The Last Great Race and a Trip Up North (Way North)

Tuesday Workout: 5 miles, 11:33 average
Thursday Workout: 3 miles, 10:52 average

Here's a random picture I took a few years ago that I've always liked. It's from a peak called Little O'Malley looking at just plain O'Malley (which I've also climbed). I figured we should start off with something pretty because I've got no other pictures for this post.

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Busy week here at JJ-o Headquarters. It's midterm week! And, the Iditarod's almost here! Which is relevant to me, I swear. Most Many Alaskans will tell you they don't give a shit about the Iditarod, and in the past I've included myself in this category. I know, I know, it's supposed to be our pride and joy, the "Last Great Race" or whatever. I guess it just wasn't on my radar (except that one year a random and very distant cousin contacted us to tell us she was running it. Even then, the rest of my family went to go see her start while I stayed home). Now that I'm helping put together this project about it, though, I'm kind of obsessed. I've been watching race recaps like it's my job (wait, it is!).

(Side note: we can maybe but probably not talk about animal cruelty concerns another time if you really want to. I'll just say that yes, dogs die, which is incredibly sad, but no, I don't think mushers are abusing them. If you've ever seen a dog team waiting to head out, you'd see just how much they love to run. Also, there are hoards of veterinarians available all along the trail who can make the decision to remove a dog from the race at any time. There have been no dog deaths for the last three years, I believe. End of side note. I love dogs!)

Tonight is the Iditarod "ball" celebrating the beginning of the race. It's also where mushers choose their starting positions (which is done based on the order of race sign-up). I'll be attending with a coworker and I'm pretty pumped. I asked her if there was a "dress code," assuming I'd have to throw on a dress for the first time in a long while, but she just laughed, looked at what I was wearing (baggy jeans, a sweatshirt, and my Michelin Man shoes), and said I'd be just fine. Wonderful! I'm always down to hang in comfortable clothing.

Anyway, why am I blabbing on about this? Well, partially because I thought there might be some interest in the topic (or maybe you're all like our friend young Jeano and don't give a shit), and partially because I'm going to be spending a lot of time thinking about the race over the coming months. The purpose of going to that incredibly awesome place I get to go for work? This project. The ticket's been confirmed so I'll just let it out: I'm going to Norway.

Ahahahaha, what?! 'That girl's getting sent to Norway for work?!'

Yep. I'm not sure how it happened, but I'm owning it. I'll be almost as far north as you can go (it's the same latitude as Barrow, Alaska, around 69 degrees North). I'm also planning to  swing by Oslo for a couple of days to break up the 20-hour trip home.

It's funny to think that when I started this job two months ago, I was told my responsibilities would include "You know, some Excel work, maybe digging around in the literature to see what's been written about x, y, and z..." Apparently "going to Norway" fits in there somewhere. I'm not complaining! It's been number one on my travel list for years. Now I just have to figure out how to get all my runs in that week!

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Oh, you mean this is a running blog? Could have fooled me. I was going to talk about my first impressions of my new shoes but I'll save that for tomorrow. As a quick summary, they are both delightful but slightly concerning (mostly because of major blister potential). More on that later.

Questions:

• Are you interested in hearing more about the Iditarod, or is it not something that interests you?
• What's the farthest north you've ever been? Fairbanks, in the middle of Alaska, is the farthest for me. I ate at the "northernmost Denny's" there.
• How's your week going? What have I missed? Tell me all about it!