FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

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

  • Autumn in the North Country

    Elinor's Field

    Elinor's Field

    Misty mornings.  Waking up engulfed by a cloud.  Trees slowly materialize out of whiteness. Half an hour into our rollerski, the fog has completely burned off in the Black River Valley.  A perfect fall day.

    King Farm Road overlooking Little Hosmer

    King Farm Road overlooking Little Hosmer

    Dylan works on building a sauna out of scrap wood.

    Dylan works on building a sauna out of scrap wood.

    300 lbs of crisp fall apples are stacked, crammed, into the back of a red minivan.  They totter and shift precariously as we wind and rattle over dirt roads.  Parking behind the dining hall to unload, we open the trunk carefully in case they fall.  We carry them in waxed cardboard boxes, salvaged from the recycling, and the bottoms threaten to give out.

    Winter squash harvest from the garden at Elinor's

    Winter squash harvested from the garden at Elinor's

    During an off day in Lake Placid, a few OTC residents decided to go apple picking. I found this interesting specimen, probably caused by an apple sawfly.

    During an off day in Lake Placid, a few OTC residents decided to go apple picking. I found this interesting specimen, probably caused by an apple sawfly.

    Some tasty oyster mushrooms. Foraging is a new hobby that I'm cautiously embracing.

    Some tasty oyster mushrooms. Foraging is a new hobby that I'm cautiously embracing.

    Running on a forest trail, through a tunnel of blurry color.  Bright splotches of yellow and red leaves crunch underfoot.  Later in the week, it rains and they compress into muddy mats.

    Hiking adventure in the Adirondacks with the biathletes

    A hiking adventure with the biathletes

    Fall in the Adirondacks!

    Fall near Paul Smiths in the Adirondacks. This area was a favorite haunt of Teddy Roosevelt during his teenage years.

    I fall asleep to the rhythm of rain spilling off the roof and wailing gusts of wind surging against the windows.  It is cozy inside, warm and dry under a down comforter.  But it hasn’t let up by morning, and it is time to go out, to train, in the pouring rain, in ski boots still waterlogged from yesterday.   And following practice I’ll have an immediate date with my rifle cleaning supplies.  These are the hardest days to motivate.

    Lifting up a giant boulder in Elmore State Park.

    Lifting up a giant boulder in Elmore State Park.

  • Volume Week, Day 1: Classic Distance

    This week is a big volume week for us. We have a break from classes this week and then a long Columbus Day weekend to rest and recover, so we’re taking advantage of the schedule and putting in some big hours. We’ve got a team meeting, run and strength on the schedule this afternoon and another double session day tomorrow. We’ll head up to New Hampshire later this week for a couple OD workouts and then finish with a long bike ride.
    This morning we headed down to Manchester for a classic distance ski on a nice route with lots of smooth pavement. Andy & Skyler joined us too and everyone on our team did between 1:30 and 2 hours, mostly double pole. Click on any picture to enlarge it below:

    Mackenzie strides up the hill.

    Tess on the focus train.
    Brooke leads Kate and Mollie.
    Skyler, Hamish, Gino.
    Murph & Mac.
    Brooke & Kate.
    T-bone hams it up for the camera. : )
    Issy & Anika have been great training partners this fall.
    Nice smooth pavement, cool temps, good morning for skiing.
    Charlie, Mac, Murph & Tyler.
    Mollie.
    Andy, Gino, Skyler, & Hamish.
    Andy leads the boys home.
    Tyler & Murph.
    Gino & Hamish.

  • Volume Week, Day 1: Classic Distance

    This week is a big volume week for us. We have a break from classes this week and then a long Columbus Day weekend to rest and recover, so we’re taking advantage of the schedule and putting in some big hours. We’ve got a team meeting, run and strength on the schedule this afternoon and another double session day tomorrow. We’ll head up to New Hampshire later this week for a couple OD workouts and then finish with a long bike ride.
    This morning we headed down to Manchester for a classic distance ski on a nice route with lots of smooth pavement. Andy & Skyler joined us too and everyone on our team did between 1:30 and 2 hours, mostly double pole. Click on any picture to enlarge it below:

    Mackenzie strides up the hill.

    Tess on the focus train.
    Brooke leads Kate and Mollie.
    Skyler, Hamish, Gino.
    Murph & Mac.
    Brooke & Kate.
    T-bone hams it up for the camera. : )
    Issy & Anika have been great training partners this fall.
    Nice smooth pavement, cool temps, good morning for skiing.
    Charlie, Mac, Murph & Tyler.
    Mollie.
    Andy, Gino, Skyler, & Hamish.
    Andy leads the boys home.
    Tyler & Murph.
    Gino & Hamish.

  • Season Openers In Germany

    It’s pretty crazy to think about, but the 2011-2012 FIS racing season officially got under way last week with some sprint races in Germany. I don’t know much about the circumstances of the venue, but I’d love to know how they put these races on. I’m guessing artificial snow? Still, they claim to have used a 1.5km course, so they weren’t skimping on the length.

    Technically, I suppose the season kicked off earlier in the summer in New Zealand. But this blog has a severe Northern Hemisphere bias.

    The field at these races was basically only Germans. My main interest is in how Nicole Fessel did. She had a dramatically improved season last year, so I’m curious how she follows it up this year. So let’s look at how Fessel did in qualification versus some of the top skiers in this race that she’s faced before:

    This is a re-worked version of some plots I was using last season. I’ve been refactoring a lot of my code, though, so things have been turned a bit upside down. This plots the difference in FIS points (i.e. qualification speed) between Fessel and other skiers in this sprint race that she’s faced before in the past.

    Part of my code refactoring meant that these graphs are turned upside down. So now up is good and down is bad. The blue points are the differences for this season opener last week. They are all above zero, since Fessel had the fastest qualification time. The red line (and gray shaded area) track the equivalent values for match-ups between Fessel and her competitors in the past. Fessel was already basically always beating these ladies, and this race is no different. Based on this single race, at least, I’d say Fessel is in track to pick up right where she left off.

    Related posts:

    1. <Athlete To Watch: Nicole Fessel
    2. <Mid-Season Review: North American Sprint
    3. <Nicole Fessel Update


  • Bolt: Small Story Behind the Story

    A little video I got from Ziola Gomez, three time USA World Championship Marathon team member and fellow ITA teammate that captures a little story behind the big story of the 2011 IAAF World Track Championships. After this tough night for Usain, he went on to set a world-record in the 4×100 and re-claim his 200M in 19.4 seconds, the 4th fastest time in history. I can’t wait to see him and Blake and Dix and hopefully Tyson throwing down in the most epic of Olympic sprint finals next summer.

  • Bolt: Small Story Behind the Story

    A little video I got from Ziola Gomez, three time USA World Championship Marathon team member and fellow ITA teammate that captures a little story behind the big story of the 2011 IAAF World Track Championships. After this tough night for Usain, he went on to set a world-record in the 4×100 and re-claim his 200M in 19.4 seconds, the 4th fastest time in history. I can’t wait to see him and Blake and Dix and hopefully Tyson throwing down in the most epic of Olympic sprint finals next summer.

  • Bolt: Small Story Behind the Story

    A little video I got from Ziola Gomez, three time USA World Championship Marathon team member and fellow ITA teammate that captures a little story behind the big story of the 2011 IAAF World Track Championships. After this tough night for Usain, he went on to set a world-record in the 4×100 and re-claim his 200M in 19.4 seconds, the 4th fastest time in history. I can’t wait to see him and Blake and Dix and hopefully Tyson throwing down in the most epic of Olympic sprint finals next summer.

  • Bolt: Small Story Behind the Story

    A little video I got from Ziola Gomez, three time USA World Championship Marathon team member and fellow ITA teammate that captures a little story behind the big story of the 2011 IAAF World Track Championships. After this tough night for Usain, he went on to set a world-record in the 4×100 and re-claim his 200M in 19.4 seconds, the 4th fastest time in history. I can’t wait to see him and Blake and Dix and hopefully Tyson throwing down in the most epic of Olympic sprint finals next summer.

  • Chicago XC 2011 Clinic

    Caitlin, Karl and I headed down to Chicago this weekend for the 3rd Annual Fall Rollerski Clinic. With over 30 participants the weekend was a huge success. Our host and clinic coordinator Tom Devoratchek picked us up from O’Hare on Friday afternoon and we headed downtown to check out the lakefront.

    The windy city lived up to it’s name with some wild weather. 22 foot waves were recorded in the middle of the lake and part of the boardwalk was closed down after a bicyclist was blown in to the lake. We waited for a break in the clouds to get out for a nice recovery run.

    Who needs the fountains of the Belagio when you can watch the waves roll in to the break-wall.



    We had beautiful weather with morning and afternoon sessions. We kept busy in the evenings watching the US Nordic Combined National Championships (contested on rollerskis) and giving a presentation at Benedictine University.
    I am having a bit of tech troubles, but you should be able to click below for a great video of the clinic put together by Chris Wilson.

  • Chicago XC 2011 Clinic

    Caitlin, Karl and I headed down to Chicago this weekend for the 3rd Annual Fall Rollerski Clinic. With over 30 participants the weekend was a huge success. Our host and clinic coordinator Tom Devoratchek picked us up from O’Hare on Friday afternoon and we headed downtown to check out the lakefront.

    The windy city lived up to it’s name with some wild weather. 22 foot waves were recorded in the middle of the lake and part of the boardwalk was closed down after a bicyclist was blown in to the lake. We waited for a break in the clouds to get out for a nice recovery run.

    Who needs the fountains of the Belagio when you can watch the waves roll in to the break-wall.



    We had beautiful weather with morning and afternoon sessions. We kept busy in the evenings watching the US Nordic Combined National Championships (contested on rollerskis) and giving a presentation at Benedictine University.
    I am having a bit of tech troubles, but you should be able to click below for a great video of the clinic put together by Chris Wilson.

  • Chicago XC 2011 Clinic

    Caitlin, Karl and I headed down to Chicago this weekend for the 3rd Annual Fall Rollerski Clinic. With over 30 participants the weekend was a huge success. Our host and clinic coordinator Tom Devoratchek picked us up from O’Hare on Friday afternoon and we headed downtown to check out the lakefront.

    The windy city lived up to it’s name with some wild weather. 22 foot waves were recorded in the middle of the lake and part of the boardwalk was closed down after a bicyclist was blown in to the lake. We waited for a break in the clouds to get out for a nice recovery run.

    Who needs the fountains of the Belagio when you can watch the waves roll in to the break-wall.



    We had beautiful weather with morning and afternoon sessions. We kept busy in the evenings watching the US Nordic Combined National Championships (contested on rollerskis) and giving a presentation at Benedictine University.
    I am having a bit of tech troubles, but you should be able to click below for a great video of the clinic put together by Chris Wilson.

  • Chicago XC 2011 Clinic

    Caitlin, Karl and I headed down to Chicago this weekend for the 3rd Annual Fall Rollerski Clinic. With over 30 participants the weekend was a huge success. Our host and clinic coordinator Tom Devoratchek picked us up from O’Hare on Friday afternoon and we headed downtown to check out the lakefront.

    The windy city lived up to it’s name with some wild weather. 22 foot waves were recorded in the middle of the lake and part of the boardwalk was closed down after a bicyclist was blown in to the lake. We waited for a break in the clouds to get out for a nice recovery run.

    Who needs the fountains of the Belagio when you can watch the waves roll in to the break-wall.



    We had beautiful weather with morning and afternoon sessions. We kept busy in the evenings watching the US Nordic Combined National Championships (contested on rollerskis) and giving a presentation at Benedictine University.
    I am having a bit of tech troubles, but you should be able to click below for a great video of the clinic put together by Chris Wilson.

  • Chicago XC 2011 Clinic

    Caitlin, Karl and I headed down to Chicago this weekend for the 3rd Annual Fall Rollerski Clinic. With over 30 participants the weekend was a huge success. Our host and clinic coordinator Tom Devoratchek picked us up from O’Hare on Friday afternoon and we headed downtown to check out the lakefront.

    The windy city lived up to it’s name with some wild weather. 22 foot waves were recorded in the middle of the lake and part of the boardwalk was closed down after a bicyclist was blown in to the lake. We waited for a break in the clouds to get out for a nice recovery run.

    Who needs the fountains of the Belagio when you can watch the waves roll in to the break-wall.



    We had beautiful weather with morning and afternoon sessions. We kept busy in the evenings watching the US Nordic Combined National Championships (contested on rollerskis) and giving a presentation at Benedictine University.
    I am having a bit of tech troubles, but you should be able to click below for a great video of the clinic put together by Chris Wilson.

  • Hurry Home Early

    You can feel it in the air. The winter’s a coming.
    Soon you’ll have to put away the running shoe.
    For the cold wind, it’s a calling for you.
    Hey it’s fall. You can’t be blaming me at all.

    Jack & Julie point out the constellations to me.
    But the Big Dipper’s all I could see.

    Now don’t go a drinking the clear Finnish turpentine.
    It’ll make you blind, burn you inside.

    Oh, why do we do the things we do?
    Some of us have the talent. But hard work will still have to get us through.

  • Hurry Home Early

    You can feel it in the air. The winter’s a coming.
    Soon you’ll have to put away the running shoe.
    For the cold wind, it’s a calling for you.
    Hey it’s fall. You can’t be blaming me at all.

    Jack & Julie point out the constellations to me.
    But the Big Dipper’s all I could see.

    Now don’t go a drinking the clear Finnish turpentine.
    It’ll make you blind, burn you inside.

    Oh, why do we do the things we do?
    Some of us have the talent. But hard work will still have to get us through.

  • Hurry Home Early

    You can feel it in the air. The winter’s a coming.
    Soon you’ll have to put away the running shoe.
    For the cold wind, it’s a calling for you.
    Hey it’s fall. You can’t be blaming me at all.

    Jack & Julie point out the constellations to me.
    But the Big Dipper’s all I could see.

    Now don’t go a drinking the clear Finnish turpentine.
    It’ll make you blind, burn you inside.

    Oh, why do we do the things we do?
    Some of us have the talent. But hard work will still have to get us through.

  • Hurry Home Early

    You can feel it in the air. The winter’s a coming.
    Soon you’ll have to put away the running shoe.
    For the cold wind, it’s a calling for you.
    Hey it’s fall. You can’t be blaming me at all.

    Jack & Julie point out the constellations to me.
    But the Big Dipper’s all I could see.

    Now don’t go a drinking the clear Finnish turpentine.
    It’ll make you blind, burn you inside.

    Oh, why do we do the things we do?
    Some of us have the talent. But hard work will still have to get us through.

  • Woods Trail Run

    Today we headed up to Thetford, VT for the Woods Trail Run – a large invitational cross country race with over 800 girls and 1000 boys racing. The temperatures were in the high 40s/low 50s and rain throughout the day made the course exceptionally muddy. The Thetford course is known for being a challenging course and with ankle deep mud throughout much of the 5k loop, times were slower than normal for most runners. Calvin’s 7th place performance in the first seed race was a big highlight for the team. Winter termer Russell Boswell matched Calvin’s performance with a 7th place finish of his own in the junior high race. Results & photos below:
    Calvin – 18:00
    Paddy – 19:05
    Tyler – 20:41
    Gino – 20:54
    Hamish – 21:40
    Issy – 22:58
    Kate – 25:29
    Tess – 26:06
    Russell – 11:01

    The footing was a little slick today!
    Russell, post-race.
    Flourescent shirt no more! Russell raced earlier in the day and headed out to get dry before the rest of the team arrived, but he represented SMS well with his 7th place finish in the junior high race.

    Tess gets off to a great start in the second seed race.
    Tess flies through the woods! Her time of 26:06 was a PR on this course, despite taking a fall and running through deep mud!
    Runners race in seeds determined by time with several hundred runners going off every 20 minutes.
    Issy, center in white, gets off to a great start in the first seed race.
    Kate is a few steps behind Issy as the race heads into the woods for the lower loop.
    Hamish, Calvin, Tyler, & Gino warm up for the race. All our boys raced in the first seed race.
    Tess gets bundled up to spectate after her race!
    Issy on her way to a 33rd place finish. Issy took the SATs this morning and then hopped in the car, drove an hour and a half, got a 15 minute warm up in and jumped on the course!
    Kate leads a pack of girls out of the woods and back onto the athletic fields.
    Boys race gets underway… Calvin came out of the first loop in 13th place.
    Paddy was in the mid-50s after the first lap. Like Issy, Paddy was fresh off a few hours of standardized testing at school, but still had a great race.
    Calvin used the hilly upper loop to his advantage and picked up several places in the second half of the race.
    Tyler started faster than he typically does and had a great race as our third finisher today.
    Gino kept Tyler in sight for a good chunk of the race and cruised through the mud.
    Hamish, all smiles. : )
    Calvin comes out of the upper loop in 8th place – he ended up passing the runner in front of him in the final 1/4 kilometer to take 7th place overall.
    Paddy made up a lot of ground on the upper loop and finished 36th and mud-splattered!
    Tyler in the last K of the race.
    Gino charges up the last hill and heads for the finish.
    Hamish heads for home.

  • Woods Trail Run

    Today we headed up to Thetford, VT for the Woods Trail Run – a large invitational cross country race with over 800 girls and 1000 boys racing. The temperatures were in the high 40s/low 50s and rain throughout the day made the course exceptionally muddy. The Thetford course is known for being a challenging course and with ankle deep mud throughout much of the 5k loop, times were slower than normal for most runners. Calvin’s 7th place performance in the first seed race was a big highlight for the team. Winter termer Russell Boswell matched Calvin’s performance with a 7th place finish of his own in the junior high race. Results & photos below:
    Calvin – 18:00
    Paddy – 19:05
    Tyler – 20:41
    Gino – 20:54
    Hamish – 21:40
    Issy – 22:58
    Kate – 25:29
    Tess – 26:06
    Russell – 11:01

    The footing was a little slick today!
    Russell, post-race.
    Flourescent shirt no more! Russell raced earlier in the day and headed out to get dry before the rest of the team arrived, but he represented SMS well with his 7th place finish in the junior high race.

    Tess gets off to a great start in the second seed race.
    Tess flies through the woods! Her time of 26:06 was a PR on this course, despite taking a fall and running through deep mud!
    Runners race in seeds determined by time with several hundred runners going off every 20 minutes.
    Issy, center in white, gets off to a great start in the first seed race.
    Kate is a few steps behind Issy as the race heads into the woods for the lower loop.
    Hamish, Calvin, Tyler, & Gino warm up for the race. All our boys raced in the first seed race.
    Tess gets bundled up to spectate after her race!
    Issy on her way to a 33rd place finish. Issy took the SATs this morning and then hopped in the car, drove an hour and a half, got a 15 minute warm up in and jumped on the course!
    Kate leads a pack of girls out of the woods and back onto the athletic fields.
    Boys race gets underway… Calvin came out of the first loop in 13th place.
    Paddy was in the mid-50s after the first lap. Like Issy, Paddy was fresh off a few hours of standardized testing at school, but still had a great race.
    Calvin used the hilly upper loop to his advantage and picked up several places in the second half of the race.
    Tyler started faster than he typically does and had a great race as our third finisher today.
    Gino kept Tyler in sight for a good chunk of the race and cruised through the mud.
    Hamish, all smiles. : )
    Calvin comes out of the upper loop in 8th place – he ended up passing the runner in front of him in the final 1/4 kilometer to take 7th place overall.
    Paddy made up a lot of ground on the upper loop and finished 36th and mud-splattered!
    Tyler in the last K of the race.
    Gino charges up the last hill and heads for the finish.
    Hamish heads for home.

  • Test Post 2

    Companion to the other test post. Pardon the disruption.

    Related posts:

    1. <EqPB: Test Run
    2. <Post-WJC/U23 Development: Italy
    3. <Post-WJC/U23 Development: Norway