VT Dad’s fight vs. inertia & flab

Today’s ski marathon was my first cross country ski race ever, and I bit off more than I could chew.  The race was set up into 5 segments:  4k, 3k, 6K, 8K, and 5K segments.  The end of the first 4 segments brought you to the replenishment zone where they had water, sports drink, energy bars and goo.  There were probably 800 skiers, 1/3 of them going 25K, 1/3 going 50K, and 1/3 going 25K but not against the clock, and with heartier  and tastier options at the replenishment zone.

I had hopes of skiing ~8 minute kilometers, so my 25K would take ~3:20.  I breezed through the first 5K in ~35 minutes, only falling once, and having success on the course.    Things changed suddenly for me.  First I lost it on a downhill, then I faltered on an uphill.  I became like a tortoise who had been flipped over, I had fallen, and couldn’t get up.  All of my falling fogged up my glasses, and my visibility became next to nothing.  Now every downhill became an adventure.  I still managed to pass the 10K point in under 80 minutes.  When I reached the replenishment zone for the third time at 12K, my only thought was about quitting.  A corse official told me to wait, rehydrate, and reevaluate my situation.  He also told me that if I wanted to quit I could either ski the final 5K to the finish line, or take a shuttle from there back.

I thought that I could get injured if I tried to complete the entire 25K, so after taking a break, I decided to ski the final 5K.  I think I made the right choice, as I didn’t fare any better during my final 5K.  I completed the 17K in ~2:39.  I have plenty of things to work on and improve if I plan to enter this event again next year.

I’m excitedly awaiting tomorrow’s ski marathon.  I’ve never skied more than ~16K at once, and tomorrow I’ll be skiing 25K.  I’m a flatlander, having been born in Washington D.C.  I learned to downhill when I was teaching at a school that was 20 minutes from Jay Peak.  Their P.E. curriculum included skiing on Fridays.  We’d eat lunch at 11:00A.M.; head to the mountain; have a lesson at noon; and then ski until 4.  As far as cross country, I’m self taught, and still struggle staying upright on down hills.  25K of skiing will give me plenty of opportunities to fall, and hopefully I’ll maintain my balance.  When I do fall I hope to do so gracefully.   Tonight I’ll pack for the race after dinner, and head to bed by 9PM.  I’m carpooling with 2 others to the race, and hope to be on the road by 6:00 A.M.  The weather forecast for the race is a good one.  Temperatures at the starting line should be ~8F, -13C.  By race end the temperatures may reach 14F, -10C.  I can’t wait for the adventure to begin.

I am confused.  I’m not sure if I’m listening to my body, or making excuses.  I had a great day yesterday, but my late night skiing pushed my bedtime back, and made running in the predawn an impossibility.  The start of my school was delayed 2 hours, so I prepared for my fartlek run, but ran only ~75 yards, before stopping because my legs were too weary.  I got ready to run in the afternoon, but errands and deadlines bit me in the butt.  My kids have been feeling under the weather, and now I’m not feeling 100% so I bagged running after dinner tonight.  It’s off to bed now so I can run in the morning.  Since I’ll have to be out the door before 6AM Saturday for my ski marathon, if I run at all tomorrow it will only be a recovery run.  Goodnight until tomorrow.  Hopefully, I am learning more about my body and not making excuses.

Yesterday was a lost day, as I woke up too late to run predawn, and in the afternoon I had to tend to my 9 year old who didn’t feel 100%.  Again today I lost the battle with my alarm, and had to settle for an afternoon run.  All day long it snowed.  The snow began around 7:00 AM.  By the end of the school day we had received between 4-6 inches.  The drive home was difficult. By the time I was ready for my run it was 22F, -6C, and we had at least 6 inches, 15cm of snow on the ground. To stay safe, I decided to complete my run while staying on a within my neighborhood on a ~2.1 mile loop.  Of course all my neighbors now think I’m crazy.

My neighborhood hadn’t been plowed yet, so I tried my best to run in fresh tire tracks, because that was where the best traction was.  The snow was really coming down hard, and soon my glasses were covered with snow.  I held onto my glasses until I looped back to my house, and then set them inside my house and continued on my run.  After completing my warmup, it was time for hill repeats.  5×2:00 minutes of uptempo running uphill, and continuing to push the pace back down the hill.  My uphill splits were consistent, beginning at 2:24, and improving slightly during each repeat to a 2:16.  Today I also remembered my water bottle which I kept cold in the snow bank at the bottom of the hill.

On my second hill repeat I heard what sounded like the rumbling of thunder.  It was the arrival of the snow plow.  The plow help improve my traction, but it’s path kept disrupting my runs.  It was coming uphill during my third downhill, and then it chased me back downhill on my fourth downhill.  The presence of the plow probably explains why my last repeats tended to improve.  During my cool down, enough time had elapsed so that fresh snow had covered the plowed road, and for a moment my foot prints were blazing a trail on this blank canvas.

When I got home, my snowblower wouldn’t start, so I got in my core workout shoveling my driveway.  When the driveway was ~1/4 of the way shoveled one of my neighbors dogs came by investigating this winter scene.  I coaxed him into my car, grabbed Mookie’s leash, and walked him back to his owner.  The dog’s owner reciprocated by coming over with his plow and plowed out my driveway.

Later after dinner, when I was walking Mookie, I was mesmerized by how beautiful it was outside.  I decided to strap on my skis, and go for a ski around the neighborhood.  I reveled in the peaceful beauty.  I skied for about an hour, skiing ~4 miles. It was a relaxing way to be at one with nature, and alone in my thoughts. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day.

If anyone wants a good read, I suggest you travel over to Stormisini’s most recent blog titled balance:  http://blog.bodybuilding.com/Stormiorsini/2009/01/27/balance/

Michael

Today I had one more opportunity to play in the lunchtime basketball game at my club.  I had a great time playing for over 2 hours.  My shoulder has a limited range of motion, and that came into play some today.   But all in all I had a nice run.  Tomorrow, I’ll be back outdoors running six miles in the cold.

I had a good week this week, although I did not adhere strictly to my schedule.  I ran only 3 times, totaling only 22.5 miles.  I did however play basketball on Monday, and Nordic ski for 2:20 yesterday.  During my only window to run today, in the predawn it was too cold and windy, so I chose to rest instead.

My schedule for the coming week is as follows:
Proprioceptive Cue: Floppy Feet
Monday: Basketball and core workout
Tuesday: 6 miles@ base pace, and drills 2×20 seconds high knees and bounding
Wednesday: Hill repeats: 2 mile warmup and cool down 6×2 minute hill repeats with 2 minute active recovery
Thursday: 6 miles@ base pace
Friday: 6 Mile Fartlek run with 4×2 minute higher intensity intervals sprinkled in
Saturday: 25K Ski marathon
Sunday: Depending how I feel, rest or 8 miles at base pace

Last night our temperature topped the freezing point for the first time in 2 weeks.  Those warm temperatures were short lived, as it was 21F, -6C by 6AM, and the temperature continued to fall throughout the day.   My eldest son and I decided to go to Stowe to cross country ski at the Trapp Family Lodge (the same von Trapp family from the Sound of Music).  By the time we got to Stowe at 10:00 am the temperature was at 12F, -11C.  

Trapps is a glorious place for cross country skiing.  They have ~40 miles of trails most of them groomed.  About 15 minutes into our ski my son passed me, and I didn’t see him on the trails for the rest of the day.  It was a fabulous ski.  Most of the trails I was on were uncrowded.  However; for me every downhill was a challenge and its own adventure.  I fell 7 times in various graceful poses, all of them as I was out of control on a downhill.  About 90 minutes into my ski I reached for my water bottle.  It was frozen.  I continued on, enjoying my ski, onto a trail that was a little more crowded.  Not wanting to overextend myself, I began my return to the lodge after ~1:50 minutes of skiing.  By the time I was ready to relax it was 12:10, and I had been skiing for 2:20.  I reached for my water bottle, but it was not in my belt holster.  I threw on my skis and retraced my steps to the site of my last fall.  Sure enough there was my water bottle.  I retrieved it, and then went inside to warm myself, and melt the ice in my water bottle by the fire.  By the time my son and I headed to the car the temperature was down to 6F, -14C, but we were warmed by how much we had accomplished during our skiing.

This morning I turned off the alarm, rolled over, then woke up at 5:25 AM.  I pondered whether I should go out into the frigid predawn, or wait until 3:00, when I had a 90 minute window to run in temperatures that would be approaching the freezing point.  I checked my bodyspace page, and saw that Aussiecleopatra had posted a new blog where she battled the noontime heat to get her a lunchtime workout.   Inspired, I decided to attack that same 7.35 mile loop that had brought me to my knees just this past Tuesday.

It was 18F, -8C, clear and calm as I set foot into the pitch darkness.  The only light was the one shining from my headlamp.  Today’s run was a fartlek run, where 8 times during my run I was to step up my pace for a 2 minute interval.  I felt great today.  Every split on this run was faster than the same split on Tuesday.  I finished more than 6 minutes ahead of Tuesday’s pace.  During the run my focus, form, and cadence were good.  I was able to stay focused throughout the run.  During the last 3 miles my extremities were starting to feel the cold.  I pushed through with the help of the Boomtown Rats, whose “I Don’t Like Mondays” kept ringing in my head.  I arrived home as the dawn was just beginning to brighten the horizon, just as my run had brightened my day.

Since yesterday I had run until 11:30 PM, I had planned for today’s run to be in the afternoon, while my daughter was at her 90 minute tennis clinic.  However; at 2:30 PM the dad taxi hotline rang, my 11th grade son needed to be picked up at school much earlier than I had anticipated.  With the dad taxi in operation, my run went by the wayside.  I need to get my running schedule back to the mornings, so I contemplated a 2-5 mile recovery run, tonight after I put by youngest to bed.  Instead, I opted for rest, with the intent of running the same 7.35 mile loop that kicked my a$$ Tuesday PM, as a predawn fartlek run tomorrow.  Goodnight.