View from my apartment today's winter wonderland that is Banff.
Skiing Cascade Fireroad
Being a runner in Banff has it's benefits for sure - living at 1400m sure is awesome altitude training, and the network of stunningly beautiful trails in my backyard ain't half bad either. But I spend a good portion of my year hauling myself out of the door in the cold and snow and just dreaming of green trails and temperatures above zero. Yep, I like to ski - but in my heart of hearts I'm a runner who just wants to run on snow and ice free roads and trails.
I love snow (on skis or snowshoes, but not so much in running shoes)!
But I'm trying to make the most of the weather and I today I made it out cross country skiing with 2 friends, probably the first time I've cross country skied in a good few years. My technique is bad but it was so much fun just to enjoy the snow as it was coming down all day and was truly a winter wonderland. That said, of course my outing also had a slightly ulterior 'training' motive. Being an endurance addict I ignored all better judgement and signed up for a cross country ski loppet this past week. Race day is nicely soon enough - Jan 22nd - time to get some skis on and practice a bit, yet not too far away that I'll have time to get overly concerned with the details, and done before I need to really start being concerned too much about long runs (important given I now work a 48hrs/ 6 day work week, so have one day a week to get long runs in).
Oh, did I mention that the loppet is from Lake Louise to Banff. It's only 72km :) It'll be an experience to say the least I'm sure. Bring on the snow!
