in the Ski Chalet, getting ready for the big start..
TIP- if you ever use hiking poles, the recommended hight is 3 inches below your armpit. I had to raise these puppies….

Ahhhh, here we are at the start line, weather is -30….. I will hike the first 22.5 km and Mike will hike the last 22.5 km…

And away we go!!!
As soon as I started the race my sunglasses froze to my face…I had to take my sunglasses off…but in orientation they said- DO NOT take your shades off, as the risk of snow blindness was high at this time of year since the reflection off the snow was SOOO bright…scary…But…I carried on…

I had a head camera on, so we are in the midst of making a video of the whole experience, (which is RAD)

But in the meantime….I made it to the first check point, by this point I could barely open my eyes! The icicles were so heavy! (Heavier than any fake eyelashes I have ever worn, lol)

I was at a check point, so I got to drink some (un-frozen!) water

I had a quick break here (at km 14.5) and re-fueled, got to say hi to Marianne, Craig and Mike.. I told them of my stories so far… “And then this happened… and then OMG this happened and I was chased by a pack of imaginary wolves and then….”

Am I going crazy?? Maybe…

But.. I said goodbye and carried on to complete my last 8km!

While I went through yonder, Mike was waiting for me to say, “go….hand….” (like in highschool track and field when your in a relay and about to pass the baton)

And… I finally finished the last 8km and got through my total of 22.5km

We did the trade off…

and Mike was off to do his 22.5km…

While Mike was putting in his distance, my main mission was to get warm!

We waited at the check points to make sure Mike made it through, they had tipi’s and tents at the check points that racers could warm up in…..

AND…they had make-shift toilets in the tipi’s….UMMMM, ya, I REALLY, REALLY  had to go while I was waiting in the car.. but “Ummm, I’m okay, I’ll wait…”

8hrs 50 minutes later… Mike crossed the finished line and Team Stormtech finished the race!!

We placed 6th in the team relay! We were soo proud… The race was amazing. We lucked out that there was no major winds. YES, it was cold, but not as bad as it could have been. Would I do it again? In a heart beat!

Hope all is well in your world! I ADORE YOU. YOU ARE AMAZING.