Training Log: Swampfox

run 37:00 [2]

Nothing like a chill Canadian wind sweeping out of the endless prairie to the north to remind that winter isn't over yet.

A light snow fell overnight, and the already white valley was looking bright white this morning with the new snow.

skiing 1:21:00 [2]

Looked like about 2" new fell overnight.

run 52:00 [3]

Chilly.

skiing 2:08:00 [3]

New snow falling lightly the entire time; really nice skiing, and lots of skiers were out!

run 1:42:00 [2]

Followed up skiing with some running in some very moosy terrain, but saw no mooses nor even any fresh moose tracks. More light snow falling for the entire run. Cool! As a bonus, there was no wind.

Made it back home in time for the Soopah Bole.

Note

A little escarole goes a long way. I still have enough of the stuff for several more days of salads. I finally had to break down and at the grocery store ask for the extra strength salad dressings. Imagine what it would take to smother raw brussels sprouts! Well, no, it's not possible to imagine that.

C • escarole 3

Note

SB halftime note analysis: Colts lead 10-6. Saints will probably try to get stoked on some halftime Po Boy sammiches. Bud Light runs numerous commercials; USOF runs none. USOF must have saved its ad buys for the 2nd half.

Note

Halftime Show analysis: pretty good, not bad, but let's face it--The Who are not that little ol' band from Texas.

C • Who? 2

Note

SB 3rdQ analysis: Colts lead 17-16; exhaustive statistical studies reveal that most of the time the team leading after three quarters goes on to win. However, 100% of the time at least one of the two team will go on to win regardless of which team was leading after three.

Note

SB 4th Quarter analysis: Saints win 31-17, thanks to an extra helping of Gatorade they all drank during halftime; it re-hydrates and is delicious, too. Yum, yum!

C • Seems like... 2

skiing 1:55:00 [3]

While skiing along, I came across a clot of skiers along one section of the trail. One of them was documenting the scene using his iPhone camera device, and the others were crouched down, examining some impressively deeply scoured and long skate ski tracks. It would have taken a lot of power and speed to carve up the snow in such a fashion.

I skied up to the group and told them: "There's only one person alive who could create tracks like that: Edamame Man, though some of you may know him as Agent X8A7. He's tougher than a bison, stronger than a bear, faster than a smarmy Senator putting a blanket hold on dozens of presidential nominees in a single stroke of pique and hypocrisy. And the only thing he eats? Young green soy beans--which are especially rich in various proteins and vitamins."

A girl named Allison exclaimed excitedly: "You know Agent X8A7??? He's such a geologist!!!"

I didn't answer. As the ever wise Sun Tzu once advised his generals: Great victories may sometimes be achieved without bloodshed by never unnecessarily admitting you know anyone from Greeley.

Instead, I bent over the tracks so that I could examine them carefully. After a few moments, I had seen enough.

I turned to the other skiers and addressed them: "From the speed it would have taken to create a set of tracks like these, we can infer Agent X8A7 was likely doing some kind of interval workout and was moving very quickly. Possibly he was using the terrain to shape natural intervals. The ski angle is a little wider than would be expected for a skier of Agent X8A7's talent, so therefore we can further estimate these tracks were made towards the end of the workout, when quite properly he would have been getting tired and would have been forced to slightly open up the ski angle for greater traction to maintain speed."

Then I walked rapidly down the tracks and pointed to several indentures in the snow. "And yet, the pole plants were made with a degree of snap and even eagerness belying the tired condition he must have been in at this point. Something more was going on. Maybe he was just looking forward to dinner, but no, wait, I don't think that was it."

Two of the skiers started whispering: "Look at his hat, it's a NAPA hat! Do you think he's sponsored? I don't know. Maybe. I heard they did some sponsoring. I can't remember, do they have more 3G coverage than Verizon, or less? I don't know, but if you cancel early, you are so screwed."

I ignored them and continued my analysis: "Yes. There was definitely more going on, but it wasn't dinner that was driving him. No. It wasn't that. Agent X8A7 was tired, but even though he was tired he was in some sense skiing as if he were still fresh, like he had something to look forward to, some reason to get back to the parking lot with a sense of purpose. This was a man who was skiing like he was looking forward to seeing something...someone...someone who was...someone who was his girlfriend, who he hadn't seen for a while, who was out for a visit! Yes, that's what it was."

"If you should see some youngish looking woman you don't recognize out on the trails who is skiing well, and you stop and ask her, I believe you will find she is from Duluth. Her name will be Anne, her last name will be an unusual name you probably won't have heard of before with a, ummm, u-e letter combination. She's been to Russia, but never to Huskvarna or TMFKABM. She will be wearing something in Torino Red, and she will almost certainly not have a Mountain Dew in her hand."

I thought I had it about right, though of course you can never be totally sure, not with just a set of ski tracks in mostly old snow to work from, and I admit the part about the Torino Red was a total guess--it was just that I had had that color on my mind earlier in the day.

Then I skied on and headed off for some climbing on the Summit Loop.

C • Today it snowed in Virginia... 4

run 55:00 [3]

After skiing, I ran on trails and did what I could to invoke the snow gods, as I could see they had some likely looking clouds forming up just a little ways SE and past the interstate. A few flakes did fall now and then where I was running, but that was the best I could wrest out of the circumstance.

Note

Post script--A man's gotta know where his bread is buttered, and that's for sure.

run 54:00 [2]

I took a quick swing by one of the local saloons. Even from the outside, you could hear a pretty loud argument going on, and it wasn't even noon yet!

The fellers were arguing over who was going to win the Super Bowl. About what you would expect, except for one excessively drunk sounding cowboy talking all over the rest, insisting that "this time the Vikings are going to whup their puny asses!" That made me laugh. Aaaah, whatta you gonna do?

skiing 1:39:00 [2]

There was light snow falling for the whole time I was out.

While driving up canyon, I saw a pair of eagles flying off to one side.

Woodpeckers were at work again in the beetle trees at the top of Summit Loop.

run 49:00 [2]

skiing 1:01:00 [3]

At last we got some measurable new snow--about 1-2" overnight. I got out on the trails just as the groomers were finishing up, and the skiing was just about perfect. The sun was shining full, the wind was knocking little sprinkles of snow out of the trees, and temps were very pleasant in the 20s.

There was a school bus of kids out too. My guess is they were 6th graders, plus or minus a grade. Even knowing what the sorry stats are, it's still almost astonishing to see how many kids these days are not even fat but are outright obese. I doubt if some of those little porkers would be able to keep up with secret agent and Greeleyite X8A7 even if they hit the wax just right.

C • low center of gravity 1

skiing 1:20:00 [2]

run 56:00 [2]

Note

Interesting that the IOF has dropped the rule against following. I think that's about right, given that the rule was neither enforced nor enforceable.

If only they had followed that up with a ban against butterfly loops! I really, really, really, really don't like what butterfly loops do to course design. You could even say I'm not a fan. ; )

run 55:00 [2]

A full month now since the last measurable snow! Despite that, the Laramie Valley remains very close to 100% covered in snow.

It reminds me of some of the finer parts of West Texas.

Note

A city maintenance crew using a scraper, a front end loader, and a dump truck just spent 3+ hours clearing a vast ice lake in the intersection in front of where I live. I thought it was nice but not really necessary, until the finally broke through the ice dam and the ice waters could flow away, revealing the hulks of two VWs and a red Smart Car. The Smart Car was pretty conspicuous around town, being the only one in Laramie, and I had wondered where it had gone off to for the past few weeks.

skiing 1:07:00 [2]

Ran into Graham B. out on the trails. He claimed he was doing intervals, but it looked like he was loafing to me. Have to cut him some slack though, since he comes from the (Colorado) prairie.

C • loafing 2

run 1:03:00 [2]

Running on some of the south side, snowshoe packed trails at Happy Jack. Ran into a black, 11 month old, highly energetic Great Dane and its owner.

If a black, 11 month old, highly energetic Great Dane runs into a typical runner on snowshoe packed trails, it develops the typical runner will be totally taken out.

Note

I know the Olympics are coming up soon, and I must say I've heard a *LOT* about the Super Bowl and very little about the Olympics.

C • half time 13