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I’ve been missing in action for awhile because of a nasty intestinal virus that has laid up the entire family, even one of the dogs.  Juniper and I are starting to feel better but unfortunately Ian is still pretty sick.

I have taken a forced week off from training which may or may not be a good thing.  I’ll have to see this weekend at the first ski mountaineering race of the season, the COSMIC Heathen Challenge at Sunlight Resort.  I haven’t been practicing my transitions on snow as much as I would like so I’ll be practicing in the comfort of my living room.  The COSMIC site has some great videos to help you through the transition process but for now I need to remember:  boot, heel piece, skin.  When I reach the top of a leg and am transitioning from skinning to skiing, I first put my boot into ski mode, then flip my Dynafit Vertical Ti Race binding into ski mode while I’m leaning down and then rip my skin as I stand up.  My boot locks into the binding as I step back down after ripping the skin off and then I move onto the next ski.  When it goes well, it happens in one fluid step but when it goes poorly, it can be very bad.

Folding skins at last year's Sunlight race

This process takes alot of practice.  Luckily, the transition at the bottom from skiing to skinning allows me to take my skis off in order to get my skins back on.  As I come into transition I try to get my boots out of ski mode so that as soon as I stop, I can pull my ski off, flip the binding back into climbing mode and get the first skin on.  Hopefully I have folded my skin well at the previous transition and kept it close to my body so that it will stick to my skis again.  As soon as I get my first boot stepped back into the binding, which I have made easier by making small lines on my boots to line up to the Dynafit holes, then I start on the next ski and get my butt moving back up hill.

The downhill skiing hurts more than the uphill in these races.

I hope it all goes smoothly this weekend but I’m sure there will be at least a few mistakes and some time lost in the transitions.  Hopefully my stomach feels okay and my body can keep up with my mind after spending so much time on the couch.