Training Log Archive: Carolyn

Incline in the dark, in the ice. I don't think my friends enjoyed that too much, but I did. Up in 34:35. Couldn't have made it down without my kahtoolas.

Vail

Event: Jim Plant Memorial Ski-O & Snowshoe-O at Frisco Nordic Center
 

Ski-O!! Found all 20, better race than Eldora. Less time stopped, took skis off to bushwack a few times until my bindings froze shut and I couldn't get them off anymore. 2x10min mistakes in whiteout blownover conditions in Frisco Bay area. Otherwise clean with a decent route choice.

Full Moon Social Run followed by dixie cups of wine and snickerdoodles... Only 7 people, it was cold and windy.

Trinity Brewing Co social run. Different route than I usually go. Sore Sore Sore.

Frisco Cup #3 fun!! 12k (but 8mi according to my Garmin) 2/3 on black trails, 1/3 on blue trails. I didn't trip over myself and fall on any uphills this time. I beat the friendly 72 year old guy who beat me by 20 seconds at the one in December by 3 minutes. That's good. I don't particularly like being geezered by that much even if said geezer ran a 35min 10k back in the day. I skied behind someone wearing a purple shirt for pretty much the whole race. They would pull away on the downhills and I would catch back up on the uphills. I pulled away for good at ~6.5mi and I think they went on for another lap to do the 16mi. I thought about doing the 16mi, but realized I had no way of carrying any water. It took about 2.5mi before my legs felt un-sore from yesterday's race. I think, for the first time, that I could not have run the course faster than I skied it at the same effort level. The soreness starting out and the purple shirt in front of me helped me pace it comfortably.

Classic ski for an hour after the race. I don't know how to classic ski so that I go any faster than a walk with a little glide so I didn't like it very much. I made it up all the hills on the blue trails without going out of the tracks though. I like the sound my waxless skis make when I'm going downhill out of the tracks. I don't actually know whether they are classic or touring skis. Whatever...

Chilly Cheeks Du #2. 8-9min slower than #1 and I think about the same time as last year. Haven't biked since #1 and the roads were really icy in places so there was a fair amount of soft pedaling trying not to crash on my roadie. The first run was mostly dry but the 2nd was really tough. A lot more women beat me this time than last time. When there are traction issues on the run, people beat me that I can be on smooth road.

Results do indeed confirm that a lot more people beat me than at #1 and I stink at running on snow and ice. The cluster of women that I am usually ahead of was running 45-60sec/mi faster than me on the snowy icy run and I know it wasn't a pacing mistake.

Thinking about heading to Frisco for a low key ski race tomorrow...

Crossing my fingers that I'm done with the CPA exam forever. Done until after tax season at any rate. Exhausted, 2.5 hours of sleep isn't nearly enough. Back to training tomorrow.

Event: Ski-O & Snowshoe-O at Eldora Nordic Center
 

My first Ski-O :-) I kept the pace easy so I didn't do anything stupid like go up any more hills than I had to. Can't wait for the next one!

It took me a few controls to get used to how everything was mapped but I still made little navigational errors throughout. I was never lost, but I often took longer than planned routes due to missed intersections and wrong turns. I spent more time stopped looking at the map than I care to admit. Control #1 was mislabeled but I knew it was in the right spot. I took an off trail shortcut slide down a hill to #2. I accidentally punched #13 on my way to #3. My route to #4 took me up a steep hill that was too narrow to skate up with any amount of glide even with my shorty skis. I got my tips stuck in the snowbank at the edge and fell on my face more than once (only on uphills). I think it would have been faster to skate the long way around. I think I started to get the hang of the map after #5. I added an extra 200-300m on the way to #9. #10 involved more narrow uphill and it may have been faster to skate on a longer route. I accidentally went the long way around a loop to get to #12 and I stopped at a 5-way intersection on the way to #14 partly because I was confused and its awkward not being able to keep my map oriented and partly because it involved going up a decent hill. I blew by my turn for the last control. It doesn't seem to be unusual for me to mess up the last control.

Next time: Less time stopped, ski faster when I'm moving.

Long Ski-O - Splits

lollygag in the park after dark

Snowy FREEZING 2mi race. Felt like running in sand. Car said it was -2 when I got out.

2nd race of the day, hilly 10k. Road was horrendously icy (with a few soft patches), trails felt like running on sand. Still very cold, but not was brutal as for the 8am race. I need to put new screws in my shoes since they don't have nearly as much bite as they used to. I had to be a bit cautious and I nearly fell into some guy once when I slipped on a slanted rock covered in snow. My hip flexors are really really sore from running hard on loose surfaces today.