View from our hotel room

Volcano! Arenal is sweet.

vacacion

this will be a quick installment of what i hope to be a mini series of my costa rica vacation. i arrived yesterday afternoon to san jose after a very easy travel, turns out travelling without skis is quite a luxury! we got to our hotel after a challenging session of navigation. we didnt really leave the edge of the pool until we went to sleep late last night, and that includes dinner. poolside dinner doesnt suck.

today we are headed up to see a few volanoes and maybe some cloud forest further north in the country...

all for now. lots more to come. forgive my punctuation errors, im typing as fast as i can on my phone.

Z

Marathon Season

So its been awhile since I updated, par for the course it seems this winter. I have spent very few days at home since Jan 1. I think my longest stint at home is 6 days, I had that luxury twice. The rest of my home time has been in one to two day blocks. I've been away so much that home feels away now. I don't really remember how to cook for myself and its hard to figure out what to buy when I go to the grocery store... It must be March.

Last time I updated this thing I was in Aspen, right before the Owl Creek Chase. The OCC is a tough race, really tough. Its at 9000ft and the first 8k are uphill... and that uphill is not the hardest part of the course. The field was tough this year but the guys who were the real 'contenders' did not win. We got our butts kicked by a couple young local guys who were home training and preparing for World Junior/ U23 World Championships. Racing at 9000 ft is a different sport and racing at sea level... Its like skiing underwater while breathing through a straw... Being from 6000ft myself, I am pretty good at it. However, the difference between 6000 and 9000 is huge, and in fact, the marginal decrease in oxygen is much greater from 6000 to 9000 than it is from 3000 to 6000... if that makes any sense... Bottom line, its hard up there.

So the race was ok but by no means good. I skied tactically smart and that was important because pretty much no one else did. Once the young guys got off the front I cut my losses and started racing for 3rd. I sat in, let the suckers do the work and put the wood to them at the end. And that, folks, is marathon racing.

After Aspen is was time to get ready for the World Championships of Wisconsin, aka The American Birkebeiner. I happened to win the Birkie last year and as such, the pressure was heavy going into the race this year. I knew exactly what to expect of the weekend and have known for the previous 364 days. Everyone in Wisconsin asked me if I was going to defend my title again and 'how the Birkie was gonna go this year'. I stole a line from Adam Swank and said 'North to South, same as always'.

Leading up to the race I had been feeling good. With help from my buddy Justin Carlstrom at the US Ski Team, I did some very specific interval training on a rollerski treadmill... This treadmill is about 10 feet wide and maybe another 10 feet long... its big... the week before the Birkie I felt as good as I have in quite some time. I was ready. I wanted to win again. And not only just to win but to validate last year's victory.

As the race started I felt great. I hung in about 6th place, far enough forward to stay out of trouble and cover any moves off the front but far enough back not to have to work too hard. Not working too hard turned out to be not much of a problem as the pace was ultra pedestrian. The pack was roughly 30 deep and that means slow. really slow. but thats fine for me, if anyone wants a 50k to come down to a sprint its me. Sign me up... So, again, I hung in there, covered some moves pretty easily. Babikov, ultimately the winner, made a few surges off the front that strung the field out a bit. I never found it overly difficult to go with him, the same was true for only 2 or 3 others in the field, but his surges never lasted too long and eventually the field came back together... With only about 5k to go, i could not believe that Babikov had not put the heat on. Right about the time that though crossed my mind, I got tag-teamed by a couple of slower guys and was hung out to dry as Ivan skied straight away from the field. Had I been there to go with him I don't think I could have hung on until the finish but I do think I could have distanced myself from the pack without much problem... too late for that... time to sprint, bring it on. We crossed the lake and I held in about 5th in the group, just out of the wind. As we moved towards Main St of Hayward, I bit and scratched my way to 2nd in the group and as we rounded the final corner I let the lions roar. It only took a few strides before I had breathing room and for the last 200m it was just about holding my ground.

After the Birkie I had one week before travelling to Switzerland for the Engadin Ski Marathon, the biggest skate marathon in the world. Roughly 11,000 racers in the field. Its quite a show and a real circus. To top it off, its in St Moritz, which is probably one of the most beautiful places in the world.

At the Engadin I had great support from my ski sponsor, Rossignol. They took care of my registration and provided me with their technicians to take care of my skis. It was also very comforting to know that I was sharing a tech with Tor Arne Hetland and Eldar Ronning, two of the best skiers in Norway and the World. Tor Arne is currently in 3rd in the overall world cup standings. In addition to just wax help, Rossignol had people all along the course with spare poles and water bottles to feed us through the race... This is extremely important when you are just one guy flying solo in a pack full of the worlds best skiers.

At the race start I tucked in next to the italian team. They had plenty of man power, rolling about 8 deep, and felt like if anyone could pull be to the front it would be them... And they did... I scrapped up to about 15th place through the first 15km. When we hit the first and only big hill the pace was extremely high. I just put my head down and hammered like I was a few k from the finish. As I made my way up the hill I realized that there were only about 6 guys left in front of me and behind me, i had opened up some space on mattias fredriksson, winner of the overall world cup about 4 years ago.

I made it through the major hills without any issue. It wasn't easy but I was there and from the looks on the face around me, it wasn't easy for them either. As myself and Eldar Ronning took a feed cresting a downhill a small gap opened in front of us. We had to close it immediately or we would have lost the pack for good. Eldar took a pull but began to flail a bit so I pulled through and charged forward to get back on the leaders. It only took about a minute or so of really hard skiing to get there. When I did, I looked back and had actually dropped Eldar, Mattias (again), Anders Aukland (leading the FIS Marathon Cup), Markus Hasler (world cup skier) and Jorgen Aukland (guy who won the Vasaloppet the week earlier - the biggest ski race in the world)... At that moment I knew that I was having a good one.

For the next 10k I did my best to conserve energy, though with a strong tailwind, it was impossible. Everyone in the pack had to work hard to stay there. No one got a free ride. With 10k to go there was a preem sprint and I felt certain that someone was going to sprint for the preem and keep going. I made the decision to move to the front. I got into 4th through the preem line and as we tucked down the next hill, drafted up into first. I was actually leading with 8 or 9 k to go. I quickly got back into the draft of some other skiers and for the next 5k fought to hold my position. From 5k to go to the finish, the heat was on. The course goes from flat to rolling and each consecutive uphill was a mad sprint. Each one as fast as everyone could ski trying to lose people off the back. When we passed under the 1k to go banner, we were skiing in 3 or 4 rows, 5 skiers wide. I was sitting directly behind Zorzi, who i figured was one of the 'guys to beat' down the home stretch... Into the stadium we hit a switchback turn on the final downhill and I moved from ~10th to 20th when the Italian dude on my inside stumbled and blocked a few of us out. As soon as I got around him I started sprinting, I moved up a few spots but tired down the last 100m and lost another couple spots, finally landing in 21st. 19 seconds out of first place... I was really happy about how I skied throughout the race but was still a little disappointed in my finish. Usually the last kilometer is my strongest point, I know how I can ski and that just did not match up with how I did ski... Another day and I know I can be right there until the last 100m.

The past few months have really meant a lot for me, personally. In the past few seasons I have been fairly dominant in the marathon scene. The 'marathon season' happens to coincide with world championships and olympics, which I have failed to qualify for. I know that while I am here in the US winning marathons, there are plenty of people looking at the results thinking that the only reason i am winning is because the 'top' guys weren't there. I never really felt that way and thought to myself that the truth was that I just have a talent for marathons. This year, with no world championships, the fields have been strong and i have continued to rise to the top of each race. Most importantly, I skied the biggest skate marathon in the world and finished with what was said to be the most competitive lead pack the Engadin has seen in many years. As far as marathons go, I now feel confident that I can ski with just about anyone. Its not a matter of who is or isn't there...

Moving forward, the real key is to figure out how to turn this marathon speed into world cup 15k speed. With data from lactate testing on the treadmill, I know that one of the main reasons I am good at the long races is because of my efficiency under threshold. The reason I can't successfully compete in a 15k on the world cup is because I am not equally efficient over threshold.

The easy part is figuring out what the problem is, the hard part is fixing it...

World Cup Racing and Beyond...

The World Cup in Alberta was an amazing week. I have skied several world cups in the past but only sprints. As my focus has changed the past few years, these were my first distance starts...

My first race was the 30k pursuit, a mass start event. I started the race comfortably and made it to the top of the course within the pack and without having to over exert myself. I was really happy about where I was sitting until we started back down the hill where I shot straight out the back of the field. My skis were terribly slow. I didn't have my usual technician at the race and this served to be a bit of an issue on this day. My skis were over-waxed a bit and that is not OK at the world cup level... I skied a lonely race, picking off other skiers that had fallen off the pace as the race went on. I managed to pass a few, some dropped out but I managed to finish. I had worked to hard to get to that race to just give up. It was a tough day but a great learning experience. Just skiing in the pack with the best skiers in the world for 10 minutes was awesome. Click here to read a story from my technician and friend, Nathan, with some outside perpective on my skis.

i'm not really smiling, just looks like it... Pursuit in Canmore.

My next race was the 15k skate race, an individual start race. I started fairly conservatively as the courses in Canmore are the hardest in the world... not some of the hardest - THE hardest. I pushed through the first lap and started to pick up the pace fairly drastically on the second. I was moving up well into the field and at one point was skiing around 40th place. I had hoped to be able to really turn it on in the final lap but on this particular day I just didn't have it and faded back to 47th. On paper it looks rough but this race was probably good enough for a top 5 result at nationals. There is little room for error or an off day at the WC. My second two laps i was able to ski around many skiers who were starting later in the field, skiing their first or second laps. Watching these guys and trying to keep up with them, I learned a ton. It made it very clear to me where exactly I am and where I need to be if i want to be a full time world cup skier... The experience was very exciting and envigorating... I can't wait to start training again and tackle this next step in my career.

taking strides towards World Championships and Olympics

After the WC I headed back to Park City for less than a day before driving to Sun Valley for the Boulder Mountain Tour, a race that I have won in the past and one of the most competitive races in the country. As always, the pack was tight and it was difficult to shed anyone from the group. At the end 3 of us got just enough separation from the main group to protect ourselves from a sprint. It was up to the few of us... I lined it up just as I have in the past, coming into the stretch in 2nd and ready to slingshot around with a head of steam but when we hit the lanes I couldn't muster the speed to claim the victory. The two who beat me were also at the WC in Canmore and in addition to skiing distance very well this season, have been sprinting very fast. I would have loved to win but I just didn't have the speed on this day... something to regain for the future.

boulder mountain tour men's pack
thats me on the far right...

After the race in Sun Valley we tried to drive home but the highway was closed, so we got stuck for almost 24hrs in central idaho before an alternate route opened up. We drove almost 4 hours out of the way to get home. I had hoped to get a day at home but instead that day was spent in Burley, Idaho... We got home at about 7pm. I unpacked my bags and did some laundry. I rewax skis for testing and repacked everything... I left the next morning around 10am to Aspen, CO.

As of now I am in Aspen getting ready for the Owl Creek Chase which I have won once and was second last year by a few inches. I'm looking for a good race and afterwards, looking forward to heading home and spending some time at home...

US Nationals and Preparing For 'The Show'

My last post was right before Christmas and my departure for US Nationals in Houghton, MI. I hope everyone who reads this had an excellent holiday season.

I used our weekend off from competition to get in some easy distance training and rest. In the past few years I have always trained really hard going into Nationals and subsequently found myself racing far below my potential, tired from over-reaching. This year i opted for the opposite approach in effort reverse the trend...

My travel out to Nationals was simple and Houghton greeted us with as much snow as we could possibly ask for. The conditions were excellent. My focus was solely on the distance events, as I was trying to qualify for the World Cup team at the end of the month.

The first race was the 10k Skate, which is typically a good one for me. I started out very hard, or at least so i thought. I felt great but when I received a split that I was in 12th place, I realized i needed to go much faster... Sea level, it always gets me that way. Every time I go down to sea level for the first time in a season I suffer the same fate... at the end of the day i finished in 12th. I was happy with the way I skied but disappointed that i was unable to move as fast as I needed to... Something to address for future seasons, that is for sure.

The classic race seemed like it should suit me very well, as it was a 15k. I thought the longer distance would enable me to keep up with the lowlanders more effectively... unfortunately the opposite was true. The nature of classic skiing, the faster more explosive movements pushed me further down the result list than I would ever consider 'acceptable'. I was never able to really access my speed and throw it down in the last portion of the race.

I am confident that if I had several more weeks at sea level, that I would easily come around and adjust to the speed necessary to find the podium. I've done it before, I'll do it again but I need to find a way to adjust faster so i do not find myself in the same position next year.

The one true positive to come out of Nationals was that i qualified myself to ski in the World Cup at the end of January, in Canmore, Alberta - Canada. This has been a big goal for me this year and I am happy to have achieved it. Canmore is a fairly high altitude venue so I am very anxious for the opportunity to race there.

For now I am home in Park City preparing for the World Cup. This weekend I had the opportunity to race in some collegiate races at the 2002 Olympic Venue, Soldier Hollow. The level of competition has risen significantly since my last year in college. There are some excellent racers there and I was psyched to go up against them. The classic race was very good, though my seed as a guest racer (start position - very important in an individual start) put me out of the gate first. This is typically not an issue unless it was snowing... It was snowing. I was the guy who got to blaze the trail for the rest of the racers. by the time the top seeded skiers started, the track had been skied in nearly 50 times. I lost a lot of time to say the least... In my later laps I passed several of the skiers who ended up beating me and absolutely smoked them. However, i had already lost so much time on my first laps that there was no way for me to catch up... At the end of the day I skied very well and was content with the finish.

The second day was a mass start 10k. Using these competitions for training, my coach and i decided that the best thing for me to do was to get to the front of the pack as quickly as possible and drop the hammer. So I did. I hammered as long and as hard as i could out in front but came up just short of dropping the top skiers. Our last time up the final climb they had a little more speed left than me and I just barely lost their tail. I finished a solid 5 seconds out. More importantly I was happy that I was able to ski at the front of the race, go as hard as I did as early as i did and still manage to recover throughout.

So as of now I have six days until I depart for Canada. We leave on the 19th. My first race, a 30k pursuit, will be on the 22nd and my second race, a 15k skate, will be on the 25th. I have no real expectations in terms of result or outcome for these races as i don't think that would be a productive way to go into an event of this caliber. What I really want to do is go up there, ski the best races that I can ski and come away with a better understanding of what I need to do to make the jump to scoring world cup points, which means a top 30 finish.

Busy, Busy and More Busy. And Some Ski Racing.

I apologize for taking so long to post an update to this blog. The past few weeks have been busy at times and completely overwhelming at others. The last time I posted, I was in West Yellowstone training after the first SuperTour races of the season... I stayed up there for five or six days, spending some quality time on snow and getting to know my new fleet of skis. It wasn't too long before I had to hit the road, no need to lose my mind in the second week of the season...

I headed back to Park City for a few days. Slept a few nights in my own bed. Trained on my own courses and got some much needed rest. I found out that the next races in Bozeman might be cancelled due to lack of snow and then, much like the Yellowstone series, found out that they got just enough snow to make it happen... and with very little time to spare. So we packed up and headed back to Montana.

The course in Bozeman was pretty sweet. It was not the most difficult I have skied but there were some sizable hills and the course flowed well... couple that with altitude and you have the perfect combination for me. I started the 15k skate race fairly conservatively and focused on skiing smoothly. I was receiving information from coaches that I was leading the race right away. I continued to ski steady for the next three of four laps and on the final time around, I really ramped up the pace. I managed to put a solid 30-40 seconds on the field on the last lap. When I crossed the line I actually thought I had won. I was very happy with my effort.... But come to find out a few minutes later, Garrot Kuzzy, who had started late in the field, was crushing my time on the first few laps. He put quite a bit of time into me early in the race and though I managed to get quite a big chunk of it back on my final lap, he still got me by a solid 20 seconds...

Team Rossignol - Not afraid of the color Orange...

After a solid effort in Bozeman, we travelled back to Park City. Knowing that I was in solid shape, there was no reason to risk anything in training before the next race, which was less than a week away on the Olympic trails in Midway, UT. And while training in those days went well, pretty much everything else in my life was doing its best to pull me in the opposite direction... I thought I was dealing with the stress as well as I could but come race day, last Sunday, I found that it was not to be... When I started the race my legs felt heavy. The early pace that should have been comfortable, felt brutal. I was not recovering on the downhill and I was not able to hold my place in the pack. It wasn't long before frustration took over and things got even worse. There is no way to ski fast when frustrated, at least for me... I finished the race in a less than stellar 12th place. The only good things about the effort were that i did not give up and that in terms of time-back from the winner, i did not get completely blown out of the water... Bottom line, I neglected to notice how much outside stressors were impacting me before the start of the race... Needless to say, I will be looking for more from myself at US Nationals next month.

Racing at SoHo. Too many people in front of me, not enough behind...

For the next two weeks I'll be home in Park City, taking care of the million things that I have been neglecting this past month and attempting to relocate the form that took me to 2nd place a week and a half ago...