Training Log Archive: iansmith

I didn't sleep well because my sinuses kept congesting during the night. Dinner at the Balsams on Saturday was delightful. The orienteering crowd's formal attire was a brilliant contrast with their typical colorful pajamas.

After some consideration, I decided to race on red today instead of blue. I think I could have finished the blue course (in about 4 hours, perhaps), but I would have had less fun. There were much longer stretches of nearly flat skiing than yesterday, which was glorious. The views from elevated positions, e.g. near control 5, were magnificent. Alex very kindly placed Lori's and my bottles of gatorade at a convenient junction between controls 6 and 7. Lori apparently skied past the bottles, and as I knew she was ahead, I offered Lori's gatorade to Sam when we both reached that junction. I would have offered mine (as there was plenty), but for my illness.

I frequently ran into other competitors - I saw Ali around my controls 1 and 2, where she cheerily blasted past me; Ernst and Scott around controls 4 and 5; Lori at 4, 5, and 6; Brendan at 5; and Sam at 6 through 10. Lori started a bit before me, and I had a somewhat faster first half. I tried very hard to catch her, but she is wily and finished about a minute before me. Sam started gaining on me, passed me at 8, and escaped from view after 10.

The only significant error I made was that I should have gone north of the hill to 1 (5-10 minute error). My route to the finish was slow, but I didn't completely appreciate how much worse I am at skiing up steep trails than at running in ski boots.

I would like to be better at skiing; I enjoy the challenge. Right now, my focus is on becoming a faster runner and better orienteer, but I will spend more time skiing and working on good technique in the future.

C • Pictures 1

Red Sunday Long Distance - Splits

Event: Balsams Ski-O
 

This race was my third time skate skiing, and I went in with measured optimism. I had checked out maps of the Balsams and been concerned about the magnitude of the vertical relief; that fear was justified. I improved somewhat compared to my classical experience last year, but my technique is awful, and I only know how to V1.

I had a wonderful time, and found the course to be superlatively challenging. The herringboning was exhausting, and because my skiing is so poor, I transition to herringboning on relatively shallow climbs.

The few flats were fun - for instance, the first part of the leg from 3-4 was slightly downhill. I found the snowshoe trails to be difficult in part due to the deep snow. Double poling was ineffective; the poles would sink two or three feet into the snow before I found any leverage. I frequently sunk into the snow and wasted much energy extricating myself. The long snowshoe trail that I took to 7 was brutal. The much faster route to 7 was straight over an ungroomed field; I wonder how I would have fared on the virgin snow.

Blue Saturday Middle Distance - Splits

Tired and cold. I finished Born to Run.

Unplanned rest day; I had a long day at work, then suffered greatly from the cold on my bike ride home. I abandoned my plan for a late night run then revived with some hot tea.

It has been 180 days since my fracture.

I went on a glorious evening run around Fresh Pond on a clear night at 3 C. I ran at first in tights, gloves, and two shirts, but I shed my long-sleeved shirt about halfway through. I listened to Born to Run. The sidewalks were icy in places, but once I loosened up, I settled into a relaxed groove. My left ankle was sore after rubbing inside the skate boot yesterday, but my legs felt fantastic tonight.

Emil Zápotek is a monstrous machine of Marit Bjoergen caliber, and apparently a human being of the highest quality. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Marit Bjoergen is of Zápotek caliber.