A Whole Lot of Skiing Going On

The blogworld is quiet these days. And when i start to read a blog and someone is posting about some epic this or that they did I just close it down. Not that others doing 3hour rides or 2 hour runs is bad, not my point at all. But I just have no interest in it right now. Sorta funny how this past winter I have finally gotten outside to ENJOY the winter.

We have had a pretty mild winter. To some it may seem cold, but once you have skiied in 0 or below, when its 9 deg like it was today and the sun is out, its almost called WARM. I also have been a good user of the chemical heat warmers in both my hands and toes. Gloves and boots. Those save the day. And for anyone that has Reynauds as i do, it pays to be a bit sweaty up top because then your digits and toes dont get robbed of heat to heat your core. I hate being clammy when i am done but it pays off during the ski for me to be a bit warmup top!

I sorta feel like i need to write a post on skiing and all that i have learned in the count em 10 times i have skiied. I think i am at the point where i know what i need to work on and i know how bad my technique is. I feel like a swimmer that is going nowhere, has good fitness but still is basically not moving forward as efficiently as i could be. Add in snow and temp changes and waxes that change daily and new skis that have alot of structure ( grooves in the bottom) that like to hang on or grab thesnow, add in less snow than we need, and its all sort of a roulette as to how you feel. Luckily i am in that newbie stage where i cant really tell. I always blame myself, not the snow or the skis:)

One thing i am super excited about is that i taught myself how to V1 Right AND V1 Left. its alot like swimming breathing. You naturally can V1 to one direction better. But that means a bit of overuse or just plain one side works more. So this may be chinese but when you go up a hill V1 Right means i am poling ( both at the same time) the same time i am putting my RIGHT ski down, the LEFT kicks out. V1 Left means i am putting both poles down when i put my Left ski down ( or i am gliding into that left leg) as the Right ski kicks out. Kinda crazy how the poles make things way harder, so there are drills, just like in swimming.

Anyways I am doing a race. I couldnt NOT do a race, even if i get dead last. I am doing a 35K race up on Mora, its the Mora Korteloppet. The VAsoloppet is 58k that is too far for me. Today i skiied about 16 miles which is about 25K so i still have a few more long skis i need to do, and just like in IM I am lucky that my engine gets revved up after about an hour, and i pretty much feel like i can keep going. Not fast, but hopefully steady. I havent figured out how to eat anything yet but my plan for Mora is to just get it done, enjoy it, not get stuck too far behind people but then again I may be one of those PEOPLE.

Other than that things are good. I head to FLA for a week which will cut my ski time of course, but i plan to do some outdoor swims and catchup on some running. And some reading.

My Coach has been gracious to let me flounder in the ski world. I really really like it alot and see that its pulling me in. Long range plan is the Birkie in 2014. I like sports that take some technique and fitness. TEnnis was like that. After 40 years i still recall hours and hours of drills and form work. I seem to thrive on sports where you can improve with technique. After Mora I will try to get back to regular Tri training but i have to say i think i am hooked :)