Morzine Day 7: Tried Going Up
Posted by on Saturday, March 06, 2010
Yesterday, I tried going up on the mountain. There were two reasons: first off, I wanted to see how well the ankle would hold up; second, following a series of dull days it was blue skies all the way, and I thought that even if I don't move around too much I can still take some photos.
So in the morning I got a lift down to the chemists and picked up some athletic-tape. A long time ago, I used to tape up my ankle(s) when playing basketball. I decided I'd try to strap it up for support. I don't know whether that's a good idea for snowboarding? But I did it anyway. I took a quick look on YouTube for a guide, found one, and although it was hard taping my own ankle, I got it done.
I went up at lunch time with one of the chalet hosts, Steve, and we took a couple of runs to meet up with the others. Riding regular runs seemed ok, but I didn't put any aggressive toe turns on, none at all. The strapping within the boot also seemed ok. I didn't really notice it once I was going and my toes didn't go numb or anything like that. Bonus.
In terms of pain, the lifts were the worst. Getting off actually. Lining up on a full chair means a certain twisting of your leg; that hurt. Once, I was kinda squashed, didn't like the pain and almost ended up "staying on". LOL. The ankle ached sometimes on the chairs too.
So I spent a bunch of time taking some photos. My quick investigation into setting the exposure definitely worked. Most of the photos I took kept the detail in the bright areas, rather than being over-exposed. I took raws too. I've gotta say that the current version of the Windows picture viewer does a good job, mostly, of rendering the raws. I need to look into this more, later, and get something where I can adjust the images myself...
Anyhow, here are some of the photos I took:
Ciara's started to get more air this week, nice:
A few indys and the occasional mute too, although this isn't the best example:
Some dude with smooth style:
This was almost a really cool photo, but it happened right after the one above and I didn't have time to adjust the zoom. Sweet method on the hip:
Some dude on the rainbow rail:
So after having something to eat, we took a few runs before coming down. I got a little more confident with the ankle, but still held off anything hard on the toes, and played it safe around the less-flat terrain.
It felt good to be out on the hill, but I was worried that I was either setting myself back, or slightly less bad, holding up the recovery. We got dropped off in town for a few happy hour beers. Yum.
It came to taking the tape off before getting in the hot tub. I couldn't get hold of any pre-wrap, or at least couldn't communicate what I was after, so the tape was straight on to the skin. Ouch. Like an insight into having your legs waxed. Ciara was loving this; told me I was a wuss (or similar adjective). She was probably right - haha. I'm sure she enjoyed stepping in to rip the last bit off in one go :)
Labels: injuries and fitness, morzine trip 2010, nikon d60
Bike Ride, Hamsterley Forest
Posted by on Sunday, February 21, 2010
I went for a ride yesterday with some friends at Hamsterley Forest. As well as wanting to be fit for snowboarding, I've started to train for a 3-day ride later this year: the coast to coast.
I think we ended up doing around 12/13 miles, all off-road. There were some pretty nice hills in there and the terrain was quite difficult in places. Actually, there was quite a lot of snow up there. It was kinda weird being out in the hills, with trees, rocks and snow around us, a week before going snowboarding. Hamsterley is close to where I grew up, and still not far from where I currently live; after visiting yesterday I started to wonder why I haven't been before now.
I read an article a while ago, Whitelines I think, that explored the similarities between mountain biking and snowboarding. This was the first time that I've used in bike in that kind of environment, and I really enjoyed it. Some of the downhills were really exciting (or scary?) Hopefully I'll do more of this in the future.
During the ride the thing that was toughest was sitting on the saddle; as time went on my bum was really aching. I guess that's to be expected given that this is the first time I've ridden an actual bike (excluding a bmx) in around 5 years. Up until now I've just been using an exercise bike in the gym. This morning, I woke up with the top of my back being pretty stiff. What I'm pleased with is that my legs don't feel tired, I handled the ride pretty well.
I'm not super fit or anything like that, but I am fairly happy with my current level of fitness. Bring on the shred...
Labels: injuries and fitness
Are You Wearing Protection?
Posted by on Saturday, January 02, 2010
I was looking through the stuff that they pack inside the Neverland DVD case, and a Slytech brochure caught by eye: both Romain and Wolfgang ride with the Slytech back-protectors. Slytech are one of the sponsors of Absinthe's Neverland; I guess their advertising has kinda worked in this situation :)
That doesn't mean that I'm gonna rush out an buy some snowboarding protection - I'm not. But it did get me thinking about it.
The very first week I spent snowboarding, I went and bought some wrist guards in resort, after the second day or so. As a beginner, I fell a lot, often putting my hands out and hurting my wrists. The wrist guards seemed like a good idea.
However, it wasn't long before I stopped wearing them. First off, I stopped falling in the way that beginners fall, so I didn't feel that I needed them. Second, there was the risk that a nasty slam would just shift the damage from the wrist/hand to further up the arm. And finally, they were a pain to wear under my gloves...
Fairly early on, I also started wearing impact shorts. Trying out new freestyle moves, even really small ones, often ended with my landing on my ass. I found that once I've had a hard slam on my behind, the next time I fall, even lightly, it really hurts. You can still ride, but the thought of falling isn't good!
But I've stopped wearing them also. I decided their benefit no longer paid for the feeling of wearing them: restrictive, encumbered. And they never look good. I do pack my impact shorts in my bag, just in case I need them, but I can't remember the last time I wore them.
The only protection I do wear is a helmet. I don't rock it all of time, but I'll often put it on if I'm going to be riding park or off-piste. Park for the increased slams and off-piste for the potential rocks. If I've cruising around I probably won't wear it.
That said, I do find that a helmet offers some goggle advantages in addition to head-protection. If you slam, your goggles probably won't come off if you're wearing a lid. That greatly reduces the chances of your goggles getting filled with snow; and there's nothing worse than un-clear goggles! I also think the goggle vents are more likely to remain un-covered/un-blocked if you're wearing a helmet, which keeps the ventilation working and therefore reduces the dreaded steaming up.
So what about you? Do you wear any protection? Or is the discomfort not worth it? Is it a style-decision? Yet more expensive kit to buy? Perhaps you feel you just don't need it...
Labels: equipment, injuries and fitness, slams
A Turn-Up For The Books
Posted by on Thursday, December 03, 2009
Leading up to the last couple of seasons, around about this time, I've reported that I really need to get fit ready for snowboarding... I even remember saying something like a trend is developing. Well, I'm pleased to say that I won't be repeating that this time around.
Ciara and I have done a decent amount of running over the summer, and for the last couple of months, we've been hitting the gym, 3 times a week. I'm not gonna say that I'm in the best shape ever, I'm not even close. To be honest, the running and gym sessions have been aimed at getting back in shape.
But at least this time around it's not reactionary to the approaching season. It's been a more consistent effort.
Apart from not wanting to miss out on any potential time on the hill, someone recently made a good point that fatigue is a big factor in trick failure. So whilst I'm not in great shape, yet, I'm also not worried about leaving it too late. I'm already on the right track and going strong.
How about you? Anyone afraid that they're gonna have aching legs? Or are you confident that you'll be shredding from first lift to last and still have the energy for a few pints?
Labels: injuries and fitness
Shoulder And Fitness, Again
Posted by on Thursday, December 18, 2008
Well it's exactly a month before we head out to Morzine and the Portes Du Soleil. A few weeks ago I started to ride into work in an effort to build some fitness before I start shredding. Remember, hard day on the hill + no hot-tub can = sore muscles. I don't like to waste any time out there.
Alas, I've stopped riding into work; for now at least. Mainly because my setup sucks. I'm not knocking the loan of a bike from a mate, but no breaks starts to become an issue on steep hills. It was ok for the first 5 or so journeys, but then I travelled out in the rain, and found the break-performance to be less than safe.
I started to resort to the foot-wedged-between-tyre-and-bike approach to slowing down. Not great, and my skate sneaks didn't like it either. The more I did this the more I knocked the break system out of place, so they stopped working on flat areas too, with the added annoyance of constantly being resisted by one of the pads always pushing against the rim.
It got worse after we had snow. With the ice hanging around on the pavements for a day or two I was forced to use the roads. Not too bad on the way in, when it's light, but after wrongly assuming the ice would melt during the day, I had to use the roads in the dark. No lights, no breaks, busy roundabout. Dumb.
So I've swapped that for 20 minutes on a cross-trainer style machine that we've got at home. It's ok - but especially good on the legs.
What's going better is the shoulder rehab. It's responding well to all the excercises and stretches that I give it. After my "warm-up cardio", I do something like this:
- 2 sets of lateral raises
- 2 sets of shoulder presses
- 2 sets of wide press-ups
- 2 sets of shrugs
- 2 sets of curls
- Some shoulder stretches
- 2 sets of squats on a balance board - that's fun
- Some 'core' excersises
A lot of that is aimed at strengthening the shoulder, but the core stuff and squats will help on the board.
The shoulder's getting stronger. I'm pleased. It can still be a little sore in the morning when I wake up, and I haven't tried any pull-ups for about a week now, and last time it was a no-go. But the progress is good.
I suppose I'll only know how good it is for snowboarding after taking a few slams...
Labels: injuries and fitness
Shoulder And Fitness
Posted by on Saturday, November 29, 2008
My shoulder is improving, but kinda slowly. Just about all of the symptoms have dissapeared now. Trouble sleeping looks like it's going to hang around for the longest; lying on my front can cause discomfort in the morning.
According to the doc, it's probably a good time for me to start strength-building excercises. I know that many of you would advise going to a physio, but for now I'm going to start with some real basic shoulder excercises and stretches; see how that goes.
Which brings me on to fitness. Unfortunately there seems to be a trend developing over the last couple of years: I start thinking about fitness a couple of months before I'm due to go snowboarding. That's bad. It never used to be like that.
Anyhow, I've started cycling to work in an effor to add consistent excercise. It's only 4 miles each way, but on a rusty old BMX (thanks James), with some killer hills thrown in, I end up with a not-so-bad workout. I feel better already.
I also found a snowboard-specific excercise plan, courtesy of Pro Ride Snowboard Camps' news letter. As with most excercise plans, I suppose, you won't find anything ground breaking there. But it's good to know that people who know what they're talking about have put the plan together - and targetted it at snowboarding. Plus, the home-made balance board is cool - I might try that!
Labels: injuries and fitness
Injury Update
Posted by on Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I spent a little over two hours in the hospital this evening, waiting to see a doctore and then to get an x-ray. It's been around a week and a half since the shoulder-slam, and the end of the collarbone has been feeling weird.
To be clearer - towards the end of last week the regular pain/bruising/difficult-movement started to subside. But I've been left with a shoulder that's really painful in a few positions only; and it's a strange pain, like it's on the bone. Well, at least that what it feels like to me.
So I thought I'd get it checked out - just in case.
Well, nothing's broken or fractured which is good. Man, am I a bit of a hypochondriac or what? That's twice this year I've been for an x-ray to check on a snowboarding injury, and twice there's been nothing broken!
The doctor suggested that lump on the bone/around the bone could be a resurgence of a previous shoulder injury a few years ago; my left shoulder is gonna be weak in this area he thinks.
Still, it's on the mend, I've got a good range of movement, so I've just gotta wait for it to heal - then I can go shredding/skating again...
Labels: injuries and fitness
3rd Session - Real Snow, The WSG And Pain!
Posted by on Tuesday, June 03, 2008
My third session of the summer was on real snow. Five of us headed to the chill factor[e] in Manchester last Saturday; it's the first time that I've been.
Real snow made a nice change from snowflex. The setup was good - especially the kicker. Much impressed. I'm not going to say to much about the slope and the facilities though because I'm putting all of that in a review for the wsg, which you should check out, if you haven't already. More on that later - when I've finished writing the review.
I should mention that I'm pretty pleased to be putting some reviews together for a guide that I've used since I first got into snowboarding - even if they're only uk slopes and not fully fledged resorts. Sick! Hopefully I'll do some more this summer.
So what about the shredding? Well, as I mentioned they had a pretty sweet kicker, nicely shaped and solid. I spent the majority of time spinning backside: 1s and 3s. They're far from being on lockdown, but the backside 3 is definitely getting more comfortable. I stomped at least two during the session, fairly smooth too.
We took a decent amount of video - for the time we had available anyway - and some photos of the slope too. I'm gonna sort that stuff out after I've finished the review...
And finally onto the pain. I mentioned before that I took a pretty hard slam last time I was at Halifax. Well, I (stupidly) managed to catch two heel edges on Saturday night sending me straight onto my back. How I managed that I don't know, but it happened. By time I got home the bottom of my back had the strangest swelling, not good!
The bruising is out now and centred around the spine, and seems as though the pain isn't going away, I headed to a sports injury clinic today. It's 35 notes for an half hour session, but it's worth it. The physio was painful, and the guy reckons I should have it x-rayed just to be on the safe side; I'll probably head back at the end of the week or the beginning of next for a second session.
It's annoying. I hope it gets sorted soon as there are plenty of things on that trick list that I wanna cross off...
Labels: injuries and fitness, uk riding, wsg
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