February?

Hasn't been much of a winter since the beginning of January. Last weekend a monster storm blew south of us and yesterday we were cheated out of what was supposed to be up to a foot. I have yet to break out the XCD's this winter...and that makes me sad.

The upside is that since it hasn't snowed and since we had a January thaw, the trails are pretty much free and clear. I've been able to trail run and if things stay this way, I'm getting the mountain bike out on the trails next weekend. Cabin fever be damned and it's not in the budget to head north right now, so I'm going to find ways to get outside.

Tomorrow is spin class (serving as my main cycling training right now since the Oak Grove Bike Incident) and then trail running on Saturday. I'm off the road until mid-March when I fly back to Utah for a week so I need to ramp up with the first EFTA race of the year approaching in six weeks.

And if winter decides he wants to show up and drop some pow, let me take advantage of those fun trails at the Fells on something other than sneakers or wheels, well, that'd be fine. For now, I'll work with what I got!

Training!

I started doing Mark Verstegen's Core Performance Endurance and it's a great program. I've always been a fan of Core Performance but it's amazing to do the exercises that are specific for endurance athletes. Also, despite a week of inactivity due to the Outdoor Retailer show in SLC, I've been getting after it in spin class and on the trail. Yesterday I did the Crystal Springs trail at the Fells twice (just over three miles) and the ankle came through in fine fashion. For running that's going to be my thing for a while. Small distances, few times a week, just rebuilding strength. Cycling will be spin class until winter decides what it's doing. It's freezing now but we had a warm snap last week that melted most of our snow. If that happens again with no dumps on the horizon than maybe we start riding trails early this year!

The first race I'm officially registered for is the Greenhorn AR in Flintstone MD. I'll be racing with my brother and it will be his first AR. Short race, but perfect length to get the ankle back into action. Our team name is Forty Six and True; a play on the Tool song Forty Six and 2 (watch this video to get a sense of what it's about). Also pumped for my brother to cut his teeth in the endurance world. It's a short race, and we're aiming for a podium finish.

I'm hoping that the first race of the year will be an EFTA race, the Burlingame Time Trial on March 28. After that and the Greenhorn, it will be just trying to squeeze in a few more mountain bike races before we head back west. Bottom line is...it's fun to be training again! I forgot how well I sleep when I'm hammering myself every day.

Nighttime Snowshoe Hike

Getting a nice little storm here on the North Shore. Not a typical Nor'easter, but the wind is still whipping and a storm that is backing in off of the ocean is laying down what will hopefully be our base until April. The last big storm we got melted off with some warm weather over Christmas, so hopefully this one sticks around.

Tonight we went over to the Fells for a little snowshoeing by headlamp. Lily as always performed beautifully and it was great to be out in the dark on fresh pow. As if on cue the intensity of the snow picked up as did the wind making for a brisk night. We rewarded ourselves with cocoa when we got home.

Winter is the most underrated season. Most people hate it, but mostly because they fail to see past the minor inconveniences of the cold and ice and find the beauty that comes with the darkest time of the year. Winter should be a time of reflection and a reminder that sometimes it's good for things not to be so easy. It makes us appreciate the days when we can throw on some shorts and a t-shirt with some flips and roll out the door. Winter gets a bad rep...folks need to see beyond what is obvious and find the beauty and amazement hidden within.