Category: XCFeeds
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It’s Not Supposed to be Easy
It’s Not Supposed to be Easybr /br /Today my wife, Dani, and I hiked along Tumalo Creek on the North Fork Trail. It is, aside from the mosquitoes, a very nice trail. It winds up the valley that channels the creek over multiple waterfalls and green, misty grottos. Beautiful place. As we ascended into big, old growth trees I was drawn to gaze up a particularly massive trunk and saw, about 50 feet up that the old monster had seen its share of battles. The straight trunk was bent and it was split into a double top. This was the result of some sort of trauma, an ice storm, a fire, a lightning strike. Maybe there had been another tree that was toppled into it, then fell and decomposed becoming the next generation of trees. Standing there I could not tell what had caused it, but it was pretty clear that this living thing was a survivor. As I pondered this individual specimen I started to notice a lot of other beauties that had learned to survive in this harsh ecosystem. br /br /The soil is a sandy, volcanic stuff that is not filled with nutrients. Yet on the steep banks were colorful wild flowers eking out an existence where no self respecting house plant would live. This set my wandering mind on to more examples of how difficult life really is. br /br /For just a moment I thought about Mozart. Gifted genius that he was he struggled to make living. People were quick with adulation, but tight with payment. For him, life proved to be extremely hard and he was unable to figure out a way to make the living he and his wife wanted. He worked very hard and, sadly, he died at age 36. I thought about a pride of lions. No one brings their food to them. They have to get up and run and hunt in cooperation with each other. If they are fast and smart and work together they take down the wildebeest and eat. Then from the wildebeest point of view, they only survive if they are fast enough and alert enough to avoid the lions. Not easy for prey or predator. br /br /Athletes who win world championships or World Cup races don’t do it “off the couch”. Whether it is Andre Agassi, or Bill Demong, or Dustin Pedroia or that local girl who wins the state cross country running title, they take natural talent and add a gigantic dose of hard work and get the job done. br /br /When I was a young adult I once worked with a stone mason, an old Englishman with whom no one else wanted to work. They guy would start the job early and work late. He was slow and demanded “perfection”. To this day his stone walls, fireplaces, chimneys and patios draw exclamations of praise. He never lacked for work. br /br /Here is my point. As a former teacher and constant observer I have often encountered people who just seem to want life to be handed to them. They want a fun profession that is dropped into their laps. How often have I heard (and here you can imagine whining sounds with the text ) “The assignment is too hard.” “I don’t feel like going to practice; I’ too tired.” “ I don’t want to get a summer job. I want to have fun with my friends.” “ I have to get up at 7:00? That’s not fair!” br /br /My wife (who works as hard or harder than I do) says that my attitude is the result of my “New England Puritan” roots. Could be, and while I am no Puritan and do not admire their practices in the early slave trade or treatment of American Indians, they did understand that life was not easy. I don’t think it is supposed to be easy. We get stronger from struggle and smarter from problem solving. That makes the things we make or do better. Better houses, better bikes, better kayaks, better freshly made scones. br /br /Whew! Time for a rest. Time to put my feet up and have a beer. All I have to do is walk to the fridge and open one. So easy. Oh yeah, I remember; my wife brewed the beer.br /br /Have a good one,br /br /Bertdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6589659500745667109-3746757201383790363?l=www.webskis.com%2Fwebskisblog.html’ alt=” //div
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Report From JUOM Operative:Snow Farm
a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n7a3IKFYbqU/SlkNfwu0o_I/AAAAAAAACNE/ZxaGRzoReSw/s1600-h/New+Zealand+09+Snow+Farm+7-11+033.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_n7a3IKFYbqU/SlkNfwu0o_I/AAAAAAAACNE/ZxaGRzoReSw/s400/New+Zealand+09+Snow+Farm+7-11+033.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357328071042311154″ //aRemember do not be jealous if someone is getting a good deal. Applaud it. br /divThis a a picture taken span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-style: italic;”today/span at the Snow Farm in New Zealand by an operative on site. I am here in Sunny(above the THUNDERCLOUDS) Lake Placid. Recovering from a US National Championship (Summer Running Biathlon)that I only hit 1 prone shot in. At least there is tomorrow. divFor now I have to live vicariously through my operative enjoying the Best grooming in the Universe./div/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6647112093689702615-7061308093984194473?l=www.jackedupoldman.com’//div
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Summertime?
The calendar tells me it is summertime, and it seems our athletes and coaches are training and traveling somewhere new every week. Since our camps concluded last week, I’ve been back to my usual schedule working with the Mt Mansfield Club up in Jericho on Tuesdays/Thursdays. One highlight from our GMVS training this past week was a workout on the track at Harwood High School.br /br /GMVS-Alum and Middlebury sophomore Noah Brautigam joined Devlin and Kaitlin for L3 intervals on Wednesday morning. The idea was to get a high-quality threshold workout that I could closely monitor. It can be difficult to keep track of a large group, especially out on the trails or when everybody is skiing with wheels that are different speeds. But the track takes lots of variables out of the equation so the athletes and I can monitor pace, HR’s, lactates, and feeling. In addition, the track is good for some leg speed (even at L3 pace) — especially considering how hilly the terrain is around Waitsfield.br /br /Dev and Kaitlin knocked out 3 x 1-mile repeats, while Noah completed 4 x 2000 meter repeats. Pacing and lactates were pretty dialed in, just as one hopes for when running on the track. It is a great tool for developing athletes, since they can lock-in on a certain pace or intensity, and really get to know the feeling of different outputs.br /br /We’ve got some sun this weekend, and I’m going to go check out the XTERRA events over at Sugarbush. Sabra Davison is running the 20km trail race today (along with GMVS/Middlebury-Alum Robyn Anderson). Tomorrow, I’ll root for SMS Coach Boobar to beat all the other endurance-weenies in the triathlon. Hopefully nobody drowns in the pools of mud out there!div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1847564486460994594-5423903956944933036?l=gmvsxc.blogspot.com’//div
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Almost done… Well done.
I have to be honest. I’m not really in the mood to blog. I’m tired. That’s one thing about training… it makes you tired. But the end of the camp is near and I’ve only got a few more hours of skating left before some down time. It’s been an awesome week here in Jericho. There’s been a lot of activity at the range and it was nice to get some help from the Guard program throughout the workouts. Thanks to Sarah, Travis, and Jesse for making things go smoothly this week.
For those of you out there wondering how the Blog Off is going, don’t worry – things are moving along nicely: I’m winning.
Let’s see. What else… How about a survey? I’ll see if I can get this “poll” thing to work. If not, I apologize and I’ll try to have something up soon.
Cheers,
LB
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Refining the Quiver
As full-time athletes we have an often monolithic focus on our physical training and improvements. We get stronger and faster in the hope that our prowess in those areas will dictate our success. And though these factors may be primary, it is often necessary for us to look to our tools to ensure they also are performing at the highest level possible.br /br /This past week the MOD Squad spent a pizza-filled evening with Project sponsor Rita Kenny at Winthrop Mountain Sports where we used her pressure-testing apparatus to check the compatibility of our skis to ourselves. This turned out to be a very worthwhile endeavor as each of us have either grown out of many of our current skis or have been skiing and racing on skis which are ill-picked for us. It also became a very useful exercise in discussing the composition of a race ski and what makes one wicked fast.br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SlfLP3N8r-I/AAAAAAAAALg/kMwn8w34Gag/s1600-h/SkiTesting_Rita_June09.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SlfLP3N8r-I/AAAAAAAAALg/kMwn8w34Gag/s320/SkiTesting_Rita_June09.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356973755161423842″ border=”0″ //abr /span style=”font-style: italic;”Finding yet another pair of skis to swap out…br //span/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2910103639238326543-3305718720178181213?l=methowolympicdevelopment.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
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Silver Star… 8,876 vertical feet
div style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: left;”Last weekend Sam, Jaime, Midge, Scott, Allen Watson, and I went on a 7.5 hr. mountain adventure. Different than most weekend over-distance workouts, we brought out the cramp ons, ropes, harnesses and ice axes. After beginning with a 3.5 hr climb up through the trees and into the gully we started our true mountaineering excitement. Roping in and belaying down the steep snow slope, we rounded the mountain and headed up the glacier on the north side of the Silver Star. The last part of the climb was an hour scramble up the rocks to the summit. The summit was a rock only large enough for the three of us, Sam, Jaime and I to sit and uncomfortably clutch on. Jaime and I were brave enough to stand up for less than a second, but quickly sat back down suddenly feeling how exposed we were. After taking in the views of all the surrounding mountains and planning our next adventure, we ate some food, hydrated and headed back down. The highlight of our decent was glissading down the glacier. The six of us sat down and ripped down the snow field, snow flying everywhere experiencing true mountain sledding. The last couple of hours was steep downhill hiking, reminding our legs what they were meant for. It was a great adventure, and just a warm up for Mt. Adams which we will be climbing at the PNSA camp in Trout Lake next week.br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SletTBh2W2I/AAAAAAAAAF8/3P9F4ZuJW3A/s1600-h/IMG_1218.JPG”img src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SletTBh2W2I/AAAAAAAAAF8/3P9F4ZuJW3A/s320/IMG_1218.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356940824120023906″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”text-decoration: underline; “Sadie, Jaime and Sam/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SletrbTSUjI/AAAAAAAAAGE/8EgYwjZeZ_w/s1600-h/IMG_1221.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SletrbTSUjI/AAAAAAAAAGE/8EgYwjZeZ_w/s320/IMG_1221.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356941243355124274″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px; ” //a/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=””span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”text-decoration: underline;”Scott /spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”text-decoration: underline;”belaying/spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”text-decoration: underline;” Sadie down the top steep section of the snow field/span/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”text-decoration: underline;”br //span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: rgb(0, 0, 0); “a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SleuG5cOPeI/AAAAAAAAAGM/BxsNEcYA82w/s1600-h/IMG_1228.JPG”img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SleuG5cOPeI/AAAAAAAAAGM/BxsNEcYA82w/s320/IMG_1228.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356941715302137314″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/span/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”text-decoration: underline;”Sam kicking in steps for the rest of the group near the top of the snow field/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”text-decoration: underline;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/Sleui2L6O7I/AAAAAAAAAGU/c1VDSQ5Ncao/s1600-h/IMG_1232.JPG”img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/Sleui2L6O7I/AAAAAAAAAGU/c1VDSQ5Ncao/s320/IMG_1232.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356942195464747954″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”Jaime, Sadie and Sam on the top of Silver Star/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SlevjoUeOMI/AAAAAAAAAGk/t4WtVyGr7Gk/s1600-h/IMG_1234.JPG”img src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SlevjoUeOMI/AAAAAAAAAGk/t4WtVyGr7Gk/s320/IMG_1234.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356943308434061506″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”Sadie standing up on the top for a brief second…. SCARED!/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SlevFn-Qg0I/AAAAAAAAAGc/l-rA-3FLsz0/s1600-h/IMG_1237.JPG”img src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/SlevFn-Qg0I/AAAAAAAAAGc/l-rA-3FLsz0/s320/IMG_1237.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356942792944812866″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”Jaime down climbing the rock section/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2910103639238326543-619735636311043212?l=methowolympicdevelopment.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
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Taste-of-Alaska Double Pole Intervals
What could be more Alaskan than getting to watch the progress of someone butchering a moose on the side of the road while doing double pole intervals?
When we arrived at Ballaine Lake at 8 this morning, there were flashing lights from a cop car up the hill on Farmer’s Loop. Routine traffic stop? Flares to mark a broken down car? Nope, just a dead moose on the side of the road after an unfortunate vehicular collision.
Fortunately for the athletes, the downhill turn of the recovery loop from both our specific strength repeats and DP intervals passed right by that point so they got to watch as knives, power saws and the works were produced from a trio of pick-up trucks to divvy up the ungulate into guts and good-eating. By the time I rolled past at the end of practice, there was nothing but a pile of giant organs left to be cleaned up.
Unfortunately for you, I didn’t bring my camera today, so instead I will share some pictures from yesterday’s speed and agility session (which, by the by, is far more photogenic).
Occasionally someone misses an obstacle
Occasionally a piece of the course goes along for the ride
The smoke rolled back in for the evening just as we finished
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Sunny Weather Goes Up In Smoke
As I was biking home from work today, my lungs were burning, my eyes were squinting, and my nostrils were flaring. Was I hammering? Nope, I was inhaling the smoke that has descended over Anchorage in the past few days. Here’s a cool map that shows the smoke.
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JUOM Wannabees
a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n7a3IKFYbqU/SlU4r5ZqkhI/AAAAAAAACM8/BzXs77wcx2w/s1600-h/Juom.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_n7a3IKFYbqU/SlU4r5ZqkhI/AAAAAAAACM8/BzXs77wcx2w/s400/Juom.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356249658621071890″ //aThese two fine young lads were found running up Mount Marcy in the High Peaks Region near Lake Placid, NY. They may represent the future generation of JackedUp Old Men, and Real JackedUp Old Men such as Jon Engen. But right now they are young men aspiring to make the next US Biathlon Olympic Team.divYes, they probably have heard some of the the legends of a Young Jacked Up Man who made all the High Peaks in NYS higher by carrying backpacks of rocks to their respective summits, Hopped up Algonquin on his right foot and down on his left. Climbed Algonquin one day barefoot, after a DEC Ranger said he could not climb it in sneakers( not acceptable foot gear). Carried, dragged pine trees while hiking/running with slower people. /divdivTake notice they are not muddy cut up or bruised. They have small rocks hefted over their heads. (To small to get an adequate training response actually)/divdiv Even they are young enough to be my children or even grandchildren. They are also some of my fiercest competition for the Olympic spots./divdivThis I pointed out to my scouts who MMS me that JUOM CLASSIFIED picture while I was recovering from my am workout at work. /divdivMy scouts reported that they were “Wimpy” and furthermore after seeing these not muddy aspiring Biathletes in action with their small rocks that I could take the take the evening off and rest confidently. /divdivLet me tell you IT will never be EASY..Those guys are tough. /divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6647112093689702615-3972103231104196655?l=www.jackedupoldman.com’//div
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Blog Off!
Jeremy Scott Teela: A noble adversary
It’s official: The Blog War has begun! Today I was informed by my teammate Jeremy that my blogging skills suck. Although I agree with him, I’m a competitive person and not one to back down from a challenge…. So, I’m in. And the terms:
Hmmm. Let’s leave it up to you, the viewers. We could go by “number of website hits” but then I know that Jeremy would just click on his own site a thousand times a day and throw the numbers off. So maybe we should go with best comments posted by viewers other than ourselves. What do you think JT? And who will judge? Maybe we’ll bring a third-party intermediary.
I admit, right now, the odds aren’t looking good for Buck. JT’s fashioned up quite the site. He’s got a lot of media stuff on there. I don’t have Twitting, 1080ip 9er 9er, little images that turn into bigger ones, and I just referred to myself in the third person (not sure if that is a plus or minus). Anyone know how to post images that will get bigger if you click on them?
For now, I’m going to sit in the peloton, bide my time and wait for the later stages. This is going to be a long and drawn out battle between two of the greatest blogging minds of our modern times. A test where the winner will reap the benefits of fame and fortune, international noteriety, and tens of webpage hits, while the loser will be left to clean up the broken pieces of a shattered blogspace. It’s on.
![](http://fairbankscrosscountry.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/dsc04290.jpg" "dsc04290")
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![Occasionally a piece of the course goes along for the ride](http://fairbankscrosscountry.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/dsc04329.jpg" "dsc04329")
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![The smoke rolled back in for the evening just as we finished](http://fairbankscrosscountry.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/dsc04334.jpg" "dsc04334")
![A noble adversary](http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee164/lowellcbailey/Webposts/P7070250.jpg" "JT")
