Training Log Archive: Lori

Running with Sam and Presto at Shell Ridge Open Space! Sam's knee is still giving him trouble, so we didn't want to go for too intense of a run, but we still wanted to see some green hills. Shell Ridge has a nice, relatively (for the Bay Area) gentle loop, so we headed out. Presto was quite spritely, and spent some time saying hello to a long-haired whippet at the beginning of our run. I've always wanted to meet a long-haired whippet, so that was pretty cool :-). We also ran into a clarinet and trombone player from one of the orchestras I play in, which was also fun. We took it super easy, but Sam's knee was done after a short loop, so we headed back to the car.

Presto and I hadn't had enough running yet, though, so we headed back out to do the loop again while Sam read in the car. I was initially just planning on doing the same loop because Sam was waiting, but Presto was really excited about heading out on some single track and going a bit further, and who am I to say no to some extra single track trail running...so we added on a fun extra bit that went up to the top of a hill with nice views of all the green hills around us. Fun, fun!

Normal stretching after a trip to get some bubble tea. Yum!

Running with Presto after lab! Presto was SUPER EXCITED tonight. He spent a while bouncing around the house while I was getting dressed and then was spinning in happy circles when I asked him if he wanted to go for a run :-). He was pretty spritely on the run as well, so we pushed the uphill a bit.

My legs are feeling fine again, but the lack of sleep from last weekend is making this entire week kind of hard. I'm also somewhat concerned that I'm getting sick. Tuesday night a headache kept waking me up and then I had a headache all day Wednesday. I felt fine (if tired) today, though, so I'm fairly confused about what's going on...

Normal abs.

Normal stretching.

Running with Presto after lab! My glutes are still super sore, but I figured running would be fun anyway. It was both painful and fun. Presto is obviously still a bit tired from the weekend, so he wasn't super spritely, but he did still seem to enjoy himself. The downhill was still super fun even with my tired legs!

Normal abs.

Normal stretching. My sister got me a really hard roller with like pokey things on it and stuff for my birthday, so rolling out my ITBs was a bit more painful than usual.

Skiing with Sam and Presto in Donner Memorial State Park! We decided to check out Cold Spring Canyon today, which Sam had read was a pretty gentle ascent. We made sure to bring plenty of food because running out of food in Donner Memorial State Park on a winter excursion seems particularly terrifying...

I got to try out my new backcountry skis, and they are awesome! They're a lot shorter than my old skis, which makes maneuverability easier and the metal edges really improve my ability to change direction. Between the new skis and the new snow, life was quite good :-). The sun was out today and the forest was gorgeous with feet and feet of snow covering everything. Just as we were starting a snowcat headed out along the canyon to do a sort of vague grooming of the path most of the way to Lost Trail Lodge. This was extremely lucky for us because even with skis on, when breaking trail the snow was about mid-thigh. Skiing along the snowcat trail was pretty great, and it also made life easy for Presto.

The snowcat groomed to the railroad tracks. We noticed some ski tracks along the railroad tracks, so we followed those a little ways until they went into the forest. The trail through the forest was amazing! It was packed enough that skiing was easy for us and walking was easy for Presto, but pretty narrow, which made everything a bit more magical. We made it to Lost Trail Lodge a bit before our turn around time and met a huge fluffy white dog hanging out in the snow. The dog wanted to come with us as we continued on, and it took a while to convince it to stay by the lodge. We didn't get too far beyond the lodge before our turn around time, and the way back was just as awesome as the way in had been. Amazing day!

Normal stretching back home. We didn't have to put chains on today, but getting back still took forever...

My glutes are crazy sore from skating on Sunday, but otherwise my legs are going ok. My right shoulder (the sore one) seems more or less unchanged from last week, which seems like a win all things considered. My left arm/shoulder had to take up a lot of the poling slack this weekend and is now sore (but in a healthier-feeling way).

Skate skiing with Sam and Presto at Tahoe XC! We were planning on heading up to the mountains for the entire weekend, but I-80 was closed when we checked Friday evening, so we decided to wait until Sunday. I-80 was open today, but barely, with chain control starting at 2000 feet... I have never driven so far with chains on before. Anyway, it took a very rumbly eternity, but we did make it up in time to get a bit of skiing in today. The snow was AMAZING and there is SO MUCH SNOW!!!!!

The trails were groomed in the morning, so there was like 6 inches of fresh snow on them, which made things a bit more challenging. Also, I haven't skated in 2 years, so I was feeling pretty out of shape, but it was still super fun. We did Blue and then headed back out to hit up Special Green before we had to scurry back to return the skis. Presto was having an absolute blast and, of course, Sam was quite thrilled with things, so all in all we were a happy bunch :-).

Normal stretching at the motel after a second driving odyssey. Turns out not all chains are good enough for all chain controls...so we ended up driving to highway 267 and then getting turned around to head back the way we came and go around on 89. We may be investing in some more hardcore chains.