Boot Buddies
I know the Birkie happened, and that’s a pretty big deal and all, but I just got back up to Houghton and what I’m waaaay more excited about is the present that was waiting for me in my mailbox!
Boot Buddies!
My very very dear friend Laura is one of the smartest people I know. So smart, in fact, that she’s come up with a solution to the age old problem of how to keep the bottom of your boots from getting jammed full of snow. And she’s mass producing that solution, and making it available to everyone! And she gave me a pair! And they’re pink! I haven’t gotten a chance to try them out yet, but when I do, expect a full review. Until then, you can find more info about Boot Buddies on her website www.skitraxx.com.
And it’s sooooooooo good to be home!
City of Lakes Loppet
I finally made some money! It was a while ago now, but two weekends ago I was the winner of the 2010 City of Lakes Loppet in Minneapolis, MN! This was a super sweet race: it starts at Theodore Wirth Park, which is where my teammate Garrott lives, winds through 35 kilometers of the city using parks and frozen lakes, and ends up downtown right by my other teammate Jojo’s apartment!
CXC had some very good representation at this race: in addition to Matt ‘Chuck’ Liebsch destroying the men’s field, we had myself, Jojo, and Maria all racing in the women’s. Going into the day I though i was going to have a horrible race. I felt lethargic and just generally not fast. The plan was just to try and keep up as long as possible, but i was pretty sure that Maria was just going to run away with it. She’s been skiing super well lately, and this flat of a course is perfectly suited for her powerful style.
After the start the women’s field settled into a group of five pretty quickly…the CXC ladies, as well Lindsey (Weir) Dehlin and Carline Bromante. I kinda hung out in the back for a while. The other girls were taking turns pulling, and i felt a little bad about not jumping into to take my turn, but after they’d pull, they wouldn’t circle all the way to the back, so the rotation was happening ahead of me. I certainly wasn’t going to waste any energy fighting my way up to the front. Not when i felt as poopie as i did at the start. I was still pretty sure that Stubs was going to take it…her pulls were noticably faster. I was also pretty sure that we would drop the two non CXC’ers…theirs were noticably slower.
At some point, Carolyn was in the lead, and one of her supporters started yelling at her “Don’t lead! You’ve got a wall of CXC behind you! They’re going to use you!” She looked back to confirm…and decided to slow up a bit. That’s when I took my first pull. By then i was starting to feel much better, and we dropped the other two pretty quickly after that. I started having visions of a three way CXC sprint to the end.
But then Jojo started yo-yoing, and it was obvious that wasn’t going to happen. Stubs and I got a nice little rotation going, and settled in for the long haul.
I have no clue where in the race it was, but somewhere it was clear that her pulls were becoming slower than mine. She was either doing this on purpose, to save energy for a final sprint which she would win (cuz i can’t sprint for shizzzz), or she was pooped. So the next time i pulled, i picked it up. I figured she would either go with me…in which case she was faking, or I’d drop her. Well…i dropped her. Which was a little sooner that i’d maybe planned, since it meant i had to hammer from there in all alone. And we were much further from the finish than I thought we were. I could still see her around some of the corners, and I knew that she had been absorbed into a men’s train. That meant she very very much could come back at any moment…so there was no relaxing.
But I held her off, and won the race! Which is especially exciting, as it came with a $1000 cash prize! It’s hard to make a living as a nordic skier in US, so when an organization like the City of Lakes Foundation offers a large cash purse, it’s a huge incentive for elite racers to come participate. I’m super excited about the payout, and super grateful that they are so generous.
It’s also especially exciting because my teammates came in 2, 3 behind me! A total CXC sweep of the podium! There was no official CXC waxing presence at the race, so we didn’t get that special “Fish Factor”, but we did have Josh Korn there from Salomon helping us out. He helped all of us CXC ladies out with our boards, so we were all running the same sauce. Which is kinda fun, especially when we clearly had the 3 fastest skis in the race. Thanks Josh!
Ski and Tea Clinic 5: The Finale
The last CXC/Ski and Tea clinic of the year was a smashing success! I didn’t get a whole lot of pictures, and the ones i did were from my phone, so they’re not that great, but here’s a few!
What a beautiful day!
How freaking cute is Linda in her skirt!?
Coach Stuber showing how it's done!
More pictures HERE.
Thanks again to all the wonderful ski and team women who came to these clinics, and participated with such good spirit and enthusiasm! You ladies are my inspiration!
Birkie Fever!
Technique and Wax Clinic for the Big Day
The biggest show on snow is nearly upon us! It’s time for a last minute technique tune-up, a few fresh layers on the race boards, and most of all, time to get fired up about the big day! Join us on Thursday, February 18th at Tower Ridge Ski Area for all of the above. This amazing event will start with an on snow technique clinic lead by a professional Nordic skier, and then move inside the chalet for a light meal and wax demonstration by a Swix wax representative. Don’t miss this opportunity to make 2010 your best race yet!
The clinicians:
Kristina Owen is a professional athlete skiing for CXC Team Vertical Limit. She started her skiing career in her home state of Washington, and migrated to the Midwest for college. She is a 2007 graduate of Michigan Tech University with a degree in Mechanical engineering. She was a multi sport athlete for the Huskies, competing in Cross Country, Nordic Skiing, and Track and Field. She is a 3 time NCAA All-American in Nordic skiing, as well as a former Junior National Champion and U23 World Cup competitor. As a member of CXC Team Vertical Limit, she races domestically at an elite level and conducts clinics throughout the Midwest. She is a two time Birkie participant, with a top finish (so far) of 8th overall female.
Josh Korn was once a member of the Eau Claire Ski Striders and learned to ski through their junior program. Coaches such as Karen Possley and Noreen Leahy shaped his development as a skier. He was a 2005 graduate of University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, with a degree in Human Biology and an emphasis in Sports Exercise Science. He was a standout member of the university’s NCAA Division 1 ski program for 4 years. He currently works as an industry rep for both Swix and Salomon. He is competitive in the Midwest citizen racing circuit, with five years in the Birkie’s Elite wave and top finishes in many Midwest marathons.
Tentative Schedule:
4:30-6:30 Technique Clinic
Good technique is efficient technique…and efficient technique means you can fly up those Birkie hills faster, and with less effort! Kristina will take the main group through a series of fun drills designed to teach and enforce proper skate technique. These drills are suitable for everyone from beginners to more advanced skiers (and are often used by the CXC team members themselves). If there is a large enough interest in a classic only group, Josh will lead a similar progression of striding drills.
6:30-7:00 Skier Social
Put on some dry clothes and grab a light dinner. We’ll provide chili, cornbread, and a dessert. Then relax and find a seat for the wax clinic to follow.
7:00-8:00 Wax Clinic
Josh will lead a step by step waxing demonstration good for both training days and the big race. Long range forecast will be posted for the Birkie, and he’ll show you exactly how to apply the current Swix wax recommendations for both the skate and classic races.
8:00-??? Open Question and Answer Session
Any and all of your skiing related questions answered.
Registration will be day of clinic, but please RSVP to ko@kristinaowen.com so we have an idea of how much food to prepare. Any questions or comments can also be directed to that address, or to Ski Strider member Michael Howe at hower@uwec.edu.
Masters Skiers: $50
College students: $30
High School-Middle School students: $20
Terms: Cash is preferred, but checks can be made payable to Josh Korn.
Cya there!
Podium!
CXC Sweep: Maria(2nd), Rebecca(1st), and ME(3rd)
I got my first ever podium finish in a SuperTour this weekend! I’m super, super excited about this! This year hasn’t really been going all that great, and as upbeat as I usually am, it’s still been getting me a bit down. But sweet redemption, in the form of a 10k mass start skate race at Telemark Resort! YES!
Results HERE
West Yellowstone Pictures
waiting for the races...
Fish is a split giving machine.
gettin our cheer on!
the Girls!
More pictures HERE.
First Race Down
I’m a little disappointed with how i did. Sprint races generally aren’t my best, but this one was classic, long, and fairly hilly, which i thought could work to my advantage. Unfortunately, there were also two pretty wicked downhill hairpins, and i wussed out big time and snowplowed the heck out of them. Not cool. Not cool at all. At this stage in my career i shouldn’t still be getting scared of a corner, no matter how fast and icy. On the plus side though, i managed to stay on my feet, which sounds like is more than about half my team can say. Other than that, it went fairly well. I though i did a pretty good job of striding bigger up the hills. There was one downhill right before the finish that i may have relaxed on a little too early, but i snapped myself out of it and hammered home. All in all, my first race is in the books, and i’m super psyched for the ones comming up this weekend.
“Ski with the Stars” Clinic
Little Ms. J. Diggs and i had an awesome group of ladies from Duluth East and the Wenatchee Valley SEF for today’s “Ski with the Stars” clinic. They were so much fun! It was a slightly “seat of the pants” style clinic, but i think we still taught them some valuable skate technique. We covered bending your ankles and knees (and why that makes you faster), weight transfer (from the hips, not rotation), powerful push-offs and long glides (with a little “fewest strides” competition), and a bit of v1 specific stuff. Then we were done with the serious, and ready to play some games! You’re never to old to play games on skis. It teaches great balance, agility, and coordination…plus it keeps things fun!
The Wenatchee Valley SEF is my mothers team...they had the best technique!
What a great group of ladies!
Our cheer was in Norwegian...and when translated, not entirely appropriate. Thanks Mom!
The Whole Family!
With the Juniors, Masters, Elite, and Marathon teams all here in West Yellowstone, our little family has gotten a bit..well..not so little! It’s great to be part of such an amazing organization, which has programs and opportunities for so many different levels. We all inspire each other!
Click Here!