Training Log Archive: nicki

Did a long slow loop up on the Peter Lougheed Trails with Jen and Claire. We left town early and were the 4th car in the carpark. We were breaking the surface of the new snow over the old tracks for most of the morning. Snow was beautiful, albeit slow. I definitely worked hard today. Had a big stack in front of a triathlon crowd who were standing around at a junction. I flew through them at a hundred miles an hour, put in a couple of skate steps, and then bam....down I went into a heap at their feet. Cheers and laughter followed and Claire's taunts of, "that will teach you for showing off". Agreed. I got Claire back later when I didn't get out the track fast enough as she were careening down a hill behind me and got tangled in the back of my skis and spat it face first. I gave her sympathy in equal measure that she gave it to me.

What a fun day.

I wanted a short and hard ski today before the long slow one tomorrow. Went alone to Banff and skied Cascade Fire Rd and back. I've never been there before but can't believe I didn't know about it until this year. A great place to ski if you like long flattish conditions. Trail conditions improved the further I went up the valley with great track set after the bridge. Felt good to hammer on my own in the mountains.

C • Use caution 2

10 min treadmill warm up, then

6 min sprints (20:10)
4 min fast skipping (20:10)
4 min bicycle crunches (20:10)
4 min plyometric double leg jumps (20:10)

100 boy push-ups (yah!)
tear-jerking foam roller love
other random stuff.

.....and I finally tipped the scales at 152 lbs. I like to think that I'm storing up for the upcoming season of ultra-marathoning and my extra energy source will put me well ahead of my competition. If only... Sigh!

pitiful

Definitely more of an adventure ski marathon than a loppet. Yikes!
I unranked myself at the start and promised not to get on the podium (like THAT was going to happen at my debut ski race) and enlisted Claire to ski leg 1 and 2 for me because my back is still iffy. She got the big downhill from the chateau which made me happy. I got the interesting adventure section on leg 5.

What a fun day, though. I LOVED it. Already can't wait until next year. I hammered leg 3 and passed 6 guys, had some problems on the big icy uphill of leg 4 and then chickened-out on the downhill and ran down the road instead (totally legit in this race). Leg 5 was just plain messy but so much fun. Had a fabulous stack...right on the 1A roadway and right infront of a car of tourists. The back of my right ski went over my head as I faceplanted in the snow and almost impaled my boob on the end of my pole. Fun times. The swamp area was crazy.....hard to see the trail for the thickets and I got tangled in a bush a couple of times. Very skinny, windy, bumpy, hazard-ridden section and I barely got a glide stroke in. Popping out onto the Sunshine overpass felt good. So did the 800 m run over to Healy Trailhead (I should stick to running). I caught 3rd and 4th place girl at that point but they had sneakily swapped out their classic skis for skate skis and blew through the last 10 km in a third of my time (also legit). A fun sprint into the finish along the Bow River right into the middle of Banff.

I'm pretty buggered but not completely wrecked so I'm feeling good about the Birkie now.....which they promise is a million times smoother and faster!!

I need to go get the bases of my skis re-done after they got shredded from the rocks and trees and other interesting sticking-out-things.

C • I was wondering how your da... 3

Gentle swim. Felt good.

And she's baaaaaack on the yoga scene!!

I realized tonight that in all my years of running, not once have I ever regretted leaving the warm house and heading out on a dark trail, in the cold, in the snow, with friends. It has a 100% success rate of creating good feelings afterward.

Trail trash run in 12 mile coolee. The katoolahs were amazing yet again - it makes running on solid sheet ice such a delight. The back held together although definitely still sore.

A determined effort to return to bike commuting. Driving is not very becoming of me!

Mt Shark. The trails weren't track set but the snow was new, light and fluffy, which was more than I expected without going all the way to Louise after the week of super warm temperatures.

A beautiful blue-sky sunny afternoon,

C • Did you know you are ranked... 4

A tough afternoon run: winds gusting to 80 km/hr on Nose Hill and I was running uphill and straight into the wind. Icy conditions as well, but the katoolahs work a treat. I can sprint confidently on a downhill slab of ice. SWEET!

Yes! Today I felt like a runner again. Edworthy to Princes Island, up and down the curling club stairs a few times, then back in the dark. A bit slick in places but I had a big smile on my face......and still no gloves! I love chinooks.

C • Nice! You'll be rocking com... 2

A big long walk in the warm sunshine with a very heavy backpack of groceries.

Big loop from Pocaterra over to Elk Pass and back with a few side detours. AWESOME. I skiied hard the whole time. And now.....total exhaustian washed down with sushi.

That was quite possibly the high point of my week.
An after-dark run on soft pack snow covered trails under a starry sky and a balmy 7 degrees of temperature. Nose Creek and then Nose HIll. Nose Hill was fabulous....I love it up there at night....totally alone, dark and silent. A bit of snopulsning required in places where I inadvertently ran into deep drifts.

How is it that I've gone this many winters in Calgary and never known about Shaganappi Golf Course. I was all alone for my late afternoon/early evening ski under a warm setting sun on groomed trails. The sweetest end to a week possible.

A short stint in the pool to break up the "car legs" and prepare myself for returning to work. Sigh!

1000 m free
200 m kick
100 m free, 50 m breast
100 m free, 50 m breast

On a side note, I left my swimsuit at the pool a couple of months ago and when I went to claim it from lost and found the next day, it had apparently disappeared. They claimed that people steal them from the changerooms sometimes. Who steals a swimsuit??? Well today, I spotted one of the ladies who works there wearing my exact same swimsuit. A cooincidence?

Some people are just weird.

C • Same thing happens at the Talisman 1

On the wind trainer.

OK....it's time to exercise out my 4 days of sitting in a car. It was sure nice in San Luis Obispo but next time I'm going to fly.