Training*

Monday ski touring with Allen

There’s and asterisks in the title for a reason.  It’s well into December now, definitely training season again, and although I’ve been putting in some moderate 20hr weeks I absolutely do not feel like I’ve been training. That being said I most definitely find myself in a shape other than round…

Wednesday singletrack

I’ve got this fortuitous upward movement, which I think arose after my recent revulsion of the paradigm I spent last year using. Lately, training has equated to backcountry faceshots on bluebird powder days, a short lived ski racing comeback, breathtaking December singletrack, long road rides with friends, trail runs that last for hours and gym work that is making me feel like a more balanced human-being (I will never be Arnold, but hopefully the T-Rex arms and shoulder problems will disappear).

But its not merely powder skiing and being beaten by middle-schoolers that is making me feel so good right now, but a more profound something they are feeding. Someone close to me calls it happiness training… and seems pretty straightforward. It’s powerful, and honest, and transformative. It goes beyond the efforts I make during training; it is embodied in balanced life I am choosing and the people I am surrounding myself with.

Washington

This Fall was restorative for me, and positioned me to find myself in this calm right now. I’d been training and playing enough to hide most indications of my dark beer and cookie diet, but after taking a couple weeks away from formal training during the first half of Movember I finally felt like I needed to start working again. I spent ten days over Thanksgiving visiting family and friends while training on my favorite roads back in Washington. After that, and a visit from my close friend (and fellow Olympic dreamer) Corrine, I’ve got my body and head moving in a new direction looking toward the 2013 season. This paradigm shift makes this pursuit feel more sustainable and authentic… two feelings that breed lots of happiness. Absolutely none of what I am doing feels remotely like the cold, winter drudgery that can arise out of base training. I feel (and hope) I am on the way to the best condition of my life. And it’s got me convinced that I am into something brilliant.

Wednesday singletrack

Sunday faceshots