Training Log Archive: cfosp1In the 7 days ending Feb 8, 2014:
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Saturday Feb 8, 2014 #
10 AM
XC Skiing Skate 1:32:55 22.61 km (4:07 / km) +109m 4:01 / km
ahr:154 max:169 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010
3 x 20:00 L3/L4 Skate Skiing
Had a 2 x 20:00 L3 on plan, made it mostly L3/L4 and added a bonus interval. Nice to see so much traffic at Como Park. Lots of people from all skill levels.
12:00 warm-up no poles
3 x 20:00 L3, which came to very close to one lap
7:00 recovery, no poles, between intervals
6:00 cool-down
Used overboots for the first time. Nice!
Had a 2 x 20:00 L3 on plan, made it mostly L3/L4 and added a bonus interval. Nice to see so much traffic at Como Park. Lots of people from all skill levels.
12:00 warm-up no poles
3 x 20:00 L3, which came to very close to one lap
7:00 recovery, no poles, between intervals
6:00 cool-down
Used overboots for the first time. Nice!
Friday Feb 7, 2014 #
5 PM
XC Skiing Skate 41:40 11.04 km (3:46 / km) +63m 3:40 / km
ahr:154 max:165 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010
Quick ski before darkness. Milder than the previous few days but still cold enough to numb my fingers. Glide was so-so but coverage and grooming were excellent.
Thursday Feb 6, 2014 #
3 PM
XC Skiing Skijor 25:33 7.0 km (3:39 / km) +36m 3:34 / km
ahr:150 max:162 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010
Quick jaunt to Highland with Mellie while James was at Walker West for sax lessons. Glide felt really bad but we made decent time. Mellie was very cooperative, keeping the tow rope out of my way and generally pulling well, even on the downhills
. Highland HS was out for practice, pre sectional or state champs training I assume. The girls loved to see Mellie zip by. She's always a croud pleaser.
. Highland HS was out for practice, pre sectional or state champs training I assume. The girls loved to see Mellie zip by. She's always a croud pleaser.
Tuesday Feb 4, 2014 #
6 PM
XC Skiing Skate (Interval) 1:24:39 14.79 km (5:43 / km)
ahr:153 max:172 shoes: Atomic Race Skate 2010
(Garmin acting up during upload, still trying to recover, in the meantime, manual activity report)
Ladder at L4/Race Pace). I have to admit I was not looking forward to this workout. Tired legs, runny nose, and cold wind. But 3/4 of my Endurance United club mates were in the same boat and Karl was going to pick me up so I did it.
Warm-up
1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 minutes at L4 with recovery to 125 BPM.
Cool-down
I am happy to report that my arms and legs cooperated. The long downhill was very fast and the wind felt very cold on my face. I've done quite a few outings at below -20C this winter, no problem (you've seen the pictures). But tonight and during the loppet my face felt cold. I wonder whether winter could be wearing on me? But it was a great workout, with a lot of happy chatter about everyone's results at the loppet and in the end I was glad I came!
Ladder at L4/Race Pace). I have to admit I was not looking forward to this workout. Tired legs, runny nose, and cold wind. But 3/4 of my Endurance United club mates were in the same boat and Karl was going to pick me up so I did it.
Warm-up
1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1 minutes at L4 with recovery to 125 BPM.
Cool-down
I am happy to report that my arms and legs cooperated. The long downhill was very fast and the wind felt very cold on my face. I've done quite a few outings at below -20C this winter, no problem (you've seen the pictures). But tonight and during the loppet my face felt cold. I wonder whether winter could be wearing on me? But it was a great workout, with a lot of happy chatter about everyone's results at the loppet and in the end I was glad I came!
Sunday Feb 2, 2014 #
10 AM
XC Skiing Skate 2:49:56 41.0 km (4:09 / km) +275m 4:01 / km
ahr:158 max:169 shoes: Atomic Worldcup Skate '11
Challenging but awesome! Carpooled with Karl, who had done the classic marathon yesterday. Will have to work my way up to his prowess! Maybe when Mellie retires.
Got to the Wirth Chalet with time to spare and saw a lot of friendly faces, Marice and Jane among them. We chatted and finished putting on or adjusting our gear and spend the time before the start in a warm place. We moved to the starting area at Par 3 with 15 minutes to spare, dropped our bags and saw the Best of Birkie take off. Then it was our turn. A nice, clean and civilized start. The skate deck was in good shape. It took a while for the field to stretch out, good thing for me, I always have a tendency to move too fast. Once passing became possible, I made my moves and generally stuck with the same group of skiers.
When we left the wooded areas and moved into the open, the snow becam somewhat softer but was still very manageable. No major events throughout, I caught up with Eltsbethfor a while but I knew she'd eventually drop me. Technique makes such a difference when you get tired and that's where I am sorely lacking. This is going to be a challenge for me, I know.
But back to the Loppet. Saw a few club mates along the way, Hillary whom I passed and who said Ciao with 6 km to go and others. I took one minor stumble in an uphill (over my own pole) and a major one on Cedar Lake. I was getting ready to pass a couple of slower skiers I had been behind in order not to lose contact with the group ahead who was skiing maybe a little faster than me and planted my right pole in front of my ski. Faceplant, with both poles pinned under my skis. By the time I extricated myself, I quickly caught the guys I had tried to pass but the group I was trying to stay in contact with was out of reach. So I skied by myself, inching closer to Hillary again but she eventually dropped me. Now, at the SW corner of Lake Calhoun came the hardest part: about 500 m of very slushy and dirty snow, where if you had been striding you might have said "nice kick" but without any glide. Then, pristine snow again, but extremely soft. Very hard work for 4 of the last 6 km, I passed a couple of guys and was passed by a few gunners from the lower waves, but I skied by myself. Glad to be on aqua firma again when I reached the lake and glad to have the finish line in sight. I think the organizers seriously shortened the 41st km, the psychology of moving from sand-papery slush to fast snow could not account for the short time between the markers. I was actually kind of glad! The roller coaster hills into the stadium were nothing and my friend Colleen, who volunteered at the finish greeted me with a friendly "good job."
The Nerd Notes, top to bottom:
Sisu Ski Fest hat
MNOC buff
Casco flip-up shield. Arrived on Friday, first time I wore them. Awesome! No fogging whatsoever. I was using the photo-chromatic glass and it seemed a little dark at first, but it was not a problem. I tried on Blitz, One-Way and Cascos. I liked the Cascos best. Since there was no local vendor I bought some online at Altius Guns, a Biathlon specialty vendor. They were very helpful and called to let me know that the model in the color I ordered were out of stock. After some discussions I went with the medium instead of the large. Size only applies to the shield and not to the strap and frame. Highly recommended.
Nike Combat Pro vented base layer
A thin fleece
Salomon hydration vest with 1.5 l of warm Gatorade G2.
Race top
The upper body was maybe a little overkill but I wasn't dying from heat. I shall start counting the hydration vest as a layer!
Thermal briefs (glad I did!)
Compression tights
Race tights
The bottom combination was right on!
Fit socks and Salomon S-Lab Carbon Skate boots.
Yoko Windstopper gloves, cold for the first 20 minutes (used to that) and sometimes when skiing into the wind for an extended stretch
Fanny pack with squeeze bottle of Hammer gel
I did not take any gel but had about 1 l of my Gatorade, plus two trail-side cups. I do like the hydration vest better than dumping water cups down my chest. No frozen bite valve but it was hard to blow air back into the hose while gasping for breath.
Yoko 8100 poles (love those, super light)
Atomic Worldcup skate 2011-12 skis
Wax:
2 layers Rex Blue Race
2 layers Rex RCF Graphite
I had planned to use 2 layers Rex HF Green, but Finn sisu was out
2 layers Start LF08 Green
Each layer ironed, scraped and brushed to a shine
1 layer of Rex TK-72 hand-corked and brushed
Glide was very decent and persisted. I think I only started thinking I was lacking glide when those legs of mine started tiring. (Actually, I just checked, my wax was pretty much skied off)
Got to the Wirth Chalet with time to spare and saw a lot of friendly faces, Marice and Jane among them. We chatted and finished putting on or adjusting our gear and spend the time before the start in a warm place. We moved to the starting area at Par 3 with 15 minutes to spare, dropped our bags and saw the Best of Birkie take off. Then it was our turn. A nice, clean and civilized start. The skate deck was in good shape. It took a while for the field to stretch out, good thing for me, I always have a tendency to move too fast. Once passing became possible, I made my moves and generally stuck with the same group of skiers.
When we left the wooded areas and moved into the open, the snow becam somewhat softer but was still very manageable. No major events throughout, I caught up with Eltsbethfor a while but I knew she'd eventually drop me. Technique makes such a difference when you get tired and that's where I am sorely lacking. This is going to be a challenge for me, I know.
But back to the Loppet. Saw a few club mates along the way, Hillary whom I passed and who said Ciao with 6 km to go and others. I took one minor stumble in an uphill (over my own pole) and a major one on Cedar Lake. I was getting ready to pass a couple of slower skiers I had been behind in order not to lose contact with the group ahead who was skiing maybe a little faster than me and planted my right pole in front of my ski. Faceplant, with both poles pinned under my skis. By the time I extricated myself, I quickly caught the guys I had tried to pass but the group I was trying to stay in contact with was out of reach. So I skied by myself, inching closer to Hillary again but she eventually dropped me. Now, at the SW corner of Lake Calhoun came the hardest part: about 500 m of very slushy and dirty snow, where if you had been striding you might have said "nice kick" but without any glide. Then, pristine snow again, but extremely soft. Very hard work for 4 of the last 6 km, I passed a couple of guys and was passed by a few gunners from the lower waves, but I skied by myself. Glad to be on aqua firma again when I reached the lake and glad to have the finish line in sight. I think the organizers seriously shortened the 41st km, the psychology of moving from sand-papery slush to fast snow could not account for the short time between the markers. I was actually kind of glad! The roller coaster hills into the stadium were nothing and my friend Colleen, who volunteered at the finish greeted me with a friendly "good job."
The Nerd Notes, top to bottom:
Sisu Ski Fest hat
MNOC buff
Casco flip-up shield. Arrived on Friday, first time I wore them. Awesome! No fogging whatsoever. I was using the photo-chromatic glass and it seemed a little dark at first, but it was not a problem. I tried on Blitz, One-Way and Cascos. I liked the Cascos best. Since there was no local vendor I bought some online at Altius Guns, a Biathlon specialty vendor. They were very helpful and called to let me know that the model in the color I ordered were out of stock. After some discussions I went with the medium instead of the large. Size only applies to the shield and not to the strap and frame. Highly recommended.
Nike Combat Pro vented base layer
A thin fleece
Salomon hydration vest with 1.5 l of warm Gatorade G2.
Race top
The upper body was maybe a little overkill but I wasn't dying from heat. I shall start counting the hydration vest as a layer!
Thermal briefs (glad I did!)
Compression tights
Race tights
The bottom combination was right on!
Fit socks and Salomon S-Lab Carbon Skate boots.
Yoko Windstopper gloves, cold for the first 20 minutes (used to that) and sometimes when skiing into the wind for an extended stretch
Fanny pack with squeeze bottle of Hammer gel
I did not take any gel but had about 1 l of my Gatorade, plus two trail-side cups. I do like the hydration vest better than dumping water cups down my chest. No frozen bite valve but it was hard to blow air back into the hose while gasping for breath.
Yoko 8100 poles (love those, super light)
Atomic Worldcup skate 2011-12 skis
Wax:
2 layers Rex Blue Race
2 layers Rex RCF Graphite
I had planned to use 2 layers Rex HF Green, but Finn sisu was out
2 layers Start LF08 Green
Each layer ironed, scraped and brushed to a shine
1 layer of Rex TK-72 hand-corked and brushed
Glide was very decent and persisted. I think I only started thinking I was lacking glide when those legs of mine started tiring. (Actually, I just checked, my wax was pretty much skied off)