Its warm, wet and sloppy here….perfect bootbuddy weather!

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!

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!

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!

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 18^th 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 8^th 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!

Women’s HERE

Good day for CXC, and the Americans in general.

waiting for the races...

Fish is a split giving machine.

gettin our cheer on!

the Girls!

More pictures  HERE.