Training Log Archive: SwampfoxIn the 31 days ending Jan 31, 2010:
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Sunday Jan 31, 2010 #
skiing 2:10:00 [3]
The snow be old, but it feels fast. Or maybe it feels fast because it is old, despite the best efforts of the beetle pines to add pine needles and bark fragments to the mix? Very nice out.
run 1:27:00 [3]
I had thought I might go out and run on one of the maps, but I was going to be running in the late afternoon and the wind was up a little bit. When I thought it over again, I realized that, no, what I *really* wanted to do was run on snow trails in the forest, so that's what I did. ; ) It was a good decision.
Note
I was curious to see how January's running volume compared with other years. Last year I ran about 21 1/2 hrs during January. The most I've run in January in the past 12 years was in 2006, when for some reason I ended up running about 38 1/2 hrs. Maybe that was the year lots of mountain lions were around? I can't be sure.
This January, I ran 29 1/2 hrs, so compared to last year, not so bad, volume-wise. Especially considering I just did whatever I felt like, with nothing special in mind.
This January, I ran 29 1/2 hrs, so compared to last year, not so bad, volume-wise. Especially considering I just did whatever I felt like, with nothing special in mind.
Saturday Jan 30, 2010 #
Note
On the next last day of January, the Laramie Valley moves back into the part of the year that has at least 10 hrs of sunshine each day (the crowd in the distance applauds and gives a few cowboy hollers as well.)
skiing 1:42:00 [2]
The Snowy Snow Commission met and ruled 3-0 that Wednesday night's snow was not sufficient to constitute a drought breaking snowfall. So therefore the drought continues, now going on for 3 1/2 weeks. The trails remain in great shape despite that. Really, the only thing marring the trails is all the dog piss.
Another brilliant afternoon with mild temps, lots of sunshine, and no wind.
Another brilliant afternoon with mild temps, lots of sunshine, and no wind.
Friday Jan 29, 2010 #
run 1:03:00 [2]
The sun is out full strength today, and while a cold start to the day held things off for a bit, by the time I was finished up running, the sun had gained enough purchase to start working away at the blankets of ice cloaking most of the side streets in Laramie. I'm looking forward to seeing ice waters sweeping down the streets later in the day--kind of like the scablands, but on a smaller scale.
skiing 1:19:00 [3]
Sparse amount of skiers this afternoon, probably because all the ski teams are off at races this weekend.
run 59:00 [3]
Beautiful run after skiing, with no wind and with the big full moon rising up out of the eastern plains to glow up the snow.
Wednesday Jan 27, 2010 #
run 44:00 [2]
skiing 1:48:00 [3]
Light snow was falling for the last half of the ski--at last some new snow!
Tuesday Jan 26, 2010 #
run 45:00 [2]
Neither snowing nor sunny out. The winds have died down, and that's the main thing.
skiing 1:23:00 [2]
run 56:00 [3]
Note
I think tomorrow makes it 3 weeks since our last snow. Despite that, the trails remain in very good shape. I wonder how well typical trails in the NE hold up these days without new snow for 3 weeks? Do they turn into ice? Or does the grass underneath start to show? Do the skiers start to fret and slash their strong pole side in attempts to appease the gods?
Maybe it will start snowing again in February.
Maybe it will start snowing again in February.
Monday Jan 25, 2010 #
Note
5th week of winter; 9 2/3 hours of daylight.
C • DLT? 2
skiing 1:51:00 [2]
A bit chilly with some big wind. It looked like a little new snow had fallen at Happy Jack, even though there had been none down in the valley.
run 53:00 [3]
More wind made for a brisk run up at Happy Jack.
Sunday Jan 24, 2010 #
skiing 1:42:00 [3]
Temps were a little cooler than they have been recently, and the winds were back up to full SE Wyoming winter strength after being away for an exceptional 2 weeks. The winds meant there was a good amount of blowdown out of the beetle killed pines. Fast snow, and the Zone of Death made a reappearance at the end of the skiing.
run 47:00 [2]
Ran out around on the North Prairie, where the winds were howling away. A few people were "running/driving" their frigid dogs around (the people were in their cars driving; the dogs were out burning calories, trying to keep up with the cars.)
Saturday Jan 23, 2010 #
skiing 2:01:00 [2]
run 1:01:00 [2]
Windy again at last this afternoon--about time!
Friday Jan 22, 2010 #
run 1:15:00 [2]
A full month into calendar winter, and 9:44 of daylight now. More if you stand somewhere on high ground on the east side of the valley. ; )
skiing 1:33:00 [2]
run 42:00 [2]
Thursday Jan 21, 2010 #
run 54:00 [2]
Wednesday Jan 20, 2010 #
skiing 1:10:00 [3]
From town it looked like there were snow clouds and that it was snowing over the Laramie Range, which proved to be the case. However, it was very light snow and only amounted to a dusting on the trails. Good skiing though.
run 1:04:00 [3]
Apres skiing, on snow packed trails. Great sunset colors, even if there was no sunset to be seen.
Tuesday Jan 19, 2010 #
run 1:04:00 [2]
A few snowflakes were in the air.
skiing 1:27:00 [3]
Monday Jan 18, 2010 #
run 42:00 [3]
Some of these holidays confuse me. I know banks and the markets are closed today, and I'm not expecting any mail, but otherwise, from running around town this morning, this holiday looks about like any other day as far as I can tell. Schools appear to be open, construction sites are filled with workers, and the interstate is, strictly speaking, hummina-hummina. But that's cool.
skiing 1:24:00 [3]
Very fast snow today.
run (4600) 46:00 [3]
Ran from the ski trails down the Happy Jack road as dark was falling, going far enough east to get the great view of the lights of Cheyenne (the actual place, not the O' map, though I had a view over the map, too.)
My guess is that Cheyenne is likely to experience significant growth during the next economic expansion.
My guess is that Cheyenne is likely to experience significant growth during the next economic expansion.
Sunday Jan 17, 2010 #
skiing 1:41:00 [2]
Another beautiful afternoon, and another day with no wind to speak of.
Lots of folks were up at Happy Jack and even in the late afternoon the parking lot was still 95% full.
Lots of folks were up at Happy Jack and even in the late afternoon the parking lot was still 95% full.
run 1:12:00 [3]
Mostly on snow packed trails.
Saturday Jan 16, 2010 #
run 1:34:00 [2]
skiing 1:39:00 [3]
Friday Jan 15, 2010 #
Note
Back in the part of the year where sunshine exceeds 9 1/2 hrs/day. Always nice to emerge from the darkest part (very approximately 1/6th) of the year. Probably means someone should go skiing today!
skiing 1:34:00 [2]
run 49:00 [3]
Thursday Jan 14, 2010 #
skiing 1:43:00 [3]
Wednesday Jan 13, 2010 #
skiing 2:00:00 [3]
run 47:00 [3]
Tuesday Jan 12, 2010 #
run 1:09:00 [3]
Ran out in the Flats; tough going much of the way--the snow is deeper than I can ever remember running out there before. It doesn't usually get so deep because of strong scouring action from the winds. But still so far--keep fingers crossed--the winds haven't been so bad on average this winter, and *nothing* like last winter, when they were out of category.
There was one carcass in a little draw. It might have been an antelope or a mule deer, but I couldn't tell. There wasn't much left besides the rib cage and lots of blood in the snow. It must have died not much more than a few days ago, since the last storm. And the question would be from what? Natural causes? Or poached?
There was one carcass in a little draw. It might have been an antelope or a mule deer, but I couldn't tell. There wasn't much left besides the rib cage and lots of blood in the snow. It must have died not much more than a few days ago, since the last storm. And the question would be from what? Natural causes? Or poached?
skiing 1:59:00 [3]
Mild, probably about what it's been like in Tallahasee lately. No wind.
Monday Jan 11, 2010 #
skiing 1:11:00 [3]
Noon skiing--100% perfect! Blue skies, no wind, temps in the low 30s, fresh corduroy on the trails...so fine!
Another half dozen or so beetle killed trees bit the dust today.
Another half dozen or so beetle killed trees bit the dust today.
skiing 1:15:00 [3]
run 48:00 [3]
No wind at sunset up top at Happy Jack. Folks who haven't spent a winter here in Laramie would have no chance of properly appreciating this!
Note
9 hrs 26 min. of sunshine today!
Sunday Jan 10, 2010 #
skiing 2:06:00 [3]
Very nice conditions, no wind, 100% sun, mild, lots of skiers out. Parking lot jammed and a good many cars over on the frontage road by the Visitors Center, too.
One raven, and one sunny section of trail which many people were avoiding because of a dangerous outbreak of snow fleas. However it was truly no worries as a snowshoer had fallen down there and thus the snow fleas had of course gone for the easy prey.
One raven, and one sunny section of trail which many people were avoiding because of a dangerous outbreak of snow fleas. However it was truly no worries as a snowshoer had fallen down there and thus the snow fleas had of course gone for the easy prey.
run 1:06:00 [3]
Ran snowy trails at Happy Jack to run out the day.
Note
I had sincerely intended to ski longer. However, as usual, I made the fatal mistake of looking at Eagle Cam and got sucked in. It's way worse than crack cocaine or even NCAA basketball.
Saturday Jan 9, 2010 #
run 37:00 [2]
It looks like we're finally going to get some melting action on the streets going on, after a brief taste of what it might be like to live Fairbanks.
I ran into a cowgirl from Fairbanks a few days ago, and she said it's not the cold that's so hard to take, it's all the dark. Fairbanks and Laramie are very close in size, and other than Fairbanks having more Army people and Laramie having more college people, and other than Fairbanks being close to sea level and Laramie being not close to sea level, they are probably a lot more like than most people would inuit.
I ran into a cowgirl from Fairbanks a few days ago, and she said it's not the cold that's so hard to take, it's all the dark. Fairbanks and Laramie are very close in size, and other than Fairbanks having more Army people and Laramie having more college people, and other than Fairbanks being close to sea level and Laramie being not close to sea level, they are probably a lot more like than most people would inuit.
skiing 2:16:00 [3]
The snow at Happy Jack had warmed up enough to go from very sharp and crystalline to a more creamy texture. A giant bird was hiding in the woods. I'm not sure what it was. I was very glad it flew off and didn't try to eat me, because nobody was around to help at that particular point.
Friday Jan 8, 2010 #
skiing 1:40:00 [2]
run 46:00 [2]
Thursday Jan 7, 2010 #
skiing 1:43:00 [2]
Very cold day, maybe on average the coldest I've seen since I've been in Laramie. It was only -15F as late as 10:30 this morning despite it being 100% sunshine. At 5:00 pm, it's -7F. It got a little warmer in between, but I don't think it was much warmer. Cold as a coven of witches, in other words.
It was a real advantage to try to find bits of sunshine on the trails, and be sure to ski through them all. Completely the opposite thing you might do while running on a hot day, where you'd instead be seeking out the bits of shade.
At least the wind wasn't up to jet stream speeds! On a day like today, that would have been bad.
On the way home, 4 antelope sprinted across a very icy Grand Ave. right in front of me. One slipped and fell right in front of a truck (but wasn't hit by the truck, as the truck was stopped to turn), and didn't get back up. It might have had the wind knocked out of it, or it might have broken a leg, poor thing.
It was a real advantage to try to find bits of sunshine on the trails, and be sure to ski through them all. Completely the opposite thing you might do while running on a hot day, where you'd instead be seeking out the bits of shade.
At least the wind wasn't up to jet stream speeds! On a day like today, that would have been bad.
On the way home, 4 antelope sprinted across a very icy Grand Ave. right in front of me. One slipped and fell right in front of a truck (but wasn't hit by the truck, as the truck was stopped to turn), and didn't get back up. It might have had the wind knocked out of it, or it might have broken a leg, poor thing.
Wednesday Jan 6, 2010 #
Yowsa!!! 1 [2]
run 17:00 [2]
Note
Kansas vs. Cornell--talk about divided loyalties!
skiing 2:18:00 [2]
Trails were deep in new snow, tough going. And the trail net was almost empty; I got up there at lunch time, and the lunch group was light because of the weather, and nobody from the afternoon crowd had showed up yet by the time I was finishing up.
Or maybe nobody else was going to be showing up anyway. It was getting cold--when I started, it was 10F, and it was -4F by the time I hit the Zone of Death--and the winds were picking up.
No way I would have made it out of the parking lot without 4 wheel drive, so thanks for that! I was really almost surprised the gate across the Happy Jack road wasn't down when I left, because the conditions were not good.
Three more beetle kill pines bit the dust today.
Or maybe nobody else was going to be showing up anyway. It was getting cold--when I started, it was 10F, and it was -4F by the time I hit the Zone of Death--and the winds were picking up.
No way I would have made it out of the parking lot without 4 wheel drive, so thanks for that! I was really almost surprised the gate across the Happy Jack road wasn't down when I left, because the conditions were not good.
Three more beetle kill pines bit the dust today.
Yowsa!!! 1 [4]
Doubled up on Yowsa!!! today. Really no excuse--I just couldn't help myself, and gave into the temptation.
Tuesday Jan 5, 2010 #
skiing 56:00 [2]
Took out my combi skis in an effort to ski off the remnants of some kick wax, put on quite a while (season?) ago. One more ski should get the rest of it off. Conditions were great. Winds were sweeping snow out of the valley, across the Happy Jack Road, and into the beetle kill forest. It might have even been above freezing in the sun, but that's not going to last much longer; colder air is on the way down, courtesy of our friends from the north.
skiing 1:16:00 [4]
Fast snow. Big wind. Many skiers. Ice in parking lot. Ice on Happy Jack Road. Ice on interstate. No wrecks.
Note
I don't know what it was, but while I was skiing this afternoon, I felt unusually strong and fast. Was it some root or altered mushroom I ate last night? I don't know. The best way to describe it is it felt like I was dancing barefoot.
I'm dancing barefoot
heading for a spin
some strange music draws me in...
--from "Dancing Barefoot" by Patti Smith
I'm dancing barefoot
heading for a spin
some strange music draws me in...
--from "Dancing Barefoot" by Patti Smith
Monday Jan 4, 2010 #
run 1:02:00 [2]
Out in the Flats. Many tato kala tracks, few paleface tracks. One skate skier track? That seems weird and ill advised, considering what is available just up the hill. No killer bee tracks.
Could hanaShan really become Redskin man? That is the rumor. That would be beyond wild. It would be like Redskin nation all over again!
Sauna can probably not cure the Broncos. They were beyond bad. Get rid of the pouters, put the rest on a diet of oats and pizza, work 'em like horses, and see what develops.
Could hanaShan really become Redskin man? That is the rumor. That would be beyond wild. It would be like Redskin nation all over again!
Sauna can probably not cure the Broncos. They were beyond bad. Get rid of the pouters, put the rest on a diet of oats and pizza, work 'em like horses, and see what develops.
Sunday Jan 3, 2010 #
Yowsa!!! 1 [2]
skiing 2:30:00 [3]
About 5"(?) of new made for soft trails, and many happy skiers.
Saturday Jan 2, 2010 #
skiing 2:41:00 [3]