Train Up or Let 'er go Down

Week five and once again there is snow. You are welcome. The snow was bad enough that several did not make it [although Greg and Joram did from Sheboygan] .

We had a nice circular gathering and did a pretty solid effort judging by Lulloff Sweat Index which measured "gross".

It may pay to remind everyone next week [at 5:54pm] that it is really the core muscle groups that make or break you. Most of the time tonight when we saw technical slippage it was a failure to maintain core tension.

We saw some creative technical movements tonight and while I'm all for positive expression we may have to conform to a higher standard. There is style but only after basic technical skills are mastered.

There are a lot of cool videos that can help you improve on technique. One of my favorite sites is http://www.xczone.com/newmainpage.htm . They have a lot of film. The Unlimited is a fun one but they have lots. Cool stuff. With all the new snow there is not reason not to be skiing. Birkie skiers need to be starting those LSD [long slow distance] skis efforts of 3-4 hours duration, once per week. These are to be skied at easy level one/two paces [60-65 % of max] but steady. Keep stopping to a minimum, have your bottle stops planned and GU at the ready. These are sustained efforts best suited to moderate terrain for the early season. Make the most of these by experimenting with wax, food and even clothing. Better to know now that pickled herring does not sit well with your tummy after two hours. After the ski be sure and get dry clothes, re-hydrate right away and recover for the next week. As always these are perfect days to refine and perfect technique.

By now most of you have the Class Jacket. It looks pretty sweet. Grovel is not too strong a word to describe what I went through for those. The remainder are at In Comp and I will have the rest at class next week. Color is first come first serve but almost everyone likes both.

Many of you are skeptical of my chances of making you hip but I will persevere. If you cannot Train Up you can always http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyDYTNw4QAE and if you don't believe that is hip the better half will talk about you behind your back http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fpW1thGues .

Nice night, drive careful and spend new years day on a three hour ski. SO2 next week at 5:57pm.

Gary gets huge and eats Sam.

Think like a Beaver.

Two friends not talking to each other.

Wallace takes a knee, whooosy!

Nice hair.