NTC Squad: January 2008

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Binna Burra- Gettin Dirty on the trails

Hello From OZ!

I hope all is well back home, we finally have some sun and Im happy to share that training is great and Im getting very excited for the season to start. Feb 3rd I will travel to Perth for the first "training race". Last weekend we joined the local trail running club for a weekend of fun in the trails. It started with a 3hr bike (30km of climbing) to a place called Binna Burra, a very small cottage area where people camp and hike. Since there has been alot of rain the trails were less than perfect and the first run on Saturday was suppose to be 20km trail run and turned into 31/2 hours of running and walking through streams and rivers...i think i counted crossing about 12 times...this made the stewart mountain race seem like a walk in the park! Once we relaxed and realized were werent going to be running much we had fun but the leaches were not fun and since we didnt have breakfast the cliff blok i had wasnt really enough. Wow did breakfast ever taste good!! The next day we were on a better trail and it was amazing, 2 hrs of running and then we biked back home ( down hill was much easier)....the best part of the day was definitely the shower at home and sleeping in my own bed last night. Above are post run photos, my shoes, my bike as a laundry line, and the lovely bunkhouse 5 of us slept in ....one person snores and the other 4 bunkouses could hear him!

It was a great change of pace and aside from a few scratches and bites Im in good form and enjoying a relaxing morning. Thats all for now, more stories to come!

cheers,

Carolyn :)

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Food Therapy

What do you do for recovery? Massage, Epsom Salts, Ice, Heat, Cold, Electric Shock Therapy?

Sometimes recovery can be simply doing something that you enjoy. Creating time to spend on something different that you wouldn't always be able to. For example, and hear me out on this one, today I spent a fair bit of time in the kitchen brewing up a couple meals. Sure the feet weren't up, but it was something I knew would make me feel good, re-fueled, and ready for more tomorrow.

I remember eating dinner at a pot luck one evening a couple years ago. There was an epic amount off food, delicious food. As a friend of mine got up for his second or third portion he told me, "Come on Steve, eat up now, that way when you're stuck up in the mountains one day in the middle of winter with nothing to eat, you can remember this dinner and be full again."

Recovery is about taking care of yourself. It's about doing what it takes to make sure that you are in the best possible condition for your next training session.

Remember your recovery when you are out on a cold ride. Feel full again, and dance in the rain.

Mt. Washington Nordic Camp

the senior guys are heading up to Whistler this weekend for a 3 day Nordic camp (w/daily early a.m. swimming in the Whistler pool. Accommodation courtesy of Kerry and her mom, Ruth Gibson). Juniors.. I'm sure the senior guys will be thinking of you as they rip it up on the white stuff. We'll post pics next week and give you a full report.