Merry Christmas!

Chocolate, chocolate goodness!

Well, training wise, the beginning of the week was good... then came three days off, and unfortunately, 3 days off is probably going to turn into 4 or 5+ days off as Christmas approaches. 'tis the season...

Leading up to Christmas my dear wife Mary goes into a cookie baking frenzy, as is her tradition (bless her heart!). The problem is; she is too good at it. It is hard enough trying to keep up any kind of training regiment during the holidays without coming home to a house full of wonderful cookies, and oh! the smell...

Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me. It is a good thing RAAM is not until June.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Your Own Personal Snowstorm

Here is a view like I was describing last week. Snow falls at Elm Creek regardless of Mother Nature and the skiing is good!

My legs are coming around a little and I'm starting to feel like a skier again. Of course tagging along with friends like Bob D. helps to jump start things. I've run into Bob while out on the trail my last couple times out. Just like on the bike, training with a partner always seems to provide a boost.

Clown on Skies

Day one of the ski season for me! I finally got out to Elm Creek for the first ski of the season. I put in an hour+ and skied about 12K... very gracelessly. The first time out is always interesting. It's a exercise in body mechanics to say the least.

I did bring the camera out tonight and tried to take a picture of the steaming cauldron like appearance of Elm Creek. But after time spent my uninsulated pocket in the zero degree temps, the camera simply refused to work. That's too bad because with the cold temps and the snow-making equipment running there is this rising white fog that engulfs the place and it looks very spectacular under the glow of the lights. Maybe next time...

For those of you who ski and race be sure to check out the Elm Creek Relays/Time Trial. It is a fun, low key, low cost weekly ski race that runs now through February on Thursday nights at Elm Creek. Click the linked text above for details. Another great reason for participating in this series is that it is put on by none other than fellow TSH teammates Melinda and Amy AND the proceeds go towards the Team Strong Heart mission. Check it out!