CXC Team Vertical Limit Blog

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• Maria Stuber 8:31 pm on July 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Update 

  By Maria Stuber

  Well, spring flew by and summer is doing the same.  I just got back from a long road trip that took me all over the Midwest.  I started out relaxing with my family over the 4th of July in Eagle River, WI (or “Up North,” as we like to call it).  Then, I drove to LaCrosse, WI to see my cousin Cathy and her family who I have not seen forever.  Next I was off to Minneapolis to see Maggie Sorenson, one of my very best friends who has been in Albania as a member of the Peace Corps for the past 2 years.  We had a little celebration for her and were joined by friends from all over the country, including Adriaan Ostrander (currently living in Alabama), and Nielsen (currently doing his residency in North Dakota).

  Maggie and I have a lot in common and can be a very dangerous combination when we get together.  Here is an example: within 24 hours of our reunion, each of us (on separate occasions) left a purse or wallet on the roof of a car and found it while driving to another location.

  Finally, I went back to Rhinelander for the Hodag Country Festival.  It was a great trip and really the only thing I had planned this summer besides my brother’s wedding in Idaho next month.

  

  Maggie and Ostrander (years ago)

  It’s good to be back home and back to work.  There is not much to report here.  Training has been going well.  This past week was one of the biggest weeks of the year for me, and I should cash in at around 22 hours.

   

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• Maria Stuber 2:07 pm on March 4, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  The Birkie 

  This past week was Birkie week….one of the greatest weeks of the year!  Now it’s over and have the same feeling that I do on December 26th when Christmas is over….359 days until next year’s Birkie.

  

  My Birkie Finish (SkinnySki.com Photo)

  The CXC Team Vertical Limit has been away from internet service and totally absorbed in all the wonderful Birkie festivities in Hayward, WI.  Most of us headed to Hayward, immediately after the Madison Winter Festival.  I stopped in Minocqua, WI to visit the dentist, (Thank you Dr. Kozeluh!) and arrived in Hayward on Tuesday night.  On Wednesday Bryan Cook and I did some private lessons for a couple friends in the Hayward area and waxed a lot of skis.  On Thursday we competed in the Elite Birkie Sprints and I hung out with some family friends from the Waukesha area.  On Friday we tested skis, worked at the expo, waxed a bunch, and got ready for the Big Show on Snow.

  My Birkie experience was incredible.  I got to stand on the start line with Tami Kochen, had all the highs and lows of a true Birkie bonk, and I was still able to place 4th overall.  Thankfully, the bonk happened about 25K later this year than last year.  There was a pack of four women for the first 44 K, consisting of Rebecca Dussault (CXC Team Vertical Limit-1st), Tax Mannix (USST-2nd), and Brooke Gosling (Alberta World Cup Academy-3rd), and me (CXC Team Vertical Limit-4th).  I sat in this group, not working very hard.  The pace felt really comfortable and then all of a sudden, without really pushing harder of increasing the pace, 40K of racing caught up with me and my legs began to burn.  I made it a few more K and I did everything I could to hang with the group, so when I fell off the back I really started to struggle.  I had 4K to go when I really fell apart, stomping up the hills and twisting like crazy.  I started to find it funny when I began cheering for myself in my head.  Since skiing up the hills was not going well, I focused on skiing over the tops of the hills.  I hit the lake alone, but thankfully was able to pull myself together enough to catch a ride from a passing wave 1 skier that went by me with about 1.5K of lake to go.  The cheering on Main Street was the loudest cheering I have ever heard in my life.  I loved it.

  It would have been very nice to make it onto the podium, but I am 100% certain that I could not have done any better in that race on that day.

  I staggered to the finish line, spent a good amount of time laying on the floor of the changing tent nursing my cramping feet, and greeted my female friends and teammates as they trickled in.  Then, I went out to the lake to cheer people in.

   

• Maria Stuber 1:57 am on January 27, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  CXC Team Vertical Limit’s Garrott Kuzzy Named to 2010 Olympic Team! 

  Today, the US earned 2 additional Olympic spots.  Garrott Kuzzy of the CXC Team Vertical Limit and Holly Brooks of Alaska Pacific University will deservingly fill these spots and represent our country at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

  You can read more about the news HERE.

  We are so very proud of you Kuzzy!

  

  Garrott Kuzzy (teamtoday.org photo)

   

• Maria Stuber 3:06 am on January 24, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Minneapolis SuperTour Day 1 

  The CXC team had an excellent time out at Theodore Wirth Park this morning at the 5/10K Freestyle SuperTour races. It was raining and sloppy all day, but that didn’t stop people from moving fast.

  I was especially excited for today’s race because I love 5K races and I don’t get to do them as often now that I’m out of college. The Women’s race started at 9AM. Minutes before the first skiers went out on course, it started to pour. When I set my warm up jacket down on the snow, a puddle of water immediately formed in the middle. Fortunately, it did not pour all day, it mostly sprinkled and the courses held up as well as possible. The ups were mushy and the downs were sloppy making transitions extra important.

  CXC Team Vertical Limit’s Rebecca Dusualt and I (Maria) took the top two places, followed by Aurelia Korthauer of UAF, Christina Gillis of NMU, and Melissa Schwartz (formerly Oram) one of NMU’s super star alumni. JoJo Winters of the CXC Team Vertical Limit was next in 6th place.

  

  Women's Podium

  The CXC Team Vertical Limit Men’s Team was able to do a 1, 2, 3 sweep of the podium with Matt Liebsch taking first place, followed by Brian Gregg and Bryan Cook. Bryan’s brother, Chris Cook of Steinbock Racing was just a few seconds off the podium, followed closely by Sylvan Ellefson of Fischer/SSCV Homegrown.

  

  Men's Podium

  Tomorrow we will be doing a mass start 10/15K classic race. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather cooperates.

  Full results can be found at http://www.pttiming.com.

   

• Maria Stuber 5:25 am on December 27, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  On Snow Clinics 

  On Saturday, I went to Hayward, WI for the 3rd Ski and Tea clinic of the year. CXC Team Vertical Limit teammate, Kelly Chaudoin, came down from Ely, MN to help coach. We had an outstanding turnout of around 20 women. The weather was perfect and the snow conditions in Hayward were great. We met at the OO warming hut, and spent most of the clinic working on skating. Then, we took a short break and did some classic work. Hopefully everyone left the clinic feeling great and more confident about the transition from dryland training to snow skiing. I will be at the next Ski and Tea clinic (#4) on January 17th, and I’m looking forward to seeing all kinds of improvement. Clinic #4 happens to be the day after the Seeley Hills Classic Race, and the CXC Team Vertical Limit will be at the Riverbrook Ski Shop in Seeley for a Super Fit weekend. If you are not already planning on going there, this will be an excellent weekend to be in the Hayward area.

  

  Collage from Ski and Tea Clinic #3 courtesy of Linda Cook

  After my trip to Hayward, I went back to Lakeville, MN for the Stuber Family Christmas. I did another on snow clinic with a Women’s group that meets in the Southern Metro area. We organized at the Cleary Lake trails and worked on classic technique. Most women at this clinic were beginners and made some drastic improvements at the clinic. Hopefully no one was overwhelmed by all the new information. I had a lot of fun working with this wonderful group. I got a chance to ski on some different trails in the Twin Cities area. Before the big snow storm, Bryan Cook and I went up to Battle Creek to ski. We were absolutely amazed at how well the trails looked for having only a few inches on the ground. We were not surprised to find Phil Zink hard at work pulling a Tidd Tech groomer around the trails.

  I’m currently in Rhinelander, WI enjoying the last couple days of Christmas decorations, home cooked meals, and relaxation. Tomorrow I will drive back to Minneapolis and fly to Anchorage, AK for the U.S. National Championships. So far the racing season is going great and I can not wait to do some races at sea level.

  
   

• Maria Stuber 12:12 am on December 13, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  GREAT Day for CXC Team Vertical Limit in Silver Star! 

  

  Men’s Podium

  

  Women’s Podium

  This weekend’s races are Olympic Qualifiers for the Canadian team, meaning that the top Canadian finisher earned an automatic Olympic spot.

  The CXC Team Vertical Limit Men’s team put 4 boys in the top 6 overall!  Kuzzy was 1st by almost a whole minute, followed by Matt Liebsch (3rd), Brian Gregg (5th), and Bryan Cook (6th).  Absolutely amazing.

  Rebecca Dussault lead the women’s team taking 3rd place.  Caitlin Compton, former NMU and CXC Elite teammate who is also traveling with us, was  5th place.  I missed the top 10 by a narrow 0.2 seconds, and finished 11th overall.

   

• Maria Stuber 4:03 am on December 10, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Fall Clinic Tour 

  Before leaving for West Yellowstone, Bryan and I drove around the Midwest and did 5  ski clinics, plus a Super Fit at the Bicycle Doctor in Dousman, WI.  You can read about the clinics in detail HERE.

  Our fall clinic tour started on November 7th, with the Ski and Tea women of Hayward, WI.

  

  

  

  

  The next day we went to Winona, MN, where we held a dryland clinic at the St. Mary’s ski trails.  NMU alumni, Brad Skillicorn was instrumental in organizing this clinic.  We had a wonderful stay in Winona with my Uncle Bob and Aunt Mary.  We also got a chance to ski up, “Homer Hill” which is a mountain by midwest standards, and I’d love to go back there for some intervals in the future.

  

  

  

  

  

  On November 10th, we did an evening clinic for a new group of women in the Southern Twin Cities area that was organized by Lynda Stuber (my mom).

  November 13th-15th we spent at the Bicycle Doctor in Dousman, WI where we sold tons of the new Salomon Equipe 10 skis, boots, bindings, and Swix poles.  The CXC crew did a clinic each day of the clinic.  Bryan and I were present at the Saturday clinic on November 14th and I took a few pictures there.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  On November 15th, I did a “thank you” clinic for the Lapham Ladies who have been instrumental in my development as a ski racer.  For the 2010 season, the Lapham Ladies and Salomon, organized a jacket fundraiser for my Adopt-an-Athlete program.  I would not be the ski racer that I am today without this wonderful group of women.  Thank you Lapham Ladies!!!!  I’ll be sure to show off the jacket when they are finished.

  

  

  

  More details about these clinics can be found HERE.  Clinics are an intergral part of our livelyhood.  Like many things, we rely on our friends, family, and the wonderful ski community to help organize these events.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who helped make these clinics possible!

   

• Maria Stuber 4:26 am on November 30, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Sunshine in West Again 

  

  “Couldn’t have ordered up a nicer day.”

  

  “I know, I woke up and I was so glad.”

  

  Maria and Audrey

   

• Maria Stuber 1:20 pm on October 19, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Bergkönig Trail Run a Success 

  by Maria Stuber

  The 2009 Bergkönig Trail Run went off without a hitch.  The weather was marvelous and the participants were too.  Thank you to everyone who came out to participate whether you wanted to race or just came out to support the cause.  View the race results HERE.

  This race was unique because of the extreme difficulty of the course.  We spent a lot of time squeezing as many hills as possible into each mile at Lapham Peak State Park in Delafield, WI.  Unfortunately, the distance was a little off and the course was slightly long (5.9 miles instead of the estimated 5.0).  Next year we will be sure to have two course options: maybe a 3 mile and a 6 mile.

  

  Men's Winner Scott Mueller 37:21

  

  2nd and 3rd place on the home stretch, Erik Teig and Chad Tolbert, Respectively

  

  Women's Winner, Renee Schaefer, 53:42

  

  Finish Area

  

  Margaret Layo and Lori Trader smiling at the finish

  

  Carrie Furry and Josh Mundt charging hard

  

  John MaCarthy checking his watch at the Finish

  It was a relatively small race, but good sized for the first year with 64 people registered.  I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped make this race possible especially my little brother, Thomas, who was a gigantic help.  He lives in Waukesha now and he helped me do all the things that I could not do from out of town.  Mike and Jane Mandli, Sean Becker, Josh North, Mike Eckert, Yuriy Gusev, Bryan Cook, Jenny Melville, Scott Olsen, and Ben Lund were my race day volunteer force.  They devoted their whole day to this event and it would not have been possible without their effort and organization on race day.  Also, Shane Mundt of MundtArts did a wonderful job designing the Bergkönig Race Website and logo.  He donated this to the cause and his handy work is greatly appreciated.

  I’d like to say an additional big thank you to all the local businesses and organizations that contributed to this event: 10 Feet Back, 4imprint, Salomon, PowerBar (courtesy of PowerBar athlete Chris Cook), Wheel and Sprocket, InStep, Great Harvest Bread Co., Bicycle Doctor, WIN Racing, Be Fitness, Brennan’s Market, CXC Skiing, MundtArts, Pick’n Save, West Wood Health and Fitness Center, Stone Creek Coffee, and Starbucks Coffee.

  It feels great to have planned my first big event.  I had fun learning the in’s and out’s of event planning and hopefully I can do an even better job on this race in the future.

   

• Maria Stuber 3:00 pm on October 5, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Lake Placid Ladies Only Clinic Oct. 3rd 

  by Maria Stuber

  On Saturday, Lindsey Dehlin and I conducted a ski clinic for a group of female skiers in the Lake Placid area. This was a mixed group of experienced and novice skiers. All of the women who attended were very enthusiastic and excited to improve their skiing technique. We did all dry-land work, both classic and skate technique. Surprisingly, most skiers at the clinic preferred to classic ski instead of skate. This is very unusual in the recreational skiing world these days, but it was a refreshing change.

  Thank you very much to Elizabeth Trachte who did most of the organizing for the clinic. She is a Lake Placid skier with Wisconsin roots. I met Elizabeth through my Ski and Tea connections so I owe them a big thank you as well.

  

  Lake Placid Women's Group, post clinic

  

  Working on Ski Walking

  

  Lindsey Dehlin and Maria Stuber