Training Log Archive: Bash

Skate ski clinic with Coach Sandy. 'Bent and I rarely skate ski so we had been anticipating today's morning and afternoon skate ski sessions with less than total enthusiasm. We could have opted for classic lessons only this weekend but we knew some skate skiing would be good for us. Most of the skate skiers did the same thing in reverse and were similarly dubious as they approached yesterday's classic skiing sessions!

Later we plan to write down some key ideas from our sessions but one big take-away is that most of the concepts are transferable between skate and classic. Although we are longtime classic skiers, these were our first formal classic lessons (not counting a terrific informal session with VO2Max), so I hadn't ever thought about it. More surprising was the transfer of skills between skiing and the Chi running style I've been trying to adopt. Very cool.

Sandy walked us through various fundamentals - committing to balance over one ski, proper body position at different points, poling, 1-skate, 2-skate, offset - and we practised transitions between our "gears" as we skied some rolling trails. Lots of drills - no poles, long glide on one ski, Barbie doll arms (locked elbows - forces you to use abs), etc. Good stuff and not as stressful as I'd feared. The hills were short and we had lots of instructional time so the effort wasn't crazy. (Skate skiing almost always makes me go anaerobic.)

Sandy's suggestion is that we work to get to the point where we know how to skate ski 20 km (say) with proper technique without getting out of breath. Then if we want to, we can always add muscle to go faster and harder - but with correct technique.

One of my big problems, it turns out, is that I am so self-conscious about my technique that I constantly look down at my skis and poles to check what I'm doing. I'm supposed to work at lifting my chin from my chest and looking ahead on the trail while putting my shoulders back, avoiding hunching my spine, and opening up my chest and lungs.

(Elapsed 2 hrs 38 min - time deducted for coaching stops, distance added for section where Garmin was off.)

After lunch at the Bulldog Cafe, we had to say farewell to most of the group we've been hanging out with - Revy, C-Bass, Rich C, Sara, Sean & Juliann, Myra & Danny. The Carbons stayed for the afternoon classic clinic. The 5 skate groups from the morning were collapsed into one since most attendees were leaving. I'd slotted myself into the middle level but in the afternoon, I was with Coach Dave and the fast boyz. (Two of us were given the option of an intermediate session just for us but decided to tough it out).

On the plus side, we did an absolutely beautiful ski up to Alder Point and back. It was sunny and cool with heavy snow coating the trees. Perfect ski conditions, spectacular views, great company.

On the negative side, there was a lot of climb. According to AP (which rarely lies), I'd done 67 minutes of skate skiing in 2012 before today. So... it was a shock to some muscles and my cardiovascular system to ski for 3.5 hours today, especially after the season's first two days of classic skiing. Although I tried to cling to some remnants of good technique, I'm afraid some of this morning's improvements were set aside in favour of just getting my sorry arse up the mountain. I was one of the two slowpokes in our group but it didn't really bug me, and it didn't seem to bother the others either. Now that I've survived, I'm really glad I did it. It was a huge confidence booster.

Here are George, Eric, 'Bent and Coach Dave Harbocian.





Here are the views from Alder Point. Important: You should stop skiing when you arrive at this spot.





We shared a condo with the Carbons but our schedule was so busy that we didn't get a lot of time to relax and catch up. Next time! Their skiing skills have become quite good - and they both bought new skis here to add to their quiver. We all warned them this would happen. :)



Night view from the condo.