Lots to describe. Got a bad cold after the SISU/butterballs ended up taking Afrin to sleep for a few nights and then prednisone the two days before so I could race. Decided to just take three days off (Wednesday Thursday Friday) thinking rest was the most important. Waxed my skis to Warm/too much grip because I was afraid of the humidity and glazing of the tracks like when Josh and I went. But again the birkebeiner foiled me because the piston Balis pulled snow from very deep and it was like powder at Meissner or Mount Bachelor. So I had killer kick but draggy skis in fact I did Maybe 10% out of the tracks. Missed the first Boedecker aid station because they did not have any liquids ready. Coming through the second time I crashed with another guy and we both went down and miraculously didn’t break anything. Bad aid stations they were standing three free to park which is no good 3 feet apart. Then I was happy to ski mostly from there to double O by myself. Disappointed to see that there was no aid station at double low and had to go all the way to gravel pit. Coming back from gravel pit was kind of tough because you’re going uphill but I was trying to hang onto some people . At the end with my 700 m double pole sprinting I got a bad cramp in my left tricep did a bicep curl and took it away, but then couldn’t double pole so then I just decided to do it and got through it and my right Schiphol went flying out of my grip and it wasn’t worth going back to get it so I just had to go one pole only. Thank God it happened late I need to glue that I think in the end I was 13th out of 36 people in my age group averaging about four minutes and 15 seconds per kilometer? I finished in about three hours and 5minutes Also, I had my binding set all the way back so I need to start testing them at least at medium. For the marcialonga, I should probably do skate skis and bring wax and cork for the final hill.