Last week was rough. I managed an easy 20 minute run after work one night, but I can't even remember which night now. All of the other nights I worked late.
That's why it was so nice to escape town for the weekend. Jeff suggested a winter camping adventure to Sullivan mountain. We didn't make it all the way to the lookout, but we skied in approximately three miles and enjoyed a little rain, a little snow, and then this morning, a little sun. I think this was my first January trip!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
January 22-23, 2011
I'm behind again with updates, and equally behind (perhaps more behind) with grading. The end of the semester is tough.
This weekend was a chalet open house. I was slow out of the house on Saturday morning, so I skipped the group snowshoe hike at 8am in favor of Nordic skiing later in the morning. I was at the chalet by noon and spent several hours in front of the fire grading essays.
On Sunday a group of us headed back to the Nordic area for some more xc skiing. We did classic today (I skated on Saturday). I took my woodies, and they did great despite the fact that they hadn't been waxed since last year. It was a very clear, beautiful day on the mountain.
This weekend was a chalet open house. I was slow out of the house on Saturday morning, so I skipped the group snowshoe hike at 8am in favor of Nordic skiing later in the morning. I was at the chalet by noon and spent several hours in front of the fire grading essays.
On Sunday a group of us headed back to the Nordic area for some more xc skiing. We did classic today (I skated on Saturday). I took my woodies, and they did great despite the fact that they hadn't been waxed since last year. It was a very clear, beautiful day on the mountain.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011: Full Moon Snowshoe
A nice mid-week snowshoe hike is always nice, even if it is the end of the semester and even if I am terribly far behind on nearly everything. The weather cooperated for this one--the moon was just cresting the tress as we started out, and it was crystal clear out. Seven people joined me for this Mountaineers' hike. It was a popular night for snowshoeing on the mountain--there were at least two other large groups hiking tonight, too.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Run
I spent the majority of my day either grading papers or procrastinating by cleaning something (everything really did need to be cleaned, so it's not such a terrible thing that I procrastinated, right?). There was a short little window of sunshine in the early afternoon, so I took advantage by doing my usual three-mile loop in the neighborhood. It was so warm that I wore shorts! This is the weirdest January on record.
Sunday, January 16: Run + skijor
Skijoring is so much fun, but it really isn't much of a workout when I take both Kari and Blaze. Today I went for a three mile run in the neighborhood before I loaded the car with skis and dogs for my afternoon skijor adventure.
The parking lot at Selkirk was uncharacteristically empty when I got there. The snow has been melting so fast that the parking lot is now down to bare gravel, and the ski conditions are very much like spring skiing right now. I don't mind the wet snow as much as I mind the debris on the trail.
Despite the fact that there were very few people skiing this afternoon, today I met the first anti-skijor person. It was a very strange conversation. First she stopped to tell me that dogs were not allowed on the ski trails. Her tone was a little confrontational, but I assumed that she just didn't realize that there were designated skijor days on the mountain. When I told her that we were allowed on certain trails on Wednesdays and Sundays after 2pm, her first response was to check her watch (it was 2:45). Then she asked if I was sure it was this trail. I assured her it was, pointing out the skijor trail sign that I happened to be standing near and letting her know about the other signs at the lodge. She examined the sign and said "But I thought it was just for skijoring." I wonder what she thought skijoring was? I assured her that skijoring was exactly what I was doing. At that she took off, but she still seemed a little angry that I wasn't doing something wrong. Of course, immediately after she left I got the more typical response--a couple of people skied up and wanted to pet the dogs and ask questions about skijoring.
The parking lot at Selkirk was uncharacteristically empty when I got there. The snow has been melting so fast that the parking lot is now down to bare gravel, and the ski conditions are very much like spring skiing right now. I don't mind the wet snow as much as I mind the debris on the trail.
Despite the fact that there were very few people skiing this afternoon, today I met the first anti-skijor person. It was a very strange conversation. First she stopped to tell me that dogs were not allowed on the ski trails. Her tone was a little confrontational, but I assumed that she just didn't realize that there were designated skijor days on the mountain. When I told her that we were allowed on certain trails on Wednesdays and Sundays after 2pm, her first response was to check her watch (it was 2:45). Then she asked if I was sure it was this trail. I assured her it was, pointing out the skijor trail sign that I happened to be standing near and letting her know about the other signs at the lodge. She examined the sign and said "But I thought it was just for skijoring." I wonder what she thought skijoring was? I assured her that skijoring was exactly what I was doing. At that she took off, but she still seemed a little angry that I wasn't doing something wrong. Of course, immediately after she left I got the more typical response--a couple of people skied up and wanted to pet the dogs and ask questions about skijoring.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Nordic + a little snowshoe
The weather around here is so weird right now! We got several inches of snow on Wednesday, but it immediately started melting and today the high was near 50 degrees. Everything is a wet, slushy mess.
I thought about hiking, but decided to skate ski instead. As it turns out, everything is melting on the mountain, too, so I would have been better of hiking. I did a short loop as some of the trails I wanted to take had not been groomed. After that I snowshoed from Selkirk lodge down to the chalet to check in on things. I think my daily combined mileage was probably around six.
I thought about hiking, but decided to skate ski instead. As it turns out, everything is melting on the mountain, too, so I would have been better of hiking. I did a short loop as some of the trails I wanted to take had not been groomed. After that I snowshoed from Selkirk lodge down to the chalet to check in on things. I think my daily combined mileage was probably around six.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Skijor
Today I was able to take both Kari and Blaze up to Mount Spokane for skijor day. This is great for them and not so great for me--I really didn't get a workout at all. Oh, well. Most people take their dogs for a walk; I let my dogs take me flying down the trail. I got my exercise through shivering!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Alpine
Today I finally picked up my pass at 49 North. The skiing was pretty good on the groomed stuff, but it was icy on the edges! It was also frigid. The only time I was warm all day was when we skinned up Angel Peak to check it out--skinning up was fun, but coming down was icy and tough. I can't wait to try it again when the conditions are better.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Finally back to running
Monday was the first day back to work, and it ended up being a tough one! The heat was off in my wing of the building. I was wearing a sweater, a soft-shell jacket, and my down jacket, plus my down mittens, and I was still shivering for most of the day. I think it was worse for the kids since a few of them didn't even have coats, but it was also pretty tough to be in the room all day (at least the kids had a few classes on the warm side of the building!). At any rate, I originally planned to run after school, but instead I felt too cold and miserable. I stayed in my classroom, sitting in front of the space heater the custodians brought in during 5th period, sipping tea while I worked on grades. I had to stay late, too, as I had an evening meeting.
By Tuesday our heating issues had been taken care of, so I don't have that excuse...I just ended up not running. In fact, I ended up napping after work! Oops.
Tonight I decided I needed to quit being such a sloth. It snowed most of the day and it was so pretty out this evening! I just did the easy three-mile loop we use for the Foothills Fun Run. It's actually quite boring, and I was quite slow. Oh, well, at least I'm doing something again!
By Tuesday our heating issues had been taken care of, so I don't have that excuse...I just ended up not running. In fact, I ended up napping after work! Oops.
Tonight I decided I needed to quit being such a sloth. It snowed most of the day and it was so pretty out this evening! I just did the easy three-mile loop we use for the Foothills Fun Run. It's actually quite boring, and I was quite slow. Oh, well, at least I'm doing something again!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Sunday is Skijor Day!
Every Wednesday and Sunday after 2pm, skijoring is allowed on certain Nordic trails at Mount Spokane. Diana and I had plans to go last Wednesday, but a major snowstorm foiled our plans that day. Instead we went today--Diana with Murungu, Diana's friend Shelly with Luna, and then I had Blaze. Unfortunately, Kari wasn't feeling well today and had to stay home.
This made Kari fairly upset, but it was very good for Blaze. Today was his first skijor trip of the winter without Kari, and I wasn't sure that he would remember how to pull without Kari's example. He was terrible whenever I tried to take him alone last year. Today he actually pulled! Plus, I had to work since I only had one dog, so I got a good workout, too. It really is too easy for me with two dogs, but it's also a ton of fun! I did the whole thing without poles, so I imagine my legs will be sore tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure of the distance, but I believe it's between five and six miles.
Tomorrow is back to work for me. I'm so sad that the break is over. I have been having so much fun! Now I'm back to schedules plus evening meetings; the seniors have culminating essays due tomorrow, and I'm still behind on sophomore essays. In fact, I'd better get back to my grading right now!
This made Kari fairly upset, but it was very good for Blaze. Today was his first skijor trip of the winter without Kari, and I wasn't sure that he would remember how to pull without Kari's example. He was terrible whenever I tried to take him alone last year. Today he actually pulled! Plus, I had to work since I only had one dog, so I got a good workout, too. It really is too easy for me with two dogs, but it's also a ton of fun! I did the whole thing without poles, so I imagine my legs will be sore tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure of the distance, but I believe it's between five and six miles.
Tomorrow is back to work for me. I'm so sad that the break is over. I have been having so much fun! Now I'm back to schedules plus evening meetings; the seniors have culminating essays due tomorrow, and I'm still behind on sophomore essays. In fact, I'd better get back to my grading right now!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year's Resolution
Everybody needs a New Year's resolution, right? That's all the news people have been talking about lately, so I'm assuming it's true. I don't think I'll make a resolution to exercise more this year, since according to some health surveys I have taken, I exercise too much. Well, certainly not recently, but overall. Recently I have just been eating too many Christmas goodies. Nothing unique in that, I'm sure. I need to find a fun run that has a Clydesdale/Athena division because I'm back at my fighting weight after so much peanut butter fudge.
So instead of the typical exercise resolution, I'm making a resolution to update this thing more often with various exercise-related excursions. I see that I haven't posted anything since October, so I think this will be a good idea. A friend once told me that I should write accounts of trips I do, and I have been trying (and mainly failing) to keep a running log for years. It seems I only manage to keep track of things during Hike-a-Thon and the cross country season.
Here goes for January 1st: I woke up at the usual vacation time of 7:30am--believe me, that is really sleeping in. According to the news it was negative three degrees Fahrenheit at that time. I had to bundle up right away to go down to the basement (my scary basement) to turn up the heat as I did not have running cold water from the kitchen faucet this morning. I call it the scary basement because it has a dirt floor and a lot of bugs--I have killed several black widows down there in the past year. The access for the basement is outside and around the back of the house, hence the bundling up first. After that I worked on grading papers for awhile, but finally I couldn't take hanging out indoors any longer. I barely went out at all yesterday, so I was going a little crazy. I waxed my skis and bundled up and headed for Mount Spokane.
Skating in such cold temperatures is fairly slow going, especially since I don't really have wax that's good for such extreme cold. Everything was groomed, though, so I went for a long loop despite the cold day and the slow skis. I went out on Valley View, Blue Jay, and Lodgepole, and then I took Quartz Mountain (always fun for its downhill sections) out to the new trails, and then Buck Land and Mica Road to Linder Ridge Road, and finally back to the lodge on Mountain View. I don't know the distance for the Linder Ridge section (it's new to the Nordic system since Inland Paper closed snowmobile access this year), but the distance conversion for the rest was 7.378 miles. I'm guessing it's 8 miles with Linder Ridge.
So instead of the typical exercise resolution, I'm making a resolution to update this thing more often with various exercise-related excursions. I see that I haven't posted anything since October, so I think this will be a good idea. A friend once told me that I should write accounts of trips I do, and I have been trying (and mainly failing) to keep a running log for years. It seems I only manage to keep track of things during Hike-a-Thon and the cross country season.
Here goes for January 1st: I woke up at the usual vacation time of 7:30am--believe me, that is really sleeping in. According to the news it was negative three degrees Fahrenheit at that time. I had to bundle up right away to go down to the basement (my scary basement) to turn up the heat as I did not have running cold water from the kitchen faucet this morning. I call it the scary basement because it has a dirt floor and a lot of bugs--I have killed several black widows down there in the past year. The access for the basement is outside and around the back of the house, hence the bundling up first. After that I worked on grading papers for awhile, but finally I couldn't take hanging out indoors any longer. I barely went out at all yesterday, so I was going a little crazy. I waxed my skis and bundled up and headed for Mount Spokane.
Skating in such cold temperatures is fairly slow going, especially since I don't really have wax that's good for such extreme cold. Everything was groomed, though, so I went for a long loop despite the cold day and the slow skis. I went out on Valley View, Blue Jay, and Lodgepole, and then I took Quartz Mountain (always fun for its downhill sections) out to the new trails, and then Buck Land and Mica Road to Linder Ridge Road, and finally back to the lodge on Mountain View. I don't know the distance for the Linder Ridge section (it's new to the Nordic system since Inland Paper closed snowmobile access this year), but the distance conversion for the rest was 7.378 miles. I'm guessing it's 8 miles with Linder Ridge.
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