Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent and I were excited to meet Carbon and Mike for a ski at Pocaterra in Kananaskis country. Awesome to see them in real life for a change instead of on the Internet!



None of us do ski races and Carbon and Mike are new to XC skiing, but for some reason, we have all entered the Kananaskis Ski Marathon (aka the Cookie Race) on Saturday. Our plan today was to check out some of the trails we'll be skiing in the race.



Conditions were fantastic and so was the company. Unfortunately, Mike's rented ski boots rubbed his Tasmania-blistered foot the wrong way, so he took a shortcut back from our far point. The rest of us did the big climb back to the Pocaterra trail and enjoyed the long, steady descent back to the hut - about 8 km of mostly double poling and gliding while enjoying mountain views.





Tomorrow we're all skiing into Skoki Lodge. Carbon and Mike are doing it as a day trip, and 'Bent and I will spend a couple of nights in the backcountry. No electricity, no running water, no communications. Looking forward to skiing, food, photography, reading and sleep - mmm. :)

'Bent and I went an hour south - and a long way uphill! - from Canmore to the Mount Shark ski trails. It was snowing for the first couple of hours so we didn't see the views until near the end - but we're not complaining!



Our first loop was the green trail - 10 km of hilly trackset trails with 5 km of ungroomed powder trails. We love ungroomed trails but it was a little tricky since we'd brought poles with small baskets so they would sometimes sink a couple of feet into the fluffy snow. Some of that section was "legs only".



After that, we did a mix of a few trails closer to the parking lot since we wanted to get back to Canmore in time for yoga.





It was hard work with lots of elevation gain/loss at a 6,000' altitude. We could both feel that our bodies would have liked a little more oxygen. By the end of our stay, we will hopefully be loaded up with (legal) extra red blood cells!





This was *such* a treat after the crummy winter in Ontario. You couldn't wipe the smiles from our faces. :)

'Bent, Walker and I went to a Yin Yoga class - my first one. (Definitely not Power Yoga but I don't want to create a new activity for it.) It was quite different from what we're used to and, according to Walker, very different from the Yin that is usually offered at this studio. It was relaxing and pleasant enough - except during the times when I thought I might be slowly tearing the menisci in both knees.

The instructor was fond of the type of instruction that just doesn't work for my stodgy, engineering-trained mind:

"Be completely aware of your skin."

"Lean back and push the bottom of your shoulder blade forward so it makes a shelf for your heart."

And *everyone's* favourite: "Think of your kidneys widening and growing wings."

'Bent and I are out west to do some winter sports. Although the ski areas are reporting decent conditions, there is a lot of bare ground around Canmore. Sure glad I packed those knee-high gaiters and bulky Neo boots!



The paved running paths in town are mostly bare but fortunately the Canmore Nordic Centre is in great shape for skate skiing - and it's free of charge after 5:30 p.m.!



It looks like it might be a little slick for classic skiing but I'm sure we'll give it a try later on. I think we'll go further afield tomorrow though.

The biathlon range was set up for night training. Naturally, I had to take a few practice loops around the shooting area, just to see what it felt like.



This was a quick ski before heading to a local art gallery for the opening of a photography show. Walker, the friend we're staying with this weekend, had two beautiful photos in the show and was also one of the organizers.

We had a nice lunch in Calgary earlier in the day with ErinR, a young flower girl from our wedding who is now a grown-up triathlete who may be interested in supporting me at the Death Race. Cool!

Most ultrarun and marathon training plans last 24 weeks. I've never come close to that much targeted preparation for any athletic event. So I was thrilled to check the calendar and realize that all this extra running has been unnecessary... I don't need to start training for the Death Race until next week! :)

STORM is *way* ahead of the game with all his 18 km runs on week days. I'm betting that he'll be on the overall podium though, and that probably takes 28 or 29 weeks of training. For me, it might take 38 or 39 weeks. Oh darn, too late.

I managed to tweak my knee yesterday while energetically... typing on a laptop computer. But the 29 Leagues of February Challenge waits for no man - or woman - so today's run was on hilly, snow-covered country roads where the ground was fairly even.



(That pic's for you, Funderstorm! :) )

I was ready to abandon the Challenge if my knee said so, but it turns out that my knee hurts more while doing the original activity (computing) than while running. Phew, there is hope.

Today's distance was 6.37 km - just short of the 6.41 km I did on Tues/Wed. I resisted the urge to run 40 m around our yard to maintain my record of consistency. ;)

The good news is that I'll be doing the next part of the February Challenge on skis. Today is a crazy day of packing and cleaning for the house/dog sitter. Tomorrow, if all goes well, we'll be skiing at the Canmore Nordic Centre. :) Looking forward to spending time with western friends including some super fun plans with Carbon & Mike. We'll be doing our very first XC ski race too!

For those who don't read Cristina's log, here's the truth about orienteering.

http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_470...

Weeanimal had already helped me build endurance earlier in the day with multiple sets of stair intervals so I just went for a quick run in Albion Hills. I'd thought it might not be as slippery as Palgrave but there were plenty of patches of glare ice so I had to avoid the steep hills. Somehow I managed to run 6.41 km in two different parks on consecutive days - a nice round number.

This Month-of-Ice isn't a real season - not winter, not spring, not anything! :(

A book recommendation for mountaineering literature junkies:

Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest
by Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis

With 600 pages of dense text, only hard core fans of the genre are likely to enjoy it, i.e. people who have already read a book or two about Mallory and Irvine, not people who read "Into Thin Air" and felt that was enough about Everest.

This book describes the context of the early Everest expeditions in detail; I learned new things about a wide variety of subjects. The narrative starts with the horror of World War I, including some very disturbing glimpses into the way the British managed the conflict and the associated propaganda. Davis believes that the war was a huge factor in these early expeditions - that it shaped a generation's attitude toward death and risk in the mountains.

He explains the geopolitical background of British-ruled India and its relationship with Tibet over the years, and talks about the way the Great Trigonometric Survey of India was carried out - the project that identified Everest as the highest mountain in the world. I'd always thought that the British had attempted Everest from its Tibetan side because Nepal was closed so they couldn't climb the so-called "tourist" route. But front-pointed crampons hadn't been invented yet so they couldn't have made it through the Khumbu Icefall anyway.

Davis explains the different attitudes toward homosexual encounters at a time when women were less forthcoming before marriage, and describes how this affected the close relationships among the British mountaineers of that time.

He had already started writing his book before Mallory's body was found a decade ago, and he discussed that as well. Although I had read extensively about the discovery, it had a greater impact after I had "gotten to know" George Mallory through quotes from letters to his wife.

Fascinating book - but only if you're into that sort of thing.

Tight timeline today so I missed out on biking again - boo. BulletDog and I ran over to a different part of Palgrave East while light snow fell - beautiful. Some parts of the trail network had enough snow on them to hide the polished ice beneath but BulletDog and I were both surprised by a number of stealth patches of ice.

I made some great saves, if I do say so myself, but my luck ran out when my feet flew high in the air behind me on a stretch of side-sloping, tree-lined single track. I was remarkably efficient as I hit the ice, wrenching my bad shoulder and bruising my right hip and left knee all at once. It takes some people 3 falls to do all that! I had been feeling great until then and decided not to press my luck in these conditions. BulletDog and I made a beeline for home where a glass of Valentine's Day wine awaited. Priorities!

Another crampon run on the Palgrave Glacier with BazingaPuppy. This time I went into Palgrave East and ran twisty single track - a surefire way to confuse a dog! The change in weather has created some variety in the terrain. Most of it is still hard, polished ice with a light dusting of snow but I also ran in a little soft snow and goopy mud. Not the greatest running but the skiing would be even worse! :( On the bright side, it was a gorgeous day.

It's not often that I say anything nice about a Republican politician but Representative Maureen Walsh spoke bravely and from the heart in her moving speech in Washington state's gay marriage debate. Respect.