caffeine and skiing
So after deciding to starve myself of caffeine for a week, I go home to some more unopened Christmas presents that had arrived earlier in the day - and they included a coffee maker, and a box of organic Trader Joe's truffles. Oh dear.
So we had some of both last night.
Today I am that picture of the heavy caffeine user with no caffeine - little to no brain activity.
Actually I'm not that bad, but I did feel free to pop a few Advil this morning as a preventative measure. I think chocolate is going to be the big hurdle for me.
Also, despite what Nathan says, I had caffeine yesterday before skiing.
I fell almost every turn - why I am not sure. Well, because I could not keep my balance.
Mixture of:
- new lightweight leather boots
- heavy snow
- if you don't balance your weight perfectly, either the front or back ski tip dives into the snow, resulting in falling backwards, forwards, or somersaulting.
Last night I pulled out my trusty Mike and Allen's Telemark Tips guide and flipped to the back page flow chart. They ask things like: Are you: Hesitating? Unbalanced? Falling? I followed along the flow chart, until I found tips for falling while wearing leather boots, and tips for unbalanced people who are not alpine skiiers.
Basically, I need to put as much weight as possible on the back foot to keep it steering the skis.
While we were skiing at Aleyska last week, I learned how hard it is to telemark on ice. Balancing your weight properly is crucial on those lousy conditions. In soft powder, or packed powder, it is easier to cheat.
But ice you had to really focus on where you were balanced, where the weight was over the ski, and so forth. It appears to be equally important when skiing somewhat crusty heavy snow.
|