January, 2010

It’s Friday night in Park City. What do we do after skiing all week? Go out and watch other people ski.

Last night, Deer Valley hosted a FIS Aerials World Cup under the lights. The whole Nordic crew in Park City got together to support our teammates on the Aerials team. Not that they needed the extra support–there were a couple thousand other spectators as well!

There is also a Moguls World Cup this weekend, so the moguls run was ready to go as well.  From the parking lot walking up the mountain, it looked like a white Christmas tree lit up on the hill.

Morgans - Arritola and Smyth, checking out the freestyle

Aerials is a “Go Big or Go Home” event and there were some big jumps as well as epic crashes.  Johnny Mosley was on hand as the commentator for NBC’s Universal Sports, getting the crowd fired up.  The American’s didn’t dominate the aerials as much as the moguls skiers have.  In fact, the Chinese were the most dominant team, taking 5 of the Top-6 places for women and a 2nd place for the men.  Where do they recruit their talent?  They are all ex-gymnasts who converted to freestyle when they didn’t quite have what it takes to be a top gymnast.  The tallest woman on the Chinese team was 5 feet tall!  For some reason, I don’t think I’d be the greatest aerials skier. . .

Getting up to throw it down.

One of the big perks to training in Park City and being a National Team member is having access to USSA’s new training facility, the Center of Excellence.  The C.O.E., as it is known out here, is less than a year old and houses all of USSA’s sports administration and training facilities under one roof.

This afternoon, I did a little lifting at the COE, then ended my workout in the ice bath to help recover after two intensity workouts today.  I’m not really into taking pictures from inside the weight room, but Bruce from skinnyski just posted a link to a Lindsey Vonn training video.  This was filmed at the COE, where I was doing my lifting this afternoon.  As those of you who’ve attended one of my clinics can attest, we do a very similar workout to what Lindsey is doing with ladders, hurdles, and med ball throws, but she definitely makes it look better than I ever will.

If you really want to see a Garrott Kuzzy training video, you can check out my interval session from this morning at USSA’s Dartfish site.  This is a cool new program where National Team coaches can post video from US Ski Team athletes training.

This is one way my CXC coach Bryan Fish can stay up-to-date on my technique.  Matt Whitcomb took this video today of me skiing up Hermod’s Hill at Soldier Hollow.  Bryan can then watch the video and send comments on things I need to work on.   This particular hill is pretty steep (the same hill Alsgard and Zorzi raced up in the infamous 2002 relay) and the intervals were meant to be pretty relaxed.  If you want to see some hammer video, check out Liz’s freestyle speed workout.

Spent what felt like the majority of today at White Pine Touring Center in Park City.  Went for a relaxed training ski in the morning, then joined the Park City Junior Nordic Team for their practice in the afternoon.  White Pine has some of the best golf course skiing I’ve ever done.

no ice skating on this pond!

I ran into a couple of Steinbock out on the trail and skied a loop with Zack Simons and Andrew Johnson, two full-time Park City residents.  There was also a sweet old barn on the farm trails.

Park City has a strong junior program coached by Paralympic Gold Medalist Steve Cook.  I had the opportunity to ski with the Park City junior team at White Pine this afternoon and had a blast skiing with their team.  They are an impressive group of young skiers with great ski handling skills.  They picked up on the hop skate progression in a hurry and by the end of the evening, they were tearing around the golf course trails.

The family that I’m staying with has two skiers on the team, Luke and Lindsey.  They’ve been great for helping me get to know the ski community here in Park City.

The skiers on the team are by no means Nordic specialists, either.  One of the girls is a Nordic Combined skier and just returned from a competition in Lake Placid where she jumped the 120m.  Crazy.  Another is on a traveling soccer team that is one of the best in the country, winning tournaments wherever they travel.  It’s great to see that these skiers are well-rounded and still have some serious Nordic skillz.

jump!

Thanks to Toni Adams for the great photos from the clinic, as well as the ideal accommodations during my altitude training camp here in Park City.

The Film Festival isn’t until next week, but that didn’t stop Matt Whitcomb, Liz Stephen and I from heading over to Robert Redford’s “ranch” for a morning of skiing.  We celebrated Liz‘s birthday and skied for a few hours on the 12km of trails at Sundance.

Liz heading past the yurt/warming hut at the trailhead

Kuz & Whitcomb soaking up some rays

Rewaxing as the weather warmed - perfect conditions today

Happy Birthday, Liz!

I was at home in Minneapolis long enough to do my laundry and repack my bags, before heading back to the airport and flying to Salt Lake City for an altitude training camp in Park City.

What did I do with my 24 hours at home?

part of this complete breakfast

After two weeks living in a hotel room with only cereal and oatmeal for breakfast, some scrambled eggs, fresh bread with Keweenaw jam, and juicy bacon sure hit the spot.

I got out for a relaxed, flat ski with my Dad.  He just completed the inaugural Sisu Ski Fest at the ABR trails in Ironwood and had great things to say about the event.  Needless to say, we were both content to stick to the flat trails on the lakes.

Check out Downtown Minneapolis

Channel between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles

We ended the day watching the Packers in the playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals.  The highest scoring NFL Playoff game in history made for an exciting game.  My new favorite team is the New Orleans Saints.

This morning I was back at the airport, watching my ski bag get loaded onto the plane once again, this time for sunnier skiing.

I rarely get the window seat, but after this most recent trip to Alaska, I was awarded Medallion Status on Delta.  Three flights to Alaska and one to Europe in a year will bank miles in a hurry.  The advantages to the upgraded status include shorter check-in lines, free checked baggage (saves $100/trip!), and a First Class upgrade if seats are available.  Usually I don’t get to sit by the window, but with the First Class leg room, I really enjoyed the view!

Downtown Minneapolis

From front to back: Lake Harriett, Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, and Cedar Lake

These were the lakes we skied on yesterday, putting on our skis just blocks from my folks’ house.

Of course, the view of the Rockies (between Denver and Salt Lake) wasn’t bad either.

We’re flying out of Anchorage and back to Minneapolis today.  One of the coolest things about Anchorage is how well everyone seems to adapt to the conditions, both cold and darkness.  All week I was surprised to see cyclists commuting through town at all times of day.  I ran into Paul (pictured) originally from Madison, Wisconsin watching the races yesterday afternoon.  At my bike shop, New Moon, the Surly Pugsly is more of a shop ornament than a real ride.  In Alaska, however, everyone seems to have one.  All of the multi-use (parkway) trails are groomed, rather than plowed like in Minneapolis, so the Pug is one of the best ways to get around town.  Paul spoke of regular 50 mi group rides across town.  Crazy.  Riding in the Anchorage winter is not all sunshine, though.  Notice the helmet and handle bar brackets for a sweet light set-up as well — twin 20 watt bulbs capable of blinding most oncoming traffic.  What kind of pressure do they run in those tires?  8 – 10psi.  Speaking of pressure, I’m getting the full 120psi to get on the plane right now, so my next post will be from back in the lower 48. . .

Just wrapped up the 2010 Nationals in Anchorage.  It’s been a bittersweet week of racing and today was no exception.  I ended up qualifying first in the classic sprint, which is the first time I’ve ever qualified first at Nationals (after 3 consecutive 2nds).  I’d been considering double-poling the course on skate skis, but in the end decided to kick it on classic skis.  Definitely the best decision.  Unfortunately, my afternoon ended early with a crash in the quarter final.  No one’s fault but my own, simply going too fast for my own good and tripping myself up coming out  of a fast corner.  Congrats to the All-Alaskan final in the men’s sprint.

Got lots of packing and sleep to catch up on before a long travel day tomorrow.  I’ll hopefully get time and internet at the airport tomorrow morning for a more detailed update on the week.  For now, I’ll leave you with some shots from Ian Harvey & Toko.

The forecast for today was 28 degrees and partly cloudy.  It wouldn’t be a 30km Classic at Nationals without some more variables thrown into the mix.  Sure enough, when we woke up this morning, there were big dollar flakes accumulating in a hurry.  Of course, coach Bryan Fish and his wax crew of Igor Badamshin, Brandan Ostroot, and John Hugus were out and on the trail testing kick wax before 6:00 this morning.  By the time the men’s team arrived at the venue for their 11:30 start, Fish had the wax dialed and the women were already on course.

Getting reports from their race that we had two women in the lead pack was encouraging for our crew warming up.  In the end, Compton and Rebecca took 3rd and 4th, not far behind Kikkan Randall and Holly Brooks in 1st and 2nd.

Caitlin Compton leading Rebecca Dussault and Liz Stephen

The men’s race was just as exciting.  I sat out the race this morning, as has been the plan all along, in preparation for the classic sprint on Friday.  I tested skis in the stadium with a number of the other sprinters, while the men’s field clicked off kilometers on their way to 30km through the fresh falling snow.  James Southam, Kris Freeman, and Bryan Cook pulled away from the field early.  In an exciting race of fades and comebacks, James extended his lead over Kris who barely held off a hard charging Cook over the final kilometers.

With Cook on the podium, that made for a CXC athlete on each podium so far this week, and our 5th different CXC skier on the podium.  Brian Gregg and CXC’s very own pro mountain biker Tad Elliott worked together for most of the classic race, before Gregg pulled away with an impressive double-pole at the end of the race to take 5th.  With Chuck’s 4th in the 15km skate and Gregg’s 5th today, that makes 7 different CXC skiers with Top-5 finishes so far at Nationals.  Not bad.  We’re still looking forward to a National Championship that could come in the Classic Sprint.

Bryan Cook

Brian Gregg

Tad Elliott

Photos by Ian Harvey – Toko.

No, not the NCAA football National Championship–the Nordic Ski Nationals in Anchorage, Alaska.  The first race is in the books with my former Middlebury teammate Simi Hamilton taking the men’s sprint title.  Kikkan Randall won the women’s, with CXC skier Rebecca Dussault taking second.  I ended up qualifying second in the sprint for the third consecutive year.  For the first time, however, I made it into the A-final at Nationals and ended up in third.  Solid day.

We just finished our team meeting for the 15km skate tomorrow.  Looks like we’ll have great conditions for an exciting race.  The enthusiasm in the CXC camp is very high after a solid start for everyone on Saturday.

Check out these photos from Saturday’s skate sprint by Laura Gardner. . .

Women's semi-final overlooking bridge and race stadium

Leading the men's semi-final

All packed up and looking forward to tomorrow!