FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

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

  • Miss Riley Wins NYS HS Champs at Least One Douglas can Podium these Days

    Coach Gardner “At Least one Douglas can do something this season”
    Watch out World
    the JackedUp replacement is coming

  • Getting into Utah

    Last night the GMVS crew flew out to Utah to get ready for Junior Nationals in Soldier Hollow, Utah. It was a special year for us because all of our skiers qualified for the event.  We’ll miss Heidi who is racing in the next few weeks in Norway and Ryley who has moved out to Bozeman to live with his brother and explore the Bridger Mountains.
    Before I get into Utah I have to show off the awesome snow we are getting back home — after a “winter without snowbanks” — it is refreshing to see the season take hold.  Last Saturday I ventured up on the Long Trail and the ridge to explore some new terrain and see what the snowpack was like atop the Greens.  We were greeted with drifting snow that was over wait deep in many places and after several attempts we found some amazing open, deep and untouched snow to descend back into the valley.
    So Utah … the goal of getting out here early is mainly to acclimate to the altitude and spread out travel from the competition which begins next week.  Another goal is to expose the kids to a new landscape and learn a little bit about a new part of the world.  Salt Lake City is a unique place because of its large population and close proximity to the Wasatch Mountains.  You literally drive to the edge of the city and are in the foothills of large mountains that rise to steeply to inhabit.  It’s quite an ecotone — pavement to grassland.  The steep foothills offer a great vista over the city and the Great Salt Lake.  As I snuck among the ridges and reflected upon past trips to this area I spooked a nice little herd of mule deer grazing quite close to the University of Utah “U.”
    Looking south towards the Cottonwood Canyons, human and animal trails traverse the steep slopes of the foothills and beckon you to keep exploring around the next bend.  The City in the valley below presses right up to the mountains and leaves little land undeveloped.
    At the base of one of the canyons I found a small structure that was hidden in a grove of trees — its sturdy design seemed to lend to something between a child’s fort and a shelter for a hobo looking for refuge in the hills.
    Evan’s not with us on this trip so I thought I would send some geology back home for him — this particular area we explored is named Limekiln Gulch after a historic limekiln that has been preserved by the University.  Limekilns are essentially large fireplaces that heat Limestone to remove water and carbon dioxide in order to make lime — a key ingredient for cement — which was used in the construction of the city itself. 
    Looking down to one of the Bonneville trailheads you can see how far man has pushed into the hills.  The limekiln is just out of sight to the right of the picture. 
    Looking up the ridge towards the Wasatch hidden in the clouds. 

    Kaitlin takes in a bit of history.
    A steep trail descending from the limekiln is littered with lime rich debris.

    Here is my best guess at the before and after product of the limekiln process.  The limestone on the left  is turned into a chalky version of itself after intense heating, right.  A neat piece of history, the original block “U”, was made from debris from this kiln much like what I am holding in my hand.
    How’d I do Evan?

    The gang getting a healthy post workout meal at Wholefoods.  MK, Kaitlin, Kaitlin Fink (joining us from Burke), Hans and Devlin are all new to the area and were psyched to get the lay of the land from above.  We had our last hard interval session in Vermont yesterday and they are napping as we speak — getting great prep for the races.  Tomorrow we are going to meet up with Matt Johnson and his TUNA group to do a workout.  Then we head up to Heber.
    Stay posted it’s going to be a great week!

  • In The mid-90′s Second Place Was Different: Follow-Up

    Given the comments on my last post, I thought I’d verify things by altering the second graph to display the race type:

    Now the difference is very clear. I’ve combined the mass start and pursuit races into just one category (Mass). So clearly for the men the story here is different race tactics in mass start events.

    I’m still curious, though, at why in the 90′s the men’s races saw a high degree of consistency in the margin between 1st and 2nd in interval start races, while the women saw less. Specifically, what we’re seeing here is that in the 90′s the gap between the 1st and 2nd woman in an interval start race was much more likely to be close than it was in a men’s interval start race.

    That, I suppose, would more plausibly be related to the particulars of the fields at that time, or as one of my commenters pointed out the presence of Björn Daehlie (and Smirnov) whereas the women’s side didn’t have anyone quite so dominant. My recollection was that some of the Russian women were pretty darn dominant at that time, but maybe not as much as I’d remembered.

    Related posts:

    1. <Week In Review: Friday Mar 25th
    2. <How Often Do Ties Occur?
    3. <World Cup Field Strength Follow-Up


  • U23 Worlds Skiathlon Women

    Direct link: CLICK HERE

  • Ruhpoding World Champs

    I am now in Ruhpolding, Germany for the start of World Championships.  My racing will begin tomorrow with the mixed relay and I am hoping to race five more times over the next 10 days.  This will definitely be a … Continue reading →

  • Looking back and looking ahead

    Oh, hey stranger.  Haven’t seen you in a while.  I haven’t been hanging out here in blogland.  No real adventures so far this winter.  But there are a few things afoot that are worth mentioning, so I decided to check back in.

    2011 White Mountains 100

    First of all, I recently noticed that I never posted my race report from last year’s White Mountains 100 race.  I remember jotting down lots of race details shortly after the race.  But the story was kind of dry and boring.  I wanted to work on it some more, so I set it aside…and completely forgot about it.  But I recently rediscovered it, and I guess it is worth posting even in its current state. So for what it is worth… here it is, eleven months late.

    2012 White Mountains 100

    Yeah, so in that aforementioned race report, you might notice that I said that I would definitely be back to do the WM100 again, but definitely not this year.  And I was definitely quite definite of that.  But yet somehow I find my name on this list.  Whoops.  Long story short, my brother-in-law (I guess technically he’s not my brother-in-law, he is my wife’s sister’s husband, but that takes too much effort to explain.) expressed some interest in the race.  I encouraged him to do it, and in a moment of weakness I even said I’d do it again if he did it.  Of course, I was thinking that with a lottery to enter the WM100 this year, there was no way we’d both get in.  So it would be a pretty easy commitment to back out of.

    His name is Lou.  He is #49 on that roster list.  Somehow we both got in. My plans to sit around and eat bon bons all winter went up in smoke.

     

  • Skate Speed Day

    We’ve started off the week with two really great days of skiing on our own nordic trails.  Yesterday we did a easy distance skate ski (no pictures, coaches skied too!) and today we did a shorter skate ski where we focused on speed and skiing through transitions and varying terrain.  We’re trying to work on a smooth transition and switching techniques seamlessly.  Skyler (above) is in town for a few days and it’s always great to have him back with the team and pushing the pace.  
    Mackenzie. 
     Mac.
     Helena.
     Paddy & Gino.
     Koby & Calvin.
     Hamish & Charlie.
     Scott Mooney & Russell.
     Brooke & Katharine.
     Tyler & Corky.
     Skyler leads Paddy, Gino and a train of boys. 
     Gino.
     Charlie, Hamish, Koby, Calvin.
     Koby & Calvin.
     Mac.
     Russell and Scott.
     Mollie.
     Katharine.
     Kate.
     Tyler & Corky.
     Corky.
     Tess & Mackenzie.
     Corky & Paddy.
     Charlie & Hamish.
     Gino.
     Paddy.
     Corky & Mac.
     Tyler.
     Brooke.
     Scott & Katharine.
     Russell.
     Mackenzie & Tess.
     Mollie.
     Hamish & Gino.
     Paddy & Corky.
     Mac & Tyler.
    Calvin & Koby.

  • More pics from Turkey

    Forest sums it up well in this shot. A tough but satisfying week of racing

    Boys enter the start of the skiathlon

    After the exchange an Italian trips

    The Russians and Skar form the lead group

    Nice high forward position V2 climbing

    Boys Skiathlon start

    Umm..girls exchange some bindings open, some closed??

    The exchange

    Noah’s 2nd place flag!!

    Sadie in 5th 10k classic!!

    The Athlete tent prior to awards in the city center, filled with smog!

    Turkish podium girls

  • Amateur Hour

    I made a quick swing through Vermont on my way back from Pennsylvania to jump into a race at National Guard Biathlon Championships in Jericho this morning.  Although physically I didn’t feel that bad two plane rides and a weekend full of emotionally ridiculous family time later… mentally I was off my game.  Vacant?  perhaps.   Tired? oh yes.  more like plum tuckered the heck out!

    But what is one to do when there is racing to be had?

    So I put my big girl pants on and donned a race bib. Lucky number 10.  Since I missed the sprint on Sunday morning I got to start at the back of the women’s pursuit.  More fun for me. Lots of skiers to chase!  The field was big (especially the men’s field) but since a lot of the military men and women don’t actually get to experience much biathlon or probably see snow that often (yes you, national guard Missouri) the field was one of quantity and maybe not so much quality.  (but what they lacked in ski ability they made up for in enthusiasm)

    I went through the normal race day mode.

    Morning jog. Breakfast. Dry fire. Test skis. Pick up bib. Equipment control rifle check.  Zero. Load race clips. Warm up. Equipment control ski check.  Change into dry hat and gloves. Race.

    I went through the motions almost robotically.  I got my headband on right side up (again)! Everything seemed fine.  Until I came into shoot my first prone stage… and for some reason I remembered… I had only loaded 3 clips!  Three clips!?!?  Really!?!?  I remembered loading them and thinking, “two clips and a spare just in case…”  I had totally been on race weekend autopilot.  Sprint race mode.

    More embarassing? … One of the men waiting in the start pen with me had casually asked a team mate, “You remembered 4 clips today?”  I remember thinking to myself, “Four clips!? don’t you think that’s a bit excessive?”  Boy was I wrong.

    I managed to yell to Patrick as I left the range that I was short a clip.  …I suppose there is a first time for everything?  Oops!

    As I left the range after my second prone stage a range official handed me a loaded clip and I managed to huck my empty one off to the side of the trail as I skied back onto course.  Felt pretty foolish.  But it was good practice for me and the range crew…

    Here’s to hoping I never do that ever again!

  • Birkie Breakdown + the joys and lessons of being at home….

    I’ve started a couple of different blog posts since making the trip home from overseas but haven’t finished any of them. Whenever I would sit down to write or finish my thoughts, I was always tempted to take them in a different direction. However, the gist of the missing posts was that it’s been great to be home. 
    A quick layover in Seattle on the route home provided a chance to say “hi” to my parents! 
    I’ve done all kinds of relaxing things like hang out with my cat Buggz, get out of town for a night with my husband Rob, and cook what I want, when I want it.  It’s the small pleasures in life that you take for granted when you are home that you miss on the road. For example, I love drinking coffee and reading the paper edition of my home newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News every morning. 
    The spoiled Hellion of the house! 
    I’ve realized that it’s a challenge to find the perfect balance between time at home and time on the road. If you’re gone all the time (and I was “scheduled” to be gone for five months, Nov-April) it’s TOO long and you might start to get a bit homesick.  On the opposite extreme, if you never leave home, it’s easy for life & training to get “stale” and you might start to wonder why you work so hard – and roller ski all summer in the rain if you never get to test your fitness against the “big fish” out there.
    My somewhat abrupt trip back home has brought along overwhelming feelings of loving where I am from; the trails I train on, my house, community, friends, and family. At the same time, the distance and small break allows me to fully appreciate the experiences and the opportunities I’ve had on the road, racing in Europe.  Each side of the world is lovely in it’s own, special way and I feel extremely lucky to bounce back and forth from one continent to the other.  I have so, so many things to be thankful for.
    This season has provided a great chance to experiment and I have learned a lot about myself & my needs and desires as an athlete.  This is an “off” year in that there are no World Championships and obviously, no Olympics. Therefore, it’s a great time to try new things – learn what does and doesn’t work so that I can plan the next two years ramping up into Sochi. 
    I had a blast showing up to Anchorage High School Regions, unannounced to cheer on the APU junior athletes!  It was fun to see them skiing fast and most important, having fun doing it! 
    Of course the unexpected nature of my wrist injury and subsequent stomach bug took a unique toll on my (physical) body and mental energy.  Had I continued on the roll I was on in November and December, who knows if the pull home would have been so strong? But, having experienced a long January and February in Europe without any significant results, I came home to re-fuel, rest up, and re-energize.
    Last week Erik, my coach, sent out an article to our team the other day and included a quote by Muhammad Ali which really spoke to me:
    “Success is not achieved by winning all the time. Real success comes when we rise after we fall. Some mountains are higher than others. Some roads steeper than the next. There are hardships and setbacks but you cannot let them stop you. Even on the steepest road you must not turn back”.
    I fully agree that having overcome adversity and hardship makes the sweet times even sweeter. Like this past weekend at the Birkie!

    Racing the Birkie was not part of my original plan in my return back to the states. I needed to take one thing at a time, and make sure that I was feeling good before jumping aboard any race effort, be it the Birkie or a local race back home in Anchorage.  After a few days at home the idea entered my mind and all of a sudden it became more and more enticing.  Some of know that three years ago I competed in my first Birkie and lost the race in a lunge, photo finish at the line with Rebecca Dussault. Ever since I’ve been getting grief from my friends and I’ve wanted to come back and redeem myself. So, a couple days before the race I contacted the Birkie office and was reminded that Olympians have free entry in the Birkie for life – a fantastic perk if you ask me!
    My lunge finish from 2009 – this was good for second place….. leaving me hungry this year! 
    As it turned out, the Birkie was my first domestic race, and my first non World Cup race of the entire season.  Going back to the list of things I’ve learned this year is the fact that it’s healthy for mind and body to compete against a couple of different fields.  In World Cups, a fantastic day is top twenty and that great but there is something to be said for entering a race where you know the podium, or even the win is within reach.
    Photo, Ron Swee
    So, Rob and I used our annual Alaska Airlines companion fare ticket and flew into Minneapolis Thursday, arriving late that night in Hayward.  Friday was full of testing skis, picking up our bibs, and attending a pre-race meeting with Andy Gerlach, Salomon, and Zach Caldwell who all generously provided support for the race. (Which was absolutely fantastic & essential to my success I might add!  Thanks guys!)
    Rob felt the excitement of the “day before the Birkie” and I believe my tweet was something like, “Rob has succumb to Birkie Fever… me? My temperature is 98.6 degrees.”  Going into the race I did everything I could to remain mellow and relaxed.  The entire purpose of my trip home was R&R and I was determined not to let the race interrupt the primary goal of the trip.
    Speaking of relaxing, Rob and I SCORED on accommodations and hospitality during our stay in Wisconsin.  My good friend Hannah from Whitman College days and her family have a beautiful cabin on Round Lake, just a couple minutes outside of Hayward.  Lucky for us, Marge and Ron were already planning on spending Birkie weekend at the cabin and “wined and dined” us, cooking fabulous pre-race meals and driving us to the start line early Saturday morning. It’s always fun to meet new, fantastic people and our visit to with them was surely one of the many highlights of the weekend. Thanks you two!
    With the Swees, Ron & Marge 
    Saturday morning came fast and furious with a 5am wake up.  However, I’m not sure my body knows what time zone it’s in these days due to my heavy travel schedule.
    The women’s race started off at a manageable pace, with a large group of ladies, many of whom I’ve grown to be good friends with.  Then, after the halfway point near “OO” Caitlin Compton Gregg made a big move off the front, darting through the chaos of the feed station and the elite wave man our group had caught. I was trying to squeeze down a feed and watched her ski away from me while I was attempting to choke down my GU packet.  It took me a while to chase her down but chase her down I did. We skied together a bit before I realized that had lost the other women. I subsequently pulled up to Caitlin and told her, “We gapped em!  Let’s work together to get away and make sure our gap lasts!”  And that was exactly what we did. We skied together, each taking turns “pulling” and skiing up in front, allowing the skier behind to draft and relax.  While we are undoubtedly competitors, we are also friends and smart racers. We knew that we could work together, and secure the top two spots on the podium together if we could cooperate.  Shortly after our break we quickly skied up on Eli Brown, my freshman year college coach at Whitman.  He ended up tagging along behind us for the rest of our race, letting the men know that we were coming through. He would inform them of our presence, and then tell them which way to move. I coined him, our “guardian loudspeaker.”  If we had not had his help, we would have spent a lot of additional energy weaving our way through other skiers and communicating our presence.  (Two hundred men start ahead of us and we end up having to pass approximately 130 of them along the 52k course.) 
    Similar to three years ago, the race came down to a sprint up the Main Street of Downtown Hayward.  Just like three years ago, I rounded the corner first (onto Main street) but instead of thinking, “What the HECK am I doing!” this time, with more experience, I thought, “I am NOT going to loose this time!”  
    Main street Hayward. Photo, Ron Swee
    We powered up Main Street in front of thousands of screaming spectators and luckily, I was able to hang onto the lead, crossing the finish line first for my first American Birkebeiner Title!  To say I was elated is an under statement.  I was ecstatic! Not only did I get to ski the race with two good friends, Caitlin (undoubtedly one of the best skaters in the country) and Eli, but I met my husband at the finish line and won a race that has been on my mind, and conscience for the last three years.  It was my first “win” of the entire winter and I had a blast every moment of the journey!  The rest of the day was hectic with the podium ceremony, media engagements, tracking down my skis & driving alternate routes home to shower.  We attended a dinner with Norwegian Olympic Champion & guest Vegard Ulvang and the official awards ceremony back up at the historic Telemark lodge. 

    Greeted by our husbands, Rob and Brian at the finish line – fun stuff! 
    I’m home for a quick 36 hours before turning around and flying back to Europe for the last remaining World Cups of the season. While the heavy travel schedule and arriving no less than 48 hours before my start in Lahti, Finland isn’t ideal, my trip home was well worth it and I’m fired up to finish the 2011-2012 on a high note!

    Psyched to be joining the “Birkie Wall of Champions” at the Telemark Lodge.
    Soon to be reunited with these girls and the US Team in Europe: 
    Our 4x5k relay team in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, pre-race
    Thanks so much to everyone that made the Birkie weekend possible and a special thanks to my current sponsors who make chasing the dream a reality – the Rhyneer Clinic, Carlile Transport, Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center, Northern Fruit Company, Kongsberger Ski Club, Conoco Phillips, Salomon, Swix, Rudy Project & Alaska Medical Solutions. Also, thank you so much to the many individuals who have contributed to my travel fund – you know who you are!
    Last but not least, here are a couple of links to articles about the 39th Annual Birkie: 
    Cheers & have a great week! Thanks for reading & more soon,
    Holly 
     With Norwegian Olympic Champion, Vegard Ulvang, post race

    Me, Tad SALOMON!

  • In The Mid-90s, Second Place Was Different

    Sometimes you have some data and a specific question.  Other times, you have some data, and you just sort of noodle around with it aimlessly.  Sadly, I’ve been known to do that just for fun.  I know, I’m a nerd.

    So I was looking at the gaps between 1st and 2nd place finishers in World Cup, Olympic and World Championship races (measured in percent back) in my free time.  You know, that’s just the sort of thing I do when I’m bored.

    And here’s the plot:

    One could easily just glance at this, say “Meh” and move on.  Ah, but what if I plot is on a log scale?

    Can you see it now?  Weird, huh?<1  Just to spell this out, for some reason, prior to the 1998-1999 season the gap between first and second for the men was quite consistent.  And then suddenly in 1997-1998 we started seeing a steady supply of much closer races.

    The introduction of mass start races ought to explain this, as far as I can tell, since the dates are pretty close to matching up with the introduction of more mass start races.  But the women seem unaffected, which wouldn’t necessarily fit with the mass start explanation.

    Thoughts? I’m open to suggestions…


    1. The dots cutoff at the very bottom are actually some rare ties, which I had to inflate slightly when taking the log. <↩

    Related posts:

    1. <Mid-Season Review: North American Sprint
    2. <Mid-Season Review: USA Biathlon
    3. <The Difference Between Mass Start And Interval Start Races In One Graph


  • J1 Scando RELAY RESULTS

    The Scando Cup races wrapped up yesterday with 3-person relays.

    Links to relay results:

    Boys 3x5km results. [pdf]

    Girls 3x3km results. [pdf]

  • Heidi posts amazing results in Estonia!

    We don’t have any photos of the events in Estonia, but it would be ridiculous to let Heidi’s races pass by unmentioned. Skiing for team USA in the J1 Scandinavian Cup competition, Heidi just wrapped up her third race in three consecutive days. The field she is up against is incredibly strong, led by the top J1s from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and the United States.

    Heidi racing earlier this season at Trapps.

    On day one she qualified 8th in the skate sprint and skied a strong B-final to end up in 10th place, the second American skier and ahead of all but one Norwegian. 5 km classic was next and Heidi skied another strong race, crossing the finish in 19th (3rd American). The top American Julia Kern was only 6 seconds in front of Heidi and the winner was less than a minute in front.

    And talking to alum and former J1 Scando Team skier David Sinclair.

    Her great racing to that point won Heidi a spot on the top American relay team, which skied to 6th place overall. Heidi skied a strong anchor leg to hold the position she received in the tag and finished with the seventh fastest split! Great skiing Heidi we’re rooting for you from here!

    Full results are here:

    Sprint

    Classic

    Relay

  • Aspire & Expire

    The news came when I was in the hamlet of Sjusjoen, in the hills above Lillehammer, Norway: Three Dead in Stevens Pass Avalanche

    ***

    Why the appeal of affixing clinging skins, clicking into rear-heal releasing bindings and heading into the backcountry? My ITA mentor Greg Peck says this gets back to the soul of sport. And the way he says it, you know it’s true. Some of the last words Daniel Zimmerman, the closest person to me I’ve lost to winter’s fury said to me was, “We got to get up in the mountains together again (pointing to the Enchantment Range of the Cascades just above) and receive their good tidings.”


    Dan leading the crew into his backyard playground.

    I’ve never known another to be such a fun-hog as Dan. He had the ability to take the moment at hand and fill it to the brim with kinesthetic energy and conversation. I can see A.E. Housman penning the words that Dan, and now Chris and Jim Jack and John were the very ones able to fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds of distance run.

    After you leave the hometown you grew up in, it’s never quite the same to come back home to. I still feel a deep connection to the valley. But the parent’s sold the house, and moved back to the city 30 miles away. More and more, I am left with memories. These mental etchings will be with well into my time as an elderly man sitting at a lunch counter ordering a ruben-and-rye at Rumplestilskin’s Delicatessen. Thanks for the memories. You are missed. Profoundly.

    ***

    My connection to Chris Rudolph and Jim Jack didn’t run back to the first day my family moved to 107 Mill Street in Leavenworth. But they were great friends of friends, the kind of people you look to get to know better if you were ever able to move out of the suitcase and settle back down in the Upper Valley. The best word to describe them would be characters. This is just how the Seattle Times reporter described those caught in the February avalanche – “Residents of the small town of Leavenworth mourned the loss of three “very beloved characters” who lived and breathed Leavenworth.” Sometimes, a writer and a friend gets it just right. At Chris’s memorial, one spoke about how Chris was an amplifier of life. The following are his words:

    In a parallel universe, Chris, Jim Jack, Johnny and the rest of the crew skied safely and ecstatically down to the highway. The Stevens Pass van that Chris would surely have had en route would load them up and deliver them back to the resort in ecstasy and disbelief of how epic and how easy it all was. I know this, because I’ve been on that van ride. I’ve been at the bar afterwards as we all raised a glass to Chris for facilitating this finite slice of heaven. If we could only have realized how finite it would really be.

    Chris and I shared many of these beautiful moments. Skiing, celebrating, making music, working, traveling, exploring, planning and giving freely of the gift of joy. He was a man with whom I had more in common than nearly anyone else in my life. Being around him gave me the feeling that my actions and motivations in life were of the highest tier, because the same actions and motivations were his.

    My perspective on this is not unique. Chris served as an amplifier of life, in full support of anything positive, brave or inspired. For the people with whom he connected, Chris was a motivator, a collaborator and a model for fully living. A life more fully and joyfully lived creates stronger bonds. My dear friend Chris Rudolph created more of these bonds with more people than anyone I can think of.

    Yesterday while in the midst of living his creed, Chris was killed. When he died he was in his element; on skis, in the mountains, on his favorite run, sharing the wealth with his close friends and a crew of people experiencing the place for the first time. This was Chris Rudolph at his finest.

    What Chris has left for us is a profound sense of loss that is more burdensome and acute than many of us have experienced before. But more importantly, he’s left us a guide for interacting with the world around us. We’re left with the knowledge that we have a small window of opportunity in this life to forge friendships, to inspire, to live and to love. It’s time to open the floodgates and let it all fly. It’s what Chris would do.

  • The Best Race of the Year

    Saturday I had my best race of the year so far in the ‘greatest show on snow,’ the 39th American Birkebeiner.  The race had a deep field with 14 foreigners from Sweeden, Switzerland, Norway, Russia, Canad and Frace joining the Americans at the line. After 5 years of living in the Hayward/Cable area I know the trail perhaps better than any other elite racer and the race really holds a great importance to me.  
    I have gained some wisdom during my first 5 Birkebeiners and focused on conserving my energy for the first half of the race.  Two guys broke off the front only 10km into the race and built up a lead of over one minute.  It made me pretty nervous to be so far back.  I wanted to go to the front of the pack and try to catch the two guys up front but in the past I have worked hard at the front only to have many others sit and draft behind me and out sprint me in the final meters to the finish.  I went to the front and made one strong pull for about 3 minutes before drifting back into the pack.  It was obvious after my pull that it was way harder to be at the front.  
    At 34 kilometers, two other Americans, Matt Liebsch and Tad Elliott came to the front and I prepared for their attack.  Our comfortable pace disappeared and our group of 12 skiers stretched out as everyone tried to hang on.  We were flying, in a few minutes we went from not being able to see the leaders to being right next to them.  The pace slowed and everyone tried to recover from the attack.  
    At 39 kilometers the trail gains elevation the a series of rolling climbs.  About halfway through the climbs Tad Elliot attacked again and this time no one could stay with him.  In a matter of seconds he had a gap and things got craze.  At some point Matt Liebsch fell into Lars Flora, somehow I just managed to avoid those guys but Tad was off the front.  
    I still felt great and I looked around for someone else int he field who might be able to help me catch Tad.  One of the Frenchmen made a few surges and I began to question whether I had the strength to break away from the field.  I decided to wait to make my move on the final climb at 45km.  
    At 45km I went to the front and went as hard as I could.  I could tell there was one skier right on my tail but I forced myself to not look back.  When we made it to the top of the climb I finally looked and saw Lars Flora.  I asked him to take a pull, but he said he was spent.  I really wanted him to pull, but he had been at the front for most of the race and had certainly done his share of work.  I continued to try to push the pace. The pack was only about 20 meters behind.  Finally as we entered the final downhill Matt Liebsch pulled through.  I rested as best I could behind him.
    The pack behind us was right there so I came through to make another pull as we skied on to Lake Hayward.  After a few minutes I saw that our group of 3 had grown to 6 but we had gaped everyone else.  I relaxed and drifted to the back to prepare for the final sprint on Main Street.  
    Everything felt as thous we were in slow motion.  We came off the lake on to main street and I went to pass the other skiers.  The snow was softer than I expected and my legs screamed as the muscled attempted to cramp and shut down.  With only 20m to go I felt myself starting to fall apart and I became worried I might fall.  I focused on the image I had rehearsed in my mind so many times before and threw my foot forward.  I earned third place by just two tenths of a second.  
    Caitlin (2nd) and Me (3rd), a good Birkebeiner for the Gregg’s

    I have spent the last 4 weeks putting in a training block and preparing for the Birkebeiner.  Last weekend in Madison I got my beaten pretty bad so it was very good for my confidence to be right in the mix on Saturday.  Tomorrow I fly to Germany for 3 weeks of racing in middle Europe. I started saving and planning for this trip last year and am excited for the opportunity to race against the next level up of competition.

  • Green Grass and Skiing

     It is the heart of February and the snow in the yard is almost entirely gone and I swear the grass is starting to look green.  It is a strange feeling for me to walk outside and cross the grass on my way to go skiing.  For the first time in my life I actually put on my roller skis in February.  Thankfully there are still places to find great skiing in the Twin Cities Metro.

    Last winter was ideal for cross country skiers in the Midwest with several feet of snow and trails ‘groomed’ or ‘skied in’ all over the city.  We are very fortunate that one of these areas is Theodore Wirth Park which is literally out our back door.  A few years ago the park put in an artificial snow making system and have been able to produce a 3.1km loop.  Sometimes there are things beyond your control and you simply have to make do with what you got.   The loop takes about 10 minutes skiing easy.  One advantage of the repetitions of the laps is that you can get really good at skiing the different sections of the course.

    Another option for Metro skiing is at the downhill ski areas prior to their opening for alpine skiing.  The lifts open at 10am so you need to get up early to cross country ski.  This past week was a beautiful one with the sun rising into clear blue skies each morning as the full moon set to the east.

    On top of the hill with downtown Minneapolis in the background.
    It has been fun to train and race at home for the past two weeks.   The neighborhood kids have been excited to have us back in town and to follow the races.

    We have also been playing my favorite card game Nickel.  
    The game is similar to Rummy and requires some simple math and the calculation of odds.

    Not much snow this winter, yet it is still awesome!

  • Wild Wings Time Trial

    It seems as if winter is finally here!  We got a good amount of snow over the weekend (5-8″) and then the weather cleared out, leaving us with a gorgeous Sunday – temps in the 20s, not a cloud in the sky, and lots of fresh powder.  A perfect day for a TT!  The boys did 5 laps and the girls and J2/J3 boys did 3 laps of the Upper Bluejay loop at Wild Wings.  Goals were to work on pacing and get a nice hard effort in to wake up after an easy week, especially for the skiers heading off to JNs on Friday.  Paddy, Issy, and Koby topped their respective fields and all the way through the lineup there were lots of solid results and evidence of good pacing.  Results are at the end of the post with lap times and total times.  Thanks to Brooke (getting over a cold) for taking photos today!  All of Brooke’s photos from today are here.
    Tyler and Hamish skiing together on lap 2-3.
     A train of boys heading up the hill for their lap. 
     Corky skied a well-paced race. 
     Tess was the only girl to have her last lap be faster than her middle lap.  
     Pip had some trouble with her back and wasn’t feeling in tip top form, but still gave it her best effort. 🙂
     Sver cruising around the course!
     Calvin heading for his last lap. 
     Scott Mooney jumped in with the big boys today.
     Issy skied very well today – a nice strong classic race.
     Nice hair Katharine!
     Paddy (above) and Gino (below) skied together for two laps before Paddy put a little surge in.

    J1/OJ Boys Results:

    Girls Results:

     J2/J3 Boys Results:

  • Weekend Clinic

    Yesterday I led an all-day clinic for Methow Valley Nordic, our locally-based ski club dedicated to establishing and maintaining the strong ski community here in the Methow Valley. MVN is a very generous sponsor of MOD so I was excited for the opportunity to give back to some of its members by imparting some of the technical knowledge Scott and I have worked through over the years.

    I’ve come to believe that the best way to teach someone how to ski is to understand how the best skiers in the world are doing it, and then adapt those techniques for other levels of skiers. With that in mind, I started both the classic and skate portions of the clinic out with some video analysis of top skiers, highlighting the emphases on weight transfer, forward momentum, and complete motions. We then spent about two hours with each discipline outside on the trails in Mazama, working on hills, transitions, and flat ground.

    All of the attendees left the clinic with a markedly-better understanding of technique and much improved form in their own skiing. After seven hours of instruction they were still raring to go, so I considered it a success.

    If you’re interested in becoming a member of Methow Valley Nordic and participating in any number of the clinics and camps they offer throughout the season, go to www.mvnordic.com.

  • Quick Update

    While the bulk of our team has a weekend off from racing, others are busy racing Internationally.

    Anika is finishing up her racing in Estonia with the US J1 trip. She had a strong sprint on Friday, finishing 11th !
    The J3’s are in Quebec racing at the Midget Championships. They had a good day yesterday in the skate race and are skiing a mass start 6 km classic today. More news from them this evening (hopefully).
    Matt just finished up coaching at World Jrs/U23’s and will be returning just in time to lead team NE to Soldier Hollow, UT for the Jr National Championships.
    The college carnivals wrapped up with their regional championships this weekend. Congratulations to Fritz, Chase, Parker, Sophie, Isabel, Hallie and Stephanie for qualifying for NCAA’s. Several of them will not be able to go because they are not top 3 on their respective teams, but good skiing regardless. And…good luck to those who will be racing in Montana!
    The rest of us are skiing a classic time trial at Wild Wings this afternoon. It is a beautiful day and the skiing is excellent.

  • Birkie Notes

    I’ve been getting phone reports from the American Birkebeiner this morning.

    Congratulations to Caitlin and Brian Gregg – Caitlin was 2nd in the women’s race and Brian was 3rd in the men’s event.  Brian and Caitlin both felt that they were skiing on rockets; both were on Ultratune grinds today, as is normal for both of them.

    I also talked to Laura McCabe right after she finished her race.   Laura is an incredible dynamo, and she pulled off a big race to finish 4th in the women’s field.     Laura was super stoked with her i5 grind today and said she had great skis.

    Conditions were typical for the Birkie – cold at the start and warming through the morning.    This puts a premium on versatile cold grinds that can ski up into the teens and low twenties without getting draggy or sticky.

    For a low snowpack year, the snow was fast, firm, but not icy today.    Great conditions for a ski race!

    How was your race?