Training Log Archive: Carbons Offset

First skate lesson with Canmore Nordic

Turn the hips to face the ski you are stepping onto. We practiced this just standing in place with the skis in a slight open V.
Skated without poles and emphasized the twist by bringing the one arm over and rotating the other arm far behind the back. When we added the poles, I was leaning to over too much rather than rotating/twisting, so I ditched the poles again. Seemed to get the hang of it without the poles, I think (the instructor didn't get a chance to watch me again, so I'm not sure).

The push-off comes from the heel, not the front of the foot. The push is to the the side, not back, and the foot you are stepping onto steps forward, with the knee leading and your hips should be turned to face it.
The push should have a pop to it, it isn't a gradual or continual muscling.

After the push off, that ski should almost want to lift its tip up. If the tip is diving, it is because you are pushing to the back and not to the side.

Practiced gliding long on each ski, and aiming to step onto a flat ski and glide flat.
I also practiced bringing the other foot toward the one you were gliding on, to get the weight over that gliding ski.

C • Sounds like a piece of cake... 1

17.1

Self directed warm up
10 x (90 sec MAP@ 94 rpm+, 90 sec easy)
5 min easy
3 x (8 min E4, 2 min easy). During the 8 min, the coach would sometimes call for 15 revolutions of accelerations, either standing or seated, and then not let the watts dip below E4 when you backed off
10 min easy
10 x (1:40 low-mid E3 @<80rpm, 20 sec max spin up in same gear, and again not let the watts dip too low after)
Cool down

16.9

A fun ski at CNC with Myka and Carbon. Snow was nice despite +6C temperatures today. Out and back on Banff loop and Banff trail toward Rundle Riverside. The warm air temperature was a treat and the waxless skis worked well. Myka's new ski set up looks like it fits her well - getting good glide and finding enough grip on the climbs.
Practiced some of my stuff from my lessons but the waxless skis don't expose when my weight shift isn't good... They still grip.

The Fingers with Revy, C-Bass and Carbon. Took a different route off the start to avoid the xc race course. Again, no people. Skied the fifth and sixth fingers. Snow wasn't as deep, or was more settled, so it was easier to get more speed. Nice open pitches. The bottom was more filled in than when I was here in December, so that made the ski out easier. Soon, we were back at the wider trails/roads and Revy fetched the truck so that the rest of us could just follow the easy groomed route back to the Nordic day lodge. I figured Revy would be quicker without me trying to keep up, so I let him go.

A couple of good runs, and we were still on the highway early enough to do the whole drive in daylight. The Fingers are nice that way. Stopped at the sushi train for dinner :)

Furry Knob with Revy, C-Bass, Atsuko and Carbon.
Crusty at the bottom due to thaw-freeze but once we got a little higher, it quickly became obvious that we would have good snow. Deep and challenging trail breaking, or so I hear: Revy did almost all of it, with some help from Carbon and C-Bass. Great snow, no other people, clear (although some flat light at moments) and calm. A long climb up.
Things skied more stable than we expected - even hitting convex bulges and things didn't seem to be popping. Deep snow, you sometimes had to really point the skis downhill to keep the speed up. Enjoyed two nice laps. Lots of fun. Really great to be out with these great friends again :)

Our trip down through the trees at the bottom wasn't as crusty and bad as we thought it might be and we even had a few fun slopes that provided some additional nice turns on lower slopes. The last section was crusty but still wasn't too hard.

16.4

16.6

Hill repeats on the snow-covered path up toward Silvertip.
4 x (30s, 45s, 60s, 90s, 60s, 45s, 30s) with up to 1.5 times recovery time in between. 2 minutes recovery between sets.
Started with a jog from home to the lower Banchlands parking, then out along Palliser Trail (road) for an out-and-back, then up the hill to the start of the path. Pushed the pace a little going up the hill to try to get some intensity in the warm up, but most of that warm up doesn't happen until the first set. As a result, the first set felt tough, like I was still tired from Tuesday, but the later sets got better.
Pushed about 90 percent on the intervals, not 95 or 100 percent, but this brought me to 95-100 percent by the last set so I probably paced it about right.
Really pretty under the falling snow. The snow on the path added some difficulty.
Amik was there with a tobaggon and rocked the trip back down the hill. Jogged back to the Banchlands parking lot.

C • Amik... 2