Northstar, Skiing #7

It's nothing but blue skies for the next 10 days. I was still under the weather from skiing #6, but I figured dousing my brain with dopamine just might get me out of it. I know, hope springs eternal. It's been more than a month since the season began, and I was struggling after skiing because the novelty wore off. I wasn't going to get enough dopamine from skiing now, I know that. It was just a wishful thinking that more skiing could get me out of the struggle. But I finally got my car back from the shop, so I was anxious to hit the road again anyway. 

I went to Heavenly for the last two times, so it was going to be Northstar or Kirkwood this time. Kirkwood felt dreary for some reason. It was the same process as how I choose my path when I come to a crossroad while on my walk: one path feels better than the other for whatever reason. Maybe it's light. Maybe it's the curb appeal. Or maybe it's just that I haven't been on that block for a while, and it feels new. I look down the streets and take whichever pulls me stronger. Northstar felt better the same way for whatever reason. I also planned to cut down on the intensity and amount of skiing since the high-dopamine period at the beginning of the season is over, so Northstar with more easier slopes was a better choice anyway.

Snow as all packed by now and a bit icy on groomed slopes. The freshness of 10 feet powder was all but gone. Consequently, I stay off the groomed slope in preference to moguls most of the time. As such, I ended up skiing harder that I planned and ended up doing 5 runs of 2 sessions instead of 4 runs.  On my last run, I went to Rapids off Backside Express chair. It turned out to be longer than Gun Barrel in Heavenly and just as steep. So much for the plan for easy skiing. The outcome was that I struggled for 3 days after that. It wasn't a bad struggle though. Mostly I got knocked out in the afternoon and then recover in the evening.

That has been the pattern lately: struggle in the afternoons, in between refreshing mornings and evening recoveries. All my red days has been that way since I returned from the Electric Hobo season 2.  It must a transitory state on the way to full recovery from MECFS. Perhaps the struggle in the afternoon will go away too after the season 3.