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• 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
   

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• Maria Stuber 2:38 am on September 24, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Nordic Walking Week 

  By Maria Stuber

  It’s Nordic Walking week in Marquette, MI. Bryan, Gus, and I had another Nordic Walking clinic yesterday at the Northern Michigan University Physical Education Instructional Facility (PEIF). This time we had several participants that cross-country ski as well as the usual crowd of walkers, runners, and fitness enthusiasts. Two of the clinic participants had even participated in the Kortelopet last year. We spent a lot of time working on swinging the arms from the shoulder because this group had a tendency to bend at the elbow. Hopefully everyone left the clinic excited to go out and practice their new Nordic walking skills on the beautiful UP trails.

  

  Also, I have received a couple of comments from readers asking what Nordic walking poles I would recommend. The Swix poles are my favorite because they have the most comfortable grips and many of them do not telescope which allows better energy transfer to the ground. You can find them in a lot of places on the internet.  Otherwise, go to your local ski shop and ask them to order you a pair.
   

• Maria Stuber 6:14 pm on September 12, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Nina Gavrilyuk is My New Hero 

  We are winding down another camp in Hayward, WI. This week was speed block #2 for most of the team. We had lots of hard training and we are starting to feel pretty wiped out. This morning, Coach Igor’s wife, Nina Gavrilyuk, joined us for the big OO time trial. Nina is a 4 time Olympian from Russia. She has three Olympic gold medals, one Olympic bronze, 11 World Championship medals, and 37 world cup podium finishes. She also won the prestigious Holmenkollen race in 1996. It was fun just knowing she was out there. Yesterday, the CXC women’s team joined the Ski and Tea women of Hayward to meet Nina and watch her Bronze medal performance at the Lillehammer Olympics in Norway at Mooselips over coffee and tea. She had her Olympic medals with her and we got a chance to hold them, which was a first for me.
  Tomorrow afternoon the whole CXC team will be out doing some work on the Birkie Trail that we love so much. If you are in the Hayward area, you should come to the OO trail head tomorrow and join us anytime between 12:00-5:00pm. After that I’m heading home to Marquette for some much needed rest…and a little work, school, and training. Photos from the Hayward Camp will be coming soon.

  Terry D Kennedy is discussing. Toggle Comments

   

  • Terry D Kennedy 1:21 am on September 13, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    Great to hear about your experience. I have google alerts set for my work for any words relevant with nordic walking, etc.
    We are able bring any coach or advocate inboard with my initiative with the this next fitness wave. Take a look at http://www.balancewalking.com. There are some great financial incentives in place if you have the desire to be passionate with Nordic Walking useing the Balance Walking method.

• Maria Stuber 7:38 pm on August 14, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Vacation 

  By Maria Stuber

  After James and Kelly’s wedding in Colorado, I had a pretty bad ankle role and couldn’t train for a couple days.  Bryan Cook and I spent some time in Boulder where our good friends Shane Mundt and Tami Kochen took excellent care of us.  Shane made us tons of good food.  There was lots of fishing and shooting guns.  We played horseshoes, had campfires, and enjoyed the fresh mountain air.  We also saw the new GI-Joe movie and met the newlyweds in Breckenridge where we stayed at the Ahern’s house.  Tami, Bryan, James, Kelly, Kyle and Kevin Ahern did a 10 K running race at 12,000 feet.  We also met Kelly’s Brother and sister-in-law (Ryan and Annie) in Denver to watch the Rockies play the Cubs.  Getting tickets was a little harder than we expected so the girls got into the game while the boys watched from a bar across the street.  We felt pretty bad leaving them, but our tickets were just a few rows behind the Cubs dugout.

  

  Ramen by Chef Shane

  

  Bryan shooting skeet after a run

  

  Maria shooting skeet

  

  Bryan and James throwing shoes

  

  cooking sausages on the campfire

  

  Bryan and Shane playing GI-Joe before seeing the movie

  

  Our crew at the Breckenridge trail running race

  

  A pack of runners at the start (Bryan is in there somewhere)

  

  Kelly, Maria, Tami and Annie behind the Cubs dugout at Coors Stadium

  During the first week of our Colorado trip we did a bunch of trail running and hiking.   I took a few days off after my ankle role, but I was soon able to put on a ski boot and double pole.  I had never roller skied out west before and the scenery was amazing.  In Boulder, we went up the Left Hand Canyon where you need to ski up and drive down.  Climbing for two hours is certainly not easy at that altitude.  We also did an out and back near the Eldora downhill ski area, and used a gorgeous bike path in Breckenridge.  I really enjoyed skiing with Tami again.  We had a blast.

  

  Tami and Maria on a roller ski

  

  Does this look funny to anyone else?

  

  double poleing near Eldora

  

  icing the bad ankle

  Before heading back to Marquette, Bryan and I spent the night at the Eloranta residence in Pewaukee, WI.  We went to one of my high school friend’s weddings on Saturday night, and went for a long roller ski on Sunday morning.  It was super hot and humid; however, we were still able to recruit some friends to come along.  One of my best buddies, Shane Hoelz, was home from dental school and joined us for half of the roller ski, and my little brother Thomas came all the way from Madison to roller ski with us in the heat.  We were very temped to stay in Waukesha Sunday night to check out the Wisconsin State Fair with the Hoelz family but we had to get back to Marquette for work.  Fortunately, Shane said that the chocolate covered bacon wasn’t as good as it sounds.

  

  Thomas, Bryan, Shane, and Maria heading out for a 3 hour ski

  CXC Elite » Blog Archive » Vacation is discussing. Toggle Comments

   

• Maria Stuber 1:39 am on July 20, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Update 

  By Maria Stuber

  Today concludes the CXC Elite team’s second training camp of the year. Bryan, Gus and I drove back to Marquette, MI this afternoon and we are sitting at a friend’s house watching the end of today’s Tour stage and enjoying some burritos. It is always great to be home after a long training camp. I miss the lake, my garden, and my Marquette friends when I am gone.
  Last week was a recovery week for me, but most of the team participated in an intensity block. There were lots of interval workouts, strength sessions, and time trials. We concluded the week with the infamous OO Skate time trial and all tried to go faster than the week before. I got a chance to stop by the Ski and Tea’s practice on Friday and then my good college roommate and friend Emalea Landgraf came to visit us in Hayward. We went to the Ideal Market in Cable for a beer, tried out the Sawmill’s Friday fish fry in Seeley, and watched a movie with the rest of the team. She brought us some of Dave Landgraf’s home roasted coffee which is always amazing.

  

  Emalea Landgraf

  I am looking forward to a good block of training at home, and doing some waitressing before I head out to Colorado for my former teammates and good friends James and Kelly’s wedding. I’m feeling nice and rested after the second week of camp and I’m ready to kick up the training again.
   

• Maria Stuber 12:28 am on March 8, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Taste and Glide at Valley Spur 

  By Maria Stuber

  Bryan Cook, Gus Kaeding, Caitlin Cassidy, and I drove out to Vally Spur near Munising, MI today to ski. The annual Taste and Glide event was taking place, and the Nordic Ski Club of Milwaukee was in town for the festivities. The temperatures got up to almost 40 degrees but there was still tons of snow and perfect grooming. Conditions were slow, but we do not mind trading speed for sun at this time of year. For those of you who have never been there, the Valley Spur trails have something to offer for everyone. There are some difficult trails with long climbs and winding fast downhills. They also have beginner loops and some longer, more scenic, flat trails. They groom nearly every day and they have one of the warmest warming houses I’ve ever been in. It is a very nice day trip from Marquette or weekend get away from anywhere in Wisconsin.

  

  Maria Stuber (CXC Elite), Caitlin Cassidy (NMU), Sandy Sugden, and Anne Riendl (Nordic Ski Club of Milwaukee and Lapham Ladies) at Taste and Glide Food Stop #1.

  

  Caitlin and Maria

  

  Caitlin Cassidy

  

  The Chevy Blazer that Valley Spur uses to groom their trails (Photo credit: http://www.valleyspur.org).
   

• Maria Stuber 7:54 pm on February 9, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Wisconsin High School State Championships 

  By Maria Stuber

  Yesterday, Bryan Cook and I went to Minocqua, WI to watch and help our respective high school programs at the Wisconsin State High School Championships. Both races took place on the same day, with a 5K classic in the morning and a 5K skate in the afternoon. The skate race in the afternoon was started according to the athlete’s percent back in the morning classic race. This enables skiers to fight for the overall victory and makes things more exciting to watch. The weather was warm and made kick waxing difficult in the morning. There were athletes on hard-wax, klister covered with hard-wax, and straight up klister all in the same race.

  

  Ben Hugus of Wausau West and the CXC Junior team skiing to 1st place overall (photo credit: Dennis Loy)

  Both of the pursuit individual champions were CXC junior team members.  Ben Hugus from Wausau West took first place for the men, and Brooke Adams from Spooner was the women’s champion.

  The Hayward High School girls were the overall champions, followed by Peak Nordic (my alma mater), and Wausau West respectively; however 2^nd and 3^rd were extremely close and needed to be determined by a tie breaker.   The men’s race was equally exciting, with Peak Nordic edging out Wausau West for 1^st place, and Hayward taking 3^rd.

  

  Bryan’s home team, The Rhinelander Hodag’s had a great day as well, with all of their girls taking between 3 and 6 minutes off of their times from the previous year.  They also had a middle school athlete take 1^st in the classic race which is inspiring for their future.

  After the races, the awards were given out at Lakeland High School (Minocqua, WI) and were followed by a slide show and a social event.  Bryan and I did a short presentation/question and answer session for parents and athletes who wanted to learn more about skiing opportunities in college and beyond.
   

• Maria Stuber 9:24 pm on November 20, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

  The Plateau 

  By Maria Stuber

  I’ve been feeling a little bit tired lately, so I’m taking a break from intensity to make sure I get my energy back before the race season.  Today, the CXC Elite team did L-3 classic intervals, and it was difficult not to jump in and play.  Fortunately, the views from the plateau were so beautiful that I was distracted, and I had a blast exploring on my own.  The plateau trail is not groomed, except for the tracks laid down by fellow skiers.  It was sunny and perfect for training again.    

  

  

  

  Skiing at the Rendezvous trails is no longer very good, but the plateau has 6-8 inches all over.  Unfortunately, it is hard to imagine snow rolling in tonight, but I will remain optimistic.
   

• Maria Stuber 12:35 am on November 3, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

  Halloween Weekend by Maria Stuber 

  I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!  It is one of my favorite holidays and we had a blast in Marquette, as usual.

  On Saturday, Bryan and I woke up early and met some local skiers at the Sports Rack Nordic Ski and Bike Shop for a skate roller ski clinic.  The air was crisp and the skies were blue.  It was a blast to finally work with some people from Marquette.  Everyone at the clinic made huge improvements in their skating.   The group learned a lot about ankle flexion and getting the hips forward.  We are going to see some fast times in the 2009 Noquemanon from this group.

  In the afternoon, I met a new group of people for a Nordic Walking clinic.  We spent some time talking about the differences between “Nordic walking” and “Nordic trekking,” and all the benefits that Nordic walking has to offer.  Then, we did a little technique work and went for a brisk walk on the new bike path section behind the Sports Rack.  There were some new faces at the clinic which is always refreshing, and hopefully we will see some of these faces out on the trails with poles in the near future.

  After Nordic walking I hustled out to the Marquette BMX track to watch the 2008 U.P. Cyclocross Championships.  I was very excited for the race since Team Farmer Q’s (Bryan’s race team) scored a 2nd and 3rd last year (Joey Graci and Bryan Cook).  Unfortunately, the boys did not have it today and could not crack the top 10.  Team Captain, Joey Graci was in third place for most of the race, but hit a wall with 2 laps remaining.  Bryan had a rotten start and was never able to turn the peddles over fast enough to recover.  It was still an exciting day and very fun to watch.

  

  Bryan sporting his new Lone Wolf tattoo

  Sunday we met back at the Sports Rack for a classic rollerski clinic.  These rollerski clinics were very small, but I think everyone went home with several things to work on.  All skiers got a lot of one-on-one attention and left excited to continue working on their technique.  I’m sorry if you are in the Marquette area and you did not get the memo.  There will be more clinics to come and we will be sure to do more advertising.

  

  Bryan Cook and Jeff Shipkey working on kick double pole
   

• Maria Stuber 8:26 pm on October 13, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

  Ski and Tea Clinic #1 is a Huge Success! 

  

  October 11^th was the first of five women’s specific ski clinics hosted by Ski and Tea to benefit the CXC Elite Women’s Team. The clinic was held at the Birkie Trailhead on 00 Road in Seely, WI. The weather was perfectly sunny and the fall colors were at their best. An impressive 25 participants showed up, foreshadowing huge potential for the remaining clinics.

  The topic of the clinic was, “Fundamental Movements of Cross-Country Skiing,” presented by Maria Stuber, CXC Elite and XC Ski Alliance team member. Participants gathered in the warm up building at 8 AM for refreshments and introductions. The first portion of the clinic focused on a classic skiing dry-land technique progression involving double polling, kick double poling, and striding. Next, the group moved to a similar progression for skate skiing technique. Some of the veteran skiers fine-tuned their skate technique, while others worked on the timing of open-field, V1, and V2. Finally, the group strapped on their ski boots and roller skis and hit the pavement. About half of the clinic participants tried roller skiing for the first time and no one left disappointed! Beginners spent time working on glide and weight transfer, while the experienced roller skiers did some drills to develop their V2 technique. The Hayward High School Ski Team graciously loaned out their set of roller skis for clinic participants to use.

  

  The CXC Women’s Team is ecstatic to be a part of this women’s specific skiing project. What the Ski and Tea group has created is MUCH more than a series of clinics. Mutually beneficial relationships between community-based groups and elite athletics can have a huge impact on the development of cross-country skiing in the USA. To progress as a nation, it is important to develop strong cross-country ski communities and to bridge the “interest gap” between recreational skiing and top level racing. The partnership between Ski and Tea and the CXC Women’s team is an innovative and powerful way to accomplish this.

  In addition, Ski and Tea is creating new training opportunities for women, introducing active women to the sport of cross-country skiing, and inspiring women to push themselves and try new things. Hats off to Ski and Tea for everything they are doing to make a difference in the cross-country skiing community!