Cross Training

We're getting into ski season now and this past weekend I got to do my first cross training, a trip to Jay for the NET Vermont Telemark Festival.  A group of friends rented a condo up there and we all headed up Friday night under light snow.  It's a 4+ hour drive but it went by fairly quickly with 2 other people in the car for conversation.  We checked in and opened a bottle or two of red wine as the other cars arrived.

Saturday morning Brenda and I headed over to the Tram lodge to check in with the NET group; Brenda is an instructor and I'm the photographer so we needed to be there early.  The new construction at Jay is pretty amazing, now if they would only put some money into their lifts!  After starting the day running, the Green Mountain Flyer shut down leaving us with only the Metro Quad and the Jet lifts. sigh

After the morning lineup and shooting some of the clinics I headed over to the Jet where I met up with Michelle and Peter as we ducked a few ropes and headed into the woods at Timbuktu.  There we encountered the law firm of Granite, Log, and Moss but had a great time in the softer snow beyond the ski area boundary.  A few runs and back for lunch, then the afternoon classes, and a few more runs in the trees. That night we had a killer lasagna, bread, meatballs, salad, and a bit more wine, followed by pie.  We all slept well.

Sunday the forecast was for snow starting, switching to rain or mix, so we wanted to get some early runs on the Flyer (which was reported to be open) and then take off.  Alas, the Flyer was again closed so we headed to Jet and back into Timbuktu, and a few runs on Jet as well.  Steve and Peter headed up on skins to ski/ride the untracked snow of Valhalla and Power Line and we all met back at the Tram lodge by 12:30.  The other Peter had a broken binding in the morning so he took and unintended rest day, and Anne worked on some drills on Metro after our first run in Timbuktu.

The drive home was wet but uneventful. The snow turned to rain almost as soon as we dropped down from the ski area and stayed steady rain all the way home.  Monday I went for a run at noon to see if I could actually run after skiing, and it went OK. My legs are a bit sore but nothing I can't handle. There will be many weekends like this, one day of skiing followed by a long run, or the reverse.  This weekend was proof that the plan can work.

Reality Sets In

After my run with Robyn last weekend I've been going over the marathon training schedule, lining up my skiing commitments for the winter, and figuring out that something has to give.  I've already decided that I won't be doing pottery this winter, I usually don't get much done in winter and this year will be far worse. Rather than do something half-assed, I decided that I should make some priority calls and concentrate on what is important to me. I've already started to pick and choose which ski weekends I can participate in, and which ones I need to cut short so I can do my long run on Sunday.

I have no intention of giving up skiing.  My original motivation for getting into running was to make myself more fit for skiing. Being on the snow is a great joy for me and not something I would give up lightly.  But the goal of running Boston is also something that has become very important to me.  It represents something I can't yet put into words; perhaps a rite of passage or a symbol of a new chapter in life. Time will tell - I don't want to burden it with unnecessary significance.  There will be time enough for that later.

In the meantime I look at the calendar, make my choices, sniff back a tear at the events I will be missing, give an involuntary shudder at the amount of running I'm being asked to do, and move on.  I was at a friend's house last night tuning up my skis.  He lives a block from the marathon course so on the way home I took a slight detour and drove along most of the Newton Hills.  They seemed longer and steeper than I'd remembered, but within reach.