Engadin and Back.

I'm back in Park City after a fantastic trip to Switzerland.

After leaving Whistler, my buddy Tony and I flew to Zurich and drove up to Samedan. The jet lag was minimal at first and I felt great for the initial days abroad. We got a couple great skis in on the Marathon course and revisited the famed Roseg Valley, a 10k double pole up to an unbelievably cool glacier. Unfortunately this year it was snowy almost the entire time we were there so the glacier wasn't much more than a mass of white snow instead of the blue ice that makes it so spectacular.

On the third day over there I crashed a bit, the lag caught up with me. I took a day and a half off and focused on recovery. I skipped a planned interval workout and did some intervals to open up the day before the race. I had no idea how i would feel on race day but i went into it preparing to fight for the win. I showed up early in the morning and tested skis with the Rossignol international wax team. They gave me unbelievably good boards to race on and warmed up a bit longer than usual given that i had rested so much the days leading into the race.

When the race started i was super cool. i was totally comfortable in the pack and moved my way right up to the front without any effort. i think it was probably a bit too easy because around the 6k mark i got tangled with one of the italians (thank you bruno) and hit the deck. my poles and ski got run over them and one of each broke in the mess. My ski wasn't totally hosed but i was with only one pole. i got up and decided that the best thing to do was to get back in the lead pack and hope for a pole soon. I skied back to the front with one pole and to my surprise it wasn't too bad to hang in there until we went down hill. for some reason i couldnt hold my spot on the gradual downs and lost a few spots right before i got a pole, which came from a neutral pole station run by morons. it took way longer than it needed to get the pole and by the time i was back at it i was 200 people behind the front group. knowing that i had to be back at the front by the 25k point, i put my head down and skied as hard as i could. i made good time on the group but by the time we got out into the wind (25k) i was not quite in contact and i faded hard. i pushed the chase pack as long as i could and did make a dent but we just couldn't close, as no one else had the legs to help out. from there i died into the depthts of the result list. thats how it goes but i wasn't there to fight for 30th, i was there to fight to win. and thats what i tried to do.

The trip overall was great. we were joined by a few friends from xc oregon and got to spend some time hanging out with them. this trip was also made more special by the my girlfriend crystal coming over to experience st moritz and the engadin ski race. we had a fantastic time and could not have asked for anything more or anything better.

after making it home, i am ready for the season to be over. it has been a dismal one in my eyes with very few successes. i am ready to end this one and begin preparing for the next. i finally feel healthy and i want to get back to the top.

i may yet ski one more race, the gold rush, next weekend. i am waiting to hear if my team will provide support. if not, i'll likely begin a short rest period now before getting back at it.

this spring my plans include racing with a local road cycling team. i have my work cut out to get a few upgrades early on and am looking forward to racing in a sport where i can be at least somewhat anonymous. it should be interesting and i like the idea of racing more through the off season to stay sharp.

all for now. Z

birkie to engadin, via callaghan valley olympic venue

Greetings from Whistler, BC. Canada.

I'm up here training for a few days, having a look at the Callaghan Valley Ski Trails, cross country ski venue for the 2010 Olympics. I have not had the chance to ski on these after missing out on this year's world cup races due to the lovely protozoa, giardia, and also skipping the various training camps that happened up here in the past few years. I've wanted to have a look at the courses but haven't had the chance until just now.

Today we skied the majority of the trails that are here and man was it fun. It was a gorgeous day for skiing, plenty of new snow, fantastic grooming, and temperatures around 25 degrees with a hot western sun beating down on top of us. It was really cool. The courses are very fun and a bit of a departure from the latest trends in course design. Over the past decade the courses, especially at major championship venues, have increased in difficulty to the point where its less about skiing and more fitness, a point that is infinitely debatable, i know. The courses here are much more gradual allowing for greater speed and requiring a much broader set of skills than the ability to climb an incredibly steep hill for 4 minutes at a time over and over again. The downhills are also a bit different in that they are quite turny. While there is a lot of debate about these points that i'm making, i am of the opinion that this is a good change.

so i will ski the trails one more day, tomorrow, before heading out of vancouver to switzerland for another assault on the engadin marathon. last year i had a great race there, finishing only a few seconds behind the leaders. this year i will do my best to repeat that and if possible, try to put together an even better last kilometer. last year i dropped the ball a bit in the stadium area and would really like a chance to show my finishing speed in a big field like this. if i have the chance, i'll take it.

last weekend was the birkie. i didnt have a great day there. i went into the week before feeling fantastic but wound up fighting off sickness all week long. i skied the birkie sprint and though i finished ok, i didn't feel very good, i was really flat. i hoped for the best in the race and went out to try to win again but i just didnt have it. i found myself falling off the lead pack somewhere around halfway and wound up in no mans land, skiing all alone, just waddling my way to the finish. i ended up in 20th place. not what i was looking for, not even close.

after a few days home i still felt pretty beat and went to the doctor. it turns out ive been fighting a bit of a sinus infection and have been taking some drugs to rectify that for the last couple days. by the time i get to switzerland on sunday, i'll be done with the drugs and ready to sharpen up for the following sunday's event.

thats all for now. i'll try to post something from st moritz if i have the chance. thanks for reading.

Back on the Top Shelf.

a few weeks have gone by now. I went out to Minneapolis for the City of Lakes Loppet, which happens to be the second biggest event in the US in terms of participation. I flew out on a Wednesday and got a ski in on the first 10k of the 38km race course on thursday. When i arrived it was very cold and the forecast pointed to more of the same through the weekend, which I had counted on before I left. Friday came and we had a short sprint in Uptown. It was fun to ski a sprint again, a race I used to focus all of my efforts towards but as of lately have not seen much of. I skied better than I expected and was going quite fast all around. I didn't quite have what I need to beat Rossignol teammate Kevin Hochtl, who was very much in his element on the short course, but I was happy to be able to push him a bit and move as quickly as I did.

Saturday came and I was very anxious to race. It seemed to be my race to win and I was ready to make it happen. Soon after the start I felt my skis start to drag a bit but I didn't think it was enough to derail my mission. Over the next k's they really started to slow down and I had to work harder and harder to stay at the front of the pack, which became really frustrating. The flats and uphills were good as I was in control but the downhills were disastrous, with nothing to be done but watch the competition gain an easy gap and try to reel them in as soon after as possible. I made it happen for 30k. I really dug to do it and thought I still had a shot if I could keep the pack together. But a few long downhills around 6k to the finish put a stamp on it. I watched three guys ski away to fight for the W. I didn't give up, it was still training. I pushed myself as hard as I could across the lake to the finish and made the best of it. Thats how these things go. It was purely a stonegrind issue. I didn't bring some of my warmer skis and Friday, forecast for a high of 20, was 50 degrees F. The minimal structure on my skis filled with dirt and left me with more suction that I could power my way out of. the good news was that I felt really good. really good. it just took a little time for the fourth place to wear off to know it.

I flew home and arrived in salt lake city with a sore throat. great. just what i want this season is a cold... right after i have finally come into race shape, right before my biggest races... Tuesday I felt sick still so i didn't train. Wednesday, still not healthy but slightly better. Thursday we drove to Sun Valley for the Boulder Mountain Tour. Friday I felt good and did some intervals with my homeboy, world wide superstar, and now famous because of his alka selser ads, Bill Demong. I felt good and was skiing surprisingly well after not training all week. I was ready to go.

The race came and I had great skis, super important in the Boulder since its mostly downhill... I decided to sit in the pack as much as possible to conserve for the finish. I stuck my nose out in the wind at a few stratigic spots along the way to soften the other skiers a bit and resumed my position out of the wind. Near the finish the attacks started flying, including one by Bill, which I knew would be coming. Bill strung the pack out and I stayed tucked in until it seemed like everyone was starting to fade and I pounced. At the time I had no idea but I had Marshall Greene in my draft. I pulled us up to the top two positions and let the lions roar when we hit the 150 meter mark. It seemed like i had plenty of space and backed off a touch but felt some pressure coming near the line and I hit it again. At the line I threw down a great lunge and according to reports from the Jury, won by a centimeter... We actually had no idea who won until they announced it.

It felt great. I needed a win. The last few races have been really solid but winning is different. It was great to get up on the top step again, especially after all I've been through this fall. I had a feeling I could do it if I was patient and kept at it. Slow and steady wins the race.

This week I am headed back to Wisconsin for the Birkie. A race I love. A race I have won before. A race I want to win again. I've been back on the rollerski treadmill to put the final touches on my fitness. Last Friday I was going faster than I've ever gone before. This is a good sign. Monday will be another hard one and that last real interval workout before I travel. Thursday will be a short city sprint in Hayward and Friday is the Birkie. I'm looking forward to it. I leave several days after the Birkie for the Engadin Marathon in Switzerland.

Next post from St Moritz.

Answers to Matt's Questions

THE BASICS
1. What is the athletic background of your parents and family?
My Dad was a baseball player throughout most of his life. He played high school and college baseball. Later he played on in a 'professional' fast pitch softball team and was inducted in to the World Fast Pitch Softball Hall of Fame. He has been active in the outdoors his whole life but never involved in cross country ski racing until I got started in it.

My mother was active in the outdoors throughout her childhood. She ran track in high school and has completed a number of marathons and ultra-marathon events in the last decade. She was never involved in cross country ski racing.

My brother is a cross country skier and several time junior olympic champion. He skied at the university of utah and as of late, has switched to the sport of biathlon and is a member of the USBA Development Team.


2. When did you begin participating in your sport?
I began ski racing very young, probably around six years old. I recall being in the bathtub and my dad walking in and asking if I wanted to do a ski race. I was up for it. And that was that. I got involved with the local ski team and have competed ever since.

THE EXTRAS (if you have time)
1. What was your early experiences with sport like?
I liked winning early on. That was the initial draw. When it came to training and practicing, I loved being on my skis and going off jumps, playing games. Later I learned to love to train.

2. How instrumental were parents and coaches in the early part of your development as an athlete?
Very. My dad especially was very involved in helping me wax my skis and taught me the basics of skiing early on. He help a lot with finding coaches and instruction that were a huge benefit later down the road. He definitely instilled a work ethic in me that still exists today. Hard work pays off. If you don't work hard, it won't happen. I've known that from the beginning.

3. How were you introduced to your sport and how many other sports did you seriously participate in?
My dad asked if i wanted to race and I did... that was how i started racing. I started skiing earlier than six in my backyard. I was always on my skis, mostly building jumps to go off. I also participated in baseball until high school. My dad being a baseball player, it was always a huge part of my summers. I'm pretty sure that is where i developed the speed that i have now in ski racing.

4. Is your success a product of nature or nurture?
Both. The mindset that it takes to succeed is something that comes from early influences. There is always some level of natural ability that is present (or absent, whatever the case may be). A lot of 'natural' talent comes from the activities that are done early on. The best ski racers that I have been exposed to, in terms of 'natural ability', are people who participated in a wide array of sports and activities when they were young, whether is was swimming or biking or running or soccer. The more the better at a young age, as far as I am concerned.

5. Are you an expert in your field? (by your own definition)
I would say absolutely. Especially in regards to those areas in which I have direct control, tactics, training, etc. The areas in which I am not an expert are the technical sides involving waxing and more ski related areas, though I would consider myself quite proficient, there are plenty of people who know much much more- they are the experts.

A little place called.... Aspen

I just returned from Aspen, Colorado.... Just.

It was a long journey home, thanks in part to a flat tire on our trailer in a rural area... on a Sunday evening... Not a good combination. We combed Glenwood Springs for an open garage to fix our broken valve stem but found nothing. We jumped on I-70 and hobbled down the road to Rifle where we were lucky enough to find a SprawlMart that had a repair shop... Unfortunately there were a handful of cars in line in front of our tire. It took a few hours but we finally got back on the road as the sun was setting on the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains.

As I may have related in my last post, my first real test after this last period of training was to be the Owl Creek Chase. Before the OCC was a 10k Classic Supertour race, attended by many of the top racers not in Vancouver for the World Cup and the Western Colleges. Classic skiing can be a bit up and down for me and as such, tends to be a good test of my fitness. The race went well dispite feeling a bit flat in warm up. I skied strong on the second lap which was crucial at 8000+ ft. I ended up in 4th place, less than a second from the podium and within 30 of the leader. Not a bad start considering where those skiers placed at US Nationals.

That result gave me a lot of confidence going into the Owl Chase, a race that I have won in the past and never been off the podium in. As the race started, I took a shot at going off the front which was followed by an attack from Tad Elliot. I gave chase thinking it was our chance to ski away with the race but I couldn't hang on and fell back to a chase pack of three other skiers. I tucked in to recover as a few of the others skied away. From there I just never quite came back. I made a serious tactical error in the late km's of the race and combined with some questionable maneuvering from another racer, I was never really able to challenge for third until the last few meters at which point it was too late. Rossi teammate Josh Smullin was third and I was fourth. Matt Gelso and Tad Elliot, both on the U23 World Championship team, were just ahead of us in 1st and 2nd respectively.

Looking back on the race I can't help but be a bit frustrated. My fitness is back and I felt strong but just didn't ski the race I needed to in order to win. I have a few more weeks now before the Boulder Mountain Tour. I may travel to the midwest to ski a few more races in the meantime but that has yet to be decided. Some logistical issues need to be sorted out.

The past month has been an excellent one in terms of training. I am still not able to accomplish the volume that I have in the past, however I have found that I can handle more intensity than usual. That intensity is what I have to thank for my current fitness. I plan to continue on a similar plan for the next weeks/months with addition of some more highspeed training to prepare for sprint finishes. I felt like a donkey in the finish lanes of Saturday's race and it didn't get any better when I got knocked out in the early rounds of the nighttime drag races in downtown Aspen... Not acceptable but a good lesson to learn right now.

So from here on out my schedule will roughly entail the Boulder Mountain Tour, The Moose Chase, the American Birkebeiner, the Engadin Ski Marathon, the Gold Rush and Long Distance Nationals in Fairbanks, AK. I may also find my way to the City of Lakes Loppet less than two weeks from now.

See you out there.

Back To Work.

So once the races in Breckenridge were over I stuck around for another 5 days with my buddy Justin, getting some training in at 9500 ft (!) and catching up on the old days. It was fun to be out on the road for a while but as with anything, marginal returns began to decrease an in an instant I was ready to be home.

I left the following day. My drive home covered some amazing territory. An hour into the drive I drove over Vail pass and shortly after, followed the Colorado River westward past Glenwood Springs to Grand Junction. I took my time, stopping quite a few times to take pictures along the road. Its hard to beat the American West in terms of camera fodder.

When I arrived home the first snowflakes were only hours from falling from the sky, the true beginning of our winter. Several feet have of snow have fallen in the days since, in various locales around the Wasatch. Park City seems to have received the least snow, only seeing about 16 inches thus far. There is plenty more in the forecast and hopefully the storms yet to come will be more generous to our town.

I have not raced again since Breckenridge. I have had the opportunity to do some local races but I decided that I would be better served by doing my own workouts at my own pace. I know what I am missing right now and that is nothing more than economy. I'm not efficient at a steady state. So I am fixing it workout by workout and once I feel that I've moved past that, I will race again and hopefully with much better results.

Specifically, this past week I have done three intensity workouts, each one forty minutes in length, though each time the duration of a single interval has varied. I'm not pushing the pace over my lactate threshold, in fact staying at least 5 beats below. Days in between intervals I have done a speed workout or a specific strength workout. On speed days I simply do 10 accelerations, simulating a finish sprint, even going so far as to visualize competitors in my mind. Specific strength days consist of alternating between skiing without poles and skiing with out my legs (double poling), I usually trade off every 5k.

Yesterday I took a day away from the track and ventured up Guardsman Pass. A place that used to play home to my first ski of the year. I don't ski there too much any more but I took the opportunity to ski up with my camera and into the woods. I had no destination in mind, just followed snowmobile tracks where ever they would lead me. It was very blustery and snowing hard so taking pictures was difficult at times but I did come out with some nice ones.

This week I am headed up to Sun Valley with my girlfriend, Crystal, and our dog, Roz, to spend the holiday with Crystal's family. I'm hoping to catch up with some friends and do plenty of training over the weekend as well. We'll be back to PC in time for New Year's Eve. After that I'll have a few local races to get my geared up for the Owl Creek Chase in Aspen, Colorado on January 16th, which is my first target event. I am looking forward to it.

Happy Holidays. Here are a few shots I've taken recently...

The Road.

After several days of hemming and hawing over whether or not the snow conditions in Yellowstone were worth the drive up, we finally bit the bullet and hit the road. I had initially planned on heading up on Saturday but decided to wait a few days to get a few first hand reports. By Monday morning I had made the call to drive but my lovely ladyfriend Crystal and our golden-furred hound, Roz, were planning on following suit the next day so I just decided to hang for an extra day so we could head up together.

I have spent roughly 15 Thanksgiving holidays in West Yellowstone. During that time I have never seen the town so dry as it was this time around. If it had been ten degrees warmer, people would have been mowing their lawns. During such an 'off' snow year, we have to make do by skiing up on the plateau, about a 20 minute drive out of town. Although sometimes treacherous, the drive was easy for all but the last day of this year's camp.

I spent the days there getting some long, easy sessions on snow. I had no plans to race as I really was not ready at all. I needed a few days on snow to readjust and sort a few things out. I needed to figure out just where I felt that I was in regards to fitness. After four long days of training I felt as though things were progressing and that i was ready for some sort of intensity. I had planned a workout for the last day but when we drove up to the plateau, several cars were off the road due to ice and it didn't seem like the way would be clear anytime soon. We headed back to town and settled for an easy run along the famed Madison river before making the drive back to Park City.

Park City is dry in terms of snow. The training was miserable. It has been cold and rainy off and on, which makes for ice. That makes for bad rollerskiing. I heard reports of snow in Colorado and made a call to former Rossignol teammate and friend, Josh Smullin, who lives in Steamboat. He said they had snow, so I packed my bags and hit the road.

Steamboat didn't have a ton of snow when I arrived but about a foot fell the first night I was in town. We got out for two workouts the following day, both in deep powder but both on skis, which was nice. My afternoon workout was even an intensity workout, the one i had planned in Yellowstone.

There was a decent sized race in Breckenridge planned for the weekend with all of the big western college teams attending, I decided that now as as good as any to jump in a race and get an even better read on my status. Initially I had planned on just one of the two races but I woke up on Friday morning excited to wear a bib again and registered for both... Soon after I made the drive to Summit County.

The first race was a classic one and a little off balanced for many reasons. I didn't bring any of my skis from last year, as I hadn't planned on any classic racing. So I had to race on some brand new, never skied on skis. I also hadn't done a bit of intensity on classic skis this year. In fact, I had only done one fast workout in the past 15 weeks and that was two days earlier, so I didn't exactly feel snappy or coordinated... But I was happy to compete and put in a solid effort, indicative of where I am right now. The following day, today, was a skating race. I was hoping for a little better but the effort was similar, feeling like I just haven't gone hard for a while... i'm just not comfortable being uncomfortable... nor was I efficient.

After the races I reflected on the efforts and am ok with the outcome. I can't expect a lot more but I can be happy to be making steps in the right direction. I am fairly certain that I can go about a minute faster in either race, given another week of training on snow. I am not concerned, I just need to be patient and smart about making those steps. I've done it before and I'm going to do it again.

I've been lucky to stay with another friend, another former teammate from the Maine Winter Sport Center, Justin Easter, here in Summit County. It has been awesome to catch up on life since we spent the summer squatting in a ski lodge in Northern Maine. Its awesome to see guys like Josh and Justin, motivated and positive figures in ski racing, taking the reigns as coaches for the next generation. Its cool to see them so passionate about what they have undertaken. I am sure that their clubs will be generating plenty of skiers for the future.

This evening we had a conversation about outlook on sports and a view that I hold as extremely important for any athlete. Its my position that the two of the most important things an athlete can have, mentally, are complete passion and love for the sport and the process of becoming better within that sport and a wider perspective on where sport fits in a greater framework of reality.

The first, a love for the sport, is extremely important. It is the reason why. Why do I train all these hours, why do I fight back from adversity, why do I move forward from failure to achieve a certain goal... love of the sport. It cannot come from external sources, it cannot be received from someone, it has to be a deeply personal and satisfactory experience. It has to be something you really, really want, above almost all else.

The second, perspective on where sport fits in, is most important during the tough times. An athlete must realize just how minor sport is. A bad race is a bad race. It doesn't mean you won't get dinner that night, it doesn't mean anyone will like you any less. Your friends are still your friends and the world is still round. People are suffering great atrocities around the globe and the Earth is being ruined, if an athlete wants to dwell on something they should dwell on something bigger than a bad day. A bad performance is a pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.

Its a tough dichotomy to swallow, but the bottom line is that any outcome in sport is a minor outcome in the bigger picture. A peak performance ought to be something an athlete seeks to achieve for him or herself. There will be no rapture or opening of the clouds on that day. It won't really matter to anyone but that athlete.

Its late now and I feel like I'm rambling. I'm really tired from the races and I need some sleep.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from the road. Thanks for reading. Z.