In Competition-Mark

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Birkie Class Dec. 28, 2010 Bursting Forth

For the 38 skiers who made tonight’s class there were several big discoveries [in addition to the birthdays of the Thrillsome Threesome]. One was what a difference focus can make on effort. A simple thing like were you place your eyes can help direct you down the track.
Another was breath control. When you dictate breathing effort and timing you can actually facilitate forward motion. Lastly was the visualization of a goal or target. I always raced with a TBF or Time Before Finish outlook. If the finish was at, say twenty minutes away I doled out my effort so that I too was finished…at the finish.
We saw all of that tonight and most completed the efforts strong and with a better focus than in earlier weeks, a very good sign.

Homework: With the weather likely to tank Thursday/Friday this would be a great time to do some of those balance drills. Use a mirror or darkened window and spend some time and effort there. This would be a great time to also catch up with your waxing and cleaning. With any temperature swing of thirty degrees or more waxing is more than needed but critical. The difference between our skis and a world cup skier’s is not the ski but the sheer number of times it is waxed (and used). Their [World Cup Athletes] skis may easily have 100 wax jobs on them, fast is not an accident, it is a lot of work.

Watch the weather and check with www.skinnyski.com for trail updates. If the weather really goes south remember to preserve the trails. An hour slog is not worth the potential damage to the base. On a related note the county has extended the open season on Trail Walkers, bag one today.

More news and such. The Door County Triathlon registration opens midnight on the 1st. Check out the new race video at http://www.doorcountytriathlon.com/index.php We have a skate ski class, a wax clinic and the Women’s Tea and Ski continuing in January along with the second session of Bay Nordic for kids. See www.incompetition.com for news on that.

Lastly I had a nice visit with Bryan Fish the other day. We both had a very very busy December but we managed to get a nice chat in. Bryan is a former UWGB skier and then Coach who moved on to coach the CXC Team http://www.cxcskiing.org/ He recently advanced to become an Assistant Coach with the US Ski Team. He just returned from the early World Cup races in Scandinavia. Having done the same a decade or so earlier I found it refreshing to hear that the success of the USST was not a fluke or luck but rather the culmination of hard work and preparation. In reality success in skiing is about doing the difficult work so that the effort becomes the reward, regardless of your level.

Nice night tonight. I saw much progress although you not have felt that way it is coming. We will keep pushing the bubble a little but for now get out and enjoy skiing. Next week at 5:56pm as we ring in the new year. Oh, and for you young and not so hip amongst us.

Blasting, billowing, bursting forth with the
Power of ten billion butterfly sneezes,
Man with his flaming pyre has conquered the wayward breezes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChCbewCAk-o Be more hip than you possibly can be.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Birkie Class 12-21-10 Goodnight Irene

It was quite a crowd for a snowy Tuesday night. Some folks were wiped out and just wanted to take a nap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGd4jkaoHRg Pity the first timers as they surely felt it the next day [I feel no pity]. I am loath to assign homework but we need a jumpstart to this balance thing so here it is. Five minutes per leg 3 times per week (37 minutes) standing on a 2X2 or similar support. STRETCHED out in the technique of your choice. Do this in a darkened window (so your neighbors can’t see you) are a full mirror. Wear shorts so you can see the extensors and small ancillary muscles in your legs fire. No one has inherent balance, it must be practiced, that is why babies can’t walk, they need to learn and so it is for skiing.

Lots of news report. The Birkie registration has closed for the 2nd straight year. 8400 skiers have filled the waves and now the battle is for wave advancement. The first race that qualifies is the SISU marathon in January. http://www.sisuskifest.com/ See www.birkie.com for the complete list unless you are adept at snowplowing and falling on downhills.

Bay Nordic had 132 kids for the first session of the year last weekend. Whew! Who would have thunk that many kids would be skiing at one time in Green Bay, we might have a future Olympian out there. http://baynordic.blogspot.com/ for the web and http://shoffmanphoto.smugmug.com/CrossCountrySkiing-2010/Bay-Nordic/Bay-Nordic-12-18-2010/15131652_zKfH5#1131360507_7k23S for Steve Hoffmans photo gallery including some serious Photo Shopping.

I have a list of selected video links to look at various techniques. Good to review now that we are on snow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3Vue10ItXg&feature=related
Basic Classic Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brGZlZkCwyk&feature=related
Basic Free Skating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yRGLRAR7QI&feature=related
Basic Step Turn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HksXxzH55pw&feature=related
V2 video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyuYflyZta4&feature=related
V1 Technique

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slpvbWO4J5o&feature=related
Step Double Pole (double pole kick)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXk0vo2HsbA&feature=relate
Classical Technique Good Overview

Lastly WE DO HAVE CLASS NEXT TUESDAY, 5:58 pm. Do you have to ask?
The snow is great and the temps moderate, this is what we wait for so get out and enjoy it. Watch www.skinnyski.com for reports and www.incompetition.com for upcoming events and be sure and sign up for our newsletter
http://www.incompetition.com/html/register.psp , it is more up to date with lots of neat stuff. Have a great Christmas holiday and then go ski. Well done this week, it was a solid effort as we build towards the Birkie.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Birkie Class 12-14-10 Gut Wrenching

I know, I know. Where is the sweat busting aerobics that we heard so much about? It’s coming and soon, but for now you will have to satisfied with that punched in the gut feeling you have now.
We have snow now and we have a lot to do so let’s get to it.
Review.
Balance: Our 2X2 drill last night looked more like the Drunk Monkey Chorus Line review. Balance needs work. Do this (Homework). Find a big mirror or large darkened window. Floor length is best. Do just what we did last night. Wear shorts (or less) and watch the muscles/tendons in your legs fire as you balance. This is a REAL TIME DRILL, which is you getting to see the response in actual time. Corrections come fast that way. Imagine skiing with a video monitor hooked up right in front of you, looking at you! Do it flat foot then with a 2X2 or even a 2X4. 5 minutes left and right, 3 nights.

I was happy with the core work we did. Even though the pace feels slow we are doing better QUALITY work than before. That will pay off. Remember that stride LENGTH is more effective than STRIDE RATE, especially as we get older.

I am working on more steps. We need some Aurora Doc’s to light a fire. Send Hartmann to management with your demands. Just kidding but the bulk of your aerobic base should come from skiing. Right now the tracks are pretty good and cold temps make classical waxing easy. Skating is slow on the desiccated snow we have and places a greater burden on your glide wax. Cold snow draws wax out of your base so keep up on it. It is doubtful that you can ski 3 days without re-waxing. Skis with a high wax count are fast skis. Put in perspective, 3% faster skis on a 3 hour Birkie skier equals 9 minutes faster. 9 minutes faster means your buddy buys the beer, what’s that worth!

Skiing: Right now most trails are open and groomed. Long is better than fast at this point. Low threshold with a strong technical focus is critical. No Christmas racers please. Check with http://www.skinnyski.com/ for reports. The Bay Nordic Youth Ski League has their first session Saturday at the Camp at 10:00am. You will note a groomed “stadium area” west of the trailhead. Give them some room and cheer them on. http://baynordic.blogspot.com/

Steve Peplinski (age 62 and the only one able to do repeated full planks) has an interesting perspective on KNOLL Training. Read that below. I am impressed with the overall fitness of the group; you collectively make me feel fat… now if we can focus that conditioning into skiing….Johnny bar the door. We start at 5:57 pm next Tue, 5:48pm if your name has an MD behind it.

Steve Peplinski writes:

Hey Dude! You got the wax!

Sometimes they scream it at me as I flash past them on the downhill. It’s always during a race. Sometimes it’s a long steep downhill, and I’m in a tuck shooting past some gently skating skiers. Other times, it’s a less dramatic pass, late in the race. A couple of years ago with only a few k to go in the Birkie, I was closing in on a skier. I watched him climb each hill, and then pulled closer on each downhill. Finally, I knew that I could pass him just over the next rise. As I glided past, he said “Boy, I wish I could change skis with you.” I smiled inwardly, knowing the secret of fast skis. I’m about to share it with you.

Is it stone grinding? Perfect base structure scientifically matched to the temperature and snow conditions? Maybe it’s using a heat box to saturate the bases. Or maybe it’s that final brushing with a brush crafted of Tibetan yak hair. It’s all of the above and none of the above. Yes, I have good wax, but in truth, my competitors probably know just as much about waxing as I do. So why do I have the fast skis? It’s simple. I ski faster. Not all the time, but I ski faster when it counts.

I watch my competition as I climb. They all look pretty strong. Some look more powerful than I. They may be pulling away from me on the uphill. But once I hit the downhill, I usually gain ground. I’m not too concerned about losing a couple of feet to them on the uphill. In fact, I prefer to. But when the crest of the hill approaches, I want to have a little bit extra to keep skiing when most everyone else is resting. I see it all the time, After a great climbing effort, skiers stand up and go into resting mode at the most critical part of the climb. Meanwhile, I’m trying out my best V2 sprint form as I crest the hill and accelerate down the back side. Once I get up to speed, I get into an aerodynamic tuck and enjoy the scenery as I close in on skiers in front of me. All because “I have better wax”. It’s interesting to see strong, experienced skiers stand up and get into a resting slouch as they get to the top of a hill. Interesting and rewarding because I know that even though they trained just as hard as me, even though they are in just as good shape (maybe better) as I; even though they may be 20 years younger than I, “I got the wax!” I’ve decided to come with an acronym for the phenomenon: WAX: Win At the Xenith” alright, zenith is the correct spelling, who knows what WAZ is. As they start their well deserver rest for a hard climbing effort, I win the downhill by the judicious application of power at the highest point of the climb.

So stop worrying that your skis didn’t spend enough time in the hot box. Forget about the shortcomings of your base prep. The way to have fast wax is to ski fast when it counts. And that is completely within your control.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Birkie Class Week 1 Calm Before Storm

Soft.
To the veterans of the Birkie class they know what I mean. To others I hope last night was a quick way to get up to speed. Be assured we will ramp things up next week. We have a record number of folks in the group this year (I count on ten people NOT showing up each week). We are a little cramped but it should get better as more gear returns and we get situated.

Housekeeping: Because we have such a large group please use the locker rooms but store your gear in the cubby’s as much as possible. Please check in at the front desk, they like to know who is in the building. Jackets are being printed and for those who were not there last night we used your suggested size as our guide. I expect a few weeks on these as everyone is in the Christmas rush and the larger than expect numbers made us order more from Craft.

A few words about effort. This training will get hard but it is NOT a contest. I would rather have you LEARN from this than kill yourself. The thing I would like to see is muscle memory improvement; I (over and over) always say that practice makes…….permanent but not always perfect. Repetitive activity is critical and will have a huge impact on your skiing. We have room to improve on balance (lots of room actually) and while there appears to be some strength deficiencies I am confident that we will overcome that quickly. Skiing (like a lot of sports) is a series of contractions followed by periods of relaxation/recovery. If you spend more time per stroke in a recovery phase than a propulsive phase you save energy. Skiing is all about energy conservation. THERE ARE ONLY TWO WAYS TO SKI FASTER: TURN OVER FASTER OR TAKE A LONGER STRIDE. Turn over is finite which leaves us with stride length. Longer strides demand higher aerobics and strength with technique improvement. Please remember that technique will get you farther and faster (and is more fun). I found some video links that you may like, some are skiing, and some are training:

V1 (one step in other parts of the world) Use for slower speeds like uphill’s or harder conditions. Can work everywhere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyuYflyZta4

V2 Alternate (open Field Skate for us old farts) Use at faster speeds. Very fast and efficient. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmR5WXd_F8I

V2: Use at higher speeds and is becoming common for faster racers. High balance demand but smooth and fast. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HksXxzH55pw

The other strokes, Diagonal Skate, Jump skate, Free skate and our crossover stroke, the Double Pole are less used but good to know. http://www.xcskiworld.com/training/Technique/skating.htm#diagonal_v

This was actually adapted from our class (really) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6fwJKWxrlQ&feature=related

This has some of the ideas we use. Not great production but good to know. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHMcsHR4lDY&feature=related

Miscellaneous: The Birkie is filling up. There are well under 1000 slots left for the race so if you are planning to do it, get your entry in now. Bets are that it fills before New Year. See http://www.birkie.com/ for info and be sure to look at “race info” for qualifying races unless you like the 10th wave. There is snow all around us and it looks like we will get our turn soon. Don’t forget to put http://www.skinnyski.com/ into your favorites and to submit trail reports as we get on snow. We are having an early wax clinic this Saturday at 9:00AM. We have already waxed hundreds of skis this season, practice makes permanent you know. This is a chance to re-fresh your memory. See http://www.incompetition.com/ for info.

Next week we launch at 5:57 pm. We start with the sticks, practice your balance!
ME

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Hillbounding Finale Nov.30 The Dirty Dozen

UPDATE 12-1-10

As I promised we did see snow today, not a lot but it is white. The forecast is for colder conditions making the possibility of at least pond skiing for real as we see freeze up. Check http://www.skinnyski.com/ for snow reports.

Stop, drop and roll. A fire safety drill? For the dozen skiers who ended the season of hillbounding tonight it meant simulating getting tripped up and recovering as you charge up the powerline hills. It also meant some dirty knees and a less than stylish way to “get back on” in the event you face plant during the Birkie (sooner or later it will happen).

Snow was falling and temps at Zero (C) as we finished the season with over a thousand collective reps up that hill. The group averaged 33 folks this season (a new record) and collectively performed at the highest level in recent memory. Critically speaking we had outstanding technical improvement and a higher level of technical understanding than ever before. I never worry about the physical output, the hill takes care of that and with a little testosterone thrown in, this workout can only be considered a brute!

So, where do you go from here? For some this is just a continuation of their summer training and for others it will continue with the 17th ANNUAL BIRKIE TRAINING CLASS that starts next Tuesday at the Aurora Sport Medicine Center. See http://www.incompetition.com/ for more info. As we approach snow note a few things. Take it easy. Get the ski legs under you and spend all your mental and physical effort working solely on TECHNIQUE. 50 to 100 km should be spent going slow and efficiently. There is absolutely no benefit to going hard early. Skiing alone and with a HRM is a good idea. Focusing on being technically good will pay big dividends later.

For those in the Birkie class expect an email soon. There will be some changes and even some (eeek) baseline testing. I would like to see some quantifiable improvements this year, expect some new ideas (yikes), they should not hurt………..much.

I had fun this year. You guys made it so and your hard work WILL pay off. You may even find it all downhill from here. There is only 9 months or so until we meet on the hill again so take advantage of your conditioning and your skills and we will see you on the trails. I will try and post here regularly so stay in touch. Please feel free to email me at goincomp@att.net Skal vi gå går på ski

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Hillbounding Oct. 23 2010 Twenty Something

West Yellowstone MT, this past weekend. Keith and Andy suffered with conditions like this.

Darkness greeted the 10th hillbounding session of the year and it was a night with many elements. There were 25 skiers that braved the 22 degree temps while doing 29 reps. The city closes the park early after mid November so parking becomes a problem but we squeeze in where we can. Last night was the first time we saw below freezing temps and no one wearing shorts (although Matt did strip down to a tee). Next year (reminder to self) we will shift the last two sessions to Saturday mornings but unless there is snow we shall have our last session at its regular time and place. Check here for updates next Tuesday.

The cold slowed the warm up a little and things looked a little sluggish to start but after 30 minutes everyone was up to operating temperature and things went smooth. I am seeing less and less of the glaring mistakes and more and more ski like bounding. The improvement over the first few weeks is quite stunning (note that those first few sessions give you a huge head start later on). The intensity was quite high; you could really see the “fog” pouring out of everyone’s mouth when silhouetted against the night lights. Sweet!

We are less than two weeks away from Birkie Class 17. If you plan on doing it sign up now as we have a limit. There are a lot of couples this year, that means you guys will have to behave, I’m curious about that. See http://www.incompetition.com/html/runEventRegister.psp . We have heard a lot of ideas for the jackets; Try one on here at the store to reserve your size.

There is snow up north and even more in Eastern MN. We are only a week or two away so put http://www.skinnyski.com/ in your favorites and don’t forget to put in your own trail reviews but be careful for what you wish for http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=West+Yellowstone&state=MT&site=TFX&textField1=44.6622&textField2=-111.103&e=0 Note the -3 was the high!! The Noodleini Run is this weekend http://www.midwestsportsevents.com/noodleini.html but first the Turkey Trot takes off tomorrow http://www.festivalturkeytrot.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=41

We stoneground a few dozen skis this morning, snow is coming and we have just one more hillbounding session. Check here for updates as we get close. Nice effort tonight! Think snow, lots of snow.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Hillbounding November 16th Circle the Herd

This is sort of what the group looked like silhouetted standing alongside the fence, third from the right looks like Dan.

There are not many times in mid November where you can be out at night in a tee and shorts and be comfortable. For 32 folks that night was last night. The mid 40’s and still air was perfect for bounding and just cool enough that Mike and Matt kept their shirts on, whew!

The new V1 slide move we did went pretty well. It was harder than some thought and TIME WISE it took a little longer and used some mussscccles we are not used to. That makes it a keeper. I was smilin’ when I saw the efforts to pass each during the rope pull to the fence. I never saw Andy cross the knoll so fast.

Poling looked better, perhaps my little strap diatribe did some good but it was a noticeable improvement. As we enter the final TWO weeks (I know I said one but math was not my forte) we need to have that final build up to snow. Once snow comes you will need to slow your intensity and get those ski legs back but hillbounding will help make that adjustment dramatically easier.

With snow around the corner (there is snow on the ground in northern WI and in MN) you should be checking http://www.skinnyski.com/ for trail updates. Put it in your favorites. There are several from the group and GB heading to West Yellowstone Camp this next week. Drink like a fish, it is 6600’ and goes up from there. These weeks before snow should be peak hour weeks, get out there and remember we will be on snow soon.

The 17th Birkie Class registration is up and running. If you are by the store check out the Team Craft Jacket. It certainly is the best we have ever had http://www.craft-usa.com/cra_shop_zoom.php?back=185&category=4&headline=men&area=shop&type=bski&id=1079&bcsex=m We are limited on class size so it is important to let me know. I am building an email class roster which will be our method of communication. Go to http://www.incompetition.com/html/runEventRegister.psp to register.

Steve was so gassed last night he sent me his HRM strip but forgot to attach it. He looked like a dead man at the end but that puts him in good company. NOTE: The GB Parks SOMETIMES locks the lower gate to Bairds Creek. Park where you can and walk to the top, it is a nice warmup. Next week at 5:28pm.