Skiing to Atacama

26 January 2020 11:01 pm 

At this point you are probably thinking. Jeez. This guy blogs more than he runs. And you’d be right!

Today was my first run since starting this blog. But, as you can see from the piechart below. I haven’t been sitting on my butt typing ALL week.

 

Mostly I’ve been cross-country (or Nordic) skiing.

I grew up in Alaska, and cross-country skiing was my first sport. I actually skied to grade school (through the snow, up hill, both ways). My father handcrafted my first pair of skis by cutting the edges off an old pair of downhill skis and using a plane to thin out the edges. He modified the downhill cable binding so that the heel would elevate and the toe would hold my footwear of choice, the “tuffy boot.” Sadly, those homemade skis went the way of most of my skis from the 70s: splintered on a treacherous corner at Kincaid Park or shattered at the bottom of a homemade ski jump.

 

This picture shows me racing in a knicker suit that my mom sewed on a vintage Singer sewing machine in 1978. No Lycra were killed to make this suit.

(Thankfulness note: I give thanks for parents who spent their free time making stuff so that I could go ski)

My first ski race was sometime in the early 70s. I had asthma and cold air made me wheeze; the air was cold during ski season, so I didn’t do very well. I found that wearing a respirator would warm the air and make me wheeze less, but it made me look like Darth Vader, before there was Darth Vader, and this made me the object of ridicule from my fellow racers. Fortunately, my asthma and my skiing improved. I raced for Dimond High School in Anchorage (we won the State Championship in 1979) and the College of Idaho (we won the NCSA Nationals in 1980).

(Another thankfulness note: I give thanks for the ski coaches who pushed me to become a better skier and a better human: Lynn Roumagoux, John Morton, Ernie Meissner, and others)

 

This picture shows me racing at the NCSA (College) Nationals in Waterville Valley, NH in 1983. No mask! I came in 4th that day. My mom did not sew the see through lycra suit that I wore. Or the union jack boxers underneath.

After I graduated from college I spent a year as a research assistant (ski bum) and then went on to seven years in medical school and residency. When I finally had enough free time to ski again, cross country skiing had changed. The skis were faster, the suits were tighter and people were skating on skis!

My first real job was back in Alaska. So I taught myself to skate. Unfortunately, I had a fool for a coach and he taught me a number of bad habits that have been hard for me to break. And then I moved away from Alaska and only got to ski on rare occasions for the next 20 years.

 

This picture shows me skating to the finish of the Tour of Anchorage in 2018. It’s definitely not as pretty as what they now call “classic” cross country skiing, but it is quite a bit faster.

Now I live 30-40 minutes from world class cross country skiing. In the winter time I try to ski as much as possible. Skiing Nordic is one of the most aerobically challenging activities out there, engaging just about every single muscle group in the body. And it is relatively low impact. Except when you run into things on the side of the trail.

Which brings me back to the pie chart above as well as the third goal (Don’t get Hurt!). My strategy is to build up my aerobic fitness without doing a whole lot of running. (Once again, this is not expert advice, just my theory) I am hoping that by mixing in skiing and biking I can avoid some of those nasty overuse injuries and save a few shreds of articular cartilage for September!

Ski season lasts until mid-March. Maybe a bit longer if the snow holds. I have a race in Sun Valley this weekend.

 https://bouldermountaintour.com/

Nancy and I are going to Cogne, Italy in March for the Masters World Cup races.  Because I haven't had my butt kicked enough by the masters skiers here, so I like to fly to exotic places so the scandinavians can kick my butt!

 http://www.mwc-2020.com/

And in addition to the cross country skiing, we also have great downhill skiing here in Central Oregon, both backcountry and lift serviced, which I try to mix in with a little moderation (don’t get hurt).

In any case.  The snow here is great!  Come try it!  I'll get back to the running stuff when it melts.