FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

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

  • Change in weather

    A little change in weather here in Anchorage. We got a little cold front that moved in, so it went from lots of rain to some fresh snow and clear blue skies. Today I went for a really nice rollerski and tried to soak up some of that vitamin D I’ve been missing the last couple weeks. It was around 40 degrees, time to start wearing gloves.

     Little bit of snow left today on campus.
    Waxed up the skis yesterday. 
    Below are some pictures my teammate Reese Hanneman took of me rollerskiing last week.

  • New Website

    We have a carefully crafted new website, thanks to Brayton Osgood. We feed him coffee and skis, and good things happen. Well, mostly good things. There are still some glitches to work out. Like every image that was uploaded to the site prior to August 2012. But it will all be in working order soon enough. In the meantime, we trust you’ll cut us a little slack!

     

  • Saturday Morning Surprise!

     Yep…. woke up to snow!  Saturday, September 29th!  Some folks went skiing to round out the “ski every month” challenge.  Lauren and I went to run up the South Fork of the Eagle River.  Turns out running single track in fresh snow is a bit challenging.  Thanks to my Salomon Spikecross running shoes that kept me on my feet!  (Most of the time)

    Running up the Hanging Glacier Valley 

    Beautiful snow and the first blue sky and snow we’ve had in a long, long time! 

     The snow was melting at the end of the 3 hours…. snow outside, a car full of roller skis and a thermos of hot coffee at the end of the run!

    Salomon spikecross – these are great for wet, slippery conditions! 
    I’m off to Park City tonight for my much awaiting altitude camp, testing with the USST, and my good friend’s wedding! If the weather improves here in AK, you can thank me for leaving 🙂 
    More soon/Cheers, 
    Holly 

  • Salt Lake Evening

    My only workout today was a three hour run, so Luke and Lindsey Adams, Monique Siegel, and I went down to Salt Lake this evening. We went to the best Mexican restaurant I have ever tried.

    I had a delicious plate of beef with bacon in a Mole sauce.

    After dinner, we went to the Nightmare on 13th Haunted House.

    It was not as scary as the last professional haunted house I visited. I had fun, but I wouldn’t go back.

    Overall it was a fun evening with good friends.

  • New Oar Rack

    To the new sculling campers, the oar rack they are using this week has always been there. But everyone else knows otherwise: with space for 90 pairs of sculling oars – double the capacity of the old rack – and about two times closer to the docks, the new rack will help get campers on the water faster and will free up space for more boats in the boathouse.

    Old Oar Rack

    Previous Oar Rack

    The oar rack team consisted of Dick Dreissigacker, Judy and Carlie Geer, Kyle Lafferty, Phil Grisdela, and me, with helpful insight from a variety of others. After settling on a space for the oar rack in the waterfront, we came up with a design that would use the existing trees as posts, taking advantage of the natural landscape without having to uproot any trees or dig post holes. Our first step was to put together a rough prototype, figure out the various dimensions to get an idea for the capacity of the oar rack, and decide what kind of wood we would need and how much. Then, we cleaned up the rack location a bit by clearing the low branches using a tree trimmer made from an extra-long Concept 2 carbon fiber oar shaft and a saw blade. We screwed some 2×4’s into the trees to add structural stability to the cross beams, and then went to work on cutting boards. After a couple days in the workshop with a table saw, circular saw, wood glue, nail gun and a good supply of local lumber milled right here at the center, we were ready to start putting everything together.

    Adding the "teeth" that hold up the oars by their collars

    Adding the "teeth" that hold up the oars by their collars

    After all the pieces were put together, we filled out the uneven terrain with soil and woodchips.

    A truckload of fresh dirt helps to even out the ground

    A truckload of fresh dirt helps to even out the ground

    There is only one more weekend of sculling camps this season, but hopefully we can get some good feedback on the oar rack to see if it needs any tinkering before the boathouse starts closing things down for the winter.

    (left to right) Phil Grisdela, Phil Henson, and Kyle Lafferty stand in front of the new oar rack

    (left to right) Phil Grisdela, Phil Henson, and Kyle Lafferty stand in front of the new oar rack

    A picture from the back of the oar rack shows its proximity to the docks

    A picture from the back of the oar rack shows its proximity to the docks

  • Confidence Boost

    I did a skate intensity session with the Canadian National Team in North Salt Lake this morning. We did 6 by 5 minutes starting at a sustainable pace and building to max by the last interval. I was able to use an extra pair of the Canadian matched roller skis, so it was a fairly equal playing field as far as roller skiing goes.

    The road was uphill. We gained more than 1000′ during the workout. That terrain plays to my strength. My energy was good and I was able to ski without tension. I followed for the entire session, fairly easily. The pace was not too challenging, although I did hit 178 beats per minute on my heart rate monitor on the last interval. That is close to my all time max of 184.

    As I wrote in the story about the time trial in New Zealand, the Canadians are some of the best skiers in the world. I am happy with the way the session went. It is a nice confidence boost after some tough sessions during the past couple of months.

    Here is coach Jason Cork’s video from the session. It is great footage considering he had limited access following the Canadian vehicles and considering he was driving while holding the camera.

    There is, of course, lots more work to be done. It is not even October yet.

  • Lake Placid Camp

    Every year the US Ski Team hosts a camp in Lake Placid to kick off fall training and bring together many of the best athletes from around the country.  We recently wrapped up the camp after two weeks of awesome training with the USST, Craftsbury GRP, Team Homegrown, and a strong NENSA crew.  Needless to say, the camp was a great opportunity to train with a huge crew of talented skiers.

    Easy 2 hour double pole to kick off the camp. Lake Placid offers the chance to train with skiers from around the country.

    The focus of the Lake Placid Camp is high-intensity training.  The second day of camp we kicked things off with some maximal bounding intervals up Whiteface Mountain.    This workout is one of the hardest workouts of the year – the idea is to really push yourself to the limit.  We did six 3′ intervals, starting at just below 10k race pace and making each successive interval faster and faster.  On the last interval, I hit a HR of 206 bpm with a blood lactate of 14.6 mmol/L!  It was a great reminder of what racing feels like.

    6x 3 minute maximal bounding intervals up Whiteface Mountain.  From Left: Ryan Scott, SMST2 athlete Andy Newell, SMS PG Paddy Caldwell, Dylan McGuffin, Nils Koons, Gordon Vermeer, and Sylvan Ellefson.

    Continuing the high intensity theme, we did a number of speed sessions designed to help build efficiency at top speed.  We were able to do some of our speedwork at the Olympic Jumping Complex.

    Classic speed day at the Olympic Ski Jump Complex.

    Hammering out a speed with one of my old Dartmouth teammates, Patrick O’brien. Patrick was on form and had one of the fastest strides out there.

    While the focus of the camp was intensity, we also did a fair amount of distance training and technique work.  No matter what level you are at, it is always possible to make improvements and refinements in technique that allow you to improve efficiency and ultimately ski faster.

    The group out on a distance skate ski.

    One of the staples of the Lake Placid camp is the climb to the Castle – a 5 mile rollerski race up the Whiteface Mountain auto road.  From the start, the road climbs non-stop, with no flats or downhills and virtually no good places to recover.

    Climb to the Castle – SMS T2 skier Skyler Davis leading a train. Fasterskier image.

    Climb to the Castle – Tad Elliot was on form and handily took the victory. Fasterskier image.

    Climb to the Castle – Liz Stephen crushed it in the women’s race and won by 5 minutes. Fasterskier image.

    I did not have a good race – a combination of low energy, a fast start, and relatively slow rollerskis combined to make it a real struggle.   I think you can learn as much from bad races as you can from good ones, so I’m taking what I can and moving forward with what I learned.

    About 30 minutes outside of Lake Placid there is a really cool spot for cliff jumping called the Flume.  We were able to stop by after some of our workouts to jump in.

    Ryan Scott jumping the flume.

    Newell showing how its done.

    Jessie Diggins making the jump, with Ryan Scott in Will Wicherski in the background.

    All around, we had a great camp.  A big thank you goes out to all the coaches and organizers who made this camp possible.

    Now that the camp is over, it’s time to recover.  One of the most important things as an athlete is to recognize when you need rest; the hard training is important, but the rest is what allows you to actually get faster.    I came out of the Placid camp feeling tired, so I took several days easy and visited some good friends in Hanover.  We even got out waterskiing at Ace Tarberry’s lakehouse.  Thanks Ace!

    Sunset turns.  After two weeks of hard training, it was good to get out and shred the water.

  • SMS Training Week Ends With Wet Ski

     After a beautiful month, the weather finally turned sour for a day. We didn’t let the rain deter us too much… we still headed down to Cambridge NY and did a 2-2.5 hour skate on the great rolling hills in the area.

     The ski capped off our training week, everyone trained 15-18 hours over the past 5 days. Now they are  headed home for a weekend of rest.

     Andy, Skyler and Jordan.

     Mollie leads the T2 girls :).

    Pip, Kate and friends cruise through the puddles.

    Don’t forget about our SMS T2 reception this Sunday at SMS. This will be a great chance to meet the T2 team and find out about what they are planning for the winter. Click here for more information.

  • Ski-A-Thon

    On September 2nd we held our first annual Ski-A-Thon fundraiser for the SMST2 team.  The goal for the day was to ski 100 km and raise money to help pay for travel and racing expenses this upcoming season.  We started the ski about an hour east of Stratton, near Andy Newell’s house in upstate New York.

    Coach Gus laying out the route at the start of the ski.

    The roads in New York are incredible for rollerskiing with smooth pavement, light traffic, and awesome views.  We definitely did not pick a bad day to spend outside.

    The girls taking a quick stop to refill water. Gus supported our ski and carried our extra water and food in the van.

    Everyone started out on classic skis in the morning.   At the halfway point (50k), part of the group switched to skating.  Skyler and I opted to classic ski the entire route.

    Andy and Paddy after the technique switch.

    Andy and Paddy 65k into the ski – cruising.

    Skyler, Eric, and Sverre, 85k into the ski. Coach Sverre biked along for the entire 100k.

    The girls crushed the ski and finished in style! From left to right: Sophie, Annie, Jessie, and Erika.

    The finish – just over 100k.

    The Ski-A-Thon was a big success.   Thank you to all the individuals and families who contributed to help make the dream a reality!

     

     

     

  • Annual Smuggler’s Route Hike: Italy to Switzerland

    Every year one of the highlights in the Italy trip is a long hike along a smuggler’s route from Italy to Switzerland. After a legendary bad weather excursion two years ago, we have had pristine weather for the trek, which affords unbelievable views in several directions. We depart from the valley where we live, looking back at the 3000 meter peaks and the dominant Ortler, then cruise over alpine highlands headed northwest. At the end of this high plain the mountains crowd in and the river drops down into a slot canyon, walled with rock cliffs that tower hundreds of meters above the river below. Etched into the side of these cliffs is a narrow path that offers just enough space for us to walk while looking down into the depths. The whole thing is difficult to describe and almost as hard to photograph, but hopefully the pictures will give you a good sense of the setting.

    Starting out: it was cold at first but later warmed up. Here’s our guest from Bend, Ryan St. Clair, walking with Maddy and Justin
    We set out from the valley above Schlinig, where we often rollerski, and hiked up through the breathtaking stench of cattle stalls being cleaned and manure being sprayed on farm fields. Fortunately we soon left behind the odors and started to scramble up the steepest pitch in the hike, hiking beside a long waterfall cascading over a cliff.
    One of the cool things about Italy is how often we are dwarfed by the natural features around us.

    Elliot and I stopped to take some pictures with the waterfall.

    The spray was making a rainbow and freezing to the grass and rocks downwind from the cascade. Pretty sweet.

    Elliot poses above the valley with the Ortler in the background.

    Elliot and Justin took a moment to examine a mushroom, being careful to hold a leaf around the stalk in case it was potent.

     
    Mapping out the route on the alpine plain. We are looking towards the Uinaschlucht, where the trail is carved through the cliffs, in the distance.

    Elliot and I snuck up on a marmot, and got pretty close before it ducked down its hole.

    The group at the border of Italy and Switzerland and the entrance to the Uinaschlucht.

    We collaborate with Ryan’s coach Ben Husaby and his Bend team at National races. This is their team shirt: “Every Day I’m Shuffling.”

    Ryan psyched for his entrance to the canyon.

    Pretty creative english on the description plaque.

    It’s difficult to capture the scale, but Dev is looking a pretty good distance to the canyon floor below.

    Looking down to the river below.

    Team photo at the end of the canyon. From left: Ian, Ryan, Devlin, Elliot, Justin, Maddy.

    Several hours later, we return to where we started! Not a bad view.

  • SMS NORDIC 2012-09-28 05:04:00

    Check the our new multi-sport workout.  About 3800 feet (1175meters) of climbing from the Battenkill river valley in Manchester, VT up to the summit of Stratton Mountain.

    click: direct link to all our vids

  • Work Day

    Today was a physical recovery day. I only had a one hour run in the morning, and the afternoon was off of training. However, I spent the rest of the day working on e-mails and other “business” obligations.

    It was foggy on my way to the U.S. Ski Team Center of Excellence (COE) this morning.

    I had to go to the COE to do physical therapy on my left shoulder.

    The sun poked through in the middle of the day, then some thundershowers developed this afternoon. The rain has been a nice change this week.

  • Speeds with the SMS T2 Team

    This morning we joined the SMS T2 Team for a workout at BMD.  After warming up for 30 minutes and working on technique drills, everyone skied the BMD out-and-back loop continuous, while throwing in 30 second speeds at set locations on the road.  It was a nice chance for our team to hop in behind the T2 group and follow them for the speeds.  
     Mackenzie working on getting her hands high and forward. 
     Really nice to have Tyler back with us!  He’s been battling illness for the first month of school, but looks to be on the mend. 
     Gino leading a pack up the hill.
     Hamish catching a ride with Eric and Andy.
     Sophie leads Brooke and Calvin.
     Erika, Sophie, and Scott.
     Scott on his last speed.
    Andy.

  • Lake Placid, sprint time trial photos

    From September 10th through September 21st, the skiing portion of the GRP was in Lake Placid, NY for a training camp with our peers from other training groups around the country and the US Ski Team.

    I’m not going to attempt to summarize the camp here, because chances are that if you’re interested in our day-to-day workout routines, you’ll probably have read the Fasterskier articles and followed USSA on Facebook to find pictures and other “workout stories.” We did bounding intervals, rollerski speeds and easy distance workouts, a sprint rollerski time trial, and quite a number of other sessions. And the notorious Climb to the Castle rollerski race, which I would say went moderately well to very well for most members of the GRP.  (Go to this link: http://nysefxcski.blogspot.com/2012/09/climb-to-castle-2012-race-coverage-and.html for results if you’re interested.)

    Here are a few pictures of the GRP guys (and others) from the classic sprint last Thursday, since I decided that watching and snapping pictures was somewhat more interesting than a long cool down.  We woke up to a cold morning but the sun was bright and faintly warm by the start of the qualifiers. The women tended to be conservative on the fast downhills of the Lake Placid jump complex course, instead using the flats and uphill sections to make decisive moves during the heats. The men flew around the corners and down the hills without hesitation, and then powered up the hills too. Fortunately there didn’t seem to be any crashes during the qualifiers or heats, for men or women. The camp was an excellent experience, a nice chance for comparison, competition, and just plain hard training. And some movies, team dinners, card games, strength competitions, and hours lounging on the sun porch at our Lake Placid rental house too.

    Lactate testing after the women's finals with Whitcomb and Pepper

    Lactate testing after the women's finals with coaches Whitcomb and Pepper

    From right to left: Pat, Eric Packer, Dylan, Alex, Gordon, (Bryan's shadow)

    From right to left: Pat, Eric Packer, Dylan, Alex, Gordon, (Bryan's shadow)

    The same heat, climbing the first hill

    The same heat, climbing the first hill

    Cornering: In control, or not quite?

    Cornering: In control, or not quite?

    Pat leading around the downhill corner

    Pat leading around the downhill corner

    Andy Newell leading a heat towards the finish

    Andy Newell leading a heat towards the finish

    Pat leading over the crest of the hill

    Pat leading over the crest of the hill

    Starting

    Nils and his heat just after the start

    Ida and Annie Hart cooling down after the sprint

    Ida and Annie Hart (in the distance) cooling down after the sprint. The fall colors were actually quite vibrant in NY by the time we left, though this picture doesn't do them justice.

    Alex gapping Tim and Gordon

    Alex gapping Tim and Gordon

    Tim, Gordon, Dylan, Nils

    Tim, Gordon, Dylan, Nils

    Alex leading up the last hill, with the aerials pools in the background

    Alex leading up the last hill, with the aerials pools in the background

    Pepa cheering on the heat of 5 GRP skiers + Sylvan

    Pepa cheering on the heat of 5 GRP skiers + Sylvan

    Bryan vs. Tad Elliott

    Bryan vs. Tad Elliott

  • Sprint Performance By Length (Con’t)

    Continuing on from last time, we’ll single out a handful of skiers who appear to do significantly better in shorter sprint courses. Same methodology as before led me to pluck out the following three skiers:

    In general, the effects in this direction tended to be weaker and less dramatic, even at the extreme ends of the distribution. Speculating wildly, I’d venture a guess that given the endurance characteristics in skiing, you’re just more likely to have people with skill sets that lend themselves toward longer distances, all things being equal.

    Manificat isn’t necessarily known for his sprinting, but he seems to have done better (in qualification, at the very least) on sprint courses closer to 1km. I find that kind of interesting because I generally think of him as being stronger in longer distance races (i.e. 30km+) though I haven’t looked at any data to check that.

    It’s tempting to dismiss Simonlater’s trend as being the result of those three shorter races. But even if you exclude them, you can see a fairly abrupt break in performance right at 1.4km. It’s verging on being a step function, rather than a continuous change. Weibel’s trend is the most marginal, in my view.

    Related posts:

    1. <Skiing Performance and Age
    2. <Trends In US Skiing Performance: Sprint
    3. <Liz Stephen’s Distance Preferences


  • NH and Mt Washington Pics

     One of the killer aspects of our lodging in NH.  A full on tramp room!  Owner Nick Preston is a top dog freestyle coach out of Waterville Valley and has a training center at his Mountain Fare Inn.  Suzi his wife made us a massive and tasty nordie sized breakfast before our 13mi hike.  If it filled up the boys there was plenty of food for all!
     The boys about 1/2 way up just clearing tree line.
     The famous Cog.  I really wish I could have taken that down!  Keeping up with Jack “Mountain Goat” Elder and Gino ” Big Horn Sheep” Pastore was a futile effort of tripping, slipping and torn up leg muscles! 
     The top at 6288feet, pretty high for the east! It was 60’s at the bottom 30’s at the top with ice blowing off the towers.
     Hamish went minimal…Using a shirt for hat/buff and socks for gloves.
     From the summit looking down to Wildcat Mt, Jackson NH and Maine and oh yeah the parking lot for those who drive their cars to the top.
     Heading down and across the southern Presidential Mountains Traverse.  You can see the ribbon of trail following the ridge line.
    Waiting for the van at the Highland Center Lodge in Crawford Notch, just above Bretton Woods Nordic Center.

  • Skate Intensity

    This morning I did skate threshold (sustainable pace) intensity at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic Cross Country venue. I did three by “2 laps”, which is just about 3 by 20min. The colors are beautiful right now.

    The workout went well.

    My energy was good, lap times were consistent, heart rate was in the right zone, and technique felt good (meaning there didn’t seem to be a lot of tension.)

    I like skiing on the roller ski track at Soldier Hollow because it feels like a real ski course. Skiing on roads doesn’t give you the same terrain changes.

    Thanks to Jason Cork for supporting the session. If you’re interested in a lot of video of my skiing, it’s here:

  • maintaining clear boundaries with athletes

    As a coach of T2T athletes, I rely heavily on relationship building to help engage and support athletes.  Kids this age are monsters of relationship – keyed into peers heavily and significantly connected to social environments. 

    For many years I worked as a camp director at a summer camp for kids – in that setting, fun was the primary focus – and the relationship building skills of my staff was something that we really worked on – we wanted kids to feel safe, to grow and learn, and to have fun.  To do all of these things, we needed to establish clear boundaries and expectations about things like roles, routines, and social expectations.  In coaching the need for clear expectations is also helpful.

    Think about engaging T2T athletes in a conversation about your expectations of them, and their expectations of you.  Then going on to talk about creating some social norms by engaging kids in a conversation about what should be normal.  Then further, going on to thnking about what should happen if norms and expectations are not met.  In our coach training, as part of the new NCCP coaching programs, we are asked as coaches to adhere to a set of ethical conduct guidelines.  This is nice starting place.  But to really create a culture where kids feel safe and can flourish, there is a need to do a bit more than that. 

    This year, in my role as lead coach with our club’s Train to Train 1 and 2 groups, I plan to do this – to make time for a conversation early in the fall training season to talk about what we want our team to be, how we can help each other be our best – to talk about what kids can expect from me and our team of coaches, and to hear what kids expect of me, and for them to have an opportunity to share what they expect of themselves and what I can expect from them.

    These things are all pretty simple things to do – but in a world where we have lots of demands on our time and only so much time to use on physical and technical training it really can be a challenge to find the right time and the right amount of time.  For me, a cold, rainy practice is a perfect time for this 10-15 minutes discussion, maybe while we are stretching.

    CCC recently included a great article which got me thinking about boundaries and how I go about setting appropriate boundaries. http://www.cccski.com/Programs/Women-on-Skis/Useful-Links/Power-and-Ethics-in-Coaching.aspx  This article got me thinking that I should address these things as part of our parent/athlete meeting early in the season.

    For me, the balance is around maintaining an approprate coach-athlete relationship with maintaining an environment that is full of fun, socially engaging for kids, where the coach-athlete relationship is a key positive factor in giving kids another reason to come to practice and to do the at home workouts that are part of their training program.  The reality is that kids need to be self motivated – but the fact is that very few kids are highly self driven at 12 or 13 years of age – most participate because its fun and because they have a positive, social peer group doing something they enjoy.  It is important to remember that as coaches, we have a huge impact on the culture that gets created in the teams that we lead. What the culture looks like will be different with every coach and group of kids.  I have come to realize that for me as a coach, its important to be freindly, fun, approachable, and supportive/caring, where athletes know I have high expectations of their capabilities and where athletes are challenged to be their best.

  • Day Trip to Cody

    On Wednesday morning we took a trip down to Cody to 1) get some intensity in where the air is a little richer, and 2) check out the town!  We started out with some DP drills to get warmed up for 3x (3km @ :30 on, :30 off DP).

    Ryan from MWSC:

    Brendan (MWSC):

    Sam is getting the hang of it!  (Sam watching me blog this: “Whoa my poles are bending!”)

    Sadie heading out for intervals.  We skied a flat, nice path around Beck Lake and the city reservoir on the South side of Cody.

    Marcello:

    Kam (MWSC) coming through the lap:

    Sadie getting “poked”.  The goal of the workout was to average a threshold pace by alternating a 5k and an easy pace.  This time around, Sadie was on the upper end of our target range with a 4.9 – but close enough for good work!

    Guys cooling down, before we headed into Cody and enjoyed the afternoon in town.  Then… back to the ranch for easy distance and strength.

  • Wet Training

    Today was a much needed rainy day here in Park City. The fire danger has continued to be extreme, so every bit of moisture helps. It made for a cold morning session: two and a half hour classic with a dozen ten second speeds. I managed not to get chilled, but my coach Jason Cork road a bike along with me for the session. He was shivering uncontrollably when we got back to the car. Here is some video Cork shot of the speeds:

    It was cloudy and wet all day.

    This afternoon I went for a two hour mountain bike ride. For the most part, the rain hardened the trails and made for good riding. In a couple of places it was muddy and slow. I flatted twice on the ride, once on each tire. I also got delayed by a stubborn Moose that wouldn’t get out of the middle of the trail. I spent five or ten minutes yelling at it to move.