FasterSkier

Tag: pre-Birkie

  • Why Skiing (and Am I in the Right Birkie Wave?): Part III

    Why Skiing (and Am I in the Right Birkie Wave?): Part III

    Author Scott “Bjorn” Cummings racing the 2018 North End Classic in Cable, Wisconsin. (Courtesy photo)

    In March of 2016, we published an article penned by Scott “Bjorn” Cummings, a Postbaccalaureate student working towards his Academic Behavorial Strategist K-12 (ABS) Special Education License at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), titled “Why Skiing? How a Sport Saved My Life”. He’s now teaching and even more in love with XC, and we published his “Part II” update in September. Here’s his latest Birkie leadup piece.

    ***

    The annual benchmark nordic ski race is here. The American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin, for nordic skiers is like the Hajj in Mecca for Muslims. Everyone who is physically and financially able has to do it at least once. The Birkie is a must-do. To help get myself pumped up for the race, I created a YouTube playlist of Birkie songs. I’m sure there are more out there, too, but these were my favorites from online a couple years ago. Plus, I had to contact Birkie Director Ben Popp to get the MP3 files and upload them to YouTube.

    As most of you know, last year’s Birkie was canceled to the due to lack of snow. Second time in history since 2000. But what most forget is that canceling the 2017 Birkie delayed most of the changes to the up-and-coming year and has me rethinking of my Birkie-wave placement. The first big change that will happen in this year’s Birkie is the Korte. The Korteloppet race was moved from Saturday to Friday. There were a number of reasons of doing this, but one of them was to cut down on the number of Birkie race waves. In the past there had always been 10 waves but now there will be seven.

    I used my awesome time of 3:16 at the 2016 50-kilometer Great Bear Chase to move up from Wave 4 to Wave 2. My honest “friend” Jenna pointed out that I was not that good enough for the Wave 2.

    I could and I am sure most of you reading this could read this seven-year-old blog post on Birkie waves. I could also look at how I did mathematically. This Birkie regression website says I am good enough for Wave 2. By simply searching “Scott Cummings” on the Nordic Race Analysis Birkie Predictor, it factored my marathon times into a mathematical model to predict where I should be.

    Do I really belong in Wave 2? Let’s look at my races this season and see how Bjorn matches up.

    Noque 50 k 

    Here is a photo that epitomizes my love of the Noquemanon Ski Marathon. Everyone needs a picture like this. (Photo: Scott “Bjorn” Cummings)

    My first big race of the ski season is a personal favorite. The race is called the Noquemanon Ski Marathon, or “Noque” for short, and is on the Upper Peninsula in Marquette, Michigan. The course is a hilly, hard but well-organized by the Uppers. At each aid station, volunteers get what you need in quick time. The first half of the course is more technical, highlighted by sharp turns on the downhills and many famous downhills ruts from timid skiers snowplowing.

    (Side note: the Noque logo actually has the trail elevation drawn into it.)

    One drawback is the seven-hour drive from the Twin Cities. Plus, a time-zone change to Eastern time. But the city of Marquette is affordable, super-outdoorsy, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and just fun. Another minor downside of this race is post-race food: chicken noodle or vegetarian noodle soup. Not as good as their fellow U.P. nordic ski race, the Great Bear Chase, which has post-race pasty.

    I finished with a great time, in all types of conditions, fresh snow; ice on the lakes, slushy an each road crossing. Good enough for 3:23:17, which according to the Birkie Predictor makes me good enough for Wave 2. I still don’t believe it. Let’s look at another race.

    City of Lakes Loppet 38 k Freestyle

    Matt Liebsch on his way to winning the 2018 City of Lakes Classic Marathon. Notice the bib, with the skier on the gridiron. (Photo: Scott “Bjorn” Cummings)

    After my U.P. trip, thus started the countdown to the next ski race on Super Bowl Sunday, the City of Lakes Loppet. Also, for those who live under a rock, some 4.5 miles away at US Bank Stadium, was the most popular sporting in the United States, the Super Bowl. In celebration for the Super Bowl LII, the American Birkebeiner put its International Bridge in downtown Minneapolis. The Loppet Foundation, which also runs the City of Lakes Loppet, held sprints in downtown. The photos here were magical and merit a look.

    Now onto the City of Lakes Loppet ski marathon. First off, this is a great race if you live in the Twin Cities like myself. No travel, unique urban course, and this year they put it on Super Bowl Sunday. Notice on that this year’s bib has a skier skiing across a football field, or a gridiron.

    The City of Lakes was pushed back only 30 minutes, which didn’t make much of difference with temperatures around 1 degree Fahrenheit. The snow was cold; the wind blew around 10-15 mph. I was underdressed and without any wind-stopper base layers, but still safe from frostbite. The conditions were a little bit icy in Theodore Wirth Park and wind-blown in the golf course. The bog area was hilly and every hill had mashed-potato snow. The race was really a grinder; never in a race had I experienced such difficulty being positive.

    Here is a photo of me after the race. The good news was, after the race a first-aid ski patrol double-checked my ice/snot mustache for frostbite. Nice to know the Loppet was looking for that. The area in question was just excess warm skin/Vaseline. I finished at 3:10:43. Not bad at all. But I still think I don’t belong in Wave 2. So let’s look at the Pre-Birkie.

    Author Scott “Bjorn” Cummings after completing a grueling 2018 City of Lakes Loppet in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “My mom posted this photo of myself after the City of Lakes to show my ‘ice mustache’. I commented and pointed out to my high school students the next day that is actually snot. They were grossed out.” (Courtesy photo)

    42 k Pre-Birkie

    Again, the conditions for the 2018 Pre-Birkie had temperatures in single digits with 10-15 mph wind just like the previous week at the City of Lakes. But unlike the Loppet, this course was sheltered in the wind with the woods. The course is arguably harder than the actually Birkie Trail. This is great training for the Birkie and is the same weekend at the Mora Vasaloppet. The Vassaloppet is also a great race but it’s flat. So the Pre-Birkie got the nod this year.

    The Pre-Birkie starts in Lake Hayward and follows the American Birkebeiner course backwards. As you can the see by the trail profile (read from right to left), the racers are climbing, climbing and climbing.

    American Birkebeiner 51 k trail profile

    From Lake Hayward, racers climb the hills past “00” (the Birkie course’s halfway point) and ski about another 10 k past it before turning around. The next 8 k or so, racers climb the toughest hills of the course on the Birkie Classic Trail. Again, this last stretch was tough. It beat me up. I finished with a 3:17:17 time. That was a time I was extremely proud of and I felt my best. I could tell I left it all out because post-race, I was coughing and hacking pretty well. A fellow skier saw me hacking post race and said, “That’s when you know you went hard.”

    I don’t have a cool photo of me skiing, but here’s a great video of me finishing a tough course. I hit the finish Sign with poles.

    North End Classic

    I recommend the North End Classic, a great “little” classic race on the Sunday after the Pre-Birkie. This was my first classic race and I really liked the course. They were some nice uphills and downhills, with 3-4 classic ski tracks. That made for a fun 12.5 k course. If you registered for the long one, that would be two loops around for total of 25 k. Since, this was my first classic race after the grueling 42 k Pre-Birkie the day before, I settled for just one loop. With my long time of 1 hour, 12 minutes — not bad but as my “friend” Jenna pointed out — that was good enough for second in age group, out of two! Thanks Jenna for the support.

    ***

    Now, back to the Birkie. Am I good enough for Wave 2?

    To be honest, probably not. But as one coach said so well, people get too hung up on wave placements. So my strategy will be to just hang in the back of Wave 2 and let the good skiers go by. The fast Wave 3, Wave 4, and later-wave skiers will not intimate as they me pass me. I am just going to race like me, Bjorn. If you see me with my Norwegian race suit, please cheer on me!

  • Ski and Tea Women Jump Into Spring, Offer Training Tips

    Ski and Tea Women Jump Into Spring, Offer Training Tips

    The Ski and Tea women's group gets ready to head out from 00 trailhead in Seeley, Wis., on Feb. 22 for a pre-Birkie clinic.

    That last ski of the season might not have set well this year.

    You weren’t exactly ready. Some places enjoyed sufficient snow dumpings this winter, but on the whole, it just wasn’t enough. It ended too soon.

    Certain parts of the country aren’t quite in summer mode yet. Snow has been known to make April appearances, and some ski towns recently saw a late-season blast of the white stuff.

    But in Hayward, Wis., home of the American Birkebeiner and center of Midwest nordic skiing, temperatures were forecast to hit the 60s this week. That’s spring, and essentially, the end of the ski season.

    Tell that to the women with Ski and Tea, a nearly 300-person club that gets females together year round to practice cross-country. While it’s dryland training in the summer, they typically meet weekly every month except March (that’s post-Birkie time following the ski marathon in late February. Many spent their Fridays off helping a local charity, Weekend Meals for Kids).

    Ski and Tea in the Summer:

    April theme: Reboot, Rebuild, Renew

    Example workout:Long, slow distance of running or walking with 15-20 second pickups every 2 minutes followed by stretching.

    Post-workout:Tea at Mooselips Java Joint in Seeley.

    Outlook: “Our weekly workouts for the coming dry-land months will be progressive,” according to Cook. “(They) will include hill workouts with poles, strength, agility, and balance, personal time trials, and interval training. We have several workout sites throughout the year which include the Birkie Trail Northend, 00 Warming Hut, Mosquito Brook and the Fish Hatchery.  We will also use the Camba Mukwa Single Track.  We ask all our members to buy Birkie Trail passes and we support the Birkie Trail Maintenance at the Ski and Tea 27K Classic Friends of the Trail Marker.”

    For more information, email Linda Cook at lpcook@chibardun.net.

    The program, which includes clinics led by Central Cross Country (CXC) members, started four years ago with about 12 women. Founders Linda Cook and Juli Lynch knew several former skiers that wanted to get back into the sport and arranged a recreational get-together. They saw two more women at the trailhead and invited them along as well.

    This past winter, a two-hour “Ski and Tea with the Pros” clinic attracted more than 30 women three days before the 39th American Birkebeiner. Cook, who placed second in her 70-79 age group in the 23-kilometer Kortelopet, said two international skiers attended the seminar, which was broken up into classic and freestyle technique lessons with four elite coaches.

    Two of the group’s original supporters, Audrey Weber and Maria Stuber, offered expertise as former CXC members. Both born in the Midwest, Weber skis for Go! Training, and Stuber joined the Craftsbury Green Racing Project in Vermont. She returned to Wisconsin for the Birkie and “Ski and Tea” event, bringing Craftsbury teammate Hannah Dreissigacker with her. CXC’s Carolyn Ocariz also helped fill in for teammate Caitlin Gregg, who was sick, and proceeds from the clinic went toward their training expenses.

    The four leaders gave broad tips while answering specific questions, focusing on one technical aspect at a time. Participants could chose to skate or classic and watch themselves on video if they wanted. Post-workout goodies, such as hot cocoa, cookies and tea, wrapped up the afternoon social at the 00 Warming Hut in Seeley, Wis.

    Today, Cook said Ski and Tea has about 60 active members with 290 newsletter members living as far as India and Alaska. After moving to the area 16 years ago, she felt there was a need for the group considering the number of interested women.

    Ski and Tea co-founder Linda Cook (c) with two of the group's youngest members, Keely and Kiera Jackson.

    Looking around the jam-packed cabin with skiers of all ages, some in their early teens, Cook talked about how Ski and Tea had grown. In 2009, it became part of CXC and its insurance coverage. Participants have to sign a waver, and for $40 dollars, get a year’s worth of instruction and ski companionship.

    “Someone described it as the modern-day quilting bee,” Cook said with a laugh. “Sweat is the best kind of therapy.”

    Outside the 00 trailhead halfway on the Birkie trail, nearly 40 women stood in ski boots swinging their arms and hopping from one leg to the other during the elite coaches’ warmup. Then, they skied off into the woods for a few pointers, which were worth internalizing and practicing for the season ahead.

    I took some notes, and this is what I came back with:

    Ocariz on skate technique:

    Carolyn Ocariz (l), formerly of CXC, demonstrates skate technique during a Ski and Tea clinic in Seeley, Wis., on Feb. 22.

    –       Focus on the glide and holding it a little longer

    –       Butt forward

    –       Poles shoulder-width apart, not too narrow (think of standing like a boxy football player with broad shoulders)

    Dreissigacker on classic technique:

    –       Double pole as long as possible

    –       Switch to striding when timing feels off, “when you feel like you’re bogging down” but “double poling is definitely faster.”

    Hannah Dreissigacker (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) talks to some Ski and Tea members during a pre-Birkie clinic on Feb. 22 in Seeley, Wis.

    Weber on classic skiing/hills:

    –       Double pole on the uphills should involve lots of crunching

    –       Think “high and quick” on the double pole as the hill gets steeper

    –       When descending in the track, lean into the curve with both feet equally weighted

    –       Rest poles parallel on hip creases, hold grips in front of face to keep poles from sticking straight up

    –       “Don’t abort the track because that’s when bad things happen” 

    Audrey Weber (Go! Training/Atomic) demonstrates the downhill tuck during a Ski and Tea clinic on Feb. 22 in Seeley, Wis.