Alaskan Pack Fodder

Last night after singing Happy Birthday to me, my daughter told me I was 64.   You're only as old as you feel, and today I feel 64.   She might be onto something there...

January is always a grind for me. I get up at ungodly hours to get on the trainer for whatever punishment that Janice decides I deserve, and then I add on alpine ski coaching duties on top of that. Setting courses and other grunt work, plus the usual technique drills add another layer of fatigue.   This year is worse. While the rest of the country enjoys the weather we usually have, it's in the 40s and all of our snow is rapidly disappearing. Without the snow to reflect the light, it's even darker than usual- which doesn't help the mental state. Skiing is as bad as I've seen it in the last 15 years. To pull off a kids race, we have to work twice as hard to create a suitable venue.   I'm beat.   It will all turn around sooner or later, but that will likely mean that we'll have late snows and spring will take forever to get here. That's what we get for the awesome summer we had last year. We rarely find a good balance here in Southcentral Alaska, but we ...

A couple years ago I participated in a stage race and had the honor to meet Saul Raisin, the former professional cyclist that suffered a debilitating traumatic brain injury during a race in Europe. As I listened to him speak and later read his book about his recovery, I (probably like most people) had two thoughts:                 “What an inspiring story.” …and more callously,                 “Wow, sucked to be him.” The second thought was just a result of thinking it would never happen to me. If you run the odds, it just doesn’t factor into the threat matrix as prominently as teenage girls with cell phones or that sketchy Cat 5 on the brand-new Madone. Then I got my bell rung. I’ve seen my share of stars and cartoon tweety birds over the years, but this was the first time I was knocked unconscious and woke up in an ER...

The plan was to start the diet today- January 1, 2014. A trip to the always predictable Olive Garden for their soup-salad-breadsticks feed trough pretty much killed whatever calorie goal I had for today, so I guess I'm starting 2014 off on a "cheat day". Smooth move, ExLax.   I had been lethargic all day and kept putting off getting on the bike, and when I finally did I wasn't expecting much. I'm in the middle of a recovery week, so the workout wasn't supposed to be intense at all. Once I started turning over the pedals, I was surprised to find a little energy, so I kept pushing it. By the end of the workout, my average was about 25 watts and two power ranges over what Janice asked for. Not a wise idea, since I'm supposed to be recovering for the next 3 or so weeks of workouts. I'll pay for my stupidity.   So, the running theme seems to be I lack focus at the moment. With the baby and the rest of the chaos that is my life, I guess that's unders...

Things in my life have not gotten any less hectic recently. The wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and sleep for me and my wife (mostly her) has been pretty sporadic. Skiing season is here, which means my daughter and I are back with the Hillberg Youth Ski Team. Add in my usual bike trainer workouts, and I am barely keeping my head above water.   I'm getting too old for this.   The lack of sleep, increased workload, and a casual disregard for diet has also meant my weight has been creeping up steadily. This is not what I want to see, but I'll try to reverse that trend in the new year.   I did it last year. I can do it again.   I think.

It's been a while since I added another post, but something always got in the way.   I had recovered from my bout with bronchitis and was getting into the swing of the trainer, when a SUV plowed into the back of my car. I don't remember it happening. The first thing I remember is waking up in an ER with techs putting IVs in my arms and telling me I had whiplash and a pretty severe concussion.   Weeks of losing my balance and falling face first into stuff, intermittent fogginess, minor speech issues, and fun junk like that followed. As soon as the traumatic brain injury specialist said it was OK, I was back on the trainer. My recovery went into overdrive, and the symptoms are mostly gone- or at least I can see them coming and take precautions. They said 6 months is about the shortest I can expect my recovery to take, and we'll see what the long-term prognosis is then.   In the meantime, I replaced my totalled dark blue, 2006 Toyota Matrix with a dark blue, ...

After abandoning my cyclocross season, I retreated to the trainer and the occasional longer road ride when I could find the time. A did some long rides in the cold rain that left me questioning my sanity, but when I warmed up and dried off I usually was left with the glow of a good ride. The leaves and rain that fell on the bike trails made for some slick surfaces, but this year I managed to stay upright and enjoy my down season.   When I couldn't get out, the return to the trainer wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I've spent my time getting ready to resume structured training with Janice and all of the pain that implies. I upped my volume a bit, and tried to acclimate myself to working very hard and getting nowhere. After this 'cross season, that was easier than usual.   I have a clean slate for next year, and hours ahead of me to build and dream and scheme. The weight I've gained since Fairbanks needs to come off, plus a few more for good measure. That w...