Training Log Archive: Swampfox

Son-of-a-Bosler! The City Council must have been reading AttackPoint, because it turns out that right after I wrote about plastic garbage bags here, they scurried into a work session on recycling, and shortly thereafter (this week) adopted a resolution to "diminish and regulate retail-use plastic waste within the city", which will kick off a multi-year process which could potentially result in a ban on same. The cause-effect relationship here could not be more clear cut.

See if I write anymore about plastic bags. I probably better be careful with writing about pizza, too! Man.

While they're at it though, it would not hurt my feelings if they also went after those worthless mylar balloons, one of which I found (and picked up) on a trail while I was running tonight.

But in the meantime, time to kick off Operation Bag Horde. Wouldn't surprise me at all if bag usage at Walmart suddenly skyrockets.

C • Plastic bags 8

There hasn't been any new snow except for traces this month. So, it's been a dry January so far. Despite that, ski conditions have been great all month. Yesterday was the first day where the snow was a little affected by temps above freezing, and had softened some and was slower.

There was a story in the paper today about the wreck I saw on Monday. There was one fatality and 9 people were injured, some requiring evacuation to Colorado.

C • 9 injured 2

Felt full of energy all day and when I got up top for skiing, the feeling only grew. I'm sure it had everything to do with much faster, dry snow, and crisper temps with some tasty west breeze kicking in as well, and nothing at all to do with the fact that I slept hard through the night and didn't wake up in the morning until more than 2 1/2 hours later than usual. When I woke up I had no idea it was as late as it was. I've examined my skin carefully 3 times already, looking for radioactive snow snake bites.

But if the "Go" light is shining brightly, then go for it, and in spite of doing intervals yesterday, I probably ended up skiing even harder today and felt really strong the whole time. Weird. It was the kind of day you want for a big race.

Ski intervals were up today. I cut the session short by one interval versus what I had planned, based on how I was feeling after the last interval I did. My view is that with higher intensity stuff, it is better to err on the side of being conservative than to risk over doing it.

Came home, had a non-vegetarian pepperoni calzone for dinner (had a vegetarian pepperoni calzone last week, so mixing it up here) and am now getting ready to watch SDSU slaughter Wyoming. Of course, it's always possible Wyoming could win against the 19-0 Aztecs, but on this night, with this team, the odds are really long. To put them in a popular context, they are even longer than the odds that the Death Star would not be blown up in the original Star Wars movie. Go Cowboys.

Big sun was burning bright in the sky--at least as much as sun can burn in January around here--and it seemed like an ideal time to hop on the bike.

Actually, I hopped on the bike yesterday. It looked equally promising as regards the sun, but the temps didn't quite clear freezing, and there was cold breeze out of the north...as it turned out. My mistake was going out, too optimistically, in summer biking gloves. Bit by bit my fingers got colder and colder. I tried every trick to keep them warm, including going up to cars at stoplights, and putting my hands where the exhaust was coming out, all to no avail. But we survived.

Today was enough degrees more better (great English!) that it was an altogether different experience, and I rode long south of town and back, getting comfortably toasty in the process. Very nice.

Except for a big time wreck across 287 several miles south of town. After biking and driving up to Happy Jack, the helicopter light on the hospital was revolving, and it was still turning when I drove by in the dark a few years later. There's no guarantee the lights had anything to do with the wreck, but that's where I would put my money.

Skiing was terrific. It was dead calm and it made me think about Saturday when it was total scream method wind from start to finish. Saw all sorts of people I recognized and skied with a few of them. Didn't see Steve Tyler.

C • Helicopter light 5

Sunny from start to finish, beautiful outside in every way, and windy as well. Very windy in fact, and at various times during the day various roads around Laramie were closed, including the interstate. Though I'm not sure that all the announced road closures corresponded to actual closures on the ground.

It turned out the ski race had ample staff (and not so many racers), so briefly I was asked to collect bibs from racers as they finished. I had dressed for skiing (sweep duty) and not for standing around, and already after getting just the first few bibs I explained the situation and bailed, and did a good ski. Followed up by running down into the Crow Creek drainage. After 4+ hours of that, or whatever it was, I was pretty well done, and headed home. The wind never let up one little bit, and it was rock and roll going down the canyon. Man!

The wind fans kicked back on today, and just in time--more than a day or two of quiet, and it just doesn't feel right.

There was mention in the local news early in the afternoon of a snow squall in the vicinity of Elk Mountain (west of Laramie), and when I was driving up top go skiing and had a view from near the parking lot out over the Laramie Valley, I could see there was an amazing looking ground blizzard obscuring the valley floor NW of Laramie--no doubt the result of the snow squall plus the big wind. On the way back home, signs were flashing warning that the interstate was closed west of Laramie.

Tomorrow there is a local ski race, and I agreed to help after being asked. The organizer wrote me:

"Here’s a bit more information about your role as course sweeper on Saturday:
Course sweeper. Ski part of race course, starting approx. 10:45, to be sure that all racers have finished. If you encounter a racer who needs assistance, ski back to start/finish to notify Randy and the 1st-aid person. Plan to stay until 11:30."

I wrote him back:

"For those who are flagging through no fault of their own, I will have marshmallows and little trinkets to encourage them along.

For the recalcitrant who are not even trying, swift and terrible justice will be rendered, along the lines favored by the founder of the Pole Mountain Shuffle, General Philip Sheridan.

Thus will sweeping be accomplished."

He then wrote me back:

"Wow. I’m glad I’m not racing…"