Category: XCFeeds

SMS Dorm duty actually has many benefits. Not only do we get to tell kids to clean their rooms, just like my parents would do to me, but during the study hall time I can make some videos. Here is the latest from the SMS DEVO group workout last Saturday. After getting a private lesson with an SMS skier the devo kids worked on skate skills and then switched to running gear. It was a cool sample of what the older SMS skiers do nearly every weekend for their OD training.br /object width=”320″ height=”266″ class=”BLOG_video_class” id=”BLOG_video-facdfb2e63d2fb7b” classid=”clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000″ codebase=”http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0″param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/get_player”param name=”bgcolor” value=”#FFFFFF”param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true”param name=”flashvars” value=”flvurl=http%3A%2F%2Fv24.nonxt2.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3Dfacdfb2e63d2fb7b%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1293305944%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3D5079477A3EA6D1F713B633F4638533B6FD2F86B2.B5DD73EA549427F3548928C62EC9D3476826500%26key%3Dck1amp;iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3Dfacdfb2e63d2fb7b%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DmNxMx6xxQExNlAVj9RRoJbCrIcUamp;autoplay=0amp;ps=blogger”embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/get_player” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash”width=”320″ height=”266″ bgcolor=”#FFFFFF”flashvars=”flvurl=http%3A%2F%2Fv24.nonxt2.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3Dfacdfb2e63d2fb7b%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1293305944%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3D5079477A3EA6D1F713B633F4638533B6FD2F86B2.B5DD73EA549427F3548928C62EC9D3476826500%26key%3Dck1iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3Dfacdfb2e63d2fb7b%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DmNxMx6xxQExNlAVj9RRoJbCrIcUautoplay=0ps=blogger”allowFullScreen=”true” //objectdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-4015104570533822805?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

The snow in the mountains has been teasing us….there’s a nice dusting although there hasn’t been enough to nordic ski just yet. As the dusting has crept its way down, so has our rollerskiing. Not the intensity or duration– just the altitude, so we can use the least icy roads! Here is a 4x(45″, 60″, 90″ L5 double poling) workout we did yesterday in the former gravel pit.For my relatives who

The snow in the mountains has been teasing us….there’s a nice dusting although there hasn’t been enough to nordic ski just yet. As the dusting has crept its way down, so has our rollerskiing. Not the intensity or duration– just the altitude, so we can use the least icy roads! Here is a 4x(45″, 60″, 90″ L5 double poling) workout we did yesterday in the former gravel pit.For my relatives who

The snow in the mountains has been teasing us….there’s a nice dusting although there hasn’t been enough to nordic ski just yet. As the dusting has crept its way down, so has our rollerskiing. Not the intensity or duration– just the altitude, so we can use the least icy roads! Here is a 4x(45″, 60″, 90″ L5 double poling) workout we did yesterday in the former gravel pit.For my relatives who

The snow in the mountains has been teasing us….there’s a nice dusting although there hasn’t been enough to nordic ski just yet. As the dusting has crept its way down, so has our rollerskiing. Not the intensity or duration– just the altitude, so we can use the least icy roads! Here is a 4x(45″, 60″, 90″ L5 double poling) workout we did yesterday in the former gravel pit.For my relatives who

I have thankfully received several wonderful gifts in the last week.  Today they made me a real happy camper.

Nothing takes the chill off after a cold wet workout like a big crock-pot of Chilli. Thanks Barry for this 6.5 liter beast.

I 

I don't mind training in the rain, but starting the workout in wet boots is a real drag. Kuz and I have this boot dryer from Kuan running around the clock. I have done the crumpled newspaper for years, but this is the way to go. You're the man Kuan.

Kuan and Barry came across the ‘Wish List‘ here on xcSkiLife.com.  These are things that I consider luxuries but that would make the life of a ski racer a little bit easier and more comfortable.  Thank You.  It was fantastic taking the cornbread out of the over last night with out burning my hands (we used to just use a dish towel). Thanks again Kuan and Barry.

This is the sprinting version of my earlier post looking at some of the best young distance skiers on the World Cup circuit last season.  The methodology here is basically the same.  I’ve set an age cutoff of 24, I’m only considering skiers who did at least four major international (i.e. WC, OWG, TDS) sprint races last season and only those sprint races are included (so no sprint races from OPA Cups, Scandinavian Cups, etc.).

The major difference between this and the post looking at distance skiers is that using FIS points isn’t so useful anymore.  Since we’re looking just at major competitions, I think just the rank (1st, 2nd, etc.) in each race should be sufficient to a good picture.

The graphs are below the fold…

As I mentioned, the x axis here is rank, so for instance, Hanna Falk’s average finish from her four best sprint races (on the WC) last season was around 4th.  The error bars are calculated using the same methodology as before, which is outlined here.  Since I modified the same script, the North Americans will appear highlighted in red (US) or blue (CAN).

Petter Northug appears again as a “young” skier, which he is, of course, but we might be more interested in the lesser well-known skiers. Alexander Panzhinskiy and Tim Tscharnke are two of the youngest men on this list.  Panzhinskiy, of course, managed a silver medal in Vancouver this year, but he had a stellar season in general, with five other top ten finishes in sprint races.  Glancing at his results, it seems like he might be a bit of a classic specialist.

From a statistical point of view, I’m intrigued by the “gap” that seems to appear between the top eight men and the rest.  I’m not sure I’d read much into that, but it’s curious, at least.

Hanna Falk leads the way on the women’s side, thanks to a couple of victories early in the season.  She didn’t have a great sprint race at the Olympics, unfortunately, finishing 29th.  Maybe she’ll have better luck this year in Oslo…

I’d also note that there are more younger women here than on the men’s side, which mirrors what I’ve seen in the data in general.  Namely, that you’re more likely to see fast female 20-22 year olds on the World Cup and men of the same age.

Related posts:

1. <Most Improved: Men’s Sprint
2. <Most Improved: Women’s Sprint
3. <Most Unimproved: Men’s Sprint

div style=”text-align: left;”This period of the season is my favorite part of the entire year of training. With the combination of the cold weather, the snow in the mountains, and the building anticipation for the racing season quickly approaching us- there is no way to show up or leave training without unusually high levels of energy. I am beginning to get the feeling that every single workout I am putting in is directly effecting how hard I will be able to push over the steepest hills throughout the season.br //divdiv style=”text-align: left;”br //divdivThings are shifting here in Alaska. Starting a couple weeks ago- we drive to training in the dark and do our warm-up in the dark, but we are lucky enough to be doing the true “work” just as the sun rises over the mountains! It sure makes for some awesome views as we speed through the icy streets and trails of Anchorage./divdivbr //divdivThe past month and a half I have been able to shift back into lots of foot workouts. It has been great to do some exploring on foot over the weekends, and to mix up the rollerskiing throughout the week. Last week I decided to put one of my “alpine” friends through some pain and brought him on an OD over the weekend up to Symphony Lakes and the surrounding peaks in Eagle River. It turned into quite the adventure :)/divdivbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;” Symphony Lakes Below.. and lots of white mountains that I wish I knew the names of!/span/divdivbr //divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TMhJZikcp7I/AAAAAAAAAcs/NdsfySeGt2Q/s1600/symphny+2.jpg”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TMhJZikcp7I/AAAAAAAAAcs/NdsfySeGt2Q/s320/symphny+2.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532752845349889970″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 162px; ” //a/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TMhJickpSFI/AAAAAAAAAc0/MubknFDVQbk/s1600/ice.jpg”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/TMhJickpSFI/AAAAAAAAAc0/MubknFDVQbk/s320/ice.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532752998358927442″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”I am screaming because the ice just dropped and broke right under my feet!/span/divdivbr //divdivWe also had TT’s last week just to test the body and get it used to “racing”. Though maybe a bit rustic, I was happy with where I am right now. The first day consisted of a sprint day simulation. With a team of 6 or 7 of the top skiers in the US, this simulation is quite accurate… it truly resembles a race! The next day we did a 35 min Hill Climb skating from the ocean to one of the highest access roads in Anchorage. In the past, I would have normally despised a race like this, as who wants to put your head down and climb to the peaks, but I actually enjoyed it.!! I have a video posted below that Erik took near the top of the climb. Check out the sweet houses and view in the background!/divdivbr //divdivspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=” white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:-webkit-monospace;font-size:12px;”object width=”640″ height=”385″param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/qPD06LPxlX0?fs=1amp;hl=en_US”param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/qPD06LPxlX0?fs=1amp;hl=en_US” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”640″ height=”385″/embed/object/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”It’s hard to tell because everyone is wearing pink and blue. But I am wearing blue tights, pink shirt, white helmet and white boots. /spanbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdivbr //divdiv3 more weeks until departure for the season….. YEAHHH!br //divdivUntil then…. topping ‘er off!/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2018521813175454198-2928077285879069817?l=sadiebjornsen.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

With snowy mountains in the horizon and the days down to the single digits before I’m waking up to stride-and-glide most every morning, my power training has been changing with the season. And while Mr. Hazle or Karl Erickson or Mustafa might call into question my defining this as “power,” the time has come for me as a more endurance-oriented athlete to turn gains in the squat and clean into something I can use in the ski tracks. If you got a minute, check it out …