Fridays with John: We're ski racers?

Liz and I have just decided to do a 25 km cross country ski race in Lake Placid, NY this February. That's right. We're going to be entering the classic race of the 2008 Lake Placid Loppett. My brother and my niece have both done this race for the past several years and over Christmas they encouraged us to "give it a shot--it's really easy and fun." If their words weren't convincing, their ages may have been: he's 45 and she's 15. With much more experience, technique and practice under their belts, there's no question that they will both beat us.

With no snow in Brooklyn we're also going to be approaching this pretty "cold." Here's where I really respect Liz, though. While no expert, I've cross country skied a few times a year since I was 5 and telemark skied for the past 4 years. Liz, well, she's cross country skied TWICE. The truth is she decided to do the race before I did. So why am I doing this? I do think it will be fun. I've done a handful of running and cycling races and they've been great, and I'm guessing this will have the same effect. But mostly, they're 3 people out there (one older, one younger, one the same age) who will all make me look bad (or worse, lazy) if I don't. Not the most noble motivation in the book, I know, but motivation nonetheless. I'll keep you posted on our preparation.

Have a great weekend.