Random Pictures
· Jan 11, 01:28 PM
From the last month. Mostly snowy because I know everybody in the east is a little hurting right now. We’re getting dumped on, and I’ve skied the last two days. Definitely not ready for the Nordeen, but I will be ready to have my revenge on Mt. Itasca (it’s been a long time coming)!
Baby Steps
· Jan 9, 01:09 PM
I went to bed Sunday night thinking I’d successfully kicked my cold. I had sinus pressure all day watching the sprint relays, but things had moved out of my throat, which is always a good sign. I went to bed pretty early (missed Lars’s birthday party for the sake of my health!) and promptly woke up with sinus pressure and a sore throat and some stuff in my lungs. Not cool.
I combined that feeling with some 30 hours of travel to get back to Bend (a night in San Francisco with Oakley was part of that), which sounds awful, but since I keep getting voicemails from United’s rebooking service (which still thinks I’m in Wausau, WI) because they keep canceling flights, I’m feeling alright about it. Anyways, the combination was not something to make me feel good about anything yesterday afternoon.
But, this morning I woke up with no sinus pressure and no sore throat. I’m still a little stuffed up and I definitely still have crap in my lungs, but this feels much better. One more day off then I think I can do some easy training for the rest of the week. The Nordeen is out for this weekend. It’s time for redemption in the midwest.
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In Between
· Jan 2, 02:34 PM
I wrote up yesterday’s race and have the post all ready to go. Only trouble is it’s on my laptop and I’m not. We’re at MTU using their free internet, and my temporary password hasn’t authorized yet. So instead of posting from my computer, I’m struggling away on a Windows 2000 era public computer with no picture access and a lousy keyboard. It’s a Compaq. Do they even exist as a company any more?
So I’m not going to re-write the post – it’s just going to be delayed going up. The very short version is yesterday was a big relief and good for my confidence. I’m ready to get after it tomorrow. I feel pretty decent today, like I may have recovered alright too.
It’s finally stopped snowing, but it was snowing buckets most of the day today. Still really light stuff, but it was making the Super Extra ice when I stepped out of the track. That’s not a real common experience. 15ks tomorrow, with only about 2.5 of them being restful. Gonna have to suffer I think.
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Not Always Easy
· Dec 22, 03:20 PM
I find it pretty easy to come up with blog posts when things are going well. Training is usually interesting enough to write about, and it’s easy to talk about races and tests when they’re good – or bad – as long as there’s a reason. That said, December has been tough. I’ve done three races, and the only one that was anywhere close to expectations was the one I don’t care about (the classic sprint in Bozeman). The other two have been 15K skates, and they’ve been downright bad.
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Resting up
· Dec 2, 02:32 PM
I’ve been a little lazy. I went to fill in my training log (I have an Excel spreadsheet, which I’ve been very good about using this year) and was faced with three weeks of blank space. Back in the early years of training logging (high school) this would have been no problem, but my memory just isn’t what it used to be. So I’m going to have to do a little more head scratching before I figure out where I am. But I think I’ve cleared 500 hours.
Today is a rest day. It’s pretty nasty here in Bend. Snowing lightly and very, I mean very windy. Unpleasant to be outside. So not a bad day for a day off. Tomorrow I’m planning a TT in what looks like rainy conditions. But, there’s racing this weekend and this is no time to slack off. I felt really good doing intervals on Wednesday and not bad doing speeds on Friday, so things seem to be coming together.
I was going to watch some football this afternoon but the wind and snow seem to be causing havoc with the through the air transmissions that I rely on. So it might have to be The Wire or something else. We shall see.
It's on
· Nov 21, 02:46 PM
According to our route and Google Maps, Bend to West Yellowstone is a 678 mile, 13 hour drive. It may be 678 miles, but it’s definitely not 13 hours … more like ten and a half. We were lucky with good roads, only a little traffic around Boise and only one herd of Elk. Eastern Oregon remains a good place to have a working iPod.
I was going to post a lovely picture from skiing today (I stopped and took one), but I somehow made the trip out here without all the cords necessary to do that. Soooo, no pictures. Just words. Until I get back to Bend, then if I have a few worth posting I’ll throw them up.
The skiing in West is like it always is. Extra Blue this morning, and by the time I got out there a little after 11, things were pretty much skied out. There are a few grass/dirty spots, but nothing real bad. All in all it’s pretty excellent to be on snow. I skied a couple new pairs of classic skis today, and do Carbonlites ever ski nicely? They sure do. Hallsey’s mounting the rest of my skis for me this afternoon (Thanks!), and so I should have the full fleet to test tomorrow if I need to. Down time…
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
· Nov 15, 09:38 PM
There are more than a few different reports out there about how much (or little) snow is actually on the ground in West Yellowstone, but one thing is pretty clear: there’s not enough to ski on. When the organizers of the biggest fall ski festival in the country say there’s not significant snow on the trails, I pretty much take that as code for there’s no snow. Bear in mind that the organizers have to be optimistic. The town of West Yellowstone would otherwise be shut down right now (the Park is currently closed), so they need people to come. It will be a huge blow to the local economy if they have to cancel all the master clinics and talks and expos (well, the latter two will probably go on regardless) and nobody shows up. And it’s not like the weather forecast is exactly encouraging. I don’t see much in the way of predicted accumulations there. At least it’s going to cool off by the middle of next week.
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