Birkie Class Dec. 15th Let them Eat Cake

Week two and all went well……..save the creaky joints this morning. For some the night was a shock and for others a piece of cake. Personally I like chocolate but it will have to do.

I think that our focus on some technical fundamentals will pay off. I am absolutely certain that what you look like in class, on a hill or skiing is the same. A technical mistake made in class will be repeated on snow and while the motor is important they [motors] are a dime a dozen and it is technical efficiency that separates good from average skiers. So, the good and bad news? There are lots of mistakes being made [bad] but that means we also have lots of ways to improve [positive affirmation].

I have a lot of links to go to and things to look at. Consider it part of your homework in addition to the “meet the mirror” sessions you will all be doing with glee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brGZlZkCwyk a great drill video for all levels.
http://baynordic.blogspot.com/ Bay Nordic Youth Group photos and more (really cool for kids)
http://www.universalsports.com/photos/galleryid=377686.html#world+cup+davos+sprints World Cup shots. Look for compression, POOF and the forward shin angle.
http://www.skinnyski.com/ for trail reports and more

With the advancing cold weather the evil blue and green waxes are coming out. These are cold temp with high temp application methods. Cold waxes work great and are vital to skiing but are probably the root cause of most of the base damage we see. Make sure you “pre-wax” your skis with a softer warmer wax before using the cold stuff. This lubricates the base and will help minimize damage. As always move the iron fast and scrape little and brush more. We have some wax clinics scheduled see http://www.incompetition/ for details

The night went well. We are scheduled to start Lactate Testing in the next week but it will take several weeks to get it all done. We will do one at a time and you will miss a few minutes of class…..be sure it’s during dips.
The efforts will become more consistent as we work through some technical issues and get more fluid. Please note that we start at 5:57pm (5:45pm for any doctors in the group). Have fun skiing and do your mirror work. Check out the smile on Ingred, that's worth a thousand dips.

Birkie Class Dec.8 2009 Soft FOG

The start of the 2010 Birkie Season has begun. Our Birkie Class Soft Start went well with the seasoned veterans’ getting right back in the groove and all the newcomers doing well in their first session.

As you may have gleaned we have a bunch of Acronyms to deal with. The Ernst POOF Theory (Push Off Outside of Foot) is an advanced concept but goes hand and hand with the thought that you must lengthen your stride to ski faster/more efficiently. [Remember there are only two ways to increase speed; lengthen stride or turn over faster]. We have a basic knowledge of the “Big Three” ski strokes, V1, V2 Alternate (V2A) and V2 and what they look like. Dynamic Balance, the ability to balance and the strengthening it takes to achieve it are things we will spend a lot of time with. Next week we will ramp up efforts (yes already) but it will be in steps and as before we will work technique before power.

Erick Wickum taught me one thing last night, I suck at photography. His shots look great and you can see some of them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/incomp/ and he linked in a YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvqAoG5OFoI The only issue is his lens makes me look fat which he needs to address. As you look at the images be aware of the actual speed at which you ski. Slapping at the poles or sharp jerky motions is just not real world. Think big push, long stride. What we did are things you can do at home. Practice in front of a window or mirror. Practice perfect because practice makes permanent. DOMS [Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness] peaks 24-48 hours after a workout but don’t call me, as Board Chairman of FOG Racing (Fat Old Guys) I get it worse than anyone.

Couple more notes:
Birkie Class Starts at 5:57pm with a magic word not to be repeated after 6:00pm.
Snow reports are flooding in to http://www.skinnyski.com/ , be sure and add your own.
Expect trails to be soft the first few days. Ski easy and get your legs underneath you. Get those skis waxed for some colder snow. CH6 or Toko Red should be alright for now. The County Parks phone number is 448-4466 to give them a little prodding about the shelter and grooming. The soft start went well and I think it pays to step back and think about some concepts and targets. Now go ski and practice some as well. Good work and we’ll see you next week.
ME

Hillbounding 12-1 Let 'er go down

For the twenty skiers who enjoyed the last bounding session of the year it was bittersweet, the toughest of the tough workouts are over but the camaraderie and fitness gleaned from going up that hill will hopefully continue. Here are some numbers: In the eleven weeks we met the group averaged 22 people who climbed the hill over 600 collective times and the average person spent over 45 minutes above their anaerobic threshold (red zone). Now the focus must shift to snow and establishing some early season contact with skiing and then some specific strength, skill and speed work. What that means is that you need to find snow and do some early and easy skiing to get acclimated and then as the year progresses incorporate more specific workouts into your week. The upcoming Birkie Class http://www.incompetition.com/html/eventRegister.psp is an example of a ski specific strength workout and for most skiers is enough to maintain a positive strength conditioning level.

A few more notes: The snow is coming with the UP getting it's first taste. Check http://www.skinnyski.com/ for trail reports. http://www.dartfish.tv/Player.aspx?CR=p1490c6378m63702 has some great world cup videos and from Yellowstone's ski week. When you get out on snow be sure to look at our new Yellowstone Rollers http://www.yellowstonetrack.com/default2.asp?active_page_id=49. We have two new ones for the county which will dramatically improve early and light snow grooming.

I think that this year was the best ever for hillbounding. The quality of the efforts was great. Make no mistake these are hard efforts and compares favorably to other skier groups both technically and physically. Thinking ahead to next year we might add a few technique days on Saturday mornings and give the technical side of bounding even greater importance.

Lastly thanks to Steve P. for his HRM strips (be sure to expand it). I model the workouts a lot based on his hard numbers. Note today's strip showed a killing shot at minute 35......I wish I could remember what it was so that we could duplicate it!

Well done this year, get out the wax gear and as you get on snow remember its all downhill from here.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyDYTNw4QAE.

PS: The World Cup opener last weekend 15km CLASSIC. Top 5 in 10 seconds! Whew.

Men's 15K1. Petter Northug, Norway, 35:22.22. Maxim Vylegzhanin, Russia, 35:23.43. Alexander Legkov, Russia, 35:30.14. Kris Freeman, Andover, NH, 35:32.35. Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Norway, 35:32.7

That is a great 10km Skate time for most skiers.

Men's 15K1. Petter Northug, Norway, 35:22.22. Maxim Vylegzhanin, Russia, 35:23.43. Alexander Legkov, Russia, 35:30.14. Kris Freeman, Andover, NH, 35:32.35. Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Norway, 35:32.7

November 24 Bounding with the Knoll People

A full quarter of the group of 15 showed up wearing shorts on November 24th, huh? The temp was pegged at 44 degrees and we beat the rain by two hours making for a great night. Steve's HRM (be sure and click on it) shows the crescendo like effort we had. The needle like spikes are in contrast to earlier in the year where the recovery interval took longer than the working phase. The POOF Theory of Stroke Initiation was born out last light as most demonstrated a longer push off on their strides. Remember that pushing off the outside edge is an advanced model but easily [?] mastered and is what seperates the good from the great. Practice that one....a lot.

A bunch more notes: The 17th Birkie Class is a go on Dec. 8th. Our roster list is coming along and you can sign up at www.incompetition.com .

Erick (the K is silent) Wikum has linked in the complete hill video on YouTube, find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfy_hVXsNbc . A star is born.

Next week we wrap up the year in bounding as snow is scheduled to be on the ground on Dec. 6th. Steve said the 30 reps last night felt easy, conditioning will do that to you. Get out and practice some "push a ways" from the Thanksgiving table. Eat the veggies and try Sprite misted on your salad instead of dressing, it's really good. Have a great week and we wrap it up next Tue. at 5:27pm.

Hillbound Nov.17 Feelin' Owly

Twenty skiers enjoyed a somewhat cooler night (not too cool for shorts for at least 6 folks) and 30 reps up the hill. We spent a little more time enjoying the rope and a “ramped” lactate interval of nearly five minutes. Technically things went much better and most did well to maintain their technique to nearly the end. Most show the ability to maintain a high effort for two to three minutes and only regress when called upon to go longer. Check out Steve’s HRM (click on it to expand) note the “step” in the middle where we did rope repeats and the ramped LI at the end. Those are hard but similar to the real world where you start major events (climbs) with an already elevated heart rate. I have a few shots linked in to http://www.flickr.com/photos/incomp/?saved=1 and hopefully some video we can link in soon. UPDATE: VIDEO LINKED IN NOW. Erik Wikum Productions Directed, produced (and starred) in this new release of The good, the bad and the fried.

We have two more scheduled weeks to go before we start the 17th year Birkie class (see http://www.incompetition.com/ for signup. That begins Dec. 8th with our last bounding session Dec. 1st (how sad). There is snow out west and some trail reports have begun to trickle in on http://www.skinnyski.com/ check them out. My sighting of a Snowy Owl yesterday makes me convinced of a good year. I think next year we might start our season earlier with some Saturday soft start technique sessions. We see good technical progress now that was not there in the beginning and doing some skill work early may help a lot, don’t let me forget. We meet again next week at 5:26pm. Be aware that the city may close the gate so that you may have to park at the bottom. Don’t forget to POOF Push Off Outside of Foot
As you go about your days and remember that we are only weeks from snow. Nice night, well done, keep training.

Nov.10th Bound To Tell the Truth

Twenty six folks joined in last night for Hillbounding week eight. As we reached the physical plateau last week we only needed to improve technique and maintain our previous [high] output. I really heard some breathing last night and technically it was the best yet although there is always room for improvement. The Belly Rope was a great hit and its benefits were carried throughout the night and hopefully the remainder of the season. The reps have increased in speed with most skiers shaving about 20% any given rep since the start of the year. The savings is probably from both technique and conditioning showing that it really is a concerted effort of the two tasks that make you faster. The Deep Tucks are looking a little ragged. They require discipline. It looked a little like To Tell the Truth at the end http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&source=hp&q=to+tell+the+truth+episodes&rlz=1R2ADSA_enUS352&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=n-P6SsupKIjEMKfnvNsK&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBMQqwQwAA#

Steve sent his HRM strip from this weekends Trail Race at the camp. Notice the drop off that occur es as you fatigue and the little forays into level 3-4 and then the need for recovery. Skiing is more dramatic than this as recovery is more complete on descents and exertion is higher on ascents. Tough effort.

I have a lot of photos up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/incomp/?saved=1 . They are starting to look better. Note the shin angles and extension through the body. Nice.

The 17th Annual Birkie Class is open. We may be using the sport court rather than turf this season. More stable, less rubber....just as hard but neater. See http://www.incompetition.com/ for the sign up.

Week eight was our best yet. Technically we hit a milestone. Be sure and hit the roads now and keep your hour base up as we close in on the ski season. I have absolute certainty that some of us will be skiing on snow in less than three weeks. Until then we bound. Next week at 5:27PM. Nice job.

Hillbounding Nov. 3 What a Hoot!

A big bright moon and a Great Horned Owl gave 22 bounders an ominous greeting as what was the longest (32 reps) and perhaps hardest effort of the year. I think from now on the effort will be that of improving technical skills and speed. There is a balance between fatigue and technique that has to be maintained and physically we peaked. From here on out it should get physically better but technically harder with a goal of (only) perfection even when gassed.

Our "Belly Rope" rep was a keeper. I saw tremendous weight forward positions when we did that. The goal should be to mimic that position without the rope. It will come. The groups collective balance is noticeably better. I see less shakes and more fluidity in movement. For some the resemblance of hill bounding to skiing is striking. THAT is what we are doing this for and while you may not feel it at the time (sucking air) it will pay big dividends come snow.

The lactate interval went well and I could see the technical effort put force. They are hard efforts but important, quite possibly the most important 3 minutes of the week. These are the type of quality efforts that raise your ability. Note in Steve's HRM (click on it to expand) the minimal recovery time. That would not have happened 7 weeks ago. You really do improve your tolerance.....really!

There are several things to note: The Stump Farm Trail Run and Duathlon is Sat. This is a cool event and the weather is forcasted to be awesome so get the running shoes and or bike out for a great last fling before snow. See http://ashwaubenonnordic.pbworks.com/f/Stump+Farm+Trail+Race+Info.pdf for race form.

The 17th Annual Birkie Training Class at Aurora Sports Medicine is on! We start Tuesday December 8th from 6-7:30pm. The format is similar but there will be a few changes. We will be in the main gym on the sport court [no rubber beads] and a more stable surface and much quieter, all the better to hear me with! We go through the Birkie so save the date. We will start sign up soon on our homepage http://www.incompetition.com/. We have a ceiling of 40 folks so don't wait too long.

I have some nice photo's this week that show all the power and drama of the night. Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/incomp/?saved=1 and expand some images to get a tighter view.

And finally....the only thing on a moonlit night better than Dan serenading us in song http://www.imeem.com/people/nBq85/music/nOtdHzft/van-morrison-moondance/

Nice night tonight. It was a tough workout and these are the events that really count. Feel good about this one. See you next week under the lights at 5:26pm.