So yeah, a rest day…..I know I have to make every day towards count, with only 23 days left, that’ll be interesting with Christmas and New Years Day in the way. Today’s important. Rest, recovery, and started the day with a blood test and other vitals taken, and yeah, even that one…..because my MD said I needed to.

I hate blood tests. They don’t take that long, but I just am not that comfortable with them….waiting in line, I have no patience…..the needle in the arm is no big deal….I hate holding that small piece of cotton banting on the wound….and then waiting for 30 minutes to take the bangage off, and being told not to use that arm for anything for hours…..I guess I can still run…and the biggest challenge…fasting for 8 hours, and no morning coffee….that’s inhumane!

I’ve been thinking a lot about yesterday’s morning of cross country skiing…while digging through this book by Jenny Tough

I like the way she cronicles her adventures…so far through the Tien Shan, the Atlas, the Bolivian Andes, and now into the Southern Alps…really well written….

My ski was interesting, and was the way things like that, a new skill, or a renewed skill….I guess working on that muscle memory..

I went early, almost as soon as I was awake, ate, my daughter’s caregiver arrived…and instead of sitting in front of this thing, jumped nto the car…I’d loaded my gear into that car the night before, even waxed the skiis…….and went..I was in that parking lot at our Kingswood Park/River Lot by 8:45…I think the only one that early, the trails were still fresh…

The start took me a bit….usually we all walk to the shelter and strap on the sticks there..

But yesterday, right beside the car, and thought, why not climb up a short trail to the trails…they were right there….so why not? after not having these things on my feet for 3+ years….wishbone or whatever my way up. and immediately realized that that classic stride is not as easy as I thought

Then I headed for the trees…..into the river lot….went the way I thought might be kind of flat…and yep, immediately tripped over my ski tips while of course looking at those skiis and tracks…….it’s amazing how long it took me to do what I tell runners to do all of the time…look up and ahead…wow huh?

The, THE HILL!….I forgot. I thought if I went the wrong way around the loop, the hill might not be so, um, daunting….WRONG!

I came around a corner and there it was….and yep, down hill was almost fine…why on earth am I leaning backwards! Yep, on my ass……wishboned up that hill to start, then just jumped on the tracks…..

Then the first decline…fell again……once I out of the trees, I thought, okay, let’s practise, stay relaively flat…and just stride, without using the poles even…..and that worked. I was was striding….I was gliding..not sure why one side was gliding more than the other….but I was moving and I was getting worn out…

After a good week, I was tired to start, but yep, xc skiing is a work out….but I did like a 2 kilometre loop, feft good……found that hill by the gazebo….and weeeeeeee, I got it….I did it and a loop 3 times because it felt so good. the sticks on feet felt natural and good……..made to almost 7 slow Ks…and wash bushed!

A good morning, I know what I’m adding to my weekly workout…it was even harder than hill repeats. At one point that was the plan…ski for an hour and then run 5 hill repeats…NOT A CHANCE!…the day after, I still feel it..upper and lower body….so this may become a Thursday Friday, possibly Monday thing…like everything will take a lot of practise, I’ll have to nail that hill in the trees backwards and forwards….and then I’ll head into the upper River Lot, once I have that confidence..give me a week…

the BMO Marathon in Vancouver is set for my first goal for 2023…….can I run 26 miles?…I’m going to try….once you’re at that starting line, you’ve gotta do it right?

W