Enabling Fitness

Yesterday, I went #snowshoeing again! My friend had a spare pair, so we headed out into the #trails at Cypress. We did all kinds of blue and black trails. Which were no big deal for me, but that's because #SkateSkiing up blue or black trails is the hardest thing, ever! I even got to RUN down some sections of said trails, for a few steps. The weather changed a lot while we were there. I drove up the #mountain with lots of fog, then the fog disappeared, and then rolled back ...in. We weren't quite there late enough for the lights in the #trees to stand out, but it meant we could access more trails. Definitely need to get my own pair of snowshoes, sometime. They all fit and operate a little differently. I feel I understand the appeal to backcountry skiing a little more now, too. At first, I thought "why would you want to do that much work and carry that much stuff?" But now I realize, you don't have to do it in the backcountry. One can get foldable skis, so one could #snowshoe up any mountain, and then ski down it. It can be made as "remote" as one wants to. Perhaps #diabetes has made me crave my adrenaline rushes "in-bounds". So I can be away from people but near them quickly if I need to be! (I do still want to learn #DownhillSkiing, too - I just run out of money and time to do all the things!) On that note, my #BloodSugars were great during our little trek. #GetOutside #ItsStillWinterUpHere #MountainLove #t1dLooksLikeMe #snow

#NoFilter Yesterday late afternoon, I met a friend for #SkateSkiing and we hadn't skied together in about a month. We met last year taking #SkateSki lessons together. I knew that I had been skiing more often than her, so I had to start our day with a disclaimer: "Okay so, I'm WAY faster now than I was last time. But I'm still stopping to rest my legs and take breaks." ... I asked her if she trusted me to show her the upper #xc #trails, and she said yes. So up we went! She had never seen them. I said "isn't it ironic that the best beginner trails for #Nordic are WAY up here?!" Of course, she also loved being up there for the same reason I did, far less people! It was such a GREAT day. The conditions were perfect, it wasn't too cold or too hot, we had all the glide we wanted, and the #snow had enough give to let us dig in to slow ourselves down, but not so much that we had to fight gravity with every step. Only 12 more days left in the season! At Cypress and at Whistler Olympic Park. Gotta keep exploring while I still can!! #GetOutside #MountainLove #StillWinterUpHere #XCSkiing

Yesterday was my last day of winter #BiathlonTraining with my club, @seatoskynordics . On cue, Sunday was another wet day, but it wasn't nearly as stormy/windy, and I remembered my shooting glasses from the car! #Training yesterday was actually pretty fun! We did as many laps and shots as possible in 40 minutes. My laps were shorter because I'm not as fast/adept at #SkateSkiing yet, and all of my shots were prone, not standing. I asked Coach Bill "will I get the standing ta...rgets or the prone targets?" He said "we can do them standing, unless you make too many of your shots!" My first two laps, I hit 4/5 targets, so my next two laps were set to the prone targets, and I still made 4/5 then 3/5 targets. This BLEW ME AWAY! I don't remember hitting ANY of the prone targets last season in Summer/Fall training. (For those who don't know, the standing targets are a larger circle, to account for the body wobble - the prone targets are smaller circles because the ground is more stable than your torso). I also remember Coach Sarah telling me last season to check to see what my heart rate is while I'm shooting. Turns out because I'm such a slow #skier, my heart rate coming into the range is ~130bpm. Then because I'm slow at installation on the mat, and my parasympathetic nervous system is strong, by the time I take my shots, my heart rate has dropped to ~105bpm. No wonder I have no troubles with #shooting. Aside from my #SkiTechnique, I need to spend the rest of this off-season practicing my installation and getting up from the mat. Also, definitely need to buy my own rifle!! The club rifles have been amazing and I'm so thankful they exist. I'm just ready to get one for me! If anyone knows someone selling a right-hand Anschutz 64, let me know. (I don't need the Fortner, I like the regular bolt action) THANK YOU A MILLION to Coach Lisa, Coach Bill, and Coach Gary, for helping me become a better #SkateSkiier and better #Shooter and a better #RecreationalBiathlete! Thank you also everyone in my ski club that answered emails or ever talked with me. You truly welcomed me into your club with no judgement of my ability coming in, and always cheered me on.

#NoFilter WOW! What a season!!! I can't believe it's over! It was only my second season #SkateSkiing and it ended much better than it started.... Last season was cut short because my lessons didn't start til January, and then COVID shut down the #mountain on March 14th. I skied 22 times in 2.5 months. I had vowed to do what I could to build on my #fitness in the off-season, but then I started to hate running (I was legit getting slower), I was depressed over the summer, I hated riding my road bike, and I ran in the provincial election. By the time this season started, I was less #fit, 20 lbs heavier, and felt a huge set back. I set out to ski 3 times a week, and I skied 42 times in 4 months, only a little more frequent than last season, but I was on my skis for a whole 6 weeks longer. The first half of the season was hard. Despite the conditions being terrible at #WOP during all my #biathlon #training and #ski #technique training sessions, it was enough feedback to hone my body in on, and I started to do a lot better. I had more time to practice. It's finally at the stage where it feels "comfortable". Not EASY, but not a struggle. Though I still stop to rest my legs, take a breather, or take pictures, when I move, it's faster and less effort. Except these past 3 days, the #Spring conditions were slush central!! All three days, I went up to at least Upper Powerline. The first day, we got there too close to closing time, so we took a quick jaunt up and down. The second day, when my friend and I arrived, it was raining. Then, it started snowing, then the sun came out! The slush was bad enough that we were losing speed in our descents. Today, my friend left earlier than I did due to time constraints. Never having been farther up than Upper Powerline ever, I decided to go for it, until I couldn't go anymore. I made it up as far as part way up Romstad (the trail to the peak). Just as I was getting a little tired, I saw a bear cross a trail about 100m from where I was standing, and took that as a sign to head back. This off-season, I will work harder to not squander, so that I can kill it next season. Third time's the charm! #SkateSkiier #motivated

Yesterday, I went back to the #gym for a #workout, for the first time in a couple of weeks. My workout 2 weeks ago was also the first time in a couple of weeks, and the time before that, too. Why did I stall? Back in November, I bailed off my #MountainBike and injured my right shoulder. This was on a Saturday. Because I knew I would need to see a #physio right away, I Googled clinics in my area that would be open on a Sunday. I was a little weary of seeing a new physio becau...se I have very high standards and trust few people with my body other than myself. This new physio did a decent job, and I was mostly pain free til just after Christmas. After Christmas was when I started #LiftingHeavy again. No pain to my shoulders after a week or two, but then it started to creep back. I went back to the new physio a couple of times, but they didn't change how my shoulder was feeling, significantly. So I went back to my old physio, my #1 magician ( @jty.physio ). I hadn't seen him in a year and a half (for a different mountain biking injury ) and he set me straight lickety split. Not only did my shoulder feel much better, he gave me totally different exercises to do, and told me my gym workout was just fine! Phew! Even though I scaled it back for the weights, I kept the movements the same. Those weights will go back up soon enough. Remember that all practitioners, just like bosses, friends, partners are all people. We all have our own personalities and skill sets. Find the one that fits you best, and if something doesn't feel right, see someone until it does. I'm very excited to return to the land of the #deadlifts. Yes, the big #barbell ones, but I'm also doing bodyweight #SingleLeg ones to work on my one-leg balance, and to get the tiny stabilizer muscles in my legs working, so that my legs are less sore when #SkateSkiing. Seems to be working as I am stopping much less often, now. #EverybodyLiftHeavy #Rehab #BuildBack #training #TrainSmart

Alright, friends. It's #3MonthGoals #accountability time. I had set myself 3 #goals for the first 3 months of the year. 1 #exercise #goal, 1 #nutrition goal, and 1 #SelfCare goal.... My exercise goal was completed. The images with the bars are from #GarminConnect (green are active days). I was physically #active for 25/31 days in January, 23/28 days in February, and 27/31 days in March, exceeding my 6 days/week of being active. This didn't feel like a very challenging goal for me however, that's also because I included walking. Not to say that walking isn't exercise, it absolutely is! Especially since most of my deliberate walks were 6-8km at a brisk pace. I used to walk 4 km/h but I was going closer to 5 km/h. I can re-assign this goal as more specific to #training days. My nutrition goal was completed. The average of my worst and best protein weeks were 117g. The median was closer to 120g/day. This was a challenge and may re-assign it to myself for another 3 months. It's been forcing me to think of meal composition and prep more consciously, which I want to keep doing. My self-care goal was definitely the hardest. I did not succeed. It wasn't because I didn't want to do it, or hadn't created the support I needed to be successful. I had assigned myself this goal so that I would fall asleep more rapidly, when my head hit the pillow. This happened when I was doing #yoga before bed. But other things in my life shifted. Whether I did yoga or not, I was falling asleep with less effort, overall. So my urge to take action to make something better, already got better, and I was less inclined to see the goal through. I still see the value in a bedtime routine, but I need to change it. Still contemplating my next 3 month goals! Very curious what goals my friends & followers have. #motivation #consistency #SMARTgoals #GetErDone #GoalOriented #MoveForward #GoAtYourOwnPace #BehaviourChange #BePatient #persist

#NoFilter Went for a glorious #BikeRide with my friend today. It was so spectacular! Yet all I managed to capture as evidence were some #CherryBlossoms, and my @strava recordings of our two rides. Whereby we stopped for a snack and coffee break in between. ... Decent #road and great #gravel #trails and the #ArbutusGreenway, plus lots of seaside views at #SpanishBanks. I freaking love my #bike!! #GetOutside #SpringIsHere #BikeLove #LoveTheDryDays #LoveYourRide #RideWithFriends #PedalPowered

#NoFilter Went up #SkateSkiing on Thursday night with my friend. Since the time sprang forward, it's still daylight when we got started #skiing. I asked my friend if we had time to make it up to the upper #trails, and we did! We knew we wouldn't be able to #ski for long but just for a little chance to see something different. Unfortunately, by the time the sun set, those clouds descended upon us and we had mega fog and hail coming at us! ... Sad because the #snow conditions were awesome and it wasn't that cold out. Running out of time for #XCskiing and now, I'm not sure I'm ready for it to end! I am ready for all the driving to the #mountains to end, though. Though I will be #MountainBiking and learning to #GravelRide twice a week, is more palatable than four times a week. Because I'll be #RoadRiding those other two days, and that I can do from my front door! #GetOutside #SpringIsComing #TrainForLife #SkateSkier

Yesterday, I finally had a chance to make it to the upper #trails for #SkateSkiing . Though I forgot that in March in the daytime on a nice day, the snow starts to melt and gets very slushy. Much better Classic conditions than Skate, but it made the steeper descents less nerve-wracking. I wanted to access higher up trails, but was getting frustrated skating up the #mountain. I'll hope to find a colder day or overcast day, to try and access those trails I haven't seen before.... The section these pics are from, I had seen before, but more than 10 years ago. I think my favourite part about these upper trails is how much quieter they were. But it was also a weekday! Lots of families and retired folks out to play. #GetOutside #ExploreBC #SkateSkiier #TrainForLife #XCSkiing

#NoFilter Finally made it up to #WOP to #XCski with a friend! This was exciting, as all the times I had been up this season were for #training with my club. When we first arrived, I was sad because it was raining, and I had looked at the weather forecast every day, and it got worse as the week went on. ... Yet, we took our time getting ready once we arrived, and the rain stopped, for the rest of our time there. Our first jaunt was awful. We only lasted a little over half an hour, and the conditions were not favourable for #SkateSkiing. A lot of glide but a lot of fresh #snow, meaning every step sunk. Thankfully after we took a rest, we both felt much better, and I took out my #ClassicXC set, which felt much better for the conditions! We were so lucky the weather stayed dry the rest of the afternoon. Thank you clouds, for having mercy on us. It's always nice seeing new terrain - despite its familiarity to me, I haven't actually seen many of the #trails at Whistler Olympic Park. #GetOutside #MountainLove #ItsStillWinterUpHere #SpringSkiing #AdventureTime