I spent the three days off skiing. Ran some recreational giant slalom gates each day. I did ok, not great but ok. The backs of my arms are all beat up again from hitting the gates over and over. They make a padded top for this. STEALTH TOP They are expensive but I guess I should get one because I don't think it is healty to do this all the time to my arms. My race suit has padds on the backs of the arms but race suits are flimsy and wear out so I only use it when I race. Plus people just don't wear them much here for working out. What happens is that you go into the gate and kind of turn your shoulder and hip into the gate which is on a spring. But you come at it really fast and it hurts. Here is a photo of the my tricep. I also smashed my left index finger on a gate. It went numb for a while but then it came back to life and it works fine now. It did feel wierd today and won't bend all the way but doesn't really hurt. My arms and elbows hurt though.Ski racing is a high impact sport. And it's dangerous even at a recreational level. The only way you can be fast is to take at least some chances. I didn't crash, but one of the guys did with everyone looking on. He came out of both of his skis and it looked very bad. He got up and was ok, but that hurts. I've done it more than I want to remember. The next day you can be very sore, even if you don't really get hurt. (go to hospital) This guy is really good. I've never seen him crash. He did watch me crash really bad once. So I'm glad to know he is mortal, and also glad that he didn't get "hurt".
I did get invited to a New Year's Eve party at a guy's condo on the mountain. I wanted to get home and soak in my Jacuzzi tub and also prepair my skis for monday's racing. So I showed up early and thanked them for inviting me and talked for a while but then went home. I had to drive 70 miles. I did have a friend staying with his camper in the RV area and I could have crashed with him. But my Jacuzzi was calling.
7 comments:
Ouch! Have you considered body armour? Too much wind resistance perhaps.
I hear you on the fruit (I love veggies already though). I'm thinking of introducing fruit smoothies for breakfast as a means of getting my fruit. Let me know if you find any other way to sneak it into your diet.
PS. At this very moment, I am watching a news broadcast on the NEW Food Guide. Seems it has caused some controversy. It has become age and gender specific AND...just for you Don... it has reduced the RDA of fruits and vegetables for men while increasing meat (protein) intake.
Looks like this is your year!
I love fruit. I always try to bring some to work because I never eat enough on my own when I get home. So I snack on bananas and clementines (baby sized oranges) in front of my computer all day.
I also like veggies, but I don't eat nearly enough of them. I tend to like the starchy veggies too. :(
Wow! Don has awesome arms!
Good luck with your skiing season this year. Don't get hurt.
Smoothies are a good way to add fruit to your diet. That's how I got my boyfriend to start eating fruit. Then we were able to work on eating fruit trays with some cheese and crackers couple times a week.
I try to prepare at least one vegetable if not two when I make dinner. With my gf diet, it helps us consume for fresh food.
I have some armour. I have the slalom shin guards and hand guards on my slalom poles, and a face guard on my helmet. I think I'll get a top. You wear them under your jacket.
That's curious that they would reduce fruit and vegetables for men. Perhaps they just gave up on us!
I did buy an orange yesterday. And I do eat bananas when I cycle. I had broccoli for dinner last night. (and jerky) Gosh, that makes me sound like such a redneck.
I like the smoothie idea as I just got a blender for Christmas. But I have no idea how to make one. I've never owned a blender until now.
Smoothies are easy to make. Use your imagination. I personally like strawberries, blueberries, a little vanilla yogurt, peaches, and ice. Depending on how you like your smoothie, thick or thin, adjust ice and yogurt accordingly. Put everything in the blender and blend away.
Thanks! I'll give it a try.
diane,.. Thanks for the well wishes. I'll try not to get hurt, but it kind of goes with the territory. One serious injury will most likely be "career" ending. And since I'm just doing this for fun, I'm giving it some thought to what races I want to enter if any this year.
When I was in gymnastics, they wouldn't let us ski in the winter. That was one of the rules anyway. Of course everyone did, and they kind of over looked it.
Getting hurt is always in the back of my mind now. But when you get into that start you can't be thinking that. There is no point to ski racing if you are going to hold back.
I crash or ski out about 5% of the time.
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