Ski #2 and the Aftermath

18 more inches of snow from the storm over the prior week allow them to open up more lifts and slopes. Both Grand View Express and Nob Hill had sections of black runs open, and I went up those chairs and down the bumps all day long. 2 hours in the morning and then 1.5 hours in the afternoon were enough to tire me out. Maybe skipping lunch made me tire out quicker than I would have. I was going to come back to my car for my lunch, but it was a little too far. I had enough for the breakfast and wasn't hungry anyway, so I decided to skip lunch and just rest. 

That was on Jan 4th. In the evening, something was cramping inside my knees. I don't know what it is exactly, maybe the ligaments or tendons, but it's been happening since last year whenever I ski hard. All the knee rolls that I've been doing on the slope must be taking the toll. I remember having to pull off coming back from Heavenly last year because my knees were cramping so bad that I couldn't drive. My thighs and calves then took the turn the next morning and became sore. The soreness turned into pain the morning after. Then they were all gone after 2-hour nap in the afternoon, and I seem to have fully recovered from skiing. Recovery from a hard skiing in 2 days? Not a bad aftermath performance. 

Anyway, I think I'll be able to get my 2nd degree black belt in skiing this year. I'm still hunching a little too long after the turns on steep mogul runs, but I'm getting straighter a little quicker. I'll have my back straight and be in the rhythm all the time by the end of this season.

I got on nicotine patch starting from the day 1 after skiing this time, and the bottom hasn't fallen out after 3 days. Being on the nicotine for at least 3 days may have prevented the week-long weakness like the last time. But then, it could be just that I struggled the last time because it was the first day of the season. I struggled after the first day last year too. Still, nicotine should've prevented the weakening, and it didn't. And the success this time could've been because it was the second time, not because of nicotine. So, the hypothesis that nicotine is not effective for hard exercises still stands. I'll keep using nicotine throughout this season and see what happens. If the aftermath performance becomes progressively worse, then it'll be same as the last year, or the year before. Which will mean that nicotine didn't make a difference. If the aftermath doesn't get worse, then it's either that nicotine made the difference, or I have made further recovery that I no longer get weaker as the season progresses.