Build should be completed tomorrow followed by an immediate shakedown ride.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
A Christmas Day Tradition
As a kid, I looked forward to Christmas day for lots of reasons. Of course opening presents was at the top of the list, but Christmas day also meant staying in my pajamas a little later, eating too many fresh cinnamon rolls, and driving my Lionel train around the Christmas tree.
As a married adult with no children, I still look forward to Christmas day but we have adopted our own traditions. A recently adopted tradition is to enjoy a Christmas Day snow bike ride with good friends and our loyal four-legged companions. This year our friends Brandon, Sarah, and their pup Siena joined us for a midday snow bike ride in Horseshoe Canyon. Santa was good to us this year and delivered fresh grooming followed by single-digit overnight temps that firmed up the trail nicely. As you would expect, we had the trails to ourselves and enjoyed the exercise, the company, and simply being outside on a crisp bluebird day.
Wishing you a FAT Holiday Season.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Training while sick - The "gray" area
Michelle came down with a cold last week but fought it off very quickly by getting quality rest right when she felt the cold coming on. I thought I had dodged the bullet but I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and felt "blah". I woke up today with more of the same but now I also have head congestion. I don't feel horrible but I am definitely not 100%. For me, this has always been a "gray" area in regards to training.
When you feel a cold coming on, do you:
A) Exercise anyway and if/when you feel horrible, then take a break
B) Do something mellow like riding the rollers for 30' or walking outside
C) Stop exercising altogether in an effort to shorten the duration of the illness
On one hand, I don't have an "A" race until May this year so I can probably afford a couple of days off. On the other hand, I hate the thought of losing fitness when I have put some quality work in during the month of December.
The Mayo Clinic website offers this typical recommendation for training while sick:
"Mild to moderate physical activity is usually OK if you have a garden-variety cold and no fever. Exercise may even help you feel better by opening your nasal passages and temporarily relieving nasal congestion.
As a general guide for exercise and illness, consider this:
When you feel a cold coming on, do you:
A) Exercise anyway and if/when you feel horrible, then take a break
B) Do something mellow like riding the rollers for 30' or walking outside
C) Stop exercising altogether in an effort to shorten the duration of the illness
On one hand, I don't have an "A" race until May this year so I can probably afford a couple of days off. On the other hand, I hate the thought of losing fitness when I have put some quality work in during the month of December.
The Mayo Clinic website offers this typical recommendation for training while sick:
"Mild to moderate physical activity is usually OK if you have a garden-variety cold and no fever. Exercise may even help you feel better by opening your nasal passages and temporarily relieving nasal congestion.
As a general guide for exercise and illness, consider this:
- Exercise is usually OK if your signs and symptoms are all "above the neck" — symptoms you may have with a common cold, such as runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing or minor sore throat. Consider reducing the intensity and length of your workout, though, or you may feel worse. Instead of going for a run, take a walk, for example.
- Don't exercise if your signs and symptoms are "below the neck" — such as chest congestion, hacking cough or upset stomach.
- Don't exercise if you have a fever, fatigue or widespread muscle aches"
- Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.
In contrast, reading Joe Friel's Blog make me cringe at missing even a single workout and fuels my paranoia:
"When there is a break in training for a few days fitness is lost and you have to step back in training and begin over again. Many athletes experience this once or twice each season and as a result never realize their full potential."
In contrast, reading Joe Friel's Blog make me cringe at missing even a single workout and fuels my paranoia:
"When there is a break in training for a few days fitness is lost and you have to step back in training and begin over again. Many athletes experience this once or twice each season and as a result never realize their full potential."
- Joe Friel
I am not known for my patience and even during the "off season" I struggle with missing workouts. Part of it is simply that I like to train. However, in the back of my mind is this lingering fear that a week off the bike will override every bit of training that I have ever done in my life.
I know, it is ridiculous.
I am not known for my patience and even during the "off season" I struggle with missing workouts. Part of it is simply that I like to train. However, in the back of my mind is this lingering fear that a week off the bike will override every bit of training that I have ever done in my life.
I know, it is ridiculous.
Friday, December 23, 2011
My First Nordic Race
December 10th Targhee Tune-Up Nordic Race Report
It all started with an email on Thursday from my friend and summertime mountain bike rival, Mark Llinares:
(Read out loud with your best British accent for effect)
“Sir
Targhee Tune up Nordic race is on Saturday, its 10K of suffering. I have an idea. You do that and I will do the Togwotee Winter classic- on a bike.
Marco”
I have been bugging Marco to rent a Fat Bike and do the TWC for two years. Now he was offering to try it if I skied a measly 10K. What choice did I have? Did it matter that I hadn’t been on skate skis yet this year? Or that my skate skis were hanging in the garage with a coat of storage wax from last winter and needed some proper attention? Or that the Targhee Nordic track starts at 8,500’ and is almost never flat, meaning that it punishes those with poor technique?
It’s only 10K. I can do anything for 10K…famous last words.
Melissa, Anna, and Katie pre-race
Friday morning I scraped the storage wax off and applied a fresh coat of Toko S3 Red. No fancy wax for me. Friday afternoon I headed out to Teton Canyon for a short skate to see if I still remembered how these things work. Teton Canyon is mostly flat and straight so it can give you the false impression that you actually know how to skate ski. I left Teton Canyon Friday afternoon with supreme confidence that I could survive 10K at Targhee.
Saturday was a gorgeous bluebird day and the temps were mild. A small crowd of hardcore Nordic racers were milling about the lower parking lot and working their way up to the start area above the resort. There are two very rude hills to climb just to get to the start area and I was questioning my sanity on the second hill only 12 minutes into my skate. Yikes! In hindsight, I should have ridden my Fat Bike to the start line with my skis on my back.
I won’t bore you with a play-by-play of my 54 minute suffer-fest...and I did suffer. What little technique I had deteriorated quickly as I blew myself up on each hill. Poor technique means wasted energy which leads to a higher heart rate which leads to even worst technique...it's a vicious cycle. Near the end of my second lap I was duck waddling up a steep off-camber pitch when I heard a voice yelling “Stop. Stop. Stop.” It was Mark Llinares. Mark had already finished and was skating his “cool down” when he saw me in my most pathetic state. Mark skied over and immediately jumped into instructor mode. His simple tip of committing to the outside ski made such a difference and we worked on this for the remainder of my lap. This simple lesson was well worth the entry fee.
Thankfully, I am at point in my life where I am not embarrassed to be at the tail end of a race. I was in fact dead last. Despite being last, I had a great time and learned something so it was a huge success. I have a month to practice before the Spud Chase at Teton Springs.
It all started with an email on Thursday from my friend and summertime mountain bike rival, Mark Llinares:
(Read out loud with your best British accent for effect)
“Sir
Targhee Tune up Nordic race is on Saturday, its 10K of suffering. I have an idea. You do that and I will do the Togwotee Winter classic- on a bike.
Marco”
I have been bugging Marco to rent a Fat Bike and do the TWC for two years. Now he was offering to try it if I skied a measly 10K. What choice did I have? Did it matter that I hadn’t been on skate skis yet this year? Or that my skate skis were hanging in the garage with a coat of storage wax from last winter and needed some proper attention? Or that the Targhee Nordic track starts at 8,500’ and is almost never flat, meaning that it punishes those with poor technique?
It’s only 10K. I can do anything for 10K…famous last words.
Melissa, Anna, and Katie pre-raceFriday morning I scraped the storage wax off and applied a fresh coat of Toko S3 Red. No fancy wax for me. Friday afternoon I headed out to Teton Canyon for a short skate to see if I still remembered how these things work. Teton Canyon is mostly flat and straight so it can give you the false impression that you actually know how to skate ski. I left Teton Canyon Friday afternoon with supreme confidence that I could survive 10K at Targhee.
Saturday was a gorgeous bluebird day and the temps were mild. A small crowd of hardcore Nordic racers were milling about the lower parking lot and working their way up to the start area above the resort. There are two very rude hills to climb just to get to the start area and I was questioning my sanity on the second hill only 12 minutes into my skate. Yikes! In hindsight, I should have ridden my Fat Bike to the start line with my skis on my back.
I won’t bore you with a play-by-play of my 54 minute suffer-fest...and I did suffer. What little technique I had deteriorated quickly as I blew myself up on each hill. Poor technique means wasted energy which leads to a higher heart rate which leads to even worst technique...it's a vicious cycle. Near the end of my second lap I was duck waddling up a steep off-camber pitch when I heard a voice yelling “Stop. Stop. Stop.” It was Mark Llinares. Mark had already finished and was skating his “cool down” when he saw me in my most pathetic state. Mark skied over and immediately jumped into instructor mode. His simple tip of committing to the outside ski made such a difference and we worked on this for the remainder of my lap. This simple lesson was well worth the entry fee.
Thankfully, I am at point in my life where I am not embarrassed to be at the tail end of a race. I was in fact dead last. Despite being last, I had a great time and learned something so it was a huge success. I have a month to practice before the Spud Chase at Teton Springs.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
FAT Double Header
The highly anticipated “La Nina” winter has been a no-show as of December 18, 2011. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. We got just the right amount of snow in late November followed by cold temps and the snow biking is goooood. On a side note, the NWS recently published an interesting read titled “Where is La Nina”?
It was a bit chilly Sunday morning along the Teton River
Saturday at Grand Targhee
A flurry of emails circulated on Friday and the planets aligned for an informal snow bike gathering of epic proportions Saturday morning at Grand Targhee. There were 18 snow bikers enjoying the great conditions on the Targhee Nordic track. We had everything from casual riders to small groups of hammer-heads trying to drill each other into the snow as if it were the Tuesday Night World Championships. It was awesome to see so many snow bikes out on the trails Saturday and everyone was smiling.
Sunday Teton Valley Combo Ride
I wanted to ride for about five hours on Sunday but I also wanted to ride with Jordie, Lis, and M. No problem. I simply started my ride at 8 am and rode for almost three hours before meeting them at the end of Horseshoe Canyon where we began our “planned” ride of the Horseshoe snowmobile trails to Packsaddle and back. The trails have not been groomed yet this season but the snowmobile traffic has packed them down nicely and the riding was great. It was slow and techie in spots but 100% rideable. We are experiencing an inversion in Teton Valley right now so temps were 9F when I left my house, much colder along the Teton River, and then warmed up into the high teens as I climbed up to Horseshoe.
Michelle riding the Targhee Nordic trails
Brandon and Sarah climbing towards Rick's Basin
Sunday's Combo Ride Route
It was a bit chilly Sunday morning along the Teton RiverSaturday at Grand Targhee
A flurry of emails circulated on Friday and the planets aligned for an informal snow bike gathering of epic proportions Saturday morning at Grand Targhee. There were 18 snow bikers enjoying the great conditions on the Targhee Nordic track. We had everything from casual riders to small groups of hammer-heads trying to drill each other into the snow as if it were the Tuesday Night World Championships. It was awesome to see so many snow bikes out on the trails Saturday and everyone was smiling.
Sunday Teton Valley Combo Ride
I wanted to ride for about five hours on Sunday but I also wanted to ride with Jordie, Lis, and M. No problem. I simply started my ride at 8 am and rode for almost three hours before meeting them at the end of Horseshoe Canyon where we began our “planned” ride of the Horseshoe snowmobile trails to Packsaddle and back. The trails have not been groomed yet this season but the snowmobile traffic has packed them down nicely and the riding was great. It was slow and techie in spots but 100% rideable. We are experiencing an inversion in Teton Valley right now so temps were 9F when I left my house, much colder along the Teton River, and then warmed up into the high teens as I climbed up to Horseshoe.
Michelle riding the Targhee Nordic trails
Brandon and Sarah climbing towards Rick's Basin
Sunday's Combo Ride Route
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