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Kick Start Your Training!
Spring has sprung. I’ve enjoyed a couple weeks rest since the end of the race season and am looking forward to the new training year.
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\r\nMy training season officially begins today, April 26th. However, with the better interest of my body in mind, I haven’t been completely inactive over the last couple weeks.
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\r\nBeginning the new training year reminds me a lot of trying to kick-start an old motorcycle I used to have. You just can’t expect to kick it once, have the engine fire to life and roar off into the sunset. First, you have to give it a few warm up kicks, maybe mess with the choke a little, and possibly even dump some sort of magic start-inducing liquid into the carburetors. Then you have to kick a few more times. If you’re lucky, she’ll fire a few times and then die again, but eventually she’ll respond to one of the kick-starts with a very unhappy, rough sputter that could be misconstrued as an actually running engine. More often than not she’ll run on only one of her two cylinders for awhile, and then, with enough gentle coaxing and some decidedly less gentle coaxing, the old bike will remember what she was built for and purr like a kitten.
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\r\nThis is a lot how I feel every spring. That’s why I always try to get a few “warm-up” workouts in before I reach the beginning of the training year and the daily training commences. I’ve been on several runs, a few bike rides, played way more golf than is good for me, and gotten into the weight room a few times. The first runs of the season are generally pretty predictable. I run enough all winter that they don’t feel too bad. The normal soreness, stiff knees, and muddy trails are all rites of spring. The bike rides have been enjoyable. Riding is definitely one of the easiest ways to break back into the training routine. The weight room, however, has been a different story.
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\r\nI decided, last week when I went to the weight room for the first time, that I would try a new strategy for getting my body ready for the three weight room workouts a week that I have planned for the spring. My strategy (I don’t recommend this one) involved going to the weight room twice last week. Each time I would do as many different exercises as possible, working-over as much of my body as I could. I figured that I would get a little sore from this for a few days, but because of the amount and type of exercises done once I got over this initial soreness I would be ready to go for the year. I did squats, a whole host of core and stomach exercises, pull-ups and dips, and even ventured into the beach muscle category of working out by doing some curls and bench press.
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\r\nUltimately, I don’t think I’ll be trying this strategy again for a while. I’m still sorer than I’ve ever been this time of year. A slightly gentler introduction to the weight room will be in order for the future. Talk about trying to kick-start the engine. I kicked it, the motor fired for a few seconds, and then the entire bike exploded with one huge, world-ending backfire…
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\r\nYesterday, as a last salute to winter, I went for what will likely be my last ski of the spring. There’s still an abundance of snow in the mountains around Park City, and I was eager to try out the high-mountain backcountry. I started the morning at Snowbird, in Little Cottonwood, where I tele skied several runs with some friends. After parting company with them, I hiked up the road to Alta, put on my skins, and skied to the top of Catherine’s Pass. From there I was able to ski down into Brighton, where I again had to do some hiking to reach more snow to a half mile or so up the road to Guardsman Pass. From there I skinned up to Scott’s Pass, and then skied down Thaynes Canyon into Park City. It was a great day; sunny, tons of snow, and incredible scenery. I took a couple detours (mostly unintentional) so the trip took a little over five hours. It was a hard trip, and I think I successfully squashed any desire I had to ski more this spring!
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\r\nLike so many skiers around the country I am negotiating the mixed emotions and physical discomfort that mark the transition from winter to spring. I’m excited, though, and looking forward to the season ahead. I know from experience that once I kick-start this engine enough, sooner or later it’ll purr like a kitten…
Written By: andrewjDate Posted: 4/26/2004Number of Views: 636
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