Nordic Winding Down?

Already by the first of February it seemed that winter and the cross-country season was winding down. Living here in the city its often hard to imagine there is snow up there to be had, especially when the temps are in the 50's and the sun is out, like its been.

What has helped me keep my head in the game this year is hitting those Wednesday night ski sessions up at Cabin Creek. I'm usually feeling pretty tired when 4 o'clock rolls around and its time to start making my way up to the Pass, and sometimes it feels as though I'd almost rather stay at work and catch up a bit but once I get out there in the trees, feel the vibrations of the snow through my skis, and I take a few gulps of the fresh air, I come alive again!

The same can then be true of racing: sometimes I am just not motivated to race and would rather ski around for "fun" (imagine that), but once I take off the warmup pants and break out into the one piece lycra suit I get that raceface back and it feels like "go" time. Its always such a rewarding feeling to go out there and light it up as best you can, as no matter how you do its always a good feeling to burn some carbs through the pipes.

Last nights 2-lap, 5-k ski was just like that. I only raced because Jeff asked me if I was going to race, and who knows, maybe he was feeling the same way and only raced because I raced, but either way it sure felt good. The course was... fast. Well, I prefer the term "variable", because fast means slick, but most skiers would agree that good grooming should be a part of the "fast" equation and last night there was almost no texture on the snow (ice) to speak of. It was a rink, slippery as hell, and the visual of "Bambi on ice" was brought up.