Looking Good, Relaxed and Ready for Alaska!

Today was our last practice. I was looking forward to it b/c it signified that we were almost done with getting up at the crack to drive 3 hours, to go beat the crap out of our bodies for several hours. Was I a bit sad? Yes, very much so. I have had such a great season and I can't believe that it is almost over!

Today was also my bday and what better way to spend it then to be skiing? Last night I had gone to bed pretty early to be prepared for my last practice. I got woke up by my first bday call at 2:30am....thanks to my younger sister. After I got off the phone I fell back asleep and woke up a few hours later to get ready to start my day. I had several text messages coming in at this point...all from my friends that had set their alarms to text message me a happy bday message. They all know that I start my Saturday's really early...and they all sent off their birthday wishes early so I would get them before getting to the snow. The ride up to Tahoe was spent in good company with some teammates and phone calls were starting to come in at this point as well. It was going to be a good day...I just knew it!

We got to Royal Gorge and got all signed in...we had a quick pep talk from our coach to stay away from impact sports (volleyball, softball, soccer, etc) and to especially stay away from hills on our last practice. None of us could risk getting injured one week before the race.

My teammates and I decided to go skiing on the flatter part of Royal Gorge, to get there we could either ski or drive. We were told that to ski it entailed skiing a black diamond icy downhill that ended into the road (we would need to stop very suddenly before he hit the road to get our skis off to walk across the road to the rest of the trail) and he wanted us to remember that we had to climb back up it at the end....or we could drive down to the trails. The majority of us drove down the trails!

Once we got there the mission for the day was ski no more than a 20K. The majority of what we did was flat. There were minor up and downhills, very minor. We did decide to go up a trail called Harrowing Bone....Can I say MISTAKE? It was a pretty steep climb up and a very steep decline that I fell on a few times. And it was all ice that I fell on so my falls were a bit painful! That was the last major up and downhill we did that day. The rest of the day was spent on the Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming and Master loop trails to get in our mileage.

At one point I passed one of our coaches and he got behind me to offer suggestions for my form, he was always good for that. And for once he didn't have one suggestion to offer me! I was so stunned and to be honest was speechless that I had perfect form! He yelled out to me, "Looking good Patricia! You look relaxed and ready for Alaska!" I gave him the thumbs up sign as I skied away! That was most definitely the best compliment that I had received all season!

My two teammates and I were going pretty hard that morning and decided that it was time to turn back to the lodge so we could get a ride back to where our team was going to be meeting to go over last minute items for our upcoming travel to Alaska. I stopped clocking us at where we had entered and we did exactly a 20K that day....we were feeling pretty confident at this point!

After getting to the lodge we were given our travel itinerary for this coming weekend and last minute information on how to pack our skis, what to pack for us to wear, what to do while in Alaska, what to do race day, and information on our meals etc. Before we started to get into the nitty gritty of our trip it was announced to everyone that it was my birthday....so everyone on my team sang me happy birthday. I was so embarrassed! Not just my team sang, but the people that were in the lodge sang too! I am sure I had a deer in headlight look on my face!

After they were done embarrassing me, we went over all the important information and then we all went to sign the banner of names of people that we know that have or are battling leukemia and lymphoma. I unfortunately had 3 names to add to that list. But the whole reason we are doing this is to make that list shorter....

That banner will be hanging up at the finish line for us to see as we cross over. It gives me goosebumps to think about all the money that my team has raced for this cause. We really did it! Now all we have to do is get through race day!

Time is Ticking Away

This past weekend the team had off from our team workouts. Some people went to Tahoe and skied on Saturday and some skied in the President's Day Race at Donner Resort. I was out of town and wasn't able to ski. I did however get 2 really good swim workouts in, so I didn't feel too guilty. Plus the team is starting to taper our workouts b/c the competition is 10 days from now and we leave in 8 days for Alaska. It seems so strange to say that considering it feels like yesterday that I started this challenge. To date I have skied over 140.7K, which means that I have skied roughly 87.5 miles. Even seeing that written in black and white shocks me! Wow!

That figure is not including all the hiking miles, swimming miles I have done, as well as any of the strength training and endurance training I have been working so hard at over the last several months. I can honestly say that I am pretty proud of myself. This is a huge accomplishment for me. I was really worried about my knee and back during this process. Luckily, both have held up very well. I have had some flare ups but nothing too bad that it took me away from training for too long.

As I briefly mentioned above, we are tapering our workouts this week and next. Meaning that we are decreasing the intensity of our workouts so our bodies aren't tired for race day. We are all still working out but not at 100%. This Saturday we have our last ski practice, which also happens to be my birthday...strangely enough. The ones of us that will be skiing the 40K will need to ski no more than a 20K, or 12.4 miles. The coaches have been very adamant that we need to conserve our energy reserves and oxygen levels in our body for race day. I have been following it pretty well. I have to say it is strange to have the free time that I have had the last few days. When we were at the peak of our workouts, I was training in the morning before work and most evenings after work. I would take one day off a week and sometimes would take an evening off if I was really tired physically. Now I am training in the morning a few days this week and a few days next week and that is it (not to mention our team ski day on Saturday). I have my evenings free again and to be honest it is a strange feeling. I haven't had this much free time in months. To be honest, I haven't really been doing anything b/c I want to make sure that I am relaxed and focused on this competition. Finishing this race is the goal that I have and I need to keep that in sight.

Several people want me to celebrate my birthday this year, but with it one week before the race I am opting out of celebrating. I have, however, decided to celebrate my birthday and the completion of this race after the race. Though I can't do too much celebrating b/c I will have a few more races to compete in after the Alaska one. Yes, that is right, I have decided that I like this sport so much that I will be taking part in a few more races. Why not? I have worked so hard to get in good shape, I might as well do it while I can.

Farewell for now....I'll write more after our last team ski day.

Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking!

Saturday, Feb. 11, the team and I headed to the Royal Gorge in Tahoe for our practice. The drive there was pretty uneventful. I caught a ride with 2 of my teammates and tried to mentally prepare myself for a day of skiing a 30K. Saturday was the day that I needed to prove to myself that I could complete the 40K on race day.

The Saturday before, Feb. 6, had done a number on my ankle and it was still bruised and swollen. After arriving to the resort, I sought out my coach to help me tape up my ankle in hopes of blocking whatever was rubbing my ankle rare. We were able to determine what was rubbing my ankle, but unfortunately it is part of the boot that needs to be broke in for it to not rub me. My coach was pretty confident that if I taped my ankle that I should be fine. I was less certain, so while he was taping my ankle I was downing 3 advil to stop any pain that might be forthcoming.

My 2 friends/teammates and I decided to take off on our own after my ankle was taped. We mapped out our route and were on our way. We were headed straight for the hill that started the "Stuart Smalley Affect" weeks prior for me. I was determined to make it down the hill this time. I made it partway down, but fell on the steepest part of the downslope...the same spot I fell before. I bounced back up and caught up with my teammates, who are much faster skiers than I am. We continued on our path and as the day progressed I had fallen so many times that I lost count. Unfortunately, the snow was very icy that day so everytime I fell I felt like I was landing on cement. My hamstrings, booty and lower back were starting to ache and hurt from the amount of falls that I had taken, but I kept going...and surprisingly enough my ankle was holding up fairly well.

After skiing for several hours, I noticed that we were approaching a trail that looked like it should be at a downhill resort...this trail was called The Wall....enough said! As I got halfway up the hill, it hit me that I was going to have to get back down the hill from hell. I started my "Stuart Smalley Affirmations" at that moment...couldn't hurt to get started early with the positive thoughts right? After rounding a corner we were at the Devil's Peak warming hut. I thought we were done and were turning around when I noticed a trail that continued passed the warming hut...this trail would lead us to Devil's Peak...again, enough said. My teammates and I decided that we would take the trail to see where it led. This was the hill of all hills. It was a mountain! It took me 20 minutes or more to climb b/c of the length and the steepness of the grade. I noticed as I was climbing it that there were a number of twists and turns on the trail, so coming down was going to be hairy for me. I got to the top and was elated that I made it, though the stress had started to set in about the downhill. I decided right then that if I felt like I was going out of control that I would butt plant it, I am the master at that maneuver!

I started the descent and prayed for the best. I was really nervous about the turns on the trails....We had climbed so far up that a fall off the side would seriously injury me or worse. I fell numerous times on the descent and almost slid off the side a few times, but I made it down to the bottom. I had several nasty falls on that downhill, several of which gave me ice burn on my arm and lower back/booty area. On one of my falls I had fallen so hard that my shirt pulled up and my pants pulled down and the ice scraped me up pretty bad. After that major fall, I got up and fell immediately back down and landed on my ski edge....talk about pain in my booty! I knew that was going to leave a mark!

After I got down Devil's Peak I wanted to continue going b/c I knew that I still had The Wall to get down. After getting down that I could rest. My teammates wanted me to rest, b/c I had taken a beating on the downhill. I took a brief rest and then continued on our way. I knew that if I stopped for too long that I would be too sore to continue, so I had to continue moving before the soreness set in.

I made it down The Wall, but not without falling a few times, almost taking out another skier (sad, but true), and getting a cramp in my arch of my foot. After getting down the hills from hell and skiing for another hour or so my ankle bone decided it was time to scream out in pain. Every stride that I took was agony on my ankle. The advil had definitely worn off. At one point I was ready to throw my ski poles and be done with this pain. I had been chatting with my Pa (he had passed away almost 5 years ago) to give me the courage to continue going. I was wearing one of his triple crown cycling jerseys, so I thought it was fitting that I ask him to give me the strength to continue. He of all people knew the physical pain that I was feeling at this moment. I was on the verge of quitting for awhile when I heard a voice in my head (no I am not crazy!) tell me, "The pain that you are experiencing is nothing like the pain of the disease that you are training and racing for. Your pain will not kill you, but what you are raising money for will. So suck it up and FINISH!" I know this might sound strange to you, but I knew that was my Pa talking to me. After hearing that I felt a new surge of energy to continue going. My ankle still hurt, but it was not as predominate.

My teammates and I skied for another hour or so before stopping for lunch. At this point we had skied for several hours and needed to refuel. We sat for about 30 minutes and then started out on our merry way again. We had mapped out a course, but I had missed one of the trails. I figured that I would pick it up later down the way. When I got to where the trails met I didn't see my teammates. I waited for awhile and they didn't come so I started to ask around. I was told they were at the top of the hill...yes that is right, I had another hill to climb! So I climbed the hill and looked around and I didn't see them. So I skied to where we had decided to pick up more trails. I waited there for another 15 minutes once I got there, but didn't see them. So I decided to take off on my own. The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to make up mileage that I had lost b/c of all the hill climbing.

At the end of the day, I skied 6 hours (not including breaks) and got a 30K in. I spoke to my coach about the race and he is very confident that if I was able to complete a 30K in Tahoe that day, I could ski the 40K at the race and finish well under the 7 hour mark. While training in Bear Valley and Tahoe we have been training in a minimum of 7000ft elevation and hills from hell that we won't have to contend with on race day. I am now feeling a lot more confident about the race.

After I got home I realized how bruised and battered I really was....I had ice burn all over and bruises on my booty, thighs, hamstrings, calves and shins. I took a beating that day and am still feeling it now. I am swollen on my hips from the impact of my falls and am walking like I am 80 years old. But even with all that said, I am dang proud of myself. I have come so far in the last several months....I would have never thought that I would be preparing for a 40K. When I agreed to this challenge, I really thought that I was going to just train for the 25K. After getting so engrossed in my training I realized that I could do this. If people are living and battling leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers, I can complete a 40K.

Now we are just a few short weeks away from the race. I can't believe it! 14 days a counting!

Baby it's cold outside!

As Saturday, Feb. 4, approached I was more and more excited to be back in the snow. Taking last weekend off was nice, having that downtime helpd me realize how much I love my workouts in the snow. I bounced out of bed, or something similar to that, around 4am on Saturday...eager to get my day started. We were scheduled to have time trials today to see which race we all should be signing up for. I was pretty anxious to get the day started. My carpool arrived not long after 5:15am and we started our commute to Bear Valley. When we got on the freeway, I asked if anyone had checked the weather to see what we were in store for. One of my carpool buddies mentioned that she had pulled it the day before and it said that it was supposed to be 45 degrees and raining. The other gal and myself didn't believe that for a second. How could it be raining and that warm at 7000 feet elevation?

We soon found out how it could be! We had driven through a lot of rain at the start of our commute. Once we entered the mountains it stopped raining, but it didn't seem that cold...so I started to fear that the weather report, read by my teammate was going to be accurate. As we pushed on through the mountains the clouds were getting more and more black...not a good sign for those of us that didn't want to ski in rain!

We go there just before 9am...just in enough time to buy skis. Yes that is right, one of my teammates and I bought our ski package! We were so excited with the deal that we got! We looked outside while we waited for our skis and bindings to be put together and it was snowing. It was then that I thought that the weather report had to have been wrong. We were going to be in a lot of powder today, but that has to be better than slush. It at that moment that I jinxed us!

After purchasing our skis we walked out and it started to rain! I didn't think it would last so I pulled out my knew GPS distance tracker that I got for my bday....it was an early gift so I could start using it now (Thank you Den again! This gift rocks!).

The start of the practice we were told that we were going to play a game. I didn't quite understand the reasoning behind it until we started playing the game, Sharks and Minnows. We start with one shark, and all the minnows had to run, while in skis, across the space that was the designated sea area to the safe zone. If you are tagged then you became a shark and you had to try and get as many minnows as possible. It sounded absurd to me at the time, but watching all of us running around without our poles made me realize that we weren't beginners anymore....we were skiers!

Anyway, I digress...so after our little game we were down to business. We had a timed trial to complete in the rain. It was going to be a 11K and we needed to stay on pace. This was going to help determine which race we should be competing in. We started the timed trial like we would have a regular race....doubling polling. And trust me that isn't easy! It is like a constant crunch as you are pulling your body weight through the snow. After we got to the area were we could start striding we all sort of separated. I felt really good through lap 1 and as I started lap 2 the rain and the wind got so strong I couldn't see a thing. In fact the wind was so strong that it was pushing my backwards! I was drenched at this point and couldn't keep my mind off how cold I was. Being wet while skiing is no fun. The only song that would come to mind as I was pulling my soaked booty through the snow was the Christmas song "Baby It's Cold Outside." So I sang that to myself as I kept going.

I got to lap 3 and realized that I was lagging big time....so I tired to pick up the pace, but it was so dang hard in this sort of snow. Snow that is slush is hard to glide in so it was acting as a deterrent. I finished lap 3 and had to go climb the hill that I always fall on to actually be finished. I was praying at this point to not fall....I was wet enough and I didn't want to get my GPS messed up by falling. I got to the top of the hill where the coaches were and took a break. I was told that with the time that it took me to finish this pace trial I would be okay to compete in the 40K, but I would need the whole 7 hours. So I would have to pick up the pace. Which was very evident after the time trial.

After grabbing a quick bite of food from my pack I went down the hill of doom and was reciting my Stuart Smalley Affirmations to myself and I made it down without falling! After finishing the pace trial I skied to the warming hut to grab some more food and meet up with teammates. It was then that I realized that my ankle bone on my right foot was killing me! I guess I had been concentrating a lot on my pace that I wasn't paying attention to the throbbing pain my ankle was in. So getting off my foot was going to be needed at this point.

Once I reached the warming hut I looked at my GPS to see how far I had gone, I had logged a 13K in so far. I relaxed for a good 15 minutes then decided that I needed to go again to keep warm. I only made it another 3k before I had to call it quits. My ankle was killing me at this point and ever little bit of pressure I put on my foot was agony. So I separated from the group that I was skiing with and went towards the lodge. I ran into 2 of the coaches to talk to them about how hard a day it was and what to do about my boots. I got some good suggestions that I hope will help me break my boots in.

All in all, it took 4 hours to complete a 16.7K....and in good conditions I would have completed a 26+K. So to say the least, I was disappointed with the conditions and how crappy of a training day I had had. Though I couldn't feel bad b/c a number of my teammates turned in before lunch. Saturday was definitely the hardest ski day that I have had thus far, and it put serious doubts in my head about completely the 40K that I signed up for. This coming weekend will be the make it or break it point for me. I will know after this weekend if I will do the 25K or the 40K.

And as for my ankle....it wasn't blistered like I had initially thought. It was bruised and swollen from the pressure of the boot. I am still dealing with a swollen and bruised ankle and I pray that it will be better by Saturday for me to ski again!

Until then.....