November, 2010

Thanksgiving might have been last week, but why not celebrate the world’s greatest holiday twice?!  Given a hefty race schedule last week, we were unable to truly indulge on Thanksgiving number 1–not to mention we didn’t even have pumpkin pie.  With a big volume training week coming up, it’s important to pack in as many calories as possible.  After the races this weekend, Leif Zimmermann gave us some fresh elk meat he just shot this fall.  So, in lieu of turkey, we decided to have elk burgers for our Thanksgiving Part II.

Initially, I was going to make myself a Man vs. Food style four-pound elk burger, complete with sauteed mushrooms and onions (in honor of the Travel Channel show we’ve been enjoying this week).  In the end, though, it was probably for the better that the meat get divided into eleven prime elk burgers. . .enough to feed our entire team.  In addition to the burgers, mushrooms, and onions, we had squash soup (inspired by Skoldy), baked squash seeds, a big Compton salad, and Jessie made four (count ’em, FOUR) pumpkin pies.  Oh yeah!

A Happy Thanksgiving (Part II)  from a happy CXC crew.

The week of the West Yellowstone camp is always one of the craziest of the ski season and this year was no exception.  From skiing on roller skis into the Park our first day,  to postponing the sprints because there was so much snow that the timer could not get over the pass, it was an eventful Thanksgiving Camp.

Here are some photos of the highlights. .  .

Igor and the CXC Junior team brought the snow. . .and lots of it!

So much snow you could ski on the roads!

Photo: Ian Harvey - Toko

Kicking off the North American racing season with bib number one.  Oh yeah.

Justin Easter single handedly made our Thanksgiving dinner and, of course, carved the turkey.  Andy, our Austrian Caterer, cooked up most of our food for the week with a distinctly Bavarian flavor: brats, sauerkraut, schnitzel, and even Warsteiner on tap.  A big thanks to Andy and Justin for their hard work keeping us well fed all week.

Aga, one of the CXC Masters Team members, skied with us all week.  When we weren’t on the trails, the elite team athletes enjoyed the company of our many masters team members over some of Andy and Justin’s satisfying meals.

Photo: Ian Harvey - Toko

Tad Elliott took the first win of the season for CXC in the 15km Skate.  Nice work Tad!

Photo: Ian Harvey - Toko

Thanks to our coaches, Jason Cork and Gus Kaeding, for getting us some fast skis and to Ian Harvey and Toko for some fast wax and race shots.  Major props to Gus who tackled a spectator crossing the trail in front of me, narrowly preventing a serious collision.  Guess it pays to have a coach that can bench 225lbs!  That was probably the most entertaining thing I witnessed all weekend.

Photo: Mike Brown - Sisu Skiers

Finally, thanks to Ben Popp, Mike Nightengale, and Mike Brown with Sisu Skiers for inspiring, organizing, and sponsoring the Kuzzy Kids Clinic at West Yellowstone.

We had close to 30 kids from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, Wyoming, Great Britain, and Utah participate in the clinic.

In reality, it was the kids from The Utah Nordic Alliance (TUNA), who led the clinic.  They demonstrated how to pull flawless 360’s, effortlessly skate backwards, and have a lot of fun on skis.  Major props to their coaches for pulling together such an active group of skiers.  Keeping up with their tradition of supporting local skiers and events, Salomon pitched in some cool boot bags for all the kids.

A big thanks to my teammate Brian Gregg for his help, too!  He spends a ton of time working with kids this age at the Boys & Girls Club in Hayward through his In The Arena project.  His help was invaluable making the afternoon a big success.  For now, I’m looking forward to a week of kicking back in West Yellowstone and the opportunity to enjoy all this new snow!

Skis are waxed, laundry is clean, and snow is falling.  Life’s good in West Yellowstone.

Now that winter is here, it’s time to start dreaming about summer.  Check this out for a little inspiration. . .

The Rendezvous ski trails in West are groomed and ready to go.  We got out for the first skate of the season (well, in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) this morning and I went for a chill classic ski in freshly groomed tracks this evening.  Even though the trails are in good shape, there are hardly any other skiers in the neighborhood. . .this will surely change soon.

Compton cruising the Rendezvous Trails. Photo: Jay Richards

Jake Richards joined us for our skate this morning.  Jake’s a high school junior, Minnesota mountain bike phenom, and  rippin’ Nordic skier.  He recently won the Short & Fat at Chequamegon, but more impressive was his win the next day in the bunny hop competition. . .

Jake Richards. Photo: skinnyski.com

Those are some ups!  Needless to say, it was awesome to have Jake join us on the ski today.

Jake & Kuz - photo: Jay Richards

My classic ski at the end of the day went longer than expected and I ended up on the trail well after dark.  While I was out there I briefly ran into another skier, rockin’ wool knickers and big beard, cruising through the woods with a headlamp.

Going in opposite directions, I commented:

“Pretty sweet night for a ski.”

He responded:

“Not bad for the first pancake throwaway ski of the year!”

He was gone before I had the chance to inquire what that even meant, but somehow I have to agree with him.

Not bad for the first pancake throwaway ski of the year.

Looking for snow?  These photos should speak for themselves. . .

Diggs

Eric

Diggs & Comp-town (Gus Kaeding photo)

Choo-choo

We received some much needed snow in West Yellowstone last night.  They even rolled the Rendezvous Trails, but we opted to drive up to the Plateau for some classic intervals on the access road.  Getting out of the van, we stepped into one of the gnarliest snowfalls I’ve seen in a long time.  As we worked into the ski the skies cleared and we were able to ski some quality classic intervals.  Diggins and Compton were hauling.  Gus and Cork were on hand offering technique advice and Gus snapped a few shots of our new Podiumwear uniforms.

Today, I learned two things about Podiumwear:

1. They make suits in both regular and tall lengths.

2. My pants are not of the tall variety.

Day One.  Made myself a new pair of rock skis on the Plateau this morning, but still pretty sweet to be skiing on snow.  Even cooler to be getting snow reports from folks back home in Hayward and Minneapolis.

These skis were fresh before the ski!

The ground is frozen and it won’t take much more snow to make the skiing a lot better.  The whole team cruised together along the Plateau this morning.  We even came across bear tracks that followed the trail for at least 5km.  This afternoon I roller skied into the Park and had a standoff with a couple herds of elk with a couple of big bulls.  Great to be back in Montana (or Wyoming as the case may be).

Brian Gregg photo.

In alma matter news. . .

Rob Fuhr just sent me these photos taken by a student on Wednesday afternoon when I joined the Hopkins team for a Captains Practice.  Thanks to Connor Benton and the Hopkins Captains for getting me out.  There were over 60 skiers at the practice.  Dang!

Best comment of the day:

Garrott: “This exercise is really good for your skating.”

First year skier in eighth grade: “What’s skating?”

Connor: “We haven’t taught them about skate and classic yet.”

Well, luckily, these students joined the best ski team in the state and will soon be teaching all the other teams in Minnesota a thing or two about skating.

Finally. . .

Congrats to the Middlebury Men’s and Women’s cross country running teams on qualifying for NCAA’s and making history.  The women have had plenty of experience at NCAA’s (including multiple National Championships), but it’s first time the men’s team has ever made it to Nationals.  Not a bad way for Terry to celebrate his birthday and his retirement.  Nice work Terry and Nicole!

As the final send-off before a winter on the road, I spent a week back in Minneapolis catching up with friends and getting skiers fired up for the season ahead.  A highlight of some of the events during a full tour include: the CXC Hoigaard’s SuperFit getting skiers outfitted with new equipment, leading a USSA Level 100 Coaches Clinic at Hoigaard’s, an afternoon of playing with the St Croix Valley youth ski club in Marine, an Olympic slideshow at Finn Sisu, and a morning with Madame Skold’s 5th Graders at the French Immersion School in Edina.

If you haven’t been to a CXC/Salomon SuperFit yet, you’re missing out on some pretty cool ski fitting technology using a “Flex Mat” to find skis with the best flex pattern (aka: the fastest skis).  That’s the same technology we use when picking our skis–the fastest boards on the tour.  There are still a couple of SuperFit sales coming up this fall, so check it out!

Another cool piece to the SuperFits are the USSA Level 100 Coaches Clinics led by CXC coaches and athletes.  At Hoigaard’s, we had coaches from St Paul Central, Edina, Bloomington Jefferson & Kennedy, and Anwatin Middle School/City of Lakes Loppet Ski Foundation.  Each of these programs has between 60 and 100 student-athletes.  By working with these coaches, we were able to reach out to over 400 junior skiers.  With the Minnesota State High School season starting next week, this was the perfect time of year to refresh the coaches on drills and skills to teach the kids.

These coaches are taking a big step forward in Coaches Education: learning how to bring their skiers to the next level and have even more fun on skis.

Adopt an Athlete

If you haven’t heard of CXC’s Adopt an Athlete program, you should check it out.  Basically, groups or clubs come together to fund raise for CXC and essentially “adopt” an athlete of their choice.  The funds raised by the Adopt an Athlete program go towards funding the entire team, which covers coaching, training, travel, and race expenses for the CXC Team.  In return, the “adopted” athlete becomes affiliated with that club and can help them at various events of their choice during the year.

The club that adopted me is the St Croix Valley Ski Club in Marine on St Croix.  Led by Everett Myers, the club has over 120 youth skiers and parents that get together for a weekly Sunday ski all winter.  Last weekend, they hosted their annual club Ski Swap.  I have never seen so many tiny skis, boots, and poles getting passed along through the generations.  According to Everett, over 80 skiers signed up for the club on Sunday afternoon–45 of which were brand new skiers to the club.

It’s a real honor for me to be able to work with such an enthusiastic club and pretty cool to see individuals like Everett doing so much work to build the cross country ski community from the grassroots level.  Jessie Diggins, another CXC Team athlete, came out to help me work with the kids.  We worked on a variety of ski-specific balance, strength, and coordination exercises with a fun twist to keep the kids motivated.  We also played a variety of games, including football, soccer, and capture the flag.

One of the young skiers, showing off his new skis to Jessie.

After a full afternoon of games, the group relaxed in the Marine Town Hall with an Olympic Slideshow and the kids got autographs and postcards to take home.

The final highlight of the week was a presentation to Madame Skold’s 5th Graders at the French Immersion School.  Unfortunately, the extent of my French is limited to “hello” and “good-bye,” so it was a pretty short presentation.

Actually, Mme Skold (my best friend Dan’s mother) got special permission from the principal to have an English speaking guest.  The class was very attentive and enthusiastic.  Many of the kids had even been to Hayward and seen the Birkie or skied in the Barnebirkie.  It was pretty cool to see a class full of 5th Graders fluent in French.

For now, it’s time to pack up and hit the road to West Yellowstone tomorrow morning.  After a refreshing rest week, I’m ready to start skiing.

Big weekend of SuperFits, presentations, and clinics in the Twin Cities.  I’m kicking back tonight to watch the Packer Sunday Night Game.  Check back tomorrow for a recap of the weekend’s events.

For now, plan to swing into Finn Sisu tomorrow (Monday night from 6-7pm) for an Olympic Slideshow and stories from last winter–and get fired up for the winter ahead.  Presentation will be 30 – 45 minutes with time for questions at the end.  Stop by and check it out!

http://www.finnsisu.com/t-events.aspx

Tossed on my snow skis for the first time in North America this season.  Temps in Hayward have been getting well below freezing during the cold, starry nights.  That’s made conditions perfect for early morning frost skiing.  Just 15 minutes of kicking around on classic boards this morning make the real season feel even closer and my training that much more focused.

The OO Trail Head

Eric and Brian cooling off after their workout

The cold temps also make the lake perfect for icing after a hard workout.

Don’t forget:

1. Vote

2. Check out the Middlebury Ski Team auction: ends tonight!

Interested in picking up some cool winter gear and supporting a rad cause?  Check out the Middlebury Ski Team online auction, going on now.  It ends Tuesday night, so check it out!

While you’re there, you can bid on, among other things, two Olympic UnderArmour pull-overs:

You can also pick up alpine skis, lift tickets, bike jerseys, bike trips, Midd team apparel, and more.  If I were to bid on one thing, I think I’d go for a Snow Bowl lift chair.  I don’t have anywhere to hang it, but one of these would be sweet!

In other Middlebury sports news (and this really should be on top). . .CONGRATS to the Midd Men’s & Women’s Cross Country teams and Terry & Nichole for winning the NESCAC Conference championship.  That’s the first time the men’s team has ever won NESCAC’s–particularly impressive considering it’s one of the toughest running conferences in the country.  Good luck to the teams as they move toward the end of the season!