Birkie Class 2-2-10 Pants so tight it hurts

It’s a little early to be calling it a movement but Tyson having his britches hiked up under his armpits has all the indications of a fashion statement in the making and while it certainly was one way to force a clench it is not exactly what I had in mind.

What a “core-iffic” night. I know it’s tough when it gets that quiet. The one third failure rule was in effect tonight as at least a third of the group had to bag some of the efforts early. That is OK; it was destined to be tough. There was noticeable fatigue as the night went on but I am impressed with the output. Our “ V” Crunch was H A R D. I know eight weeks ago the idea of fifty of those never came up. Whew.

With today’s snow the skiing pace has slowed considerably. Gone is the tilled ice base (sort of) and speeds are coming back down to normal and wax jobs may last more than an hour. The good news about the last few weeks is that most skiers have adapted to icy conditions better and will find better control in future ice “events”. I would like you all go back and review this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKhjtRepR_U&NR=1 again. Note that not all skiers are doing the same things and some are virtually lock step together. Slow it down and note the dynamics of these folks. Wow indeed. With BSG coming up and the Birkie closed now is the time to do a few things.

• Start waxing those skis. The last week or so was hard on them. Soak them with some temp appropriate waxes. CH8, Toko Red/Yellow as we will see forecasted temps in the 20’s+.
  


• Double check poles and baskets. We notice a lot of loose or cracked ones lately.
  


• Do some modest speed work. 50 K race pace efforts for 3-5 minutes. It will not be flat out. Remember that 50K pace is not WFO.
  


• Do a little specific strength work like double poling, single sticking. Think about that drag race off the start line and where those poles need to be (in tight).


• 
  Spend a few minutes getting those pole straps adjusted. Not only do they give you more power they really help steer that pole out of harms way (look at that video again).
  
  We only have a few weeks left and we will ramp down a little. Andy chastised me for forgetting the dips but we will make it up. I don’t want to but sometime you have to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0l3QWUXVho
  
  Thanks to Erick for the photo Montage ( and reminding me to do things) Great night, good effort. It seems to be coming together. Well done skiers.