Kirkwood Aftermath

The day after skiing,  I was up and functional. I was tired, but it was a normal post-exercise fatigue.  On the second day, however, I keeled over and struggled. It was the first skiing of the season and the Novelty Effect there should've protected me from post-exertional sickness. I blame it on the flu shot that I got on 11/5. I was already struggling with the effect of flu shot before I went up the mountain -- I was keeling over after 4 x 1 block jogging that I was able to handle prior to the shot. I figured I might be able to overcome it with Novelty Effect from getting on the slope for the first time in the season. I obviously didn't. 

The effect of flu shot should last no more than 2 weeks and I should be out of the woods in a few days. So, the next time I should be able to stay out of post-exertional sickness. If I do, then I'll conclude that the flu was the culprit. If I don't, then it could be that the Novelty Effect is not as strong this year, after 4 seasons of skiing. 

Kirkwood, Skiing #1

To be fair, it was over 15 years since I've been here, and that could be why I don't remember much. Only thing I remembered was Timber Creek Lodge where I used to park, and I misremembered it as Beaver Creek Lodge at that. But I've been here so many times, I would've remembered the main lodge once I saw it. I think things changed and that is probably why I don't remember any of it. The main lodge, and the plaza above it, was probably built in the last 15 years. So are the condos and rentals spread out between Timber Lodge and the main one. 

But I did remember the water tank on the side of Solitude run. Solitude used to be our warmup run in the morning. About halfway down on the right was the water tank. Greg Lynn, one of my colleagues from Novel days, once commented how my knees were glued together as we ski past it. Skiing has changed since -- parallel skiing is out, carving is in -- and I had to relearn since I came back.

I didn't remember anything of Hwy 88 between Kirkwood and Jackson either. I can't hold my memory accountable for it though. It is the mountainous portion of the highway and there is nothing remarkable on it. I do remember the Central Valley portion to Stockton and I probably would've recognized it if I drove through it. But I turned north toward Sacramento from Jackson, so I didn't get to see it.

It was my first time in the last 15 years. I ought to be excited, but I wasn't for some reason. Maybe it was the effect of the flu shot. I still have one more week to go to escape the physical depression from it, and I was under the weather from the effect of the jogging 2 days ago. The snow condition probably didn't help. The icy base was covered with granular powder that made it hard to control the skis. It just overly tiring, even for the first day of the season. I went up Cornice chair at the end of the morning runs and I had to lie down in the snow in middle of the run. I don't think I'll come back to Kirkwood till it gets more snow. Maybe then it'll look more like the Kirkwood that I used to know, with thigh deep snow on the Eagles run on the way back to the lodge from the back side of the mountain.

Post-Flu Shot Struggle

The COVID-induced social distancing kept flu at its bay for 2 years. Now that people are out roaming freely, the flu is back, and the season is turning out to be a bad one. Flu activity is extraordinarily high. They are calling it a triple pandemic of COVID, flu and RSV. I'll be active this winter, thanks to my Epic ski pass. It's likely that flu and I will cross the path at some point, so I figured a flu shot would be a good investment. I walked a mile to Safeway pharmacy and got one for $33 on 11/5.

The next day, I keeled over. I bounced back the day after and went for 4x1 block jogging. I keeled over again the next day. 4 days later, another jogging and another crash. I was able to do 4x1 jogging prior to the flu shot. It seems that the flu shot lowered my exercise tolerance and I'm now crashing regularly. I'll have to hunker down for the next 2 weeks till the storm blows over.