Training Log Archive: WIn the 31 days ending Mar 31, 2014:
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Monday Mar 31, 2014 #
Note
Travel day home from awesome to boring. Sad.
But, motivated! And inspired!
But, motivated! And inspired!
Sunday Mar 30, 2014 #
Nordic (skating) 1:30:00 [1] 17.9 km (5:02 / km)
Well, that was the slowest, most difficult, mildly irritating, and definitely, most expensive ski, I've ever had.
Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely, lovely day. Being out was the highlight. It was mostly sunny, I was in shortsleeves, and glorious views in all directions.
On the other hand, thanks to the bout of heavy wedding snow, there was actually trails to be groomed, and the groomers at Tahoe Donner did an awful job. I'm not sure it could have theoretically been any better, but I think my standards were increased exponentially by the $22 trail fee (and that was the discounted half-day price. In my mind, for that much, I should be skiing on top diamond encrusted corduroy grooming. Instead, it was very soft, very rutted, off-camber, featured rivers, and was super narrow.
So, it was really, really tough going, but Alex and I got in a solid amount of skiing anyway, so I was good and tired after 1:45, which was about a good time to turn in because the snow was rapidly deteriorating to that point where downhills were as much hard work as the uphills.
Still, again, though, lovely to be out. Great weather. Good people. Most definitely, I can't think of anything better to do at that moment.
Don't get me wrong, it was a lovely, lovely day. Being out was the highlight. It was mostly sunny, I was in shortsleeves, and glorious views in all directions.
On the other hand, thanks to the bout of heavy wedding snow, there was actually trails to be groomed, and the groomers at Tahoe Donner did an awful job. I'm not sure it could have theoretically been any better, but I think my standards were increased exponentially by the $22 trail fee (and that was the discounted half-day price. In my mind, for that much, I should be skiing on top diamond encrusted corduroy grooming. Instead, it was very soft, very rutted, off-camber, featured rivers, and was super narrow.
So, it was really, really tough going, but Alex and I got in a solid amount of skiing anyway, so I was good and tired after 1:45, which was about a good time to turn in because the snow was rapidly deteriorating to that point where downhills were as much hard work as the uphills.
Still, again, though, lovely to be out. Great weather. Good people. Most definitely, I can't think of anything better to do at that moment.
Saturday Mar 29, 2014 #
Wedding 1 [0]
Warm-up: 7 x Box carry w/ sprints
3 x Fluid arm flexors (multiple sets interspersed between other exercises)
100 x Toe jumps
3 x Failed pistol squats
20 x Deep squat twists
10 x Hand raises without any concern
4 x Stationary running
4 x Air guitars w/ high knee kick
1 x Jeremy Renner high-fives
Finished off by 20 minutes of tempo snow lifting.
My kind of workout.
3 x Fluid arm flexors (multiple sets interspersed between other exercises)
100 x Toe jumps
3 x Failed pistol squats
20 x Deep squat twists
10 x Hand raises without any concern
4 x Stationary running
4 x Air guitars w/ high knee kick
1 x Jeremy Renner high-fives
Finished off by 20 minutes of tempo snow lifting.
My kind of workout.
8 AM
Running 1:45:00 [3] 14.01 km (7:30 / km) +475m 6:24 / km
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
I think my Garmin has developed Alzheimer's. It worked perfectly normally this run, until I got to the end, where I hit stop, and it actually didn't reset! I decided this time to restart the time so that hopefully he exercise saves, at which point it promptly reset and ate my workout.
But, now having downloaded it, it didn't eat all of my workout, just parts of it. And random parts. At one point we stopped for people to catch up, so I stopped the watch. Nothing weird. Then later I took a few laps when we started descending, all normal. However, when it reset, it seems to have completely deleted the portion from when I stopped the watch, and the time I took the lap. Its like it just took part of the workout, and only ate that part. Like just a slice of pie. So, I have this weird workout where it knows I did 4km in the middle, but doesn't know where I went, then it randomly ends at the bottom of the hill and stopped recording for the last 15 minutes. Its baffling.
Nice run up Prosser Hill though, with a big gang! That's probably the largest workout I've done in a long time.
But, now having downloaded it, it didn't eat all of my workout, just parts of it. And random parts. At one point we stopped for people to catch up, so I stopped the watch. Nothing weird. Then later I took a few laps when we started descending, all normal. However, when it reset, it seems to have completely deleted the portion from when I stopped the watch, and the time I took the lap. Its like it just took part of the workout, and only ate that part. Like just a slice of pie. So, I have this weird workout where it knows I did 4km in the middle, but doesn't know where I went, then it randomly ends at the bottom of the hill and stopped recording for the last 15 minutes. Its baffling.
Nice run up Prosser Hill though, with a big gang! That's probably the largest workout I've done in a long time.
Friday Mar 28, 2014 #
Running 1:35:00 [1] 11.79 km (8:03 / km) +448m 6:46 / km
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Greg suggested we head up Prosser hill, which is a nice gentle climb up to a sweet ridge top and then a fun switch-back-y downhill. Went relatively slow on the way up, just a comfortable light jog, and then had two girls to push the pace on the way down. Descending is not my forte. I seem to be convinced I'm going to smash my face on something.
Running 50:00 [1] 9.7 km (5:09 / km) +300m 4:28 / km
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
I chose, instead of going for another adventure, to go for a road run. I wanted to scope out the other direction of the climb to the top, up Ski Slope Way, which, going up, is just as awesome. Its not as relentless as I thought when I went down, because you've got three steep pitches followed by a brief respite. A great climb, which will totally be the venue for my time trials.
(SPOILERS! The Time trial never happened. Failure.)
(SPOILERS! The Time trial never happened. Failure.)
Thursday Mar 27, 2014 #
Running 1:30:00 [2] 12.3 km (7:19 / km) +534m 6:01 / km
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Well, this turned epic in short order. I initially thought that maybe I'd just to a short loop, turn back at 45 minutes. But, I got to my turning point, and decided to climb again like I did yesterday. And then I got to a fork in the road, one lead down, one lead up, and I shrugged and kept going up. Then the snow got deeper, and the hill got steeper, and longer, and longer, until I'd pretty much cross that threshold of "now I have to get to the top of this, regardless of what happens". That kilometer that took 12:00 was an awful tough one, as the trail got pretty steep and the snow was now about knee height. Eventually, though, I bushwhacked the last little bit to the top, and it was good. Then I straight lined it back to the valley. And lo, it was also good. All told I climbed from 400 meters in about 6k, so.... as easy workouts go, this was an intense one!
Orienteering 1:05:00 [2] 9.0 km (7:13 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Well, the Garmin ate my workout again. We went out and did a few sprint-length O+ courses at Tahoe Donner. Still plenty o' snow, and I was pretty gassed from the morning (read: 3 hours ago), so it was a concerted jog but was probably at a snail's pace. Just tried to work on looking up, spotting my features from a long way, and leaving the control in the right direction, though even at my speed I don't think I executed that 100% perfectly every single time. I blame the altitude bubble in my compass. (Its a poor workman that blames his tools).
Wednesday Mar 26, 2014 #
Nordic (skating) 1:05:00 [1] 14.7 km (4:25 / km)
Team Walker took me up to the Auburn Ski Club for a tour around there. Not a huge area, at least not what's groomed, but nicely rolling and packed, so fully ski-able. It was kind of cold out, but totally not because it was like +7 and raining, so I was way, way over dressed. But also soaking. I'm sure its a delicate balance.
Running 1:00:00 [1] 10.5 km (5:43 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Went out for a self affirmation blizzard run around the Donner trails. Headed down Alder creek and then randomly climbed up some trails until I ended up on a power line and then on the XC trails which were fully not being used for XC. Climbed up quite a bit more until I got to the top and then meandered down only getting mildly lost though still running in the same direction. At this point it was snowing quite heavily so I'm sure there were many trails out there, I just couldn't see any of them. Super fun, though! These are the runs that are tough to get going on, but are awesome once you're out there.
Tuesday Mar 25, 2014 #
Nordic (skating) 1:00:00 [1] 8.6 km (6:59 / km)
A very cool, windy, and fun ski up on a pass above Tahoe, doing some crust skiing. At first it was bumpy, but then we got into the trees and it was smooth and magnificent. Not exactly the hardest I've ever worked, but it was nice active recovery that made my knee less sore and, yeah, was also really fun.
Running 1:10:00 [1] 13.4 km (5:13 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Lots of trial on this one! Headed down the Alder Creek trail and then followed it past the campground until I got to the next road. That was a really fun trail that was a gentle descent/ascent, and also proposed another alternative to the road version. This one, I could head down to Schussing Way, start from there, and then run the trail right back up to finish at Carol's place. This would be about 5.34k, but with a much gentler climb, only going from 1840 to about 2000. But, its all on trail, which could be more attractive to those who aren't buying in.
Which, if you're counting, is everyone.
Which, if you're counting, is everyone.
Monday Mar 24, 2014 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 10.1 km (5:56 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Well, my everything was fairly sore, particularly my knee, so it was just a light jog with a light 250 meters of climb to the top of Ski Slope Way. I was mildly scoping out what the switch back road looked like in anticipation of my later in the week Time Trial, and yowza, its relentless. I think if I started from Careg's house, I could run along northwood, then make the right and start the climb up to the top. That would be about 5.5k, climbing from around 2000 meters to 2250.
Not bad at all. Could be a slice!
Now, WHO'S WITH ME?
Not bad at all. Could be a slice!
Now, WHO'S WITH ME?
Sunday Mar 23, 2014 #
Orienteering race 45:00 [4] 3.5 km (12:51 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Legs, feet, achilles, quite unhappy today! My lingering knee soreness from some hard core snowboarding last week was also being a little annoying, but all of those things are sorted with some light warm-up (and someone saying go).
This was a quite pleasant sprint around the Mills College campus. Fun little canopies, lots of small passageways, plenty of risky olive green, and a bit of forest too.
I took my sweet time on number one because it was easy to spot that number 2 was meant to be tricky. And, yeah, I lost 4 seconds on number 1, but pulled back another 7 on number 2, because I saw the significantly shorter right route and was able to run it decisively and quickly without hesitation, and figure out number 3 on the way. If anything, I think I was most pleased about that, because it was a really focused and productive start that set the race on a strong foot.
I kept that level of mental focus going for the rest of the race really well, I felt. Conversely, I was not running my heart out. It was a strong concerted pace, but this was no WOC-level effort. I'm not suggesting I wasn't trying, but that extra snap and drive was not quite there. However, it was traded off by the smoother navigation. I think there's more strategery to be had there, and I need to go to races that have a more balanced combination of beating people and getting beat by others. I'm finding myself entering races that have either one or the other. When is China coming up again?
This was a quite pleasant sprint around the Mills College campus. Fun little canopies, lots of small passageways, plenty of risky olive green, and a bit of forest too.
I took my sweet time on number one because it was easy to spot that number 2 was meant to be tricky. And, yeah, I lost 4 seconds on number 1, but pulled back another 7 on number 2, because I saw the significantly shorter right route and was able to run it decisively and quickly without hesitation, and figure out number 3 on the way. If anything, I think I was most pleased about that, because it was a really focused and productive start that set the race on a strong foot.
I kept that level of mental focus going for the rest of the race really well, I felt. Conversely, I was not running my heart out. It was a strong concerted pace, but this was no WOC-level effort. I'm not suggesting I wasn't trying, but that extra snap and drive was not quite there. However, it was traded off by the smoother navigation. I think there's more strategery to be had there, and I need to go to races that have a more balanced combination of beating people and getting beat by others. I'm finding myself entering races that have either one or the other. When is China coming up again?
Orienteering race 30:00 [4] 4.0 km (7:30 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
I hadn't intended to do this race, but there were extra maps, so, heck, let's jump in! A fun little cool-down Farsta on the same map. Not a ton to talk about, basically the same requirements as before. Each loop was in a distinctly different direction, so there was little to no risk of getting pulled by irrelevant controls. Just leave the start in the right direction, and no problem. Nice opportunity to work on some high speed punching though. Sometimes it worked, sometimes, less so.
A nice weekend of racing and many things to be pleased about and equal number of things to work on. One of which is this damn achilles. But, I bought some sweet blue argyle kinesio tape, so that's pretty much 95% of the battle.
A nice weekend of racing and many things to be pleased about and equal number of things to work on. One of which is this damn achilles. But, I bought some sweet blue argyle kinesio tape, so that's pretty much 95% of the battle.
Saturday Mar 22, 2014 #
Orienteering race 2:00:00 [4] 17.0 km (7:04 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Conversely, sometimes, things happen.
After yesterday's debacle, I firstly went back to my ipod and gave some long and hard thought about my procedure and all the things I need to do to be successful. Although I didn't execute all of them perfectly, merely executing them at all at some points was a huge improvement.
It was helpful that the terrain was sufficiently easy that I could execute much of my system on easy mode, and be reasonably assured of success. Right off the bat I took it easy enough that I could spot 1, and then plan for 2, and similarly the run to 2 I could make micro-adjustments in the plan later on the leg, and get a rough idea of the next few. Being so open I focused on keeping my head up, expanding my vision, and trying to see a big picture of the important features and run at a consistent speed. I even thought I climbed pretty well, and wasn't really forced to a walk on any of the uphills until the very long slog on the second long leg, 10-11.
After that there's no doubt the suffer-fest began in earnest, but I made some good choices on smaller route choices that saved me time and climb, and I felt at that point that I could maintain this until the end. Quite a few times, though, I had to yell "focus" to get my mind back on the task at hand, but that helped a lot. (Aside: I would have really liked to have done this at 1:15000)
The tides can turn so quickly in this stupid sport. Sometimes, things happen.
After yesterday's debacle, I firstly went back to my ipod and gave some long and hard thought about my procedure and all the things I need to do to be successful. Although I didn't execute all of them perfectly, merely executing them at all at some points was a huge improvement.
It was helpful that the terrain was sufficiently easy that I could execute much of my system on easy mode, and be reasonably assured of success. Right off the bat I took it easy enough that I could spot 1, and then plan for 2, and similarly the run to 2 I could make micro-adjustments in the plan later on the leg, and get a rough idea of the next few. Being so open I focused on keeping my head up, expanding my vision, and trying to see a big picture of the important features and run at a consistent speed. I even thought I climbed pretty well, and wasn't really forced to a walk on any of the uphills until the very long slog on the second long leg, 10-11.
After that there's no doubt the suffer-fest began in earnest, but I made some good choices on smaller route choices that saved me time and climb, and I felt at that point that I could maintain this until the end. Quite a few times, though, I had to yell "focus" to get my mind back on the task at hand, but that helped a lot. (Aside: I would have really liked to have done this at 1:15000)
The tides can turn so quickly in this stupid sport. Sometimes, things happen.
Friday Mar 21, 2014 #
Event: Run Black Diamond
Orienteering 1:45:00 [1] 15.0 km (7:00 / km)
shoes: Saucony Kinvara TR
Well. This was quite the day.
Sometimes things happen.
It started out at 4:20AM when I got up to catch my flight to San Fran. A two hour connection in Seattle, then arriving in SFO at 11:45, wherein I sprinted to hopefully catch a train to get to the station that someone was going to pick me up. I missed the train, and had to wait an extra 15 for the next one. Eventually I got to the station, 30 minutes late (I was never going to get there on time), and managed to catch them as they were pulling out of the parking lot to leave me behind. Phew!
Then, a quick 45 minute to the race site, and then finagled someone to give me a ride up to the assembly. 12 hours after my day started, my race started.
And wow, did I suck!
As the first forest race of the year, I expected some rustiness, but fundamentally I did none of the things I should do to navigate properly. I used my compass almost not at all, I made zero plans, I left controls without having clue of what I was doing, I didn't read ahead, basically everything I should be doing, I didn't.
So, I botched number 2 and ended up on the wrong ridge because I didn't take a bearing to check my direction once crossing the fence. I did 4 way, way too low because I didn't look to see the height of the control relative to where I was now. I went from 5 to 8 because I upside down number 6 looked like a 9. And then I skipped 9 and when straight from 8 to 10. I botched 12 because I didn't check my control description and couldn't identify where the control was in the circle and didn't take a stop to be absolutely sure. I realized around 18 that I had skipped a control and was definitely not going back, but even then I didn't do anything properly for the last few, and bled time each control on silly little things.
On my ipod I have a list of things I do during each leg, and I haven't looked at it in six months and didn't look at it before the start. I pretty much navigated like I was sprinting, which creates some super, super bad habits for the forest.
This did not feel good. But,
sometimes things happen.
Sometimes things happen.
It started out at 4:20AM when I got up to catch my flight to San Fran. A two hour connection in Seattle, then arriving in SFO at 11:45, wherein I sprinted to hopefully catch a train to get to the station that someone was going to pick me up. I missed the train, and had to wait an extra 15 for the next one. Eventually I got to the station, 30 minutes late (I was never going to get there on time), and managed to catch them as they were pulling out of the parking lot to leave me behind. Phew!
Then, a quick 45 minute to the race site, and then finagled someone to give me a ride up to the assembly. 12 hours after my day started, my race started.
And wow, did I suck!
As the first forest race of the year, I expected some rustiness, but fundamentally I did none of the things I should do to navigate properly. I used my compass almost not at all, I made zero plans, I left controls without having clue of what I was doing, I didn't read ahead, basically everything I should be doing, I didn't.
So, I botched number 2 and ended up on the wrong ridge because I didn't take a bearing to check my direction once crossing the fence. I did 4 way, way too low because I didn't look to see the height of the control relative to where I was now. I went from 5 to 8 because I upside down number 6 looked like a 9. And then I skipped 9 and when straight from 8 to 10. I botched 12 because I didn't check my control description and couldn't identify where the control was in the circle and didn't take a stop to be absolutely sure. I realized around 18 that I had skipped a control and was definitely not going back, but even then I didn't do anything properly for the last few, and bled time each control on silly little things.
On my ipod I have a list of things I do during each leg, and I haven't looked at it in six months and didn't look at it before the start. I pretty much navigated like I was sprinting, which creates some super, super bad habits for the forest.
This did not feel good. But,
sometimes things happen.
Thursday Mar 20, 2014 #
Running 45:00 [1] 9.0 km (5:00 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 16
I'm pleased I was able to get in at least a bit of a run between jobs. For a while there I suspected I might not have time, since I realized I needed to re-set my computer up for remote usage next week in Tahoe, so that was an extra half an hour. Still, I managed to get out and get in a bit of a jog in the surprisingly cold weather! Got back just in time to do almost nothing for 2 hours except online shop. OOH, speaking of which, now that I've remembered, I need to do some online shopping.
Wednesday Mar 19, 2014 #
Cycling 30:00 [1]
Hopped on the trainer for a morning commute to nowhere. I got there quickly.
Orienteering 1:05:00 [3] 10.02 km (6:29 / km)
shoes: Inov-8 X-Talon 212
Headed out on the model map for this weekend's US Team Trials. I wanted to at least get the rust out of navigating in the forest a little, on Friday I will have woken up at 4:30AM to get my flight to San Fran, and then hustle all day in the hopes of just barely making my not remarkably late start time (despite asking for one!). I wouldn't be overly sad if I missed it, I just hope I get out and run the course at pace, even if my first control inadvertently takes 34 minutes instead of 4.
As I was going through the loop, I observed that this was an unusually high level of rose bushes for California, at which point I realized that this was not in fact the model map, but was the Edmonton River Valley. Huh, I wonder how that happened. Oh well, O+ is O+, wherever it may take place. Hopefully I got at least some of my good habits back in my brain.
As I was going through the loop, I observed that this was an unusually high level of rose bushes for California, at which point I realized that this was not in fact the model map, but was the Edmonton River Valley. Huh, I wonder how that happened. Oh well, O+ is O+, wherever it may take place. Hopefully I got at least some of my good habits back in my brain.
Monday Mar 17, 2014 #
Running 1:15:00 [1] 15.75 km (4:46 / km)
shoes: Salomon Speedcross
Back at it! And by that I mean, my Garmin is back at eating workouts. This time I honestly thought I'd gotten away with it, since it reset when I hit stop, but then I didn't plug it in right away and it ate it later instead. Awesome.
Went for a nice slush run to scope out a small section of potential forest for my wednesday event in a month's time. Its north facing, so I could go for some real warm weather, to melt that up so it'll be runnable. It'd be great to have a little piece of something that no one's used before. After a quick out and back to check that out I continued around the loop and then home.
I thought that a lighter weekend of running would be good for my achilles, but it didn't quite seem to, as it was bothersome in the last ten minutes or so. Its plausibly because I was on my trail shoes on road, which is probably the worst combination. I'll tape it up tomorrow and see what happens.
Went for a nice slush run to scope out a small section of potential forest for my wednesday event in a month's time. Its north facing, so I could go for some real warm weather, to melt that up so it'll be runnable. It'd be great to have a little piece of something that no one's used before. After a quick out and back to check that out I continued around the loop and then home.
I thought that a lighter weekend of running would be good for my achilles, but it didn't quite seem to, as it was bothersome in the last ten minutes or so. Its plausibly because I was on my trail shoes on road, which is probably the worst combination. I'll tape it up tomorrow and see what happens.
Sunday Mar 16, 2014 #
Note
A ridiculously awesome ski day at Sunshine again. 10cm of new snow over night and non-stop snow all day. And who says there's no powder days in spring? There was soft stuff to be found everywhere. Sure, it was also a whiteout and on the continental divide you could see jack-all, but it was still fantastic in the trees, and I don't mind the low visibility. Just need to be a bit more ready for anything. By the end of the day though, my knees were very unhappy, so we packed it in a half hour early and headed home.
Then, on the drive back to E-town, my lights stopped working, so I had to drive the last hour with my brights on. Fun!
Its a 'me'-dia overload!
And no, I'm not like most snowboarders.
Then, on the drive back to E-town, my lights stopped working, so I had to drive the last hour with my brights on. Fun!
Its a 'me'-dia overload!
And no, I'm not like most snowboarders.
Saturday Mar 15, 2014 #
Nordic (skating) 1:30:00 [2] 20.8 km (4:20 / km)
Holy moly its ski-orienteering. What is my final verdict on ski-orienteering? I'd call it.... "fun-adjacent". Sure, its skiing, and its orienteering, but you also have to wear that goofy looking harness, some route choices could plausibly make you take your skis off, sometimes you're forced to bushwhack on skis or go down hills that are far to narrow or ungroomed to be able to snowplow so you have to go on a wing and prayer you don't break something, and you can't tuck because you get a metal clipboard to the face. its all just so ridiculous.
Before leaving, my mother suddenly emerged with two metal chest clipboards, who knew we even had these things? They were super old and worn down, so I had to use rubber bands to stick the map to the board, which caused it to folder over itself a bit. It was also super bouncy so it was next to impossible to read anything without holding it. I also kept hitting it when I swung my arms through, I'm not sure if that's normal or not...
No doubt, I definitely made some mistakes. Everything came up really quickly or really slowly, I just could not gauge the distance very well at all. I also went for one route choice that wasn't groomed, so that was mostly just unlucky. But, things like the last few legs where I could blast down the hills of the world cup course zigging and zagging to skip from one really nicely groomed trail to the other, was delightful. I would presume because I could actually ski freely during those parts.
I think, that if I lived in Europe, I'd probably race Ski-O, because its still a race and its something to do if it were nearby. But I'm not any more enthusiastic to drop insane amounts of cash in the winter as I already do in the summer to pursue this sport.
So, yes, fun-adjacent. Thanks to Adrian Zissos for putting it on!
And now: photo evidence.
Before leaving, my mother suddenly emerged with two metal chest clipboards, who knew we even had these things? They were super old and worn down, so I had to use rubber bands to stick the map to the board, which caused it to folder over itself a bit. It was also super bouncy so it was next to impossible to read anything without holding it. I also kept hitting it when I swung my arms through, I'm not sure if that's normal or not...
No doubt, I definitely made some mistakes. Everything came up really quickly or really slowly, I just could not gauge the distance very well at all. I also went for one route choice that wasn't groomed, so that was mostly just unlucky. But, things like the last few legs where I could blast down the hills of the world cup course zigging and zagging to skip from one really nicely groomed trail to the other, was delightful. I would presume because I could actually ski freely during those parts.
I think, that if I lived in Europe, I'd probably race Ski-O, because its still a race and its something to do if it were nearby. But I'm not any more enthusiastic to drop insane amounts of cash in the winter as I already do in the summer to pursue this sport.
So, yes, fun-adjacent. Thanks to Adrian Zissos for putting it on!
And now: photo evidence.
Nordic (skating) 1:00:00 [1] 17.1 km (3:31 / km)
Doubled-down on nordic with another really nice ski in the evening. Did the Bow trail and then climbed up to along the top. Those old trails are so, so nice to ski. It was getting back to being somewhat fast again, as you could tell it was melting during the day then slowly starting to freeze as the evening rolled in. A really nice ski.
Its strange to compare the feeling of going 55km/h on skis as it is on a snowboard. A little bit harder work to go around a corner on nordic at that speed, but at least in a straight line, I don't feel any less stable.
Its strange to compare the feeling of going 55km/h on skis as it is on a snowboard. A little bit harder work to go around a corner on nordic at that speed, but at least in a straight line, I don't feel any less stable.
Friday Mar 14, 2014 #
Nordic (skating) 30:00 [1] 6.76 km (4:26 / km)
Finally I get to use my new snowboard gear! Friday downhill at Sunshine with Maryann and Kristen. No particular new snow, so many of the runs were well worn or just plain ol' groomed. However, we're willing to walk so we found a place where we could do a short hike and get (however briefly) some completely unskied powder in some trees and simply did that over and over again. It was sweet! I carried my phone and downloaded an app, and it said we did 36.8 distance, 5.9km of vertical, had a sustained speed of 54.6 km/h, and maxed out at 63.4 km/h. Kind of neat-o!
After we got home we also headed up to the nordic centre for a fairly short and slow recovery ski, since the legs were pretty ruined already! Good to get out and hopefully will make the legs feel better for tomorrow.
After we got home we also headed up to the nordic centre for a fairly short and slow recovery ski, since the legs were pretty ruined already! Good to get out and hopefully will make the legs feel better for tomorrow.
Thursday Mar 13, 2014 #
Note
Travel and work day! Had to get into the office right quick to polish off some work before heading down to Canmore for the weekend. Thought I could squeeze in a run or a bike, but alas, it did not happen.
Wednesday Mar 12, 2014 #
Nordic (skating) 1:15:00 [1] 20.37 km (3:41 / km)
I decided to head down to Victoria for another nice easy ski in the +11 degree weather. Victoria is definitely getting a little worse for wear and has some distinct puddles. I daresay they could almost be called lakes. So, the sunny bit was death slow, and the shady bit was still fast, but its deteriorating rapidly. Lovely evening to be out, though, awesome weather.
I also spent a bit of time attempting to take a selfie for CBC's Edmonton weather contest where you can win a retro CBC touque by submitting a picture that illustrates Edmonton's weather. It was a ticking clock with the sun going down and being unable to prop my phone up on the snow and then press the shoot button and try to be in a good position skiing by with the 10 second timer. It actually only took me about 5-6 tries. Then a little filter action... and...
Nailed it!
UPDATE: I won. That's 2/2 on CBC photo contests. Boom.
I also spent a bit of time attempting to take a selfie for CBC's Edmonton weather contest where you can win a retro CBC touque by submitting a picture that illustrates Edmonton's weather. It was a ticking clock with the sun going down and being unable to prop my phone up on the snow and then press the shoot button and try to be in a good position skiing by with the 10 second timer. It actually only took me about 5-6 tries. Then a little filter action... and...
Nailed it!
UPDATE: I won. That's 2/2 on CBC photo contests. Boom.
Tuesday Mar 11, 2014 #
Running 1:05:00 [1] 13.5 km (4:49 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 16
A nice run around the river valley on partly trails. They've not quite turned into swamps yet, just soft melty snow. It meant the trail bit was a bit slow going and the road parts are absolutely covered in gravel. I'm astounded at just how much sand the city lays down on bike paths. I should go collect some and use it to fill holes in the driveway.
I've got my achilles all taped up with Kinesio tape, which seems to make it feel nice, at least for a little while. Rather than feeling sore out the door, it took about an hour before it felt more sore than before (I'm on fire today!) when I didn't have it taped. I'm a little disappointed at how the Wave Rider's I've got feel in comparison to the old Precisions, they feel harder and don't quite have the bounce. I feel I'll be more likely to use my new Pure Cadences more often, and even keep using my old precisions until they're really, really ruined. Though maybe I should finally start running in my glow in the dark 890s.
Nah, they're way too pretty.
I've got my achilles all taped up with Kinesio tape, which seems to make it feel nice, at least for a little while. Rather than feeling sore out the door, it took about an hour before it felt more sore than before (I'm on fire today!) when I didn't have it taped. I'm a little disappointed at how the Wave Rider's I've got feel in comparison to the old Precisions, they feel harder and don't quite have the bounce. I feel I'll be more likely to use my new Pure Cadences more often, and even keep using my old precisions until they're really, really ruined. Though maybe I should finally start running in my glow in the dark 890s.
Nah, they're way too pretty.
Monday Mar 10, 2014 #
Note
The world is coming to an end.
I've just registered for a ski-orienteering race.
I've just registered for a ski-orienteering race.
Nordic (skating) 1:00:00 [1] 20.0 km (3:00 / km)
You know how, when you're pretty sore, the thing you often do is go out and do the same activity that made you sore in an effort to make it slightly less sore? Well, that's the theory I went on, and I went down to Victoria for an easy skate ski. It was a lovely evening, in fact, the snow was getting a little melty so it was soft, but not soft like loppet soft, so it was fairly fast.
Enjoyed my time enough that I got lost in my thoughts and kept going round and round until I tuned back in when my GPS decided to reset and eat my workout. Thanks Garmin. I'm pretty sure it was close to an hour, and I managed to get one lap in that said it was about 2k and 6 minutes. So... 20k it is!
-ish!
Enjoyed my time enough that I got lost in my thoughts and kept going round and round until I tuned back in when my GPS decided to reset and eat my workout. Thanks Garmin. I'm pretty sure it was close to an hour, and I managed to get one lap in that said it was about 2k and 6 minutes. So... 20k it is!
-ish!
Sunday Mar 9, 2014 #
Nordic (skating) 1:50:00 [5] 35.0 km (3:09 / km)
Beat the Blues Boogie loppet!
Its weird, for most of the year, the grooming at SWC is great. Nice and firm, usually fairly fast. And then, the day of our loppet, they panic and seem to groom about an hour before the start and turn it into soft and deathly slow. Thankfully, this year, they forgot to re-groom half the trail. So, one side was still firm and really fast, and one side was really not. As the race went on, the trail started to soften up and slow down, but the track did not. Guess what that meant?
Marathon skate for everyone!
Yep, I spent a large majority of the race double-poing in the track, or doing a whole megaton of marathon skate. I was really surprised to learn that quite a few people never figured it out. I think I was about halfway around my first lap (of 6) when I concluded this was the ticket.
Myself and Lukas, my usual combatant, hung on to the leaders for the first two laps, though near the end of the second Lukas started to drop back and I decided I'd try to catch a ride with the leaders. I assumed they were doing 20k. Near the lap lane, when they started sprinting, I realized that, no, no they're only doing 10k. Great, now I'm all alone. Pretty much at that point I had to go with my original strategy which was to gap Lukas between 5-25 k so that I didn't have to contend with his 10k speed and be unable to sprint by him at the end.
This actually worked out quite well! I just kept my tempo up, and really focused on maintaining as much speed as I can by staying in the track, and getting back in the track whenever I had to step out. According to Strava, I had laps of 13:21, 13:25, 13:59, 13:54, 14:14, and then the last one is a bit shorter and doesn't count. So, despite the warming and the snow getting much slower, I stayed [relatively] consistent! I wish I'd worn my HR monitor because I felt like I was redlining it from about 9k. Very pleased with my persistence. That was a solid 1:22:23 of suffering.
Its weird, for most of the year, the grooming at SWC is great. Nice and firm, usually fairly fast. And then, the day of our loppet, they panic and seem to groom about an hour before the start and turn it into soft and deathly slow. Thankfully, this year, they forgot to re-groom half the trail. So, one side was still firm and really fast, and one side was really not. As the race went on, the trail started to soften up and slow down, but the track did not. Guess what that meant?
Marathon skate for everyone!
Yep, I spent a large majority of the race double-poing in the track, or doing a whole megaton of marathon skate. I was really surprised to learn that quite a few people never figured it out. I think I was about halfway around my first lap (of 6) when I concluded this was the ticket.
Myself and Lukas, my usual combatant, hung on to the leaders for the first two laps, though near the end of the second Lukas started to drop back and I decided I'd try to catch a ride with the leaders. I assumed they were doing 20k. Near the lap lane, when they started sprinting, I realized that, no, no they're only doing 10k. Great, now I'm all alone. Pretty much at that point I had to go with my original strategy which was to gap Lukas between 5-25 k so that I didn't have to contend with his 10k speed and be unable to sprint by him at the end.
This actually worked out quite well! I just kept my tempo up, and really focused on maintaining as much speed as I can by staying in the track, and getting back in the track whenever I had to step out. According to Strava, I had laps of 13:21, 13:25, 13:59, 13:54, 14:14, and then the last one is a bit shorter and doesn't count. So, despite the warming and the snow getting much slower, I stayed [relatively] consistent! I wish I'd worn my HR monitor because I felt like I was redlining it from about 9k. Very pleased with my persistence. That was a solid 1:22:23 of suffering.
Running 40:00 [1] 7.7 km (5:12 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Indignation forced me to go for another workout. I hammered straight from the race to work at the shop, then drove home and got up the energy to go for a run after some stretching and rolling. It was supposed to be 45 minutes and easy, and it was 40 minutes and faster than that. Oops!
Saturday Mar 8, 2014 #
Running 1:20:00 [2] 16.3 km (4:54 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider 16
Finally the weather is pleasant enough to want to go outside again, so I headed out on my new favorite loop for a run. It was a tad warmer than anticipated so I was a tad warmer than anticipated. Changed it up a little and went through the grandview trail.
When I got home, I noticed there was a new Strava segment called "Steep, Steeper, Steepest, Part 1". So, what the crap, people, somebody has made a Strava segment and named it based on the name I give that workout.
Ah, who am I kidding, I know exactly who made that segment. You know those people who will pretend they're interested in something, not because they're genuinely interested, but because they find it funny that someone else could actually be interested in that thing? And so they either bait you into talking about it, or do little gestures that come off as being genuine but they fully intend to have a real good laugh about the response they get afterwards? Its especially effective on well-meaning people who aren't self-aware enough to know they're actually being made fun of. We've all done it at one point or another, and I rarely feel good about it afterwards. In this case, its that they know, for funsies, I gave that workout a name (because, I mean, who names workouts, MIRITE?), and they presumably find it funny (and stupid) that I named it. Its so... junior high. I can but only roll my eyes at it and tuck it in the back of my brain for when I get to hit them in the groin with some sort of blunt object.
When I got home, I noticed there was a new Strava segment called "Steep, Steeper, Steepest, Part 1". So, what the crap, people, somebody has made a Strava segment and named it based on the name I give that workout.
Ah, who am I kidding, I know exactly who made that segment. You know those people who will pretend they're interested in something, not because they're genuinely interested, but because they find it funny that someone else could actually be interested in that thing? And so they either bait you into talking about it, or do little gestures that come off as being genuine but they fully intend to have a real good laugh about the response they get afterwards? Its especially effective on well-meaning people who aren't self-aware enough to know they're actually being made fun of. We've all done it at one point or another, and I rarely feel good about it afterwards. In this case, its that they know, for funsies, I gave that workout a name (because, I mean, who names workouts, MIRITE?), and they presumably find it funny (and stupid) that I named it. Its so... junior high. I can but only roll my eyes at it and tuck it in the back of my brain for when I get to hit them in the groin with some sort of blunt object.
Friday Mar 7, 2014 #
Nordic (classic) 1:10:00 [1] 12.3 km (5:41 / km)
Wow, was this a slow ski. I'm not complaining. A lot of little sore bits around my feet, back and shoulders and a 30k on a Sunday suggested that just getting out to get my heart rate up is as good as I should aim for. Lovely conditions, though, and virtually deserted. Apparently people have social lives or something on Friday nights.
Thursday Mar 6, 2014 #
Cycling 45:00 [1]
Since yesterday I didn't do much other than learning how to sell sports bras, I thought I should double-down today, so I got on my trainer in the morning and spun/sweat for a while.
Running 1:00:00 [1] 11.5 km (5:13 / km)
shoes: Salomon Speedcross
A snowy run around the river valley before working at the shop. I'm not going to call it achilles tendinitis, but its like..... I have a stretched tendon. Where my achilles is. Its not exactly new, but it comes and goes, and usually about 20 minutes of running makes it warm up and be less painful. Its not something that bothers me too much, unless I think about Daniel Hubmann running into the finish of the Euro champs and having it rupture in the chute. I'd really, really prefer if that didn't happen.
So each month CBC has a listing of songs you should have listened to over the last month, and for February they had one that was not only a cool song, but an absolutely hilarious video. Normally I'd just embed it, but this one is slightly more PG-13, so, I'm just going to post the link, and then you should watch it.
Its all about marketing. And headbutts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8b4xYbEugo
So each month CBC has a listing of songs you should have listened to over the last month, and for February they had one that was not only a cool song, but an absolutely hilarious video. Normally I'd just embed it, but this one is slightly more PG-13, so, I'm just going to post the link, and then you should watch it.
Its all about marketing. And headbutts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8b4xYbEugo
Tuesday Mar 4, 2014 #
Cycling 45:00 [1]
Newsflash. Soccer still bad for me, so says the giant bruise on my shin and the rather sore bicep. Hopefully less painful for the race this weekend!
Sunday Mar 2, 2014 #
Running 45:00 [1] 7.5 km (6:00 / km)
shoes: Mizuno Wave Precision
Went to the shop and did another run on the treadmill. I notice I've started to fog up the windows when I do this, so I guess I need to either tone down the intensity, or stop sweating so much. Or run outside, I suppose. But, the great thing about the treadmill, aside from getting lost in my thoughts (which is really a 'take or leave it' aspect), is that I can do some continuous climbing. So, I did around 5:10 pace but at an incline of 6 on the treadmill. A nice, continuous uphill session. I wish I normally had hills like that to run.
Weights 45:00 [1]
Afterwards, I did a new shop strength workout, just to change things up. First was a clock lunge set, then 3 sets of 1 minute on/1 minute off of frenchies, single-leg box jumps, push-ups with mods, one leg step-up jumps, and then either dips or standing shoulder press (with the intent of eventually doing handstand push-ups again, yes, I once could do handstand push-ups! It was my greatest athletic achievement).
Its a nice variety, and I think will be a good change for the next little while, depending on how long shop strength continues.
Its a nice variety, and I think will be a good change for the next little while, depending on how long shop strength continues.
Saturday Mar 1, 2014 #
Running 1:00:00 [1] 9.5 km (6:19 / km)
shoes: Brooks Cadence 2
Well, its still -1000 out, so even though I'm not working at the shop today, I decided to get there early and run on the treadmill and do some shop strength. I did an easy 20 minutes, followed by 20 minutes at 4:00/k, which was nice and comfortable. It was at about 18 minutes that I realized that the treadmill was slowly sliding away into the wall. For some reason the pew that the treadmill sits behind was getting further and further away. And further and it probably would have started melting the wall. I should probably note that for next time. Time to the treadmill to something. Finished it off with 15 minutes of shop strength. Got my "T-Rex Arms" up to 10 pull-ups. So, pbbbbfftthhhh.
Cycling 45:00 [1]
I did a lot of strong work today. I sat around. Accomplished virtually nothing. Shredded some documents. Snacked. Had a nap. Watched the new-esque Hunger Games movie. Wisted. Wore my new toe spacers. Ate pudding. And... rode on my trainer for 45 minutes.