Still some work to do

So, last weekend's race went so-so. I felt pretty good overall, but my classic technique was again a limiting factor. Not sure exactly what the issue is, but I just don't feel like I get anywhere near the power or speed when I'm classic skiing compared to skating. Anyways, it's still a work in progress, so I'll keep plugging away at it. I ended up 1:20 behind the winner (Chad again). It's a strange thing classic skiing, but I do enjoy it, even though I feel I should be better at it, so I'll keep trying to improve as I have a couple very big classic races later this winter. I'm not ashamed to say however, that I'm relieved that my next several races will all be on skate skis.

Up next, are three NorAm Cup biathlon races in Jericho, Vermont on 28-30 December. The timing of these races is good and bad. The good part is that I can race in three high-level races at a great venue without having to use any vacation time (we have a shutdown for the holiday week). The bad news is that I'll have to do my best to be disciplined over the next week when it comes to all the holiday meals, parties and other events we have upcoming. I'll have to continuously remind myself of the old adage "there's not much you can do to improve your fitness in a week, but there's a lot of things you can do to hurt it." It shouldn't be too bad though, and I'm definitely looking forward to these races. Following the races, Nancy and I are going to spend New Years up in Vermont with some other friends, so that should be a great opportunity to get in some additional training, while also having some relaxing fun with some close friends in an absolutely beautiful part of the world!

Fact Finding in the Tug Hill Plateau

Tomorrow is the annual "World Famous Osceola Christmas Race" in the Tug Hill Plateau north of Syracuse. I'm not sure that it's world famous, but it is a very well attended race in New York State and is typically the first JO Qualifier, so there are always a lot of high school racers out. The other reason that it might not actually be World Famous, is that no one actually calls the race the World Famous Osceola Christmas Classic, it's simply called the "pie race".

The race is always held the Saturday before Christmas, is 5km for all classes regardless of age, and the winner of each category receives a homemade pie. The top 3 in each age group also receive homemade pottery and the proceeds from the race benefit the Camden High School Ski team. Chad has won this race five years in a row or something, and swears by the homemade chocolate pie that he brings home to his wife every year. It's definitely a cool tradition and RNR is bringing a big squad up there tomorrow to hopefully come home with some pies, pottery and podiums!

I've done this race a couple times in the past, but this year will be a classic technique race, so it will add a different twist. Hopefully my race re-cap is more positive than that of my last classic ski race. The first race of the year is always a bit of a crapshoot to know what to expect, and when you factor in that it's my weaker technique historically and will likely be the shortest race I do all winter, I'm not sure what to expect. However, doing a low-key race like this is much more relaxing than, for example, having your first race of the year be in the Olympic Trials (as was the case last year). If I come away from the race and my technique allows me to push my aerobic capacity (i.e. if I'm able to get my heart rate up where it typically is in a skate race), then I think I'll get a decent indicator of the improvements in my classic skiing that I've been trying to make, and wherever that leaves me on the result sheet will also be a good indicator of my fitness level. So thats the goal for tomorrow - to get some feedback.

Speaking of goals, I'm going to try to approach every race this season with a specific goal for that race. For some races, this might be winning, or top ten, or good shooting, or skiing uphills strong, it depends on the race. The reason for this is pretty simple - I would like to get to the end of the year and not look back on 15 races and just see where I placed in each race and not be able to clearly see what I need to work on and what areas need more focus. Results can mean many different things, for example, I would say that last year the Lake Placid Loppet (7th place) or the NorAm Cup races in LP (8th and 9th place) were my best races of the year and the NYSSRA championships (5th place) may have been my worst. If I only look at the results sheet, I don't get an indicator that will help me improve as a skier.

I feel pretty good about the training I've put in through the fall and especially the past month, so it's time to see what's under the hood so to speak and stop speculating on this blog about where I'm at, time to do some fact-finding.

Does this make us a family of "Yellowjackets"?

Nancy finished graduate school last weekend and is now the proud owner of an MBA from the University of Rochester. This is a great accomplishment and she's been working very hard towards finishing it.

Now that we both have MBA's from the Simon School, as does my Grandfather, I think that the U of R has overtaken all other schools in either of our families for combined degrees.

We had a very different name for their mascot during my baseball-playing days at RIT, which cannot be re-printed here. But now that we will both be receiving alumni newsletters and requests for donation from the U of R, maybe I should start embracing my Yellowjacket pride.

On second thought, I might not as well.

Full-on winter

Winter has made it's way to Rochester. We've been receiving a few inches of snow each day for almost the last week. I skied at Mendon Ponds last night and the coverage was excellent, it was mid-winter trail conditions. My first ski was last Saturday at the Lima Country Club on some pretty thin snow. It was a lot better than roller skiing, but last night was the first real ski in good conditions on groomed trails and I was reminded in about the first 5 minutes (after I got used to the length of my real skis compared to my roller skis) why I am so passionate about cross country skiing.

Now that winter is here, it's time to get ready for all of the following idiosyncrasies associated with ski racing and training in the Rochester area:

- More miles will be put on my car in the next four months than the other 8 months of the year combined...by a lot.

- training in the daylight is limited to Saturday's and Sunday's only.

- eating dinner at 9pm on weeknights seems early.

- I will have a runny nose until at least March.

- My attic is fully converted into a waxing hut and already seems like a disaster and I've only waxed each set of skis once.

- The drying rack in our bathroom is always completely full and our boot dryer is the most valuable appliance that I own.

- I will mentally thank Gore at least 4 times a week for developing "Windstopper" technology. I think whoever named Chicago the "windy city" had never visited Rochester.

- The proportion of meals that involve peanut butter will be at least 50%. This is mainly out of convenience, but it has always been a staple in my diet...good thing I'm not allergic.

- My co-workers will ask me, at least weekly, if I do triathlon or if I have any recommendations on alpine skis for the children. Neither of which I have any clue about.

There are probably a lot of others, but that's a quick list anyways. I'm excited!

Getting antsy...

This should come as no surprise, since most of my posts over the past month have at least mentioned skiing in one way or another, but I am getting pumped for ski racing to start. I haven't been in a competitive event for about two and a half months. Last fall, I competed in a serious of running races through the fall, but I intentionally did not do any of those this year. Over the spring and summer, I logged a good amount of training and racing (due to more consistent bike racing) and decided to take a break from competition and really try to focus on consistent training. It's been nice to take a break from having my weekly training plan revolve around some type of event. I am also hoping that doing more strength and specific-ski training in the fall will pay dividends this winter (I guess we'll see). For the most part, it has been consistent (with a few hiccups due to workload and travel), and as far as I can tell, things seem to be going well. It's tough to know until you get out there and race though.

This time of year is really tough. Mother Nature seems to be teasing us big time - the weather has went from - windy and cold, to sunny and 55, to pouring rain and 40, to wet snow all in the last week. We now have about an inch of snow sitting on top of semi-frozen ground, which is basically useless. It has, however, eliminated roller skiing as a viable training option, so it's been back to running, bounding, treadmill incline intervals and box-jumps until we get more snow. That routine is getting old, especially when your buddy in Buffalo sends you pictures like this (taken this morning):

Anyways, I'm trying to be patient and I know it's only a matter of days before I'm on skis, and it won't be long before I'll be pinning a race bib on and getting after it!