Cross country ski day #1

I won! I made my siberian husky so tired he followed my tracks in the snow! If you own a high energy dog you understand the magnitude of this accomplishment.

Of course if you know my dog you also know he's a whimp, definitely not the stereotypical "I can run for days" husky.

We actually both won. We went to Snowbasin for a little "classic" cross country skiing which turned out to be a trail breaking session. THAT's a good workout. There was over a foot of new powdery Utah snow without ski, foot, or snowshoe tracks for probably 3/4 mile. We traveled from the Snowbasin road to the Maples campground, did both campground loops, and returned. I estimate approximately two and a half miles.

Funny, one week ago we were mountain biking in 50 degree weather. Today at Snowbasin was 18 degrees.

Where are my skis?

No tracks (until the dog ran by), no grooming, all natural.

Neck deep in snow. He's loving it

Maples picnic area

Hey! I have a personal trainer!

She is skilled in fitness disciplines through experiences with her own previous personal trainers and gyms. She is flexible with regards to workout times, locations, and equipment. She is Vanessa, not only my significant other, best friend, lover, life planner (she loves that one), crew chief, and now personal trainer and training partner.

It's been a great few weeks. I have learned some new stuff and we have made each other accountable which is a good thing. We can already see improvements in our workouts in a little over two weeks. It is definitely helping keep me fit.

Feels like the natural evolution of a control freak adrenaline junky cyclist that needs to excel at everything he takes on.

One more reason why this training is a good thing: I seriously considered going back to indoor soccer after a work email was sent asking to put a team together. Why? I was getting restless, feeling the need for adrenaline, for a workout, for competition. Indoor soccer was fun, don't get me wrong, but it was good I stopped playing. Cycling is much preferable for me.

Excellent late season ride

50 degrees and sunny on December 7th. A beautiful day to take the mountain bikes out for a little more than 8 miles in. Vanessa got over 5 miles in and a good workout. It was fun; it was really fun if you consider we can still ride around our place in December.