Sunday was a fun filled reckless xc ski day filled with many crashes and a lot of hill climbs. Because of the snow conditions, we ventured out to the secret glade spot and eventually ended up at the pit. The snow was mainly heavy crust with a helping of about 2 inches of fresh powder, just enough to hide all the spots that could catch our edges and throw us down to the ground unexpectedly. The day started out on a railway tracks - flat and straight - great for a warm up. Once we arrived at the glades, we headed up to reach the peak. Had a small break and down we went, scoping lines and hitting the odd jump. Up we went again. We did this for awhile. We eventually found a line with a nice jump on it and we hit it over and over again. Once we tired of that spot, we headed to the pit for more stupidity. We clamoured through the bush and arrived at the base of the pit. We tapped a few small descents, eventually to find ourselves at a huge steep section. We practiced our tele turns and turning for a bit. We then ventured to the rollers,an area that looked like a half pipe. We spent a lot of time there, climbing and crashing. On the way back, we hit up another steep section where we tried over and over to go faster down the hill. I took a huge stack as I fell off the back of my skis. It hurt. It shook me up and for the rest of the ski I was half the skier I was earlier in the day. Still, an incredible day playing. We were out for about 4 hours and I felt it the next day. Not sure if it was the 4 hours or the crash , maybe both. I love feeling the pain of exercise! Monday I took off, but Tuesday I did some weights, not a lot but I did some. Today, Thursday I will do the same. We are getting hit with a super snow storm this weekend and I can't wait.

UGH!

Well, here it is. It pained me to do this but I must. Its a starting point and a way to both inspire me and to monitor my progress. You could say this is a vanity thing, but just look at me, there is no reason to be vain. Weight training starts tomorrow. My plan of attack is to do some weight training, basically learn about how to lift properly, and attempt to do another stint on the rollers. My first attempt ended with me falling off twice and cutting my ankle. It can only get better.

January 20th deathmarch ski

My big Ski days are on a Sunday. They generally go for around 3 hours, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. This particular day was around the 3-3.5hr mark. The weather was perfect but the conditions were brutal. It had snowed for a few days previous, but with the warm weather, we ended up with a bit of rain before it froze again, leaving the snow with two inch crust. Not enough for us to stay on top of the snow, and because of that, we were breaking trail by breaking the crust. We had very little grip and turning on the descents was nearly impossible. Grip - for most of us, there was just enough, but for me, on new skis that were not broken in, I had almost none. At one point while crossing a lake, the wind was actually pushing me backwards a bit. Very frustrating as I had no glide, no push. On any climb, even the smallest, I had to herring bone them. I hate herring bone. The trails are narrow and my skis are on the long side. The tips would constantly get hooked on the crust or on the scrub that was bent over and partially buried. The downhills were insane. My skis were fast, like I was skiing on ball bearings. And with no control. We all crashed at some point and my most impressive ones were on the descent at the end of the day. The death march was so fast, the track to ski in was so narrow, and the faster I went, the smaller the trail became. My vision of the track became increasingly smaller and smaller which was the instigator in my first crash. I clipped the side of the trail with all that crust and it sent me "over the bars" at full speed. Got up and continued on my way only for it to happen again. Same thing. My patience was tested. My workout was intense because of this. Instead of skiing with a bit of aggression, I had to tip toe and use delicate strides in order to get any grip. My climbs had no grace and at times I felt I was hiking, not skiing. I had a complete workout, literally from head to toe. My arms did a lot of work, as did my hips and core. That's what hurts today. I might do a small weight session today with low weights, just to start that part of my training. I will let my body dictate this later in the day.

Today is the day

I had my downward spiral and now I am left with having to deal with the after effects. Wont get into that, but I picked up some bad habits and it shows. Why is it easy to pick up bad habits but not good ones? I will try to figure this out as I go. What is the goal? Honestly, its to drop my bad habits and start looking presentable again. I used to be fit, sometimes really fit.I've been a competitive cyclist since I have been 15 and now it seems I am no longer even a cyclist. Weird. Not comfortable with that. I want to be able to go for rides and truly enjoy the pain of riding hard, get my leg muscles back and gain a few muscles on my upper body, which I've never had. I just set up the workout bench, I am calling Whistla. Pretty obvious why-I need to get fit for my whistler trip in September 2013. I am also planning a trip to Costa Rica to going surfing and I dont want the locals to come screaming to try and save the whale that just beached itself. Embarrassing. I don't know how I will set up this blog yet, in terms of what content I will upload, That will come in the next few days. Here I go...