Britta, Alia and Will at the Eastern Cup

On Sunday, December 19, Britta Clark, Alia Johnson and Will Earle raced in the TD Bank Eastern Cup as a warm-up for their first high school race on Tuesday.  Tim Reynolds, a former Frost Mountain Nordic coach and Middlebury College alum won the race in a close finish.  Britta and Will are Co-Captains of this year's MUHS team and Alia races for Mt. Abe. See Nensa article below. 

Britta Clark's (left) final cork.

Britta Clark striding out.

Alia Johnson shows how to work the terrain.

Will Earle on course.

TD Bank Eastern Cup Day 2: Reynolds and Caldwell Repeat

This post first appear on Nensa.net

Jericho, VT – The Ethan Allen Firing Range hosted today’s TD Bank Eastern Cup.  The original host, the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, had enough snow to pull of yesterday’s freestyle sprint on their own trails, but felt that moving to Jericho for the longer mass start classic races would provide the best possible racing conditions for the athletes.  They were right.  With temperatures in the mid-twenties, easy waxing, and a beautiful race course, smiles were everywhere at today’s events.

The biggest smiles might have been from Tim Reynolds (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) and Sophie Caldwell (Dartmouth College) who completed sweeps of the weekend’s racing.  Each won both today’s 12K classic and yesterday 1.3K freestyle sprint.

Tim Reynolds (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) takes the big victory over teammate Patrick O'Brien.  Photo by FlyingPointRoad.com


The day began with the J2s, athletes aged fifteen and younger.  In the boys race it was the experience of Hamish McEwan (CSU) and Tyler Foulkes (Stratton Mountain School) edging out Ben Hegman (Mansfield Nordic) who enters his first year in the age group.   The sprint to the finish between Halvorsen and Brams was perhaps the most intense of the day. The girls were next and once again, it was the 2nd year J2s Heidi Halvorsen (GMVS) and Cate Brams (CSU) taking first and second with 1st year J2 Brooke Mooney (Stratton) taking third.  The sprint to the finish between Halvorsen and Brams was perhaps the most intense of the day.

Collegiate standouts Sophie Caldwell (Dartmouth) and Caitlin Patterson (UVM) dueled at the front of the women’s race. In the end, it was Caldwell  gliding to a 2.6 second victory.   About 20 seconds later, Heather Mooney (Stratton) crossed the line to take the top junior spot and third on the podium.

Women's Podium. Sophie Caldwell (1st), Caitlin Patterson (2nd).
Missing: Heather Mooney. Photo by FlyingPointRoad.com

Men's Podium L to R: O'brien (2nd), Reynolds (1st) and Horst (3rd). Photo by FlyingPointRoad.com.

The men’s race stayed in a pack until Reynolds, his teammate Patrick O’brien, and UVM’s Scott Patterson broke away on the third of four laps.   While the break was not huge, it was enough to decide the podium.  Reynolds stretched across the line 1.6 seconds ahead of O’brien with Patterson another 4.5 seconds behind. In grabbing third, 2010 World Junior Championship standout Patterson also grabbed top junior honors.

The first weekend of TD Bank Eastern Cup racing concluded and will be remembered for excellent conditions despite general lack of snowfall so far this winter.  It will also be remembered for attracting very strong fields on both the men’s and women’s side.  Momentum from this event will help carry New England athletes to success at the upcoming US Nationals January 2-8 in Rumford, Maine and the next Eastern Cup on January 30th at Weston Ski Track, just outside of Boston.

TD Bank Eastern Cup events are sanctioned by the International Skiing Federation (FIS), the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and NENSA; it is widely recognized as the premiere regionally skiing circuit in the United States, attracting strength of fields second only to the Super Tour in this country.

See NENSA.net for full details, and after the event, check back for results, photos, and more.  For immediate updates during the events, follow the athletes and coaches directly at www.twitter.com/nensa/athletes

Frost Mountain Bill Koch League Starts The Season

 

Caroline Damon (above) said, "My spirits are buoyed as I look over the field and see so many children out skiing and enjoying the snow."

The Frost Mountain Bill Koch League had their first on-snow Saturday morning session up at Breadloaf.  Just under one hundred kids and their families were out gliding over the fields.

Silas, who is a Bill Kocher, and his dad, Woody (right), had already been out doing their stuff.  When asked how the skiing was today, Silas said "Good," as he shuffled his skis back and forth.  He couldn't wait to end the conversation and get back to skiing.
"We could use a little more snow," said Woody, "but I am so glad to be outside and it is so beautiful."

Frost Mountain Nordic Bill Koch League is hosting the 2011 TD North Bill Koch League Festival the end of February.  Forest animals will comprise this year's theme to the festival.

Skiing By the Woods on A Snowy Day

The  2011 TD Bank Bill Koch Festival will be held at Rikert Ski Touring Center (click here for map of area) on Middlebury College's Bread Loaf Campus in Ripton, VT on February 26^th and 27^th.   The Breadloaf area was the summer home of Robert Frost and is the year round home to many forest animals, both of which will comprise the theme for this year's festival.  Start thinking about your costume for this year's opening parade!  Raccoons, squirrels, mice, deer, moose, bobcat, bear, fox and even skunk are all invited!  Kids, ages 5-13, will be participating in the festival which includes two days of competitive and non-competitive events.   We are proud to be the host site in 2011!  http://www.bklfestival2011.org/

For more information email Bruce Ingersoll (bruce@keewaydin.org) or Christiana Hodges (christiana.hodges@gmail.com)

Gliding Under A December Moon

When the sun sets at 4:30 p.m. in December, skiers may be seen gliding by as the mountains turn a dusty mauve and the moon rises over Breadloaf.

Dry-land training

First posted in Middlebury Magazine.
by Robert Keren | Photography by Robert Keren 

You have probably seen them roll by. Dressed in tights, helmets, and orange safety vests, there they go again. It’s the Middlebury College cross-country ski team on roller skis.

Often in groups of 10 or 12, the men and women skiers take to the paved roads around the College for demanding workouts starting in September and continuing until, well, until there’s enough snow on the ground for actual skiing.

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Roller-skiing workouts start at the Peterson Athletic Center (above), loop around the country roads surrounding the College, and return about two hours later.

Like a short ski on two wheels, roller skis have been used for Nordic dry-land training for decades. And because the action is almost identical to cross-country skiing on snow, Middlebury athletes on roller skis develop balance, rhythm, muscle strength, and cardio-vascular capacity in the weeks and months leading up to the skiing season. They can also refine their techniques since there are two types of roller skis: one with wider wheels for classic skiing and another with narrower wheels for the newer style known as “skate” skiing.

“Roller skis offer us the best training we can do without snow,” says Andrew Gardner, coach of the Middlebury cross-country ski team. “It’s roughly the equivalent of working out on a stationary bicycle in the off season for competitive cycling.”

“But,” Gardner cautions, “you can’t roller ski every day. If you did, you’d just end up tired when it comes time to race. So we develop workout plans in four-week cycles in order to combine roller skiing with weight training and running.”

Sometimes the skiers roller-ski with poles and sometimes they train without them. Sometimes they run on the roads and sometimes they “bound” (i.e., run) up hills. Some days they rest and others they push hard. Each athlete’s exercise program is charted out weeks in advance on a white board in Gardner’s office. And the number next to each skier’s name on the board—575, 625, etc.—is the target number of training hours expected of each athlete per year.

“Like in any endurance sport, it’s all about how efficiently you are getting oxygen to your muscles,” he explains. “And of course the goal for us is to peak at our races.” Two critical factors for Nordic skiers are “VO2 max,” or the highest rate of oxygen consumption attainable during maximal exercise, and lactate threshold, or the point at which lactate starts to accumulate in the blood stream. Gardner and assistant coach Patty Ross monitor both variables, and create individual workouts, for all 19 members of their team.

But exercise physiology aside, it’s clear that roller skiing has helped Middlebury’s skiers excel at the highest level against NCAA Division 1 schools like Colorado, Utah, UVM and Dartmouth. The team has a long and storied history. Most recently, Garrott Kuzzy ’06 and Simeon Hamilton ’09 represented the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics and, according to Gardner, almost every returning member of this year’s squad has had a top-10 finish in a major college race.

Chewing the Wax

The Mountaineer in downtown Middlebury filled up last night, with Frosties young and old who gathered for a wax clinic with Panther ski coach Andrew Gardner and an all-star lineup that included high school coach Anders Meyer, Frost Mountain coach Cam McKuglar, and that great Olympian Patty Ross. Everyone was rosy-cheeked from a day of skiing in frigid temperatures (the word on the street: Sleepy Hollow is tracked out; Steam Mill Road is nifty), and so we ate Powerbars and watched as Andrew explained the mysteries of glide-waxing and then of generating kick. Many thanks to Steve and the Mountaineer crew--and remember that they've got all your waxing needs covered (including the LF6 and LF7 that Andrew said were the cornerstone of a glidewax kit, and the Swix extra blue and 65 that should cover most of your kickwaxing conditions!

November 2010 Video Review

Well November has now come to a close and I have to congratulate everyone that came out for the Nov. training sessions. Nov is the toughest month of the year, training wise, it is when we have the longest hours, and the most intensity, and everyone made it through admirably! It was awesome to see how quickly you athletes took to the drills and immediately began incorporating them into your skiing. As a coach one of the most enjoyable aspects of the job is watching athletes improving, taking advice and adding it to their technique repertoire, this November the air was tangibly thick with PROGRESS! ... and a little sweat, but thats normal...

Here is a video that I made up that delves a bit into our last couple sessions, and breaks down each individuals technique and offers suggestions.  Now you will see some repetition in my comments, and it may sound like I'm harping a bit on only a couple of issues, but those issues are key and the basis for all techniques. Body position, and leg drive. Our first workout we ran a Spenst (fancy Norwegian way of saying "jumping up a hill") session, and the very first thing we did after our jogging workout was work on body position. I made the analogy of a 'gun-slinger', who as he pulls out his guns his hips move forward and his legs bend forward at the ankles.  I also made the analogy of a string connected to your belly button that is pulling you forward, you want to be bent at your ankles, hips forwad, upper body at the same angle as your ankles, and your shoulders slightly hunched in a neanderthal-esque fashion.  Leg drive is also an integral part of a good skier's technique.  During our Spenst workout we did a drill where we skipped (like on a playground) explosively, trying to go for height. How did we get extra height? By driving our legs and knees forward. While bounding try to emulate that leg drive and try to drive your back leg forward like you would do on snow. It is easy on a bounding workout to fall into a running technique, try to resist the urge, and drive your leg like you're classic skiing.

One of the driving (pun intended) factors of good body position is your hands. I've said to be 'whippy' with your arms and literally throw them up and forward to help bring your weight forward.  This is especially evident during double poling and v2 alternate. When we were doing two-leg jumps for distance we were throwing our arms to give us extra momentum, while skiing we do this also. Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

See how the skier's arms are up, the hips are forward over the ankles and he is airborne, this is what an agressive arm swing can do. This is definitely one side of the intensity spectrum though, you can get a similar body position to a lesser degree (which makes much more sense during a longer race, the above position would only be able to be sustained for a sprint race or final push) by lessening the intensity of the arm swing and leg pop.

More posts coming soon, stay tuned and keep working hard!

Cam