This morning I was rummaging in the basement through bunches of old boxes to find shirts to give my mom for my t-shirt quilt. I found a Nike shirt which inspired me to get out and go train. I made my way up East Canyon here in Utah to run a time trial we call Big Mtn. It is an interesting running time trial because it takes anywhere from 20-30 mins and is a good mix of rolling terrain and uphills. I don’t think that it is really a good indicator of ski fitness, but I do think it is a good time trial for race readiness. What I mean by that is there are usually several other things that make up a good race, such as pacing, motivation, preparation, and warm up. You have to have it all come together to pull off a good race. There are people out there, whether genetically gifted or training animals, who don’t seem to go fast when you think they should. There are several reasons for it, and I’m not going to go into it too much, but let’s just say that there are people who learn to race smart. I think that Big Mtn is a time trial that helps people get used to strategy in races. It is long enough that pacing is a role, and has enough varied terrain that you need to know where you are and what’s ahead. There are three distinct sections in this course (start to the road crossing, road crossing to the bridge, and bridge to the finish up the switchbacks) that you can glance down at your watch to see if you are on time and pacing correctly.
I’ve done it once this year with the Wasatch Nordic Academy back in September, and this time I was 29 seconds faster (@ 23:39), but I was still nearly a minute off of my PR. I can only attribute a very small amount of time to doing this time trial on my own (because I think people are faster when other people are there to catch you), but I’m pleased with making progress.
I’m moving to Tahoe City next week and am getting excited to see you all again at the Far West Auction!
Here is a collage from East Canyon, the time trial, and my Nike shirt discovery
I’m going to keep sharing music in my blogs, I hope you don’t mind.
Recently I’ve been listening to the new Mumford and Sons, Muse, and Macklemore albums. All of which are exceptional!
but here is a gem for today.
-Gus
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