Best Laid Plans...

So Wednesday's workouts went well- 40 minute run at lunch time, then 90 minutes on the rollers after work. The run was tough not because of the length or intensity, but because I suck at running. The rollers were fine, and between the PowerTap and wireless headphones I was able to get in the zone.

All of this set the stage for being completely smoked for my masters' ski group on Thursday.

The drive over featured this sunset behind Camel's Hump.


This was my first week skiing with the fast group, and that meant that my instructors were two local collegiate ski racers home for Christmas break. Both guys were what you'd expect from collegiate athletes- young, talented, and massively fast, but also good at passing along some of their wisdom from years of experience.

As soon as we started to skate out on our first loop I knew that I was going to have push to stay with the group. The fatigue of Wendesday's workouts and being rusty from not being on snow for over a week combined to make it a challenge. Needless to say I was spent when I took off my skis 90 minutes later and collapsed into the drivers seat of my car.

Of course this is New Year's Week, so I was fortunate to have Friday off, yet somehow I failed to realize how completely shattered I'd be if I set up a big midweek workout, masters skiing and then three big ski/combo days on the long weekend.

Friday morning I knew I'd take the day off and was disappointed at my lack of plan. My only option was to head out to a friend's New Years Party and drown my "sorrows" in alcohol. Sometimes being unstructured can backfire.

My approach went from not having a plan, then feeling I had the wrong plan and feeling bad about it, then having a hangover Saturday morning, then realizing that the weather wasn't going to be conducive to anything except nursing a hangover and feeling like I somehow unwittingly made the right decision.

Every year there are a string of warm, snow melting days in late December or January and this year's is right now. Overcast skies and temperatures in the 40's have decimated what little snow we did have. Even the best maintained nordic areas are pretty hagard as I found out first hand after a futile 12 minute attempt at "skiing." Skiing is in quotes because it was really more about dodging rocks and bare patches than actual skiing. My only recourse? 90 minutes on the rollers with my good pals Powertap and wireless headphones.

I've resolved to make Sunday's workout a good one. I wish it could be on skis, but it'll have to be a run/bike brick.