Training Log Archive: kensrIn the 29 days ending Feb 29, 2008:
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Friday Feb 29, 2008 #
Note
Travel day -- all day. Left home at 3 AM to catch an early flight out of Hartford. On to JFK, San Francisco and Vancouver. Then a long wait while Greg came in on an evening flight from LA. He got bumped off his scheduled one -- not enough seats on the plane -- literally.
Drove most of the way up stopping in Merrit BC around midnight for some sleep.
Drove most of the way up stopping in Merrit BC around midnight for some sleep.
Thursday Feb 28, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 56:00 [3] 8.0 km (7:00 / km)
Fresh snow yesterday -- 11". Snow gauge (36") in the yard has just about disappeared and the 4 ft stakes marking the edges of the trails across the fields are almost gone, too. Packed it yesterday and let it set until today to ski. Still soft; really need to repack it for firmness, but will be off to BC tommorrow for ski-o, so letting it slide until I get back.
Skied off trail a bit, dragging a tire on a rope. Nicely packed out a 2' path behind me. Had to repeat a couple times for a good trail, but makes a nice ski-o "dotted line" trail. In Europe, they pulled two tires side-by-side behind a snowmobile to pack 4' trails. Will try that, too, but not pulling by myself on skis.
Got chains for the tractor coming in tommorrow, so may be able to dig some clearance along the driveway. Most of the banks are 4' high and can't plow snow up over the top. Starting to feel claustrophobic.
Skied off trail a bit, dragging a tire on a rope. Nicely packed out a 2' path behind me. Had to repeat a couple times for a good trail, but makes a nice ski-o "dotted line" trail. In Europe, they pulled two tires side-by-side behind a snowmobile to pack 4' trails. Will try that, too, but not pulling by myself on skis.
Got chains for the tractor coming in tommorrow, so may be able to dig some clearance along the driveway. Most of the banks are 4' high and can't plow snow up over the top. Starting to feel claustrophobic.
Tuesday Feb 26, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 30:00 [1] 3.0 km (10:00 / km)
Classic. Snowing heavily, so decided to just putz around on the classic skis. However, temps are right below freezing and the new snow is like glue. Rewaxed twice and finally stripped off all the kick wax. That worked okay on one ski, but I put a little hard wax on the other and it immediately iced up again. By then we had 6" new snow and Ruthie got stuck coming up the driveway, so it was time to call it quits.
Monday Feb 25, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Randolph Center, VT) 40:00 [3] 8.0 km (5:00 / km)
On snowmobile trails from VT Technical College after a staff meeting today. Beautiful afternoon with full sun and temps pushing 40F. Trail in good shape and well groomed; fun skating. Loosening up after Sat race.
Saturday Feb 23, 2008 #
Skate Ski warm up/down 5:00 [2] 0.5 km (10:00 / km)
Just a little to test the wax and keep warm in the minus 5F temp. Clear and sunny, no wind, so temps warmed quickly.
Skate Ski race (Birkebeiner marathon) 3:16:28 [4] 50.25 km (3:55 / km)
Great conditions. Snow hard packed and fast. Solid on the hills; no morass of sugar snow this year. Started quick in wave 3 and got by myself into the power lines. No trouble with blocking until I started to catch up to wave 2 stragglers around 10 km. Even then, it was pretty open until the hills at the end, when others from wave 2 and even 1 were dying.
Felt strong thru the climbs to OO and past that into the mid 30's km. Then could feel myself tiring on some of the climbs; fortunately all were done except for a couple leading to and including "the bitch" at 40.5 km. Parceled out my strength, taking the hills as fast as I could and still V2ing on all the flats, but not the shallow climbs as I did in the first two-thirds of the race.
Approaching the Hatchery at 44, the skis lost a little quickness. At the time, I thought it was the temp rising into the high 20's and the sun, but later found a few white patches on my bottoms. So the flouro was going at that point. But the trail is easy and I pushed without problems. Hitting the lake at 47, it was 2km of sreaming across the ice, rolling up lots of wave 2's with my V2. Good finish up Main Street.
Best race for me by far, knocking off almost 20 minutes from my last Birkie. Tried to relax and keep a high tempo on the hills. Used Alex's "toilet squat" to great effect on the climbs (you had to be there). Still my weakness, but coming along.
Splits
5 km 20.11
15 km 40.71
25 km 39.33 first half 1.40.55
35 km 37.31
40 km 20.42
50+km 37.20 second half 1.35.33
Negative splits, but tough climbs are up front and the balance is a lot of fast cruising.
Felt strong thru the climbs to OO and past that into the mid 30's km. Then could feel myself tiring on some of the climbs; fortunately all were done except for a couple leading to and including "the bitch" at 40.5 km. Parceled out my strength, taking the hills as fast as I could and still V2ing on all the flats, but not the shallow climbs as I did in the first two-thirds of the race.
Approaching the Hatchery at 44, the skis lost a little quickness. At the time, I thought it was the temp rising into the high 20's and the sun, but later found a few white patches on my bottoms. So the flouro was going at that point. But the trail is easy and I pushed without problems. Hitting the lake at 47, it was 2km of sreaming across the ice, rolling up lots of wave 2's with my V2. Good finish up Main Street.
Best race for me by far, knocking off almost 20 minutes from my last Birkie. Tried to relax and keep a high tempo on the hills. Used Alex's "toilet squat" to great effect on the climbs (you had to be there). Still my weakness, but coming along.
Splits
5 km 20.11
15 km 40.71
25 km 39.33 first half 1.40.55
35 km 37.31
40 km 20.42
50+km 37.20 second half 1.35.33
Negative splits, but tough climbs are up front and the balance is a lot of fast cruising.
Note
Competing with Greg -- who did really well, 2:50 -- and my college friend Tom. Tom put on flouro Thursday night without a mask and had all the symptoms of the flu on Friday. My understanding this is classic flouro poisoning. Fortunately, the immediate effects are short lived, and he was pretty much okay today. If anyone waxes using high flouro or pure flouro wax, make sure you use an organic filter mask and do it where the fumes have some place to go besides your lungs. This stuff is nasty, except when applied to your skis, where it's fantastic. Not so great on the wallet, either, at $4/gram.
Friday Feb 22, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Birkie course) 41:00 [3] 8.0 km (5:08 / km)
Center section of the Birkie course around OO. Warmer today, mid 20's and crystal clear. Snow in excellent shape. Course solid and should hold up well under thousands of skiers tommorrow. Fortunately, I'll be in an early wave and ahead of most at the start.
Using the Swix recommendation of HF6; added MB77 and LF4 under that and skis were very quick. Adding some FC7 flouro on top of it all tonight and it should be fine.
Using the Swix recommendation of HF6; added MB77 and LF4 under that and skis were very quick. Adding some FC7 flouro on top of it all tonight and it should be fine.
Thursday Feb 21, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Telemark Ski Area) 20:00 [3] 4.0 km (5:00 / km)
Raw, cold day in 'teens with strong wind. Testing demo skis at Telemark. Tried shorter skis for ski-o races. Had some 177 cm instead of my usual 187's and they were fine. Didn't have anything shorter for demo. Still think something in the 160's might work for a venue with narrow trails 1 m or so wide.
Wednesday Feb 20, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley trails) 56:00 [3] 9.3 km (6:01 / km)
Classic. Tracks firm with a dusting of powder on top. Rewaxed kick and skiing was good, but slow.
Tuesday Feb 19, 2008 #
Road Running (Cummings Rd +) 35:00 [3] 3.1 mi (11:17 / mi)
Icy run. Even studded o-shoes skidded on boilerplate ice on the driveway and back roads.
Monday Feb 18, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 34:00 [3] 6.0 km (5:40 / km)
Classic. Rest day. Rained all night, but dried off in the afternoon. Had set a track on Sunday and it held up for today. No kick, so mostly double poled.
Sunday Feb 17, 2008 #
Skate Ski race (Windblown ski-o) 1:28:00 [4] 12.0 km (7:20 / km)
Final race of the series; score using two maps. More hard granular conditions. In places groomed pretty well. Off trail was heavy crust that just barely broke bare booting. Faster skiing on that, but no control except for grabbing trees. Took off skis on several hills. Got all the controls except a couple on the first map and one on the second.
Ended up 2nd for the series M21.
Ended up 2nd for the series M21.
Skate Ski warm up/down 20:00 [2] 2.0 km (10:00 / km)
Felt tired and chilled after the race/awards. Arms a bit sore. No more skiing today; headed home for a soak in the hot tub.
Saturday Feb 16, 2008 #
Skate Ski race (Gunstock ski-o) 1:22:00 [4] 14.5 km (5:39 / km)
Nice course around Gunstock. They've cut new trails, cleared a stadium area and built a lodge for the nordic association. Make the area great for races.
Snow better than Weston. Very cold, snow maybe 10F around the start. Tilled and groomed, but setup so it was hard.
Snow better than Weston. Very cold, snow maybe 10F around the start. Tilled and groomed, but setup so it was hard.
Skate Ski race (Sprint) 15:15 [5] 2.8 km (5:27 / km)
Nine controls around the stadium area from morning. Good fast sprint.
Skate Ski warm up/down 1:00:00 [3] 5.9 km (10:10 / km)
Picking up controls and cool down after the sprint.
When we left, they were setting up for a valentines paint ball race on Sunday. Sounds like a fantastic concept. I wonder if you can shoot your competitor if they start to pull ahead?
When we left, they were setting up for a valentines paint ball race on Sunday. Sounds like a fantastic concept. I wonder if you can shoot your competitor if they start to pull ahead?
Friday Feb 15, 2008 #
Skate Ski race (Weston ski-o sprint) 40:30 [4] 6.5 km (6:14 / km)
Night ski-o. Not as hazardous as it sounds. Weston is a flat golf course, mostly open. There are a few hazards, however, such as bare patches of grass (not bad), asphalt cart paths (very bad), above ground snow making pipes (disastrous). Three maps over the same half-km square area. Lot of loops and detours around the hazards and fencing for the driving range.
The temp during the day was 40F, but dropping really fast after dark. We caught the slush just as it turned rigid, making the trails worse than the ungroomed fairways with an inch or two cover. But you had to avoid the pools of frozen water ice.
Had an hour to do the score-o. Collected all the controls in 40 minutes, except for the one behind me at the starting line on the first map. So missed one. Fun anyway.
The temp during the day was 40F, but dropping really fast after dark. We caught the slush just as it turned rigid, making the trails worse than the ungroomed fairways with an inch or two cover. But you had to avoid the pools of frozen water ice.
Had an hour to do the score-o. Collected all the controls in 40 minutes, except for the one behind me at the starting line on the first map. So missed one. Fun anyway.
Skate Ski warm up/down 20:00 [2] 2.0 km (10:00 / km)
Warm up and picking up controls and tripods.
Thursday Feb 14, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 29:00 [2] 6.0 km (4:50 / km)
Crunched the trails with the groomer and then let it sit while we went to see our accountant about taxes. Came back for an evening ski. Set up rather firmly with biscuit sized chunks throughout. Made for a fast, but bumpy ride. Needs a few more circuits with the tiller, or better yet, a couple inches of real snow.
Got the Kubota out today. Started to dig by hand, and then said "what the heck", and got the tractor turned around inside the shed so I could use it to dig thru the snow bank. This was no minor feat, as the shed is no bigger than the tractor and has a lot of junk in it to boot. Only smacked one rafter with the bucket as I was maneuvering it over the dead snowmobile. And the roof didn't collapse, despite a huge load of saturated snow on top. But the tractor doesn't go very well in the snow and ice without chains, so I guess I got to get them next.
Got the Kubota out today. Started to dig by hand, and then said "what the heck", and got the tractor turned around inside the shed so I could use it to dig thru the snow bank. This was no minor feat, as the shed is no bigger than the tractor and has a lot of junk in it to boot. Only smacked one rafter with the bucket as I was maneuvering it over the dead snowmobile. And the roof didn't collapse, despite a huge load of saturated snow on top. But the tractor doesn't go very well in the snow and ice without chains, so I guess I got to get them next.
Wednesday Feb 13, 2008 #
Cross Training 1:00:00 [3]
This was so ugly I don't even want to log it. We had 6" of snow and then rain all day. By afternoon, I had no choice but to shovel the slop out of the corners and knock the tops off the snow banks after plowing. The banks along the drive are over 4' and the chunks roll back down as fast as I push them up with the plow. All the turnouts and corners are filled, too. So I shovelled a bunch into the creek, and some I could push over the embankments. Got enough cleared so when it freezes solid tonight I will be okay until the next 12".
I've got to dig the Kubota out of the shed so I can seriously cut into the piles of snow. Unfortunately, the way out of the shed is under the end of its metal roof, and everything that lands on the roof slides down and piles up. Now if I had backed the tractor into the shed, I could use the bucket to clear it away; but alas ...
I've got to dig the Kubota out of the shed so I can seriously cut into the piles of snow. Unfortunately, the way out of the shed is under the end of its metal roof, and everything that lands on the roof slides down and piles up. Now if I had backed the tractor into the shed, I could use the bucket to clear it away; but alas ...
Tuesday Feb 12, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 57:00 [3] 11.5 km (4:57 / km)
Snow still soft, but firmed up since yesterday. Rewaxed to LF6. All made skiing more pleasant today. Included a few single track loops around the Pines extension, practicing the latest techniques.
Almost ran into Ruthie, who was coming the other way around a hairpin turn in the S field. Both of us were on the inside of the corner and I didn't see her in the dark until smackdown was imminent. Managed to make the save and not splatter us both.
Almost ran into Ruthie, who was coming the other way around a hairpin turn in the S field. Both of us were on the inside of the corner and I didn't see her in the dark until smackdown was imminent. Managed to make the save and not splatter us both.
Monday Feb 11, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 50:00 [3] 8.0 km (6:15 / km)
Groomed yesterday, but didn't ski. Windy and cold overnight; trails drifted over. Groomed again and skied, but didn't rewax. Skis were really slow, probably waxed 15 degrees too warm. Trail also soft as I didn't let it set up. Still a good rest day with easy laps and a few pickups.
Sunday Feb 10, 2008 #
Cross Training (Snowshoeing) 1:00:00 [2] 2.0 mi (30:00 / mi)
Tour of the trails with Casey. Up over the top of the ridge, exploring things covered by the heavy snowpack.
Then groomed last night's 5" new snow, finishing just in time for a new snow squall to move in and start dumping.
Then groomed last night's 5" new snow, finishing just in time for a new snow squall to move in and start dumping.
Saturday Feb 9, 2008 #
Skate Ski warm up/down 24:00 [2] 3.0 km (8:00 / km)
Skate Ski race (Lake Placid Loppet) 3:35:34 50.0 km (4:19 / km) +1000m 3:55 / km
Probably the toughest marathon I've done. Starts out with 5 km rolling climb to an aid station, then heads up Porter Mtn with 3 steep climbs, each followed by a sharp drop. Then over onto Russian Hill with another big climb and onto the Women's 5k course. This has sharp drops as well with cranky turns at the bottoms. Russian Hill, by the way, has that name because before the '80 Olympics the Russian coaches protested it had too great a sustained climb. So the organizers turned the trail off the ridge just before the top and reduced the hill by 10 whole feet.
After the Women's 5k you're thru the stadium and onto the rolling meadows past the biathlon range. Then back to the start/finish and you've done 25km, and it's the whole thing all over again.
Had the wax right, and the track was groomed well. Felt fresh for the first third, actually thru most of lap one climb. The middle third was okay, but the last part was real work. A lot of racers were dragging on the last hills.
I picked up Greg Balter on my last 2 km, who was there just touring around. He chased me to the finish and kept me pumping.
Took 2nd place/age 50km skate. Very happy with that. Time pretty good considering all the climb. Scott Pleban took 2nd in his age group for the 50 km classic, beating me by 5 minutes.
Splits:
19.43/ 23.01/ 21.55/ 38.57 (1:44)
22.09/ 25.14/ 23.29/ 21.16/ 19.48 (1:52)
After the Women's 5k you're thru the stadium and onto the rolling meadows past the biathlon range. Then back to the start/finish and you've done 25km, and it's the whole thing all over again.
Had the wax right, and the track was groomed well. Felt fresh for the first third, actually thru most of lap one climb. The middle third was okay, but the last part was real work. A lot of racers were dragging on the last hills.
I picked up Greg Balter on my last 2 km, who was there just touring around. He chased me to the finish and kept me pumping.
Took 2nd place/age 50km skate. Very happy with that. Time pretty good considering all the climb. Scott Pleban took 2nd in his age group for the 50 km classic, beating me by 5 minutes.
Splits:
19.43/ 23.01/ 21.55/ 38.57 (1:44)
22.09/ 25.14/ 23.29/ 21.16/ 19.48 (1:52)
Thursday Feb 7, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Kingdom Valley Trails) 47:00 [3] 8.2 km (5:44 / km)
Fresh wet snow, about 6" since yesterday evening. Brings snowpack up to 22". Groomed pretty firm, so went out immediately for a skate. Just below freezing. CH10 travel wax on the skis and it was fast.
Had a 8" dia tree fall across the Pines trail a couple weeks ago. Discovered it while grooming and ran over it, as I can't back up too easily. Subsequent snowfall has it covered; the bump has disappeared.
Had a 8" dia tree fall across the Pines trail a couple weeks ago. Discovered it while grooming and ran over it, as I can't back up too easily. Subsequent snowfall has it covered; the bump has disappeared.
Tuesday Feb 5, 2008 #
Road Running (Cummings Rd +) 33:00 [3] 3.0 mi (11:00 / mi)
2-3" wet slush today; plowed by the time Casey and I ran this evening. Still kind of skiddy on the back roads and drive. 2nd day in a row Tiomila training; going to catch up with Kenny's streak.
Monday Feb 4, 2008 #
Road Running (Cummings Rd +) 28:45 [3] 2.8 mi (10:16 / mi)
weight:163lbs
Rest day, so went for a run with Casey after flying in overnight from Sacramento. Decided it's time to officially start Tiomila training.
10 pullups
10 pullups
Sunday Feb 3, 2008 #
Skate Ski race (Auburn Ski Club) 1:40:00 [4] 14.5 km (6:54 / km)
Heavy snow overnight -- 18" -- so the trails took a while to pack. Unfortunately, they forgot one, aptly named "Black Hole". Each of our three maps had a control on this, resulting in 3-400 m postholing each round. Less of a race and more just lasting it out. Legs really tired today.
Skate Ski 30:00 [3] 3.0 km (10:00 / km)
Warm up plus mostly picking up controls. Snow starting coming down again with a vengeance.
Saturday Feb 2, 2008 #
Skate Ski race (Royal Gorge CA) 1:40:01 [4] 20.3 km (4:56 / km)
Snow falling all day, but well groomed in the morning. Course had a few tricky leg choices, but mainly just lots of skiing. Didn't see one trail buried on the map under a power line, and doubled back out of my way for an extra 2-3 minutes. Mostly a good run; hit the wax dead on using MB77 under HF7 with FC8 on top. Had lively skis going up the hills for the first time this week. That plus getting used to 7k altitude helps.
Skate Ski warm up/down 1:00:00 [3] 6.8 km (8:49 / km)
Some warm up, but mostly control pickup in the afternoon. Again, Royal Gorge didn't bother grooming after lunch, so the rapidly falling snow built up pretty deep. It was 4-5" of heavy stuff by the time we were done. We've got a forecast of maybe a couple feet tonight, so will be interesting to see how Auburn Ski club handles it for tomorrow. They're well attuned to racing and I expect they'll do a good job. Fortunately the area is compact and the courses will fold on top of one another. We expect two map exchanges on this one.
Friday Feb 1, 2008 #
Skate Ski (Auburn XC) 2:00:00 [3] 13.0 km (9:14 / km)
Rest day at Auburn checking out the trail network. Legs felt really tired.