FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

A collection of live feeds from cross-country ski blogs around the web.

  • Back to Work !

    June 1st was the official start date for the summer program. With each new “season” athletes, coaches, friends, and family have expectations, goals, dreams, and among a long list of other things a lot of work to get done before the snow is on the ground. To get everyone in the correct frame of mind and to remind them of just how it feels to hurt we don’t waste any time.
    For the past three years we have been using the first week of practice to complete our baseline fitness test. It is a modification of the Canadian Baseline Test Model with a couple of variations to better suite and accommodate our athletes. For many it was the first time completing the test so it truly was being used as a “Baseline” a starting point for their own development. For others that have completed the test it is used as a “Benchmark” to see how they compared to previous years. It does not matter how many times you have completed the test it is still super hard and never gets any easier.
    Here are a few pictures from the test. As you can see a lot of the athletes are venturing in to that special place that we like to refer to as the “Pain Cave”. Here is to a great summer and a many more visits in to the “Cave”
    (Some of the guys getting to work)
    (Mr.Synergy working on the future but
    has been building the foundation since R.N.R was formed)
    ( Safe to say these two know they way)
    (Coordination? Yea you need that ! Strength, determination yea you need that and a whole lot more to accomplish your goals)
    ( The best way to learn is to follow, and do your best to learn from the best, there will be a lot of following the middle man around this summer)
    ( Strait up strength ! You need a lot of that! )
    ( You have to have a passion and there is no lack of it within Coach Weston)

  • Back to Work !

    June 1st was the official start date for the summer program. With each new “season” athletes, coaches, friends, and family have expectations, goals, dreams, and among a long list of other things a lot of work to get done before the snow is on the ground. To get everyone in the correct frame of mind and to remind them of just how it feels to hurt we don’t waste any time.
    For the past three years we have been using the first week of practice to complete our baseline fitness test. It is a modification of the Canadian Baseline Test Model with a couple of variations to better suite and accommodate our athletes. For many it was the first time completing the test so it truly was being used as a “Baseline” a starting point for their own development. For others that have completed the test it is used as a “Benchmark” to see how they compared to previous years. It does not matter how many times you have completed the test it is still super hard and never gets any easier.
    Here are a few pictures from the test. As you can see a lot of the athletes are venturing in to that special place that we like to refer to as the “Pain Cave”. Here is to a great summer and a many more visits in to the “Cave”
    (Some of the guys getting to work)
    (Mr.Synergy working on the future but
    has been building the foundation since R.N.R was formed)
    ( Safe to say these two know they way)
    (Coordination? Yea you need that ! Strength, determination yea you need that and a whole lot more to accomplish your goals)
    ( The best way to learn is to follow, and do your best to learn from the best, there will be a lot of following the middle man around this summer)
    ( Strait up strength ! You need a lot of that! )
    ( You have to have a passion and there is no lack of it within Coach Weston)

  • Back to Work !

    June 1st was the official start date for the summer program. With each new “season” athletes, coaches, friends, and family have expectations, goals, dreams, and among a long list of other things a lot of work to get done before the snow is on the ground. To get everyone in the correct frame of mind and to remind them of just how it feels to hurt we don’t waste any time.
    For the past three years we have been using the first week of practice to complete our baseline fitness test. It is a modification of the Canadian Baseline Test Model with a couple of variations to better suite and accommodate our athletes. For many it was the first time completing the test so it truly was being used as a “Baseline” a starting point for their own development. For others that have completed the test it is used as a “Benchmark” to see how they compared to previous years. It does not matter how many times you have completed the test it is still super hard and never gets any easier.
    Here are a few pictures from the test. As you can see a lot of the athletes are venturing in to that special place that we like to refer to as the “Pain Cave”. Here is to a great summer and a many more visits in to the “Cave”
    (Some of the guys getting to work)
    (Mr.Synergy working on the future but
    has been building the foundation since R.N.R was formed)
    ( Safe to say these two know they way)
    (Coordination? Yea you need that ! Strength, determination yea you need that and a whole lot more to accomplish your goals)
    ( The best way to learn is to follow, and do your best to learn from the best, there will be a lot of following the middle man around this summer)
    ( Strait up strength ! You need a lot of that! )
    ( You have to have a passion and there is no lack of it within Coach Weston)

  • Back to Work !

    June 1st was the official start date for the summer program. With each new “season” athletes, coaches, friends, and family have expectations, goals, dreams, and among a long list of other things a lot of work to get done before the snow is on the ground. To get everyone in the correct frame of mind and to remind them of just how it feels to hurt we don’t waste any time.
    For the past three years we have been using the first week of practice to complete our baseline fitness test. It is a modification of the Canadian Baseline Test Model with a couple of variations to better suite and accommodate our athletes. For many it was the first time completing the test so it truly was being used as a “Baseline” a starting point for their own development. For others that have completed the test it is used as a “Benchmark” to see how they compared to previous years. It does not matter how many times you have completed the test it is still super hard and never gets any easier.
    Here are a few pictures from the test. As you can see a lot of the athletes are venturing in to that special place that we like to refer to as the “Pain Cave”. Here is to a great summer and a many more visits in to the “Cave”
    (Some of the guys getting to work)
    (Mr.Synergy working on the future but
    has been building the foundation since R.N.R was formed)
    ( Safe to say these two know they way)
    (Coordination? Yea you need that ! Strength, determination yea you need that and a whole lot more to accomplish your goals)
    ( The best way to learn is to follow, and do your best to learn from the best, there will be a lot of following the middle man around this summer)
    ( Strait up strength ! You need a lot of that! )
    ( You have to have a passion and there is no lack of it within Coach Weston)

  • YEEEHAAWWWW!!!

    Congrats to my brother, Andy, who summited Mt. Baker last weekend!

  • YEEEHAAWWWW!!!

    Congrats to my brother, Andy, who summited Mt. Baker last weekend!

  • YEEEHAAWWWW!!!

    Congrats to my brother, Andy, who summited Mt. Baker last weekend!

  • Sweden Update 1

  • Sweden Update 1

  • Sweden Update 1

  • Our New House

  • Our New House

  • Our New House

  • Our New House

     

  • Our New House

     

  • Our New House

     

  • Our New House

     

  • As much or more, As good or better…..

    Funny title to a blog post, I know. It’s amazing what weird stuff enters your mind when you’re skiing circles on a glacier in whiteout conditions.  But, the title is simple, and it refers to my job as a ski racer.  In a competitive sport where you’re literally trying to beat the competition, you must be prepared to do so. If my competitors are training 1 hour per day (to make a simple example) and I train 30 minutes per day can I realistically expect to beat them? Probably not.  Of course winning isn’t all about training volume…. there are so many factors. Upper body endurance, the capacity of your heart, the strength of your trunk…. your mental fortitude…. your ability to hold it together and excel in tough conditions.  There are many aspects and traits that must come together to make a World-class athlete.  

    APU girls post interval session – training 3-5 hours per day on Eagle Glacier, June 2011
    I have been thinking a lot about my ski racing goals for the next season and many of them involve beating a large chunk of the World Cup field.  My preliminary plans have me starting off the season with FIVE consecutive World Cup weekends and preparation for that is now, today, tomorrow, and the next.  In order to be competitive in the World Cup field – (and hopefully to beat many of them!) I NEED to work as hard or harder than they are. My training needs to be of similar quality or better yet, HIGHER quality than theirs.  Now, that’s no easy feat!  Consider the fact that the World Cup is a special collection of athletes that all probably harbor the same goal. That is, to be the best. I guarantee that there isn’t a single athlete out there that hasn’t dreamed about standing on top of a World Cup, World Championship, or Olympic podium. That said, the WC is comprised of athletes doing anything and everything in their power to achieve those goals. Some of those things include spending half their “off-season” away from home in training camps, making social and monetary sacrifices in their lives, walking out the door to train when the weather is horrible, harboring injuries, aches, and pains that come with pushing your body to it’s limits.  When you’re trying to be really, really good at something, often other things take a hit.
    That said, it’s time to go out training again.  I’m trying to hit 4-5 hours per day of training on the glacier. Sounds like a lot, I know. But how will I know if I can do it or not if I don’t try?  Here are a few pictures from the week so far: 

    Sadie fired up in the helicopter

    View from the Helicopter, approaching the training facility

    Alpine Air gets us here safely… 

    Welcome to camp! Goodbye heli… 

    The first session was sunny… 

    Boys team leaning on their poles after a hard interval set in the clouds

    Most of the pictures published are of the gorgeous days…. many days look exactly like this. Where is the track? Or if it’s a downhill – “WHERE IS THE NEXT WAND!?”

    Forty loafs of bread for carbo loading athletes! 
    …. As much or more, as good or better! Think about it! 

  • As much or more, As good or better…..

    Funny title to a blog post, I know. It’s amazing what weird stuff enters your mind when you’re skiing circles on a glacier in whiteout conditions.  But, the title is simple, and it refers to my job as a ski racer.  In a competitive sport where you’re literally trying to beat the competition, you must be prepared to do so. If my competitors are training 1 hour per day (to make a simple example) and I train 30 minutes per day can I realistically expect to beat them? Probably not.  Of course winning isn’t all about training volume…. there are so many factors. Upper body endurance, the capacity of your heart, the strength of your trunk…. your mental fortitude…. your ability to hold it together and excel in tough conditions.  There are many aspects and traits that must come together to make a World-class athlete.  

    APU girls post interval session – training 3-5 hours per day on Eagle Glacier, June 2011
    I have been thinking a lot about my ski racing goals for the next season and many of them involve beating a large chunk of the World Cup field.  My preliminary plans have me starting off the season with FIVE consecutive World Cup weekends and preparation for that is now, today, tomorrow, and the next.  In order to be competitive in the World Cup field – (and hopefully to beat many of them!) I NEED to work as hard or harder than they are. My training needs to be of similar quality or better yet, HIGHER quality than theirs.  Now, that’s no easy feat!  Consider the fact that the World Cup is a special collection of athletes that all probably harbor the same goal. That is, to be the best. I guarantee that there isn’t a single athlete out there that hasn’t dreamed about standing on top of a World Cup, World Championship, or Olympic podium. That said, the WC is comprised of athletes doing anything and everything in their power to achieve those goals. Some of those things include spending half their “off-season” away from home in training camps, making social and monetary sacrifices in their lives, walking out the door to train when the weather is horrible, harboring injuries, aches, and pains that come with pushing your body to it’s limits.  When you’re trying to be really, really good at something, often other things take a hit.
    That said, it’s time to go out training again.  I’m trying to hit 4-5 hours per day of training on the glacier. Sounds like a lot, I know. But how will I know if I can do it or not if I don’t try?  Here are a few pictures from the week so far: 

    Sadie fired up in the helicopter

    View from the Helicopter, approaching the training facility

    Alpine Air gets us here safely… 

    Welcome to camp! Goodbye heli… 

    The first session was sunny… 

    Boys team leaning on their poles after a hard interval set in the clouds

    Most of the pictures published are of the gorgeous days…. many days look exactly like this. Where is the track? Or if it’s a downhill – “WHERE IS THE NEXT WAND!?”

    Forty loafs of bread for carbo loading athletes! 
    …. As much or more, as good or better! Think about it! 

  • As much or more, As good or better…..

    Funny title to a blog post, I know. It’s amazing what weird stuff enters your mind when you’re skiing circles on a glacier in whiteout conditions.  But, the title is simple, and it refers to my job as a ski racer.  In a competitive sport where you’re literally trying to beat the competition, you must be prepared to do so. If my competitors are training 1 hour per day (to make a simple example) and I train 30 minutes per day can I realistically expect to beat them? Probably not.  Of course winning isn’t all about training volume…. there are so many factors. Upper body endurance, the capacity of your heart, the strength of your trunk…. your mental fortitude…. your ability to hold it together and excel in tough conditions.  There are many aspects and traits that must come together to make a World-class athlete.  

    APU girls post interval session – training 3-5 hours per day on Eagle Glacier, June 2011
    I have been thinking a lot about my ski racing goals for the next season and many of them involve beating a large chunk of the World Cup field.  My preliminary plans have me starting off the season with FIVE consecutive World Cup weekends and preparation for that is now, today, tomorrow, and the next.  In order to be competitive in the World Cup field – (and hopefully to beat many of them!) I NEED to work as hard or harder than they are. My training needs to be of similar quality or better yet, HIGHER quality than theirs.  Now, that’s no easy feat!  Consider the fact that the World Cup is a special collection of athletes that all probably harbor the same goal. That is, to be the best. I guarantee that there isn’t a single athlete out there that hasn’t dreamed about standing on top of a World Cup, World Championship, or Olympic podium. That said, the WC is comprised of athletes doing anything and everything in their power to achieve those goals. Some of those things include spending half their “off-season” away from home in training camps, making social and monetary sacrifices in their lives, walking out the door to train when the weather is horrible, harboring injuries, aches, and pains that come with pushing your body to it’s limits.  When you’re trying to be really, really good at something, often other things take a hit.
    That said, it’s time to go out training again.  I’m trying to hit 4-5 hours per day of training on the glacier. Sounds like a lot, I know. But how will I know if I can do it or not if I don’t try?  Here are a few pictures from the week so far: 

    Sadie fired up in the helicopter

    View from the Helicopter, approaching the training facility

    Alpine Air gets us here safely… 

    Welcome to camp! Goodbye heli… 

    The first session was sunny… 

    Boys team leaning on their poles after a hard interval set in the clouds

    Most of the pictures published are of the gorgeous days…. many days look exactly like this. Where is the track? Or if it’s a downhill – “WHERE IS THE NEXT WAND!?”

    Forty loafs of bread for carbo loading athletes! 
    …. As much or more, as good or better! Think about it!