I'm Getting Too Old For This Sh*t

Great line, great movie...

I used to be able to indulge in more than a few drinks, stay up all night, get up early, snowboard all day, then do it all over again. Ah, to be young and stupid. Well, in some ways I suppose I still am...

This weekend, we went out to our place in Fernie, BC for the annual weekend with our friends. It's a great little spot that we're very, very lucky to have, and we're even more lucky to have great friends to come with us! This is the fifth year we've gone with more or less the same crowd-- sometimes we ski/ride, sometimes we do more socializing than snowsports.

Since we would miss our 20km LSD training run, I had every intention of going out on my cross-country skis for a workout. But Saturday looked far too wet from inside the condo. So we watched movies, played cards, caught up, compared iPhone apps, talked about triathlons and how crazy we are for doing them... and drank. The road into town was closed for part of the day, so we didn't even visit the brewery or the waterslides, but we still had a blast. After a great meal, we hit the hot tub, sang some songs, and played Cranium. I was a wreck!

...but based on how much snow was falling all day, I knew Sunday would be epic. Usually the plan is to leave at a reasonable time on Sunday, but I was determined to break out my board first thing. So of course, I had to wax it. At midnight. After *ahem* a few drinks. I was very impressed with myself-- I didn't cut myself as I sharpened the edges, and I didn't burn myself or the board with the iron!

I've never had (and I'm sure I WILL never have) any problems getting up for powder. Because I know that if I just get out there, all the aches, pains, and hangovers will just vanish. Sure enough, this is what I was rewarded with:

Blue skies and powder!!

 I was too worried about dropping my iPhone and never finding it again to take many photos, but trust me, the powder was fantastic. There were a few runs where every other turn was a faceshot (ie the turn kicks up a big cloud of snow that smacks you in the face as you ride through it!)

These were on my favorite run (shh, it's a secret!), on the last run of the day at 1:00. We had to get home, and I was feeling so good at this point, that I thought I'd set up the spin trainer, ride for an hour, then dreadmill for an hour. Well. By the time I got back to the condo to Nicole, packed, and drove for thirty minutes (of a three and a half hour drive), I remembered that I was really hungover, and really tired! Thus the title of this blog.

So I missed the 20k run. And I was really looking forward to it!

16km and A Bottle of Scotch

Today, we skipped the boxing day shopping and ran 16km in beautiful weather (ranged from -5C to 5C). Our run club group was the only one to have people show up, even though we met at 10am instead of the usual 8:30am, and our instructor told me that I was the only reason she showed up, because I insisted that I would be there when I talked to her on wednesday!

There were certain parties who, at about midnight last night, thought I might not make it out in the morning...

When I was in my teens, my grandpa got a 25 year old bottle of scotch for his birthday. It was standing on the bar, next to a box lined with crush velvet and gold leaf...
"What's the big deal? I mean, I understand that it's old, but so what? What difference does it make?"
To answer my question, my grandpa pulls out two glasses, pours a little splash of the good stuff into one and asks me to taste it. I still remember the burn! Then, he reaches under the bar and pulls out some J&B scotch whiskey, and poured another splash into the second glass. I immediately asked to taste the good stuff again!

Every year at Christmas, my dad usually buys a decent bottle of scotch-- we enjoy a few glasses, and the bottle lasts for most of the year (if not longer). Last year, I decided to continue the tradition at our house. There's still some scotch left in the bottle of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban I bought last Christmas-- I've thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so, that I thought this year I'd buy the same brand, but for a few dollars more I sprung for a slightly better rated version, the Nectar d'Or.

Me, dad, and brother enjoying a glass of fine scotch

The three of us finished the bottle. Yep, it was that good.

Considering how much I drank, I was shocked at how good I felt on the run! I managed a 5:55 min/km pace, finishing in 1:35... my calves are a little sore, but otherwise feeling exceptionally not hungover!

Bootcamp Carnage!

Have been really consistent with training and the job hunt, (even doing some consulting in the meantime), but that hasn't left much time for blog posts!
Quick recap of the last week (or two?)
- New shoes arrived in the mail (woo!) Didn't realize how bad my old ones had been pounded down!
- Almost had my calf chomped off by a dog-- the owner had him sit as we went by, but didn't pay close enough attention, and SNAP! inches from my calf. Not so bad, until I turn around, and he's giving the dog a treat! RAGE!!
- Same run a above, I pointed out a pile of (garter) snakes sunning themselves on some rocks to Nicole: cute little scream and she sure picked up the pace!
- New Adamo saddle on my bike, thought it was good, but I think it cuts off circulation. I'll save it for when I have a tri bike.

So last night was bootcamp night at the Running Room. It was a ton of fun, but we were crammed under the gazebo to stay out of the rain... I managed to strain my elbow doing pushups, and my pace buddy fell twice playing tag-- the second time, he slipped and hit hit head on a bench, and opened up a cut right next to his eye! He's gonna have a real shiner!!!

The good thing about my "tennis elbow" was that I had  great conversation with the guest trainer afterwards, and learned a lot about where my muscle imbalances are, and how to improve my posture. I sort of know about these things, but when you talk to someone knowledgeable about them, you're that much more aware, and are more able to make changes!

Physio and Chiro for me!

Snowboarding in Fernie - Part 1

I don't know what it is with me and "multipart" posts lately...



Just got back from a weekend in Fernie. No real fresh snow, but the weather was warmer than it has been, and the snow was pretty good. On Saturday, it was pretty windy, which was not so great on the chair or out in the open, but was awesome in the trees, where the snow would sift and settle into the tracks and dips. The morning was especially great, riding with my brother and his friends-- great, but exhausting. Little bro really knows the hill, and the places where the snow is good, and I almost had a tough time keeping up! The afternoon, I found an excuse to go from black and double-blacks to ride more of the open spaces, and the wind was vicious, stinging, and made it really hard to see where you were going, because there was a thin, mist-like layer of snow blowing across the ground, plus the light was flat.


Sunday was even warmer (hovering around 0 celsius), which was nice, but the light was for the most part still pretty flat, and the snow was much heavier, though not quite slushy. In the afternoon, the clouds really moved in up top, and it was like being in a big fog bank-- actually, the clouds were just so low! Once again, the best riding was in the trees.

Looking forward to going back in two weeks!




Photos are: brother and friend at the base on Sunday morning (top), most of the crew, somewhere under the Bear chair, lower Arrow maybe? (middle) and me at the top of Timber chair, next to the Lost Boys Cafe on Sunday afternoon.