Training Log Archive: Ari-o

Cold, rainy, a little chunky rain, wind. So, a good day for running. Got caught up with work, so it was dark, cold and rainy, but that didn't keep me from getting cold and wet.

Running down Main Street towards the river just past Kendall. Runner comes by and asks if this is Main Street. Yes. Was I coming from Cambridge Running Club. No. I asked where he was going. Kendall Station. I pointed him back in the right direction. "Thanks, it's my first day here."

WAIT! I MUST TELL YOU ABOUT MY CULT!

Run/sprint over to NP. 10 minutes. So if I leave the house at 6:20 …

L4 at stadiums, the day after World Champs. Held L4 most of the way, except dropped off from about 19-5. Apparently I'm a little tired. Felt good. Wish I'd felt this good on Saturday. Still a couple minutes off PR.

Run home. Slower than out!

2 minutes of warm up. 9 of cool down. Ice at Weston

Feeling better today and the Weston Race is on and I only have four races and they're scoring five so I'm not running a marathon in seven weeks let's go skiing!

I'll never understand Weston physics, but the snow was hardpack icy even though it was 50˚ and had been sunny, so it was fast and pretty decently groomed all things considered. Mount Foljms was narrow and thin, so we went down. Yes, down. In a race.

First lap went out and I went down in second or third, and on the second lap was behind someone who couldn't keep their poles from flying up so decided to pass them and settled behind Frank. On the third lap I figured I'd attack, but it was really hard to get enough punch to attack, so I just wound up leading the pack. On the fourth lap Frank and Rob went by after Mount Foljms, and I attacked and got ahead of Rob but by that point Frank had just enough of a gap I couldn't catch him, but I held off the pack for second, two seconds back.

Breathing is nice, I wish I'd been able to do that Saturday on Lake Hayward.

Lots of snow in the Cities so my dad and I went to Battle Creek, because it's probably the most fun you can have this side of Murphy. Soft, as expected, but really fun. Would have been nice to stride but I didn't have striding skis. New trail names, but same trails, with one exception where I think they tried to build an A climb. Lots of fun, but pretty beat after close to an hour.

Birkie day! Good trip to the start, but still stuffy. Cold and firm. The warm up was pretty soft, though, and while I felt okay, I definitely felt like I had a cold. So that's not great.

Birkie!

I'd love to ski the Birkie not sick, but here we are. My skis were fast, I started to the left, and went out pretty fast. Feeling good for the climbs on the way out, but my heart rate was up: 160ish, so full L3, maintaining pace through the first sets of hills. Still, I didn't feel gassed, and figured I could keep pushing.

In addition to getting sick, I think I made two mistakes, not regarding feeding. One is that I didn't force myself to eat enough on Thursday and Friday, when I didn't have much of an appetite but really should have been putting in calories. The second is that, having not skied the Birkie (or another ski marathon of this caliber; sorry, Craftsbury) in two years, I forgot how to eat for a ski race. In the many road marathons since, I've been fine just taking liquid feeds for calories. But there are two issues here. One is that there aren't as many feeds, and you don't get as much at each (I should have had more of my water bottle, but it was pretty well frozen). The second is that skiing just takes that many more calories. A heart rate of 155 running does not equal a heart rate of 155 skiing as far as calories burned. So by the time I figured this out I was gassed, it was too late, and I got passed by a lot of people and had to rely on technique on the hills after 38k. I got passed by a couple of pretty big groups, had no kick on the lake, and struggled in to the finish, unable to muster L3 on the Lake or Main Street.

And finished in 204th place.

So maybe I can talk my way in to the Elite Wave next year? And maybe I'll have a kick in the pants to a) do some goddamn weight training b) be better about my base and c) not kill myself the three weeks before the Birkie next year (my ski-life balance has not been tilted enough in the direction of skiing this month).

And yet! I had a ton of fun! This race is so amazing when there's good snow (and there was definitely good snow, and it was cold enough it was firm and packed) and it's just a joy to ski. And then I changed and grabbed the media bib and went out and drank beer and interviewed people on Main Street and the lake and am going to have an excellent podcast if and when new-dad-producer can produce it (and I can find a couple hours to listen through and edit it).

So an excellent Birkie. I just wish I hadn't gotten sick three days before.

Went to watch my dad start the Korte. The bus lines in the parking lot were long, so we looped back and used the Start Pass to park at OO. Boom. Gun went off and dad went off with the 70-plus-year-olds on a soft track (we had to shovel the driveway of 7" of snow in the morning). I skied around to miss him going over the hill, but Media-interviewed the warriors and Inga for the podcast, then skied around a bit.

Totally still sick. Totally in denial about it.

Skiing around the lighted trails at Fish Hatchery. Good snow, and more starting to come down. Pushing some uphills to see how I feel. Felt fine. Nothing wrong! Can almost breathe through nose!

Woke up stuffed up. Great. Sick the week before the Birkie. But if I pretend I'm not sick, I'll be not sick! Staying up too late trying to burn the candle at both ends is catching up just in time. Oh. Getting home I had some gastrointestinal issues: just what I want right now is not being able to fully absorb calories.

Quick run since it's 70 out. Yuck.