Years End

And years begin. My race season kicks off Jan. 2nd and 3rd (skate saturday, classic sunday). It's all part of the complex master plan for next season. Race more and HTFU. HTFU by the way, is my new mantra for the 2010 season. You should feel free to use it as well. It came to me via last months VeloNews. They did a little write up on Australian cycling (since that dude Cadel won the world championships and all). Included was a glossary of common Australian cycling terminology. Near the bottom of the list was HTFU. Translation: Harden The F**k Up. For some reason, those fours words really struck a chord with me. So, from now on when I start to feel like a pu**y, or I start to feel like maybe I should skip the days workout, I will say to myself "Harden The F**k Up". Beware, I may say this to other people as well. Don't be offended; it's just my form of friendly encouragement. Happy new year. See you on the other side (unless I see you tonight at the SBYC party). Over and out.

I Ran

Yesterday we had some pretty nasty weather to deal with. It was just above freezing and spitting rain most of the day. Skiing would have been dicey and not very much fun, but I still needed to get out of the house and exercise doing something. I drove down to Hugh and Denise's with the intention of running stairs, but the stairs were extremely treacherous with ice and snow so I decided to run on the beach (which was only slightly less treacherous than the stairs). It's been a couple of years since I've run, and yesterday it actually felt pretty good. Not so good that I plan on doing it on a regular basis or anything, but it's nice to have a fall back option when conditions aren't good for skiing or biking. I did some crunches and push ups when I get home, and today I am sore (but in a good way). Hope you all had a good holiday. I did. Over and out.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Peter and I hope everyone has an amazing holiday!
We miss those who are out of town and to those who live in the Northern parts, we hope for a huge dump of snow so we can ski tomorrow!

Ski Weekend

Had a great weekend on the skis. Saturday I skied for an hour and a half at Mary and Greg's place. They have a winter solstice party every year; and while I've been to the party a few times in the past, I've never taken part in the ski portion of the event. I will not let that happen again. Greg borrows a snowmobile and groomer from a friend, and then he sets a classic track all over their 100 plus acres. The trails are awesome. The terrain covers the gamut: hills, open fields, trees, and it's all centered around the Sugar Shack where you can stop to warm up and chat if you so desire (see below).


Hugh and I were having way too much fun skiing to stop. It took us the whole hour and a half to ski all the trails with a minimum amount of backtracking. Fun stuff, fun stuff. We saw Greg out on the trail near the end, and I said "Greg, you need a groomer." He said, "talk to Mary". I did. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Yesterday, Sarah and I met up with JT at the Tower for turns in the woods. The snow conditions are good for this early in the season, but you still have to be a little careful about downed trees, stumps and the like. Another foot or so, and it will be ideal.


On the homefront, we got a new door. This singlepane (very poor insulating) door has been replaced with an energy efficient jobby that will earn us a nice tax credit from the man.



The new door is in, but I'm waiting to take some pictures until the trim is on. Trim or no trim, it's already a lot warmer in the house. WNS is up in the air still. Stay tuned.

WNS # 1

Attendance: Myself and Sarah.

Weather: 20 degrees, but not windy at all. The skies were clear as well, so we had some nice views of the stars.

Trail Conditions: Grooming and snow cover were excellent. The headlamps we had on were more than enough illumination.

Wednesday is my long work day of the week in the winter (7:30/8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) so adding the WNS into the mix makes it an even longer day. All the same, it was really nice to get out for a quick ski on the way home from work. Due to the holidaze, the next couple of wednesdays are going to be up in the air. I should know by the day before whether or not I'll be able to make it, but after the first of the year it's on. MVSC Sunday afternoon. We'll probably meet around one, but call for an exact time if you want to come out. Have a good weekend.

Ski Report

The skiing was good over the weekend. I got out for a little over an hour saturday afternoon for some classic skiing at Nub's. The changes they've made to the two upper loops are really good. Get out and see for yourself. Yesterday, JT and I met up with James for a couple of hours at the MVSC. The forecast wintry mix/drizzle never materialized over the weekend, so the snow levels in the woods remain good (especially for early December). If the cold temps. last throughout the week as predicted, we should have a nice base for skiing in the trees.

This week I'm going to start up the WNS (wednesday night skiing/snowshoeing). Every week from here on out (until the snow melts and we can start riding again) I'm committing my wednesday nights to skiing. I will be at the end of Valley Road past Chestnut by 6:30 every week. I encourage one and all to come out for at least one hour a week of exercise. This location offers up a wide variety of options, so the only real excuse for not showing up is laziness. You can classic ski or skate ski on the two upper loops of Nub's. You can snowshoe or backcountry ski on the NCT which just so happens to pass through the parking area. If you don't own any of the above mentioned equipment, I have a few pairs of snowshoes and poles you could borrow. I may even be able to rustle up some skis depending on your shoe size. So, WNS @ dead end of Valley Road 6:30. Plan on one hour of activity and 15-30 minutes of socializing/beers afterwards depending on weather. Over and out.

p.s. I found this picture this morning and just had to share it with the class.

WInter Storm Warning

We are in the midst of a winter storm warning through tomorrow morning. 4-6 inches last night and 8-12 more through today and tonight. No WNS at the MVSC. I'll be skiing behind HQ at 6:30 if anyone feels like braving the weather.

Just Like That

Well, winter is here. After the nice WNR that Benson and I had last week, I thought we may be able to eek one more out at Boyne this week. Nope. We now have just over a foot of snow on the ground, and the forecast for this week is calling for much of the same. Got out on the boards for the first time this season yesterday with Marcus, Matt, and JT. We parked near the bottom of Pintail Peak (which isn't open yet) on the backside of Nub's Nob. It's a longish climb to the top (appox. 350 ft.), but the ride down is well worth the effort. Five self-serviced runs took a little over two hours. Fun times. WNS(ki) @ MVSC this week. Meet at 6:30 for a nice tour in the woods. Bring your headlamp and give me a shout if you need directions.

WNR # 32

Attendance: Myself and Benson.

Weather: Cold. High 30's and a wicked wind out of the north.

Trail Conditions: The dirt and paved roads on which we traveled were in fine shape.

That may just be the last WNR of the season. There are 3 to 4 inches of white stuff on the ground, and the long range forecast calls for much of the same. Still, it's hard to believe we went 32 weeks in a row. Attendance wasn't always great, but the important thing is that at least a few of us were out to represent the Team every Wednesday since the early spring. Tentative plan for a WNS next week. I'll do a little recon and see if I can find us a suitable spot to strap on some boards or snow shoes. I'd like to keep the whole WN thing rolling; so if we end up being stuck in some limbo land between the bikes and the skis, I'll plan some fun alternative cross training activity. Take care and have a good weekend.

Ouch!

I tried do dial it back on the stair climbing compared to my first run last fall. Instead of the eight laps of yesteryears first run, I opted for what I thought to be a sensible five laps. I failed to factor in a change to the equation though. Over the vacation I read an article on stair climbing as a cross training exercise for nordic ski racing. It was a short, but informative article touting all the usual benefits of running up stairs. They also suggested to do the stairs two at a time. Last year I did them one at a time for whatever reason (it probably goes back to dry land training for downhill skiing in high school). This year I did them two at a time. That hurts more. Yesterday I could barely walk. Today, I'm still pretty sore, but the idea of a nice mountain bike ride tonight actually sounds like a good idea. We'll see who shows up.