Nov. 26, 2010
Training: Race day 2 - 15k skate. Total time: 2.5hr
To start out, I want to say that West Yellowstone courses are both difficult and easy at the same time. Terrain-wise one would say that the courses are relatively flat with no really tough hills, but the kicker is that we are at 7000ft and on flat courses like this, you are working the entire time. There are not a lot of places on the course where you can tuck and recover. So compared to some bigger courses such as Canmore, AB, this course is pretty mellow, but the constant work can drive you into the ground pretty quick.
I have a history on not fairing to well on the distance courses here due to the constant working and I think its more body type than actual fitness that plays a role in results up here. I don't use that as an excuse, but in terms of courses, I tend to do much better with those with big climbs and more undulation. Muscle composition and weight play a big role at altitude. All in all though, this was one of my better distance races here in West and I'm fairly psyched.
I had a race plan for myself today and I almost followed it. I really have to temper myself and try to ski even splits for the laps otherwise my body tends to tank. I wore my heart-rate monitor to keep better control and stayed relaxed and well within myself for the first lap. My plan was to allow a moderate increase in heartrate each lap and be able to ski well the last lap and avoid the "barely making it to the finish" technique which seems to happen to me here. The trouble with my plan is that i'm too competitive and the racer starting 30 secs behind me caught me going into the second lap. I ditched the plan and latched onto him. We skied well through the second lap even though it was harder than I was intending to go. The third lap was more of a struggle as the 175lbs of Brent was screaming for more oxygen. Tough luck buddy. Halfway through the third lap, I ran into some trouble trying to pass two skiers (on different lap #s) and tripped myself up a bit which allowed the racer i was holding onto to get away from me. When i collected myself, I worked hard to try and make up the lost time and I went for broke going up the long steep hill about 1.5k from the finish. I was done and barely was able to stay on my skies through the last bit of the race. Everything was blurry and wobbly. I managed a half-ass "speed increase" through the finish and was crushed as I crossed the line.
The result was a solid one for me here, 15th and 1:25 out of first. It was a sure improvement from last years depressing 27th place. Tomorrow is a 10k classic and a technique i'm a bit more comfortable with. I look forward to another day of pain!!!!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Solid starts in a chilly double sprint 4th and 5th places
Nov. 25, 2010
Training: Race day!!! Classic and skate sprint qualifiers. Total time: 2.5hr
Wow!!! What a start! The weather was definitely on the chilly side and I definitely brought a solid bag of extra warm clothes to stay warm. The way this works is that there are two sprint qualifiers set an hour apart. Skiers go out of the start at 15 second intervals on a point to point course. We started with a classic prelim and an hour later a skate prelim. Both these courses were long and just barely FIS legal in length, but awesome to ski. The courses were really tough with a steep climb at the end of both of them.
I could barely drink my coffee this morning because my nerves were making my hand shake a bit, but I was more excited than anything i think. At the race venue, my legs were feeling heavier the closer it got to race start, but I did a usual warm-up and tried to screw my head on straight. When I finally took off from the starting gate, my skis felt fast and my nerves faded as quickly as the start wand flicked back. Apart from the cold, I was comfortable in my stride and rhythm and although the best line would have me get out of the tracks a few times, i stayed in so as to keep things moving smoothly. I rocketed down the last fast downhill and prepared for the final long 200m steep climb. As I came into the bottom of the climb my ski clipped one of the flags guiding the way and tripped myself up a bit, but hardly a 1 or 2 second loss. I felt strong as I crossed the line and was pleased with the effort. My lungs were searing from the cold, and the post-race cough started quickly. I headed back to the start area some 800m away and prepared for the skate race by putting on abnormal amounts of clothing.
Transitioning to skate after a hard sprint effort in the cold is by no means easy and I was having troubles. My legs were tired and I couldnt seem to find a comfortable feeling with it by the time I was to leave to start gate. I felt pretty clumsy out of the gate and with the cold snow the skating was not as fast as I would like. The first half of the course was a struggle for me to find rhythm, but with about 800m to go I found a sweet spot and was able to pick up speed and roll over the last downhill with a lot of speed. I came into the steep climb with a bit of energy and felt as though i wasn't loading with lactate as much as i should have. I wasn't nearly as winded after the skate race which was probably due to me struggling through the first half.
We waited for results for quite a few hours and everyones nerves were on end to see where they stacked up for the season opener. Mark and I were elated to find we rocked the classic and skate races. Mark was third in the classic and 12th in the skate. I was 4th in the classic and 5th in the skate. The combined times puts mark in third and myself in fourth overall. I will definitely take those results for the first of the season, but we have two hard distance races over the next two days.
Training: Race day!!! Classic and skate sprint qualifiers. Total time: 2.5hr
Wow!!! What a start! The weather was definitely on the chilly side and I definitely brought a solid bag of extra warm clothes to stay warm. The way this works is that there are two sprint qualifiers set an hour apart. Skiers go out of the start at 15 second intervals on a point to point course. We started with a classic prelim and an hour later a skate prelim. Both these courses were long and just barely FIS legal in length, but awesome to ski. The courses were really tough with a steep climb at the end of both of them.
I could barely drink my coffee this morning because my nerves were making my hand shake a bit, but I was more excited than anything i think. At the race venue, my legs were feeling heavier the closer it got to race start, but I did a usual warm-up and tried to screw my head on straight. When I finally took off from the starting gate, my skis felt fast and my nerves faded as quickly as the start wand flicked back. Apart from the cold, I was comfortable in my stride and rhythm and although the best line would have me get out of the tracks a few times, i stayed in so as to keep things moving smoothly. I rocketed down the last fast downhill and prepared for the final long 200m steep climb. As I came into the bottom of the climb my ski clipped one of the flags guiding the way and tripped myself up a bit, but hardly a 1 or 2 second loss. I felt strong as I crossed the line and was pleased with the effort. My lungs were searing from the cold, and the post-race cough started quickly. I headed back to the start area some 800m away and prepared for the skate race by putting on abnormal amounts of clothing.
Transitioning to skate after a hard sprint effort in the cold is by no means easy and I was having troubles. My legs were tired and I couldnt seem to find a comfortable feeling with it by the time I was to leave to start gate. I felt pretty clumsy out of the gate and with the cold snow the skating was not as fast as I would like. The first half of the course was a struggle for me to find rhythm, but with about 800m to go I found a sweet spot and was able to pick up speed and roll over the last downhill with a lot of speed. I came into the steep climb with a bit of energy and felt as though i wasn't loading with lactate as much as i should have. I wasn't nearly as winded after the skate race which was probably due to me struggling through the first half.
We waited for results for quite a few hours and everyones nerves were on end to see where they stacked up for the season opener. Mark and I were elated to find we rocked the classic and skate races. Mark was third in the classic and 12th in the skate. I was 4th in the classic and 5th in the skate. The combined times puts mark in third and myself in fourth overall. I will definitely take those results for the first of the season, but we have two hard distance races over the next two days.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Big fluffy white stuff
Nov. 24, 2010
Training: Nov. 22 - Easy classic ski - Total time: 1.5hr
Nov. 23 - Classic ski with race prep - Total time: 1.5hr
Nov. 24 - Easy classic ski - Total time: 1.25hr
So the past couple of days have been a comical array of snow storms, digging out vans, and CO2 detectors going off. Thankfully the storm has passed, but not without consequence. As soon as the storm passed over, the temperature dropped considerably. We skied today at temperatures around -10 degrees and although the cold was biting with the wind, the grooming was immaculate. A good last few days of training have fired me up and I am ready to race. Our races scheduled for today have been postponed until tomorrow due to road closures and temperatures. We will have four races in three days. Awesome!!!!
Our early thanksgiving was awesome and everything came together very well. Mark and I were pumped to do the turkeys this year. Although we had trouble trying to find something big enough to brine the turkeys with, we improvised.
GARBAGE CAN TURKEYS!!!!!!
I like being a man and this is why.... Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body wash all in one!
AND ONLY $1.79
And just to give you an idea of how much snow we have gotten in the past few days...Heres our cabin.
Training: Nov. 22 - Easy classic ski - Total time: 1.5hr
Nov. 23 - Classic ski with race prep - Total time: 1.5hr
Nov. 24 - Easy classic ski - Total time: 1.25hr
So the past couple of days have been a comical array of snow storms, digging out vans, and CO2 detectors going off. Thankfully the storm has passed, but not without consequence. As soon as the storm passed over, the temperature dropped considerably. We skied today at temperatures around -10 degrees and although the cold was biting with the wind, the grooming was immaculate. A good last few days of training have fired me up and I am ready to race. Our races scheduled for today have been postponed until tomorrow due to road closures and temperatures. We will have four races in three days. Awesome!!!!
Our early thanksgiving was awesome and everything came together very well. Mark and I were pumped to do the turkeys this year. Although we had trouble trying to find something big enough to brine the turkeys with, we improvised.
GARBAGE CAN TURKEYS!!!!!!
I like being a man and this is why.... Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body wash all in one!
And just to give you an idea of how much snow we have gotten in the past few days...Heres our cabin.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Time to ski!
Nov. 21, 2010
Training: Nov. 19 - AM L2 skate ski with speeds. Total time: 2hr
PM L1 easy skate ski. Total time: 50 mins
Nov. 20 - Travel day. Shake down run. Total time: 20 mins
Nov. 21 - AM - Threshold L3 skate. Total time: 1.75hr
PM - Easy classic ski. Total time : 1hr
I had a great last day in Steamboat before heading off to West Yellowstone. Mark and I had a solid workout with speeds in the morning under the beautiful Colorado sunshine and came back in the evening to ski with the Steamboat junior team. These kids have some great coaching because I was impressed with the technique of these young racers. I was even more impressed when Mark and I showed up later that evening to see the latest Harry Potter installment and found a few of the juniors there still in there tights from practice. For those interested, the movie is great and worth going to see.
We finally made it to West Yellowstone yesterday and holy crap was there a lot of snow. After a long 11 hour drive from Steamboat, we arrived to a good 20 inches or more with heavy snowfall still coming down. Mark and I went for a short jog to shake out the legs and although we were in a van for 11 hours, we had plenty of space to stretch out and our legs and the drive was more or less pleasant. The team had arrived a couple hours prior and all of our skis were already out on the deck and sorted. We have a freakin' awesome team.
I thought with all the snow we would be skiing in a sugary mess of softness, but the grooming crew did a great job and the skiing was phenomenal! It was a little soft here and there, but the trails held up well for the workout and I couldnt help but feel excited. This was my first day on my race skis this season and they are significantly better than my training skis.
There is still few days until racing starts and I am feeling pretty good. I must say though that the finish of the sprint course is going to leave quite a few skiers feeling like they are summiting Mt. Everest. The finish climb is long and steep.... and mean steep! Its going to be a fun day with two sprints an hour apart, but the looming chilly weather calling for a high of 1 degree could dampen the mood a bit. The best part is that I have some wicked fast Atomics for cold weather. Here here for good skis.
Training: Nov. 19 - AM L2 skate ski with speeds. Total time: 2hr
PM L1 easy skate ski. Total time: 50 mins
Nov. 20 - Travel day. Shake down run. Total time: 20 mins
Nov. 21 - AM - Threshold L3 skate. Total time: 1.75hr
PM - Easy classic ski. Total time : 1hr
I had a great last day in Steamboat before heading off to West Yellowstone. Mark and I had a solid workout with speeds in the morning under the beautiful Colorado sunshine and came back in the evening to ski with the Steamboat junior team. These kids have some great coaching because I was impressed with the technique of these young racers. I was even more impressed when Mark and I showed up later that evening to see the latest Harry Potter installment and found a few of the juniors there still in there tights from practice. For those interested, the movie is great and worth going to see.
We finally made it to West Yellowstone yesterday and holy crap was there a lot of snow. After a long 11 hour drive from Steamboat, we arrived to a good 20 inches or more with heavy snowfall still coming down. Mark and I went for a short jog to shake out the legs and although we were in a van for 11 hours, we had plenty of space to stretch out and our legs and the drive was more or less pleasant. The team had arrived a couple hours prior and all of our skis were already out on the deck and sorted. We have a freakin' awesome team.
I thought with all the snow we would be skiing in a sugary mess of softness, but the grooming crew did a great job and the skiing was phenomenal! It was a little soft here and there, but the trails held up well for the workout and I couldnt help but feel excited. This was my first day on my race skis this season and they are significantly better than my training skis.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Nothing but sunshine
Nov. 18, 2010
Training: AM - distance classic ski. Total time: 2hr
PM - easy jog. Total time: 30mins
I woke up to the sun in my face and a few chirping birds. An excellent morning!! I was about to burst into song, but I realized that I would probably wake the house. I settled for a wonderful cup of coffee which washed down some warm cinnamon bread that I made last night. A wonderful morning indeed!!!
After lounging around a bit this morning (Mark and I relishing the fact we aren't stressed on time due to work), we headed out for the touring center for a ski. I took my time getting my boots on in the parking lot, because even though the temp was 19 degrees, the sun felt much warmer and was very pleasant. After the day off, i was excited to get on my skis again and was comforted that since arriving at altitude, my body finally felt loose and relaxed while skiing. The body is adapting and is feeling less stressed.
Training: AM - distance classic ski. Total time: 2hr
PM - easy jog. Total time: 30mins
I woke up to the sun in my face and a few chirping birds. An excellent morning!! I was about to burst into song, but I realized that I would probably wake the house. I settled for a wonderful cup of coffee which washed down some warm cinnamon bread that I made last night. A wonderful morning indeed!!!
After lounging around a bit this morning (Mark and I relishing the fact we aren't stressed on time due to work), we headed out for the touring center for a ski. I took my time getting my boots on in the parking lot, because even though the temp was 19 degrees, the sun felt much warmer and was very pleasant. After the day off, i was excited to get on my skis again and was comforted that since arriving at altitude, my body finally felt loose and relaxed while skiing. The body is adapting and is feeling less stressed.
Over the past few days, Mark and I have been running into a few of the nordic combined guys. The other day while Mark and I were struggling with the kick wax, multi olympian Todd Lodwick smiled and laughed each time he went by and saw us struggling with the wax. Todd had told me a couple years back when I was racing my first world cup that he would rather huck himself off a 120m jump than classic ski and and during my ski the other day I might have just agreed. Today we ran into and chatted with Olympic silver medalist Johnny Spillane. With a bit of injury this summer, he was starting his build up back into training. He said that he is only allowed to ski for 30 minutes for the time being, which to me would be torture, but Johnny seemed calm and collected knowing full well that he will be back on the scene the second half of the winter. I have a lot of respect for our nordic combined guys and I look forward to watching them this season.
We have a couple more days of nothing but sunshine in the forecast and I'm loving every minute of it. 6 days until the season start.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
What a day!
Nov. 17, 2010
Training: Nov. 16 - easy classic ski. Total time: 2hr.
Nov. 17 - off day
Mark and I had a fairly comical morning yesterday that entailed a mentally frustrating workout and a dead car battery. We woke to a good 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground and were excited to go out and plug around on our classic skis. When we arrived at the touring center, they had gotten one pass with the snow machine and we were quick to get on the snow. I had some kick on with a temp range of 0-(-2) and realized quickly that kicking was out of the question. I needed something warmer and Mark seemed to experience something similar. The wet snow underneath was clashing with the dryer fresh snow. Not having anything warmer with us, we bought a tube of V70, a gooey wax that was only 4 bucks. after laughing a bit trying to get the yellow goo to spread on our skis, I was hopeful to get awesome kick. I did!!!!.... for two or maybe three strides before the ice buildup underneath my skis almost forced a meeting with my face and the snow. Ok... I guess we are covering. I pulled out my violet wax (colder harder wax) and applied a cover layer. A few strides later and the skis were off again. Perhaps I just needed another coat to cover the goo a bit better. Another layer and a few strides later, the same thing. I went colder with the cover layer and still had no luck.
The wet snow underneath combined with the dry snow on top makes for an almost impossible attempt to find descent kick. We had an approx. 4k out and back loop groomed and the first loop took us a solid 40 minutes or so with the numerous wax adjustments. By the end of the first lap, Mark and I were on the verge of throwing our skis in the woods and starting a new profession. Instead, we took a putty scraper and took everything off. I thought that i would rather have no kick than deal with icing up. I threw on a few layers of violet and although i still had mild icing with the residue of the V70, i could at least ski a full lap without having to stop and curse at the snow. The snow had beat me by the end of the workout and I vowed revenge another day.
The workout was done and I was mentally and physically exhausted. So much for the L1-2 ski. I got some dry clothes on and was encouraged by the thought of a good breakfast, but my small amount of hopefulness was dashed by the car refusing to start. The back hatch hadn't closed all the way after we waxed our skis and the battery had died. LAME!!!!! We found a guy inside to help us out and give us a jump and we were thankfully on our way home. There was only one thing to do at a time such as this, where the spirits were broken and the day turning for the worst.........
Dont worry.. I didnt eat ALL of them. My day was much brighter afterwards. I have an off day today and so it will be a bread making day and a grilled pizza for dinner evening!
Training: Nov. 16 - easy classic ski. Total time: 2hr.
Nov. 17 - off day
Mark and I had a fairly comical morning yesterday that entailed a mentally frustrating workout and a dead car battery. We woke to a good 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground and were excited to go out and plug around on our classic skis. When we arrived at the touring center, they had gotten one pass with the snow machine and we were quick to get on the snow. I had some kick on with a temp range of 0-(-2) and realized quickly that kicking was out of the question. I needed something warmer and Mark seemed to experience something similar. The wet snow underneath was clashing with the dryer fresh snow. Not having anything warmer with us, we bought a tube of V70, a gooey wax that was only 4 bucks. after laughing a bit trying to get the yellow goo to spread on our skis, I was hopeful to get awesome kick. I did!!!!.... for two or maybe three strides before the ice buildup underneath my skis almost forced a meeting with my face and the snow. Ok... I guess we are covering. I pulled out my violet wax (colder harder wax) and applied a cover layer. A few strides later and the skis were off again. Perhaps I just needed another coat to cover the goo a bit better. Another layer and a few strides later, the same thing. I went colder with the cover layer and still had no luck.
The wet snow underneath combined with the dry snow on top makes for an almost impossible attempt to find descent kick. We had an approx. 4k out and back loop groomed and the first loop took us a solid 40 minutes or so with the numerous wax adjustments. By the end of the first lap, Mark and I were on the verge of throwing our skis in the woods and starting a new profession. Instead, we took a putty scraper and took everything off. I thought that i would rather have no kick than deal with icing up. I threw on a few layers of violet and although i still had mild icing with the residue of the V70, i could at least ski a full lap without having to stop and curse at the snow. The snow had beat me by the end of the workout and I vowed revenge another day.
The workout was done and I was mentally and physically exhausted. So much for the L1-2 ski. I got some dry clothes on and was encouraged by the thought of a good breakfast, but my small amount of hopefulness was dashed by the car refusing to start. The back hatch hadn't closed all the way after we waxed our skis and the battery had died. LAME!!!!! We found a guy inside to help us out and give us a jump and we were thankfully on our way home. There was only one thing to do at a time such as this, where the spirits were broken and the day turning for the worst.........
Monday, November 15, 2010
Altitude L3
Nov. 15, 2010
Training: AM light L3 (33minutes) workout. Total time: 2hr
PM easy recovery jog. Total time: 30 mins
There are probably a million different philosophies on how to transition to altitude from sea-level best, but im not sure I've found the perfect one yet. I've applied a few over the years and after a week I always end up feeling the same, so maybe it doesn't really matter. I do agree though that a good light threshold workout to cycle the blood through the system is great within the first couple days. Without getting to scientific, I think that the work effort of the L3 zone can help the body recognize the lack of oxygen a bit quicker and therefore accelerate the acclimation. I had a good conversation about this idea with Mark and his friend Danny today and allowed me to think about it a bit.
Workouts like today's are not really meant to make you fitter per-se, but mearly to help the body adjust. I know this well, but still I get a bit disheartened when I look at my heart rate and recognize how slow I'm going compared to sea-level pacing. Its momentary frustration, but frustration nonetheless. I can't say at all that I wasn't pleased with the workout though. Fresh grooming at the Steamboat touring center made for a wonderful ski. We had the company of a former racer now coach Josh Smullin skiing with us too which Mark and I enjoy because it adds to our general skiing banter. A good day though. I also want to point out that I had the best Pork Loin ever last night for dinner. I'm pretty sure it melted in my mouth.
Training: AM light L3 (33minutes) workout. Total time: 2hr
PM easy recovery jog. Total time: 30 mins
There are probably a million different philosophies on how to transition to altitude from sea-level best, but im not sure I've found the perfect one yet. I've applied a few over the years and after a week I always end up feeling the same, so maybe it doesn't really matter. I do agree though that a good light threshold workout to cycle the blood through the system is great within the first couple days. Without getting to scientific, I think that the work effort of the L3 zone can help the body recognize the lack of oxygen a bit quicker and therefore accelerate the acclimation. I had a good conversation about this idea with Mark and his friend Danny today and allowed me to think about it a bit.
Workouts like today's are not really meant to make you fitter per-se, but mearly to help the body adjust. I know this well, but still I get a bit disheartened when I look at my heart rate and recognize how slow I'm going compared to sea-level pacing. Its momentary frustration, but frustration nonetheless. I can't say at all that I wasn't pleased with the workout though. Fresh grooming at the Steamboat touring center made for a wonderful ski. We had the company of a former racer now coach Josh Smullin skiing with us too which Mark and I enjoy because it adds to our general skiing banter. A good day though. I also want to point out that I had the best Pork Loin ever last night for dinner. I'm pretty sure it melted in my mouth.
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