Outside Features

Omigod, PPP is only seven weeks away! It sure has a way of sneaking up
on you – this column was supposed to be an eight-week training plan. Oh
well, no more procrastinating-let's put down those French truffles from
Costco and get off the couch!

JUSTIN'S TIPS
Go speed racer! Marshall Greene sets the pace. I caught up
recently with Justin Wadworth, eight-time winner of the PPP individual
title and now U.S. Ski Team World Cup Coach. He was back in Bend,
having just concluded a successful ski season.
"The main advice
I'd give someone doing the PPP solo for the first time is to back off
the training in the areas of your strengths, and try to focus on the
parts of the race that you have the least experience in. Train your
weakest areas, specifically the weakest areas of the race that may cost
you the most time. With that said, good technique can overshadow
fitness here, so take a lesson or two to gain the edge over your
competitors."

The hounds take after the hare…and beer.Sometimes, I'm a little off-kilter, so to speak. Case in point: On St,
Patrick's Day, I ended up at a Mexican restaurant with a few friends. I
know McMenamins would have been the happening place to be, but the
seafood rellenos and the service (since we were the only ones there) at
Baltazar's was wonderful. But, hey, this is no restaurant review-I'll
leave that to the dining critic. The evening after St.Paddy's Day, I
partook in another off-kilter event known as a "Hash." Now that's
something you need to know about. By the way, some of what follows is
stolen from wikipedia, some from www.gthhh.com, the World Hash House
Harrier's website, and the rest I made up.

Team "Learning to Fly" flew through the Hoodoo SnowathalonGiven its nickname, the High Desert is not exactly known for its
water-based recreational opportunities, but it's one of our little
secrets. What's cool about springtime here is that you can usually take
your pick between solid or liquid, even in the same weekend. Last
Friday, the mercury rose to 63 degrees in town. As I strolled along the
River Trail in the warm sunshine, I spotted Jayson Bowerman trolling
the river on his standup board, grinning, barefoot and shirtless. I
spent the next day in a blizzard at Hoodoo.

Take a number.Pole Pedal Paddle is only 10 weeks away. It's time to start thinking
about your training program. But the most important training technique
of all, in my opinion, has nothing to do with heart rate training
zones, lactic acid removal, 40-30-30 diets, intervals, overdistance or
visualization. It's specificity. In other words, the best thing to do
to prepare for racing PPP is to race PPP, or at least something like
it. Believe it or not, there are some other towns as obsessed with
outdoor sports as Bend, with equally crazy events. I like to put some
of these "other PPPs" on my race calendar.

Spring Forward
King of the Cone surveying his KingdomHey, don't forget to get up at 2am this Sunday to turn
your clock forward one hour! Some people lament the loss of sleep time
but I usually throw a "Happiest Day of the Year" party which includes
looking for crocuses poking out of the ground, dusting off the bike or
kayak and planning summertime adventures. Oh, and filling out the PPP
registration form, of course, which is now available at www.mbsef.org.
Now that Spring Forward Day is in March, skis are still in the picture,
but if you're growing weary of the same old trails, these two upcoming
events are opportunities to try something new.

When my Mom was growing up, girls were expected to wear dresses, look pretty and not cross over the center line on the basketball court. Lucky for me, I grew up in the age of Title IX, crossed half-court and got dirty. Even today though, sports and the outdoors are more a guy's realm, and many girls need encouragement to venture there. This week, I'd like to motivate you to thank someone who inspired you and to share your passion for the outdoors with someone new.

Winter is back! After a long drought, new snow arrived this past week just in time to make WinterFest feel like WinterFest and prevent local powderhounds from committing hara-kiri. In fact, it presented us with a classic Central Oregon dilemma: What is the best way to utilize a perfect powder weekend? Which, of course, is part of the much grander existential question of how to maximize a lifetime of powder, waves, singletrack, endorphins, full moons and sunshine. I've been pondering such things lately.