This is my training log for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society TEAM IN TRAINING cross country ski team. We, and more importantly, those doing research, treatment, patient services, and those who have been diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma would very much appreciate your donation to this worthy cause. Please donate today at the Team Big Trees page. (click it now!)
UPDATE 3/8/2012
Happy Anniversary! 36 years and still in love!
Dana and I in the hotel lobby in Anchorage after the event ready to come home 
UPDATE 3/6/2012
Home, finally. Cold snowy morning in Anchorage resulted in an hour delay for de-icing... beats the hell out a crash at the end of the runway 
It also made for a very short layover in Seattle.
Nice to be back in dear old Dorrington where it's snowing ligtly but at 32 degrees F, not 4 degrees.
Training Update - time for a nap 
UPDATE 3/5/2012
With your help and the help of many others, our Team In Training Cross Country Ski team of 25 raised over $130,000 to help fight blood cancers.
It's not too late! You can join the effort at http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/touranck12/teambigtrees
UPDATE 3/4/2012 - #2
Did the 25km race in 3:38:04.4 by official results. Felt good about it. Not a drop left in the tank when I finished.
Dana made it through the 25k race as well! Woot!
Thanks everyone for your support! It's still not too late to show your support. Just click the DONATE NOW button on the right hand side of the page!
UPDATE 3/4/2012
Race Day! The 2012 Team In Training San Francisco Cross Country Ski Team is ready for the Tour Of Anchorage!
Film at 11! (maybe)
UPDATE 3/1/2012
We have to draw the line somewhere and this is it... Dotations to our Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser will still help fight blood cancers, are still tax deductable, but will no longer be eleigible for entries for the drawing for one of the three quilts that Dana has made.
A huge thank you to all of you who have helped with our fundraising effort so far!!!
To those of you who have not yet contributed, and find yourselves unable to sleep at night due to the pervasive, unrelenting feelings of shame and guilt, please visit our fundraising page and make a generous donation .
UPDATE 2/29/2012
Skis, poles, boots, lots of warm clothes packed and ready to go. A good friend is watching over things and taking care of the cats and we're ready to roll. Anchorage, here we come!
The trip should be interesting... as the team Web Captain, AKA paparazzi, I'll be packing along 3 cameras, an audio recorder, laptop, a ton of cables, power supplies and batteries, and it feels like the kitchen sink as well. I'm just hoping that the cold weather doesn't render it all useless.
Happy Leap Day!
UPDATE 2/28/2012
Just a quick update about the drawing for the beautiful quilts that Dana made. You can see pictures of the quilts and read more about the drawing at our Team Big Trees LLS Fundraising page.
HURRY! Time is running out fast to get entered for the drawing! Read about it at the link above.
UPDATE 2/26/2012
We had a Team Ski and Send-Off yesterday. It is exactly one week until the big event in Anchorage Alaska!
The conditions at Bear Valley were dicey! It had been warm for most of the week, creating a lot of buddles and small ponds throughout the valley. Then, Friday night it got cold. All those wet spots, puddles and ponds turned into hard, solid, slick ice. We were fortunate (IMHO) to only have one injury. Most of us were taking it slow and careful becuase we all want to make it to the event, without body parts wrapped in casts .
It's not too late! You can still show your support for Team Big Trees (aka Mr and Mrs BigTreesTech) by making a generous contribution to the Leukemia and Symphoma Society at our funraising site.
Video coming soon.
UPDATE 2/21/2012
Dana and I got in 3 days of training up at Bear Valley Cross Country over the President's Day holiday weekend.
Saturday, 2/18: 15km, all on the flats with several of our teammates.
Sunday, 2/19: 14km, mostly on the flats with several teammates again.
Monfsy, 2/20: 19km with some big hills thrown in for fun (for me anyway). 623 feet of elevation gain and a maximum speed of 16 mph down the hills. I still don't go exceptionally fast downhill, but was in control and did not fall going up or down the hills (though I did fall several times on the flats).
Total for the weekend, if that matters, 48km.
UPDATE 2/12/2012
The team went to the Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort (Now bank owned if you're interested) yesterday and had a day of distance and hills. I got in about 17 km and could have done more but for my duties as Web Captain / photo journalist for the team. After looping around the summit area to warm up we did a longer loop down to and around Lake Van Norden and back up to the summit station.
Both Dana and I did fine on both the downhill and uphill sections as well as just overall stamina. It's been a frustratingly short training season but I think we'll be ok for the Tour Of Anchorage in March.
UPDATE 2/10/2012
We got a chance to get up to Bear Valley Cross Country yesterday for a couple hours. It was awesome!!!
The folks at Bear Valley Cross Country are working around the clock to make the absolute most out of the snow we've received and they are doing a great job! There are plenty of trails open and groomed for both beginner and experienced skiers.
Dana and I may be back up at Bear this Sunday and we'll definitely be up there most of President's weekend. If you see us, make sure and say Hi! We always appreciate the opportunity to take a break to chat :-)
UPDATE 2/5/2012
The TNT Ski team met at Bear Valley Cross Country yesterday for only our second real, honest to goodness, on snow, on groomed cross country ski trail, team training day. Woot!
We skied about 15km which is a little over half the minimum event distance. Because we've had so little snow this season it was the first time ever that some members of the team had skied down any sort of slope so there were a lot of teaching moments for the coaches.
Normally, this close to the event (exactly one month) we would be focusing just on distance, having masterd the basics early in the season. However, this, as you know, is no normal year. You have to respect the committment and courage of these folks!
Take a look at Latest Video.
UPDATE 2/2/2012
I got up to Bear Valley today for a brief workout. It was very windy but absolutely stunning! I have never seen the sky a darker blue than it was today looking to the east.
The folks up at Bear Valley Cross Country have done an awesome job and have opened quite a few trails, including some of the higher ones like Aspen Forest. Not only are they keeping these trails in great condition, but they are opening new ones and actually improving the ones that are already open
The team will be up at Bear Valley this Saturday so if you're up there, make sure and say hi!
UPDATE 1/31/2012
We finally got some snow about a week ago! Woot!
The team finally got to get on some real groomed Cross Country Ski trails. We only have about a month until our event and for many on the team this was thier first time on groomed trails. The event itself will be between about 13 and 30 miles depending on which lenght each individual chooses.
Dana managed to get up to Bear Valley agin on Sunday, and I did it on Monday.
UPDATE 12/18/2011
10.4 mile hike, about 3.5 hours including a rest-stop & chat with neighbors at the Warming Hut in the park. about 1100 calories. Didn't run today beacuse Achilles tendons have been hurting the last few days every time I try running.
UPDATE 12/14/2011
UPDATE: 2:15 PM. Did a 10+ mile hike / run in a just over 3 hours. 1155 calories.
On the hike I almost ran into two bucks fighting over a doe. Unfortunately in my excitement I pushed the wrong button on my good zoom camcorder so I only got this shot using my wide angle gopro HD. I've cropped the image so it's easier to see the deer, but it makes the picture a bit grainy.
It is so easy to fall into the procrastination trap! Gotta do this, gotta do that, whoops, the day's gone and I didn't fit my training in. Well, this morning, I'm going to get a longish hike/run in. I'll be packing along all my "web captain" gear so hopefully will post picttures / video later today or tomorrow.
I'm waffling on gear again and will be trying out a fanny-pack hydration system again. I tried the winter specific hydration pack last weekend and found it uncomfortable when I really got moving. I also looked into the Anchorage weather a bit more and because they're right on the coast, like San Francisco, the temperature usually stays moderate, by Alaska standards. This means that I probably won't have to shed or carry extra layers of clothes during the event.
UPDATE 12/10/2011
The team got together at Marin Headlands for a training hike because there's no snow on the mountain. Dana and I hit the road at 4am to join the team at 8am and we finished the hike around noon.
I forgot to start my GPS so don't have accurate milage but suspect that I did about 8 miles. The trail signs indicated closer to 6 miles but as "Team Web Captain", aka Paparazzi Joe, I did a lot of running back and forth to try to get photos of the team along the way.
One of our teammates, and a Lymphoma survivor took some time before we got on the trail and shared her story which I'll share with you here. Have a look!
UPDATE 12/09/2011
Today has been an equipment / chore day. Still may get some strength training in but it's getting iffy... We have to leave tomorrow by 4am in order to get to join the team for our "no-snow" training down at the Marin Headlands, west of Sausalito.
So, equipment-wise one of the first decisions I had to make was whether to go with a belt with water bottles, a lightweight hydration pack, or a cold-weather specific hydration pack. I decided on the latter for a number of reasons:
- It is designed for cold weather, including insulation and even pockets for chemical warmers to keep the hydration hose and bladder from freezing.
- I don't know what the weather will be like in Anchorage or how it might vary through the 3 to 5 hour event. So, I want room to accommodate adding or removing clothing layers as the need arises.
- As the "Web Captain" I need to tote around a bunch of extra gear like a still camera, a video camera, and an audio recorder (with furball windscreen ). Add to that, each of these items will need to be kept warm enough to operate. I just could not see how that could be accomplished with everything hanging from a single belt around my waist.
The pack I'll start training with is CamelBak that I bought a couple years ago. It has a 3 liter bladder capacity, insulated hydration hose compartment, and an expandable pack that could probably carry the kitchen sink. I'll probably use most of the water capacity for training sessions, since there aren't organized water/feeding stations along the way. However, for the event itself, I'll be trying to keep the weight to a minimum.
So, The next equipment issues to tackle are how to keep gear from freezing while at the same time keeping it accessible for documenting training sessions and the event. Modern electronics, and particularly those with LCD screens, are notorious for failing in the cold. There are of course some very nice, extremely expensive, solutions out there for the professional outdoor photo / video journalist. However, my budget is more along the lines of garage sales and thrift stores so I'll be looking at home made options.
Another option, which is still a very real possibility, is to pare down the equipment, perhaps to just one multi-function camera and the audio recorder, and go with the light-weight, low-capacity water bottle solution... Need to get a little more information before I can consider that option seriously, but it's attractive given that whatever I take, I'll be lugging around for several hours.
remember, you can help!
UPDATE 12/08/2011
For those of you who didn't know, I turned 60 at the beginning of this month. Today, a week later, I am starting on a new training program. I will be making updates here regarding meals, exercise, and other related topics. I plan on making updates at least daily, and probably multiple times each day so check back often. If you want to know more, please use the forum!
07:00 Bowl of oatmeal + blueberries.
08:00 - 10:45 - 8.5 mile walk / run - almost all walk today. 912 calories.
14:56 - Just finished making a fur-ball windscreen for my digital recorder. It works great! I'd be happy to make one for someone who donates $25 or more to our TNT fund raiser!
Here's what it looks like...
And here's the demo video!
UPDATE 12/04/2011
IMPORTANT! We need your help! More importantly, all those who have been, or will be, diagnosed with Leukemia, Lymphoma, or one of the related desieses need your help. Please go to our fundraising page and make your contribution today. It's tax deductable.
We had our first team ski on Saturday, 12/3/11 up at Bear Valley Cross Country Ski. It was in the 20s and blowing like crazy so I'm guessing that the wind chill was down in single digits. We went out and skied in an area surrounded by trees that afforded some protection. I had my doubts before we went out in the morning, but everyone was bundled up and we had a fantastic time!
Here's a little video I made of our exploits.
UPDATE 11/19/2011
Ran / hiked about 8 miles with the team today at Redwood Regional Park in Oakland. What an awesome trail system! What a great cause and a wonderful group of people.
UPDATE 11/17/2011
Ok, time to start getting serious... well, time to get started anyway...
I'm going to be using a product called FitDeck to structure my exercise routines. These are sets of cards that are orgainzed into different exercise types and styles. each card includes a diagram and description of a specific exercise as well as a recommended number of repetitions. These are really great for quickly pulling together a workout. You can read more about them through the links to the specific decks that I used today.
Since I'm just getting started, I kept it relatively simple today. I picked 6 cards from the Stretch Deck with selections from each major body area to stretch, and 6 cards from the Core Blast deck. I did the recommended number of repititions (or seconds) for each exercise in the "biginner" catagory.
Soon, once I work the kinks out (of myself mostly), I expect to move to an exercise technique called Tabata Protocol, or High Intensity Interval Training, but more on that when the time comes. For now, I'll just be working on getting in reasonable overall shape.
Here are the links to the FitDeck Stretch and Core Blast decks that I used today:
UPDATE 11/16/2011
Not much training to report today. Drove down for a visit with new grandson and family. Short walk down to the American River and watched the Salmon making their way upstream. If you haven't seen it, GO!
UPDATE 11/15/2011
1st weighin - 177#, 20% BF (very approx!)
Today's training - short run/walk around the neighborhood. 1.85 miles, 22 minutes. I ran until it wasn't comfortable and walked until I got my breath back. Turned out to be discomfort level coincided with heart rate betweeen 155 and 165 and ready to run heart reat was between 120 and 130. Felt fine after the run.
We're supposed to have snow this weekend but unfortunately not enough to ski on.
Oh, by the way... did you hear that we're grandparents for the third time as of 11/11/11? Can I get one big Woot!
If you want more information you can click the "view my team page" link to the right. If you have any other comments, questions, recommendations, etc, please feel free to email me at joe at big trees tech dot com.
FYI, if our Big Trees Team (TNT Team Big Trees) gets to $10,000 in donations, I will put bigtreestech back the way it was. I will continue to update the training journal, etc, but it won't be front and center.
A big thank you to those who have contributed already and to those of you who are considering doing so now!
Here's a short video from our first (no-snow) training session. Enjoy!
joe
