Birkie Class Jan 24 High on Life

“I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal
lobotomy” said Paul Braun after getting through with our “cold shutdown” last
night. We would all like to stretch, warm up and start respiring before we
start a race, which would be a nice story; too bad ski racing is not like that.
We are forced to start the engine, and floor it! Hardly good for fuel economy
and that is what ski racing is…saving energy. You do what you can to be efficient.
You breathe deep, ski smooth and long and get with the bunch that is smooth…
like you! Races are never won at the beginning, that said you want to maintain
contact. The Birkie has a lot of elevation gain early and as a rule hills
require a lot of breathing [jeenyus I am]. I mention that because when tired a
lot of skiers lower their heads effectively cutting off breathing. See the parallel?
When the dude two skiers in front of you plants his pole between his feet I
want to see it and move seamlessly left or right so that I don’t have to waste
energy either by stopping or losing momentum. Breathing is your pal, do it
often, do it hard and with gusto.
This is a great video of the lassies of the USST during a
training camp last May (nice). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDZTHQlc1N8
Note in the V1 the triceps not just up but traveling parallel to the slope. Get
that picture in your upright head. The fastest skiers spend “quality time” re-enforcing
good technique. You should too. A couple notes more. I notice upper body strength
improved greatly as a whole. Dips in particular look strong. Show me good triceps
and I’ll show you a good skier. Things are coming along, we just need to ski.
The camp was very skiable today and great snow is found most places north of highway
8. Afterglow is getting good reviews, see http://www.skinnyski.com/
for more. We are having a wax clinic tonight at 6:00pm http://www.incompetition.com/ and for your
calendar the Nicolet Norski 36K and 7K coming up Feb 4th see http://www.skiwithanst.org/ and on Feb 18th
the Stump Farm Open 12K (a great tune up for the Birkie) Tim McCoy is on his
way now to the La Vuelta PR http://www.vueltapr.com/
bike race, 375 mile in three days, uhhh. Good luck to all of you doing the
Noque this weekend. The weather looks good, hopefully it won’t snow and the
course is 100% good. Nice effort last night, I promise we may not do that
again. Watch that video and go do your TOD this weekend. Next week at 5:55.

Birkie Class 1-18 Your Brain is not the Boss

An interesting thing happened on the way to the workout last night….after 100 Death Triangles
(your’re welcome) it was virtually everyone that could NOT get their triceps up
to even horizontal. Imagine that, when fatigued your body does not do what you
want it to. Want another example? When totally gassed do you remember how hard
it is to hold a deep tuck, that’s how the famous Ernst Resting Tukk was
discovered. Now fast forward to the part where “they” (everyone) say’s “it’s
all mental” ……IT IS ALL MENTAL! This is where we train the brain to overcome
the fatigue that sets in when you work hard. Your brain will not make your arms
feel better but by staying efficient and effective you will be able to continue
at a higher level. Moral: When tired, keep your technique together. Double your
mental effort and you will find yourself skiing better and faster.
Notice the pipes on my two pals above. Marit and Therese, when not busy winning a dozen or
so Gold medals at the Olympics and WC’s, they spend a lot of effort skiing
technically perfect so that it becomes automatic when exhausted. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P8v7WCPZlQ&feature=related
Now if they would only stop calling me their "et Spillsystemet av brennende kjærlighet".

We had an awesome night last night. Next week we will do a “cold shutdown” Remind me.
Everyone looked tough and ready. Get that 3-5 hour TOD ski in this weekend and
we will see you next session at 5:56pm. Sharp!

Don't forget the Lakewood Race on Feb 4th and the Stump Farm Open on Feb.18th. Put them on your calendar.

Birkie Class Jan. 10th Oh wow man!

You should be smokin’ brudder, not your caar. The group was flying tonight as we had what was
probably the best effort of the season, even the 140+ dips we did felt OK.
About half the group pulled off a Power Planck which you would have never
guessed a few weeks ago. Our 30 minutes of aerobic work went by fast and with
barely a hiccup. All in all a groovy night.

That all said I still see room for improvement in the balance department. Remember Static and Dynamic Balance. You need both to ski well. The best motor does no good if you are on
your back.

There is room to be optimistic about snow. NOAA http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?FcstType=text&TempBox=1&WindBox=1&WeatherBox=1&PoPBox=1&textField1=44.519&textField2=-88.02&Submit=Submit&MapType=3&site=MPX&CiTemplate=0
has us in GB getting 5” or more by Thursday.

www.skinnyski.com has up to date trail reports and maps refreshed daily. Iola, Nine Mile and
Afterglow are best bets close by. Get some friends and make a day of it. You
need that 3-5 hour TOD ski (Technique Over Distance) once a week to pull off a
good Birkie. We have seven weeks which is plenty of time but no time to waste.
At least 10 class skiers were at Minocqua last weekend, get together and go
ski. This weekend is the SISU Marathon the 1st Midwest Marathon
of the season, good luck to those going up.

We are getting better every week and I am positive about the efforts. We have a lot to do next week so be ready to roll at 5:55pm and be sure and hydrate
before class and during and after all ski sessions. Remember we have a WAX CLINIC at 6:00pm tomorrow at In Comp www.incompetition.com
and that Deb is looking for some folks who want to ski long either Friday or
Sunday, give her a call for a long one. Get your skis ready as we hit snow in a
few days. Rest well tonight for this week we ski.

Birkie Class Jan. 3 Wanted: SNOW

Hey, does anyone have a couple of these parked in your garage?? January 5th and no snow. What gives! That said there is snow but it involves driving. How far depends on how good the skiing you want. The UP has great snow now with the Keweenaw being the best. Houghton was great last week before they received 10" By the way did I mention skiing on snow is not like running, biking or even rollerskiing. My quads are still sore. The lakes north of highway 64 are skiable and most trails north of highway 8 are good to better. This is where being in a group is advantageous; get a few friends, pile into the rig and OD on some Northern snow. A three hour session will feel like 5 but after two days you will remember why we do this. http://www.skinnyski.com/ is posting trail reports, be sure and look there (with envy).

Tuesday night went alright. I saw serious sweating and lots of pained expressions, you guys are such kidders, I almost believed it was hard. You may realize that with time things get easier. I am pleased that we have increased the duration and intensity of the workouts, all with less recovery, good signs. Use Tuesday nights for your strength component and as a tool for improved balance and timing. HOMEWORK: I am serious about the wood. Balance is huge and we all have room to improve on that score. Next week I would like to have a 30 minute continual aerobic segment. Get hydrated and put your focus caps on.

Their here! At last the jackets have arrived and we have them here at the store if you want to get them early otherwise I will be bring them next week. They are all labeled with your name so just as if you are by. Meanwhile keep up the snow dance and a couple reminders. Bay Nordic member’s note that this weekends session has been postponed (no snow, no choice) and that we have a waxing clinic on Wed. Jan 11th. See our homepage for details www.incompetition.com
Nice workout this week. Now do some scouting, make some calls to friends and get on some snow. See you next week.