I have a lot of respect for the word “Epic.” It’s not a word I will throw around lightly. While today was certainly not epic, it was a big day and a great way to kick off my training for the US National Championship 50km skate in Fort Kent, Maine at the end of this month.
Since arriving home, I’ve been out on the Wirth trails pretty much every day–simply enjoying the spring-like conditions here in Minneapolis. The day started with a jog from my folks house to the trail, skis and poles in hand, boots slipping down the ice over the cold morning asphalt. My old high school teammate and college competitor Matt Schadow was ready to go when I arrived at the Par 3 lot after a brisk ski across Wirth Lake to make it there on time.
We got in a solid ski around the entire Loppet trail to the interstate and back to the Chalet. Schadow had to roll out to watch Megan and others dive into a frozen Lake Calhoun as a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. I picked up the Three Musketeers: Jim, Skip, and Jim for a tour around the City of Lakes Loppet trail as part of the “Re-Loppet.”
(Nobody told me that t-shirts over long underwear were required team attire!).
Skip was psyched to see the ducks heading back North and taking advantage of the open water in a Wirth Pond. Definitely an early sign of spring, but something tells me winter’s not over yet. . .
Of course, Loppet Director John Munger and wife Diane had kids in-tow (literally) for the Re-Loppet. What a great resistance workout! I think Lauren liked the practice for water skiing this summer too. . .
Fortunately, the Three Musketeers are really good at drafting, almost like those ducks we saw in the sky all day, so we flew across Cedar Lake effortlessly. Somehow, nobody even got their poles stepped on. What teamwork!
We ended the first half of our workout at Old Chicago in Uptown, where we were treated to pizza by the Loppet Foundation. Afterwards, we declined the free bus ride back to the start in favor of a retour ski back home.
Some cyclists record “chamois time,” time spent in their bike shorts, as training in their log. If I were to log “boot time” for the workout today, I’d be over 7 hours–just shy of a full 9-5. A long day and a lot of fun, but not quite Epic.