Obsession,compulsion or dedication. Skiing well takes a little of the former but a lot of the latter. Todd Rosvald sent in this photo of himself doing a balance workout, not too unusual except that he was was doing it in the 9th floor stair well of the Atlantis Hotel in the Bahamas last week, you decide what category he fits into. Note the 2 X 2's he had with him, imagine his answer to the TSA dudes after the full body scan. Speaking of lumber Paul Braun offers anyone specially cut Swedish lumber in the 5.08 centimeter X 5.08 centimeter dimension for only $12/meter. See http://www.braunbuilding.com/ for more great deals.
The class went great tonight. Judging by the sweat I had to think the effort was a solid one. We are getting more and more folks who can pull off the Power Plank, impressive. I am seeing deeper and stronger compressions which will pay dividends come Birkie time. We still need to work on balance some more. These drills work and for the ones that are doing them keep them up as you are already finding out how effective good balance can be. I kind of expect a little more upper body soreness this week but that will peak as we will only have to maintain that effort from here on out.
Lots to report. Congrats to those who did the Birkie Tour this past weekend in cold conditions. Not easy. See http://vimeo.com/19136243 for the helmet cam video. This week promises to be warmer with temps in the 20's through Saturday before it cools again. Get that long ski in early. The Noque Marathon promises unusually warm temps (for them) but with the likelihood that new snow will slow things down a bit. Check with www.skinnyski.com for updates and http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Marquette&state=MI&site=MQT&lat=46.5508&lon=-87.3957 for MQT weather. The Birkie has a bunch of changes taking place this year be sure and check those out at www.birkie.com including the Telemark Lodge re-opening at least for the races.
As the weather moderates it is time to re-flood the skis with wax that the colder dessicated snow sucked out of them. Most trails are in good shape and I know several are doing some long efforts this weekend at Lakewood. These are great trails for simulating the Birkie. Stop at the Dairy Delite Depot in Suring on the trip home for a protein recovery drink (Chocolate shake).
OK, we got a lot done but now it is ski time. I don't think 50-100km between now and next Tuesday is unreasonable. Find some hills, get a friend and do some distance. Focus on technique and the RECOVERY portion of your stroke. Think GLIDE, RECOVER and PUSH. Nice night tonight. I will send an email blast about Noque waxing on Thursday. Good luck if you race, have fun when you ski.
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