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  • nygrenk 2:07 pm on August 16, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    August Camp Rap-Up 

    We just rapped up a great two-week training camp in Ironwood, MI.  I have had the opportunity to spend August at training camp in Ironwood the past two summers and have relished every moment of it.  It was definitely hot and humid but after talking to my brother in the Cities I learned just how easy we had it up north by Lake Superior.  The training in Michigan continues to impress me.  Not only are there many good trails and roads but there are also a couple of absolutely exceptional training locations.  We were staying at Big Powder Horn so we had one of the largest alpine hills in the Midwest right out our front door for hill bounding and the adjacent Wolverine ski trails for running.  My favorite spot though was the roller ski climb to Anvil, MI.  I have lived out west and realize we do not have anything close to mountains in the Midwest but the 9 min level 3 climb to Anvil was the perfect workout.  It provided a great V1 pitch step enough that we had to be driven down and great switchbacks and transitions throughout the climb.

    I am home for two weeks now before our next training camp in Hayward, WI in September and excited for a quality recovery week to absorb the amazing training of the past weeks.  The slight lull will be a great opportunity to work a little, catch up with friends and family and put the final touches on my motorcycle.  I have been rebuilding a 78 Honda and am anxious to get out and ride.

     

    • BG 12:19 am on August 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Really Karl? Right after gus sent and email asking us to put our name at the top.

    • Jennie Bender 4:26 pm on August 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Hahahaha

    • kay 10:15 pm on August 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Did you mean wrap up or was that a play on words?

  • nygrenk 7:06 pm on July 17, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Birkie Trail Work 

    We finished a solid training camp in Hayward , WI this past Thursday.   With a few easy training days, for recovery, scheduled after the camp we hit the Birkie Trail  and got to work.   Yesterday we worked on clearing a new corner on the classic course.  The original corner had proved a little too tight and the pitch was making erosion a problem.  A new path through the trees was cut and we started hauling away the down trees.A lot of the clearing was done by hand but Bill Pierce was also with us in a Bobcat to do some of the heavy lifting.

    Today we drove east on a maze of gravel roads and started cutting trees that were encroaching on the trail.

    Trees that are too close to the trail end up leaning over the trail when weighted with snow and get in the way of both the groomer and skiers.  Every few years a bit of cutting is required to keep the trail looking good.

    A little preemptive action on some large dead or leaning trees was also need to avoid unpredicted falls in the winter.

    This part was definitely a little fun!

     

  • nygrenk 2:42 am on July 3, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    Summer in Paradise 

    It is the middle of summer and I am currently enjoying some time with family up north.  There is nothing quite like MN lake-country and traveling up north to spend some time by the water has always been a family tradition.

    I found a great deserted road for a really solid set of levels 3 intervals earlier in the week and ventured out to the nearest high school track to run some 600’s yesterday.  The high school marching band started practicing right on the track with me and gave me the little extra push I needed to finish up the level 4 intervals.  Running a track workout as the sole member of an audience to Billy Joel was definitely a new experience for me.

    I have also enjoyed some time on the water.  One of my favorite activities is 4-sqaure on a floating raft.  It is an absolute blast.

    My Dad, two brothers and I getting after it.

    The water also provides an opportunity to ski that we take advantage of when the water calms down in the evening.

    My Dad showing us how it is done.

     

  • nygrenk 7:52 pm on June 5, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    The joy of wearing out equipment 

    I get a lot of twisted satisfaction from wearing out equipment as the result of constant, simple, unrelenting use.  I am not talking about accidentally breaking skis or kicking out a roller ski tip but the slow, gradual breakdown of the most durable products I can find.  I take it as a sign of progress, success and reward for my work.  In my opinion equipment exists to be used, used, fixed and used some more.  With training now in full swing my equipment is once again taking a beating and yesterday called for some maintenance.

    This week I managed to finish off a pair of shoes and toast enough of the wheels on both my skate and classic roller skis to make them unusable.  In my opinion this is a great week!  While I enjoy wearing out equipment I would have to say getting new stuff ranks right up there too.  With my wheels out of commission I laced up a brand new pair of shoes I had just received from Salomon and headed out on a muddy run to effectively christen them.

    In the afternoon I drove up to Finn Sisu and picked up some new Marwe wheels for my skate skis.  I am always shocked at how big the new wheels look. Not for long!

    I was able to rotate some old front wheels to the back of my classic skis so I can corner once again without scrapping the road.  This will be highly appreciated as speed work becomes an increasing part of my training.

    Now I should be back in business for a while and I am excited to put some serious miles on my new equipment.   Thanks a lot to Salomon and Finn Sisu!

     

  • nygrenk 4:55 pm on May 13, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    May Camp 

    We just completed our first training camp of the year and now training for next season has really begun in earnest.   Our May camp started at Jim Mullen’s Premiere Physical Medicine Wellness Center for VO2 testing and a flexibility assessment.  It is great to establish baseline fitness early in the season to know where we stand.  Tests throughout the course of the year will also help to assess improvement as we strive for higher and higher fitness during the year.  We also measure flexibility mainly to determine if the flexibility of any particular muscles were a performance-limiting factor.  This gave everyone an understanding of where he or she is tight and what should be stretched to potentially improve performance.

    The next day Garrott, Brian, Bryan and I jumped in a local mountain bike race on trails developed by Brian Fish’s father.   Garrott and Bryan have a fair amount of experience but Brian and I found ourselves techniquely outmatched by other racers.  I could hammer to keep up but too many times I found myself off the bike and losing time.  Brian and I had a fun battle going on in which time was gained or lost on the other depending on who managed to stay up and incur the least mechanical problems through a given section.  He was able to put to me over the last few miles and we finished the 24-mile race exhausted and covered in mud.  It was an amazing experience made even more interesting by the snow and mud.  It was definitely a fun way to kick the year off and get excited to train.

    Over the next couple of days we roller skied on the back roads of Wisconsin lake country around Hugus’ cabin where we were staying.  With the first over distance and specific strength workouts of the year under our belt it was great to ice in the lake and even get in a nice sauna last night.

    It is time to start putting in the hours. Enjoy!

     

  • nygrenk 4:49 pm on April 9, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    $95 Dollar, 2 Days in Court and Motivation for Next Year 

    As readers of my previous blog might know I received a ticket for skiing on closed trails while training for the last races of the season.  The ticket simply had a court date so I spent a lot of time calling around to figure out why.  I have even left multiple messages with the officer who left the ticket.  I got no answers and was forced to get a continuance because I was racing in Maine, at the SuperTour finals, on the court date.  After returning home I went to court, signed in, waited, talked to someone, waited, and then was told they could not talk to me further because the ticket had been issued to my car, which is still registered in my father’s name.  Standard procedure is to only give one continuance but after talking to multiple bureaucrats I was able to secure another date, which my obliging and now equally frustrated father could attend.

    Today my father and I went to court and jumped through the various hoops only to learn from the prosecutor that they know very little about the details of park tickets and that we only had two options.  We could either pay the fine and various court fees (reduced from $135 to $95) or schedule another court date to argue our case.  My Father had already arranged to arrive late to work once and I had missed a day of work so we begrudgingly paid the bill so we could be done with it.


    This entire incident has given me a couple of ideas.  First, maybe if more people knew the illegal nature of skiing it would become more popular.  Illegal activity tends to entice teens so perhaps this could increase participation from a broader demographic and enlarge the talent pool.  Second if skiing is illegal I feel officers should have to physically catch skiers.  This would encourage faster skiing and racing tactics to elude officers.

    On a serious note it is spring and time to enjoy some down time from training and refocus for next year.  While it is temping to be angry with the lunacy of going to court for skiing I have learned that training angry fails in the long run.  Anger burns too hot and too fast.  You end up training too hard too often and are left exhausted.   This also applies to those who are frustrated about this past season.   Now is NOT the time to hammer in anticipation for next year.   Relax, recover, enjoy the spring, and then start to once again build your aerobic system through long slow distance.

     

  • nygrenk 10:27 pm on March 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    The 2nd Most Ridiculous Ticket I Have Received While Training 

    Wednesday, for the second time in my life I was ticketed while training and given a court date.  I understand the need for laws and the resultant chaos that would ensue if anarchy proliferated society.  As a result, I am usually a sucker for following the rules and the first to object to other’s careless actions.  I do, however, draw a line and while training I focus on getting a quality workout.   Coincidentally the only tickets I have ever received have been while training.

    The first time I was ticketed was while road biking in Colorado 2 summers ago.  I was winding through neighborhoods back to my place when a police officer proceeded to pull me over for “rolling a stop sign.”  It is an understatement to say I was frustrated.  He even wrote up the make, model, year and color of my vehicle.  The best I could even tell him was old, red, rusty Maruishi.  What put me over the top though was when he said I needed to put my feet down in order to come to a complete stop at each sign.  I ended up having to go to court to protest the ticket.  With some work I managed to not pay a $100 traffic violation.

    Murphy at it's best earlier winter

    Wednesday called for 5 minute classic intervals starting in level 3 and building to level 4.  I was determined to get a solid workout in after having spent the day before driving to multiple stores looking for klister only to realize that all the small bike/ski shops close to my house had already gotten ride of their winter inventory.   Murphy Hanrehan is only a few miles away and one of my favorite places in the world to ski and run.  The skiing was been incredible at Murphy this year so I head there again this morning knowing with the warm weather and rain that conditions might be sub par.   I pulled into the parking lot, which is rarely staffed and was informed by a park worker that they were closing the trail and locking the gate to the parking lot.  I know the park better then anyone so I drove down a gravel road and hopped on the trails from a secondary access point.  The snow was soft but coverage was solid and having finished my workout I returned to my car.  Waiting for me was a ticket for “skiing on closed trails” and a court date in March.  Not even a mention of a fine just a court date.  It makes me laugh a little and then I remember that I have to deal with it.

    There is still snow to be found and training to do before Supertour finals in Maine.  Best of luck finding some legal snow!

     

    • Cloxxki 11:58 am on March 13, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      Sorry to hear. Like skiing is a crime like hunting, outside the season.

      If you do a quick video search, you’ll find footage of US policer officers speaking out about ticket/arrest quota imposed on them. Being high minimums, rather than low maximums. Innocent kids get to spend jail night over this, branded for life having been arrested.
      Officers will catch who they need to catch to keep their jobs. In your case it may be a more innocent case of an male officer with a dominant spouse.

      Snow needs to be skied on. Perhaps trails should stay open for longer, the good winters are here to stay.

  • nygrenk 9:37 pm on January 31, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

    A little too real safety reminder 

    I know people are always saying to be safe but this week really got the point across to me.  I came ripping down a hill at Murphy, a great park near my house, earlier this week and passed a guy sitting on the ground slightly off the trail.  I yelled back asking if he was okay and received an odd beckoning wave.   I skied back to him and found that he was on the phone.  This seemed a little odd until I realized he was talking to a 911 operator and trying to describe where he was.  I was immediate extremely glad I had stopped, since I had only seen one other car in the parking lot, and started to try to figure out what I could do to help.  He appeared mostly okay and described how he had caught his edge coming down the hill and slammed his leg into a tree.  The 911 operators wanted to talk to me so I got on the phone to describe the man’s condition.  Apparently with the adrenaline fading and a little pressure off the man knowing things were going to be taken care of his eyes rolled back and he promptly passed out.  I was yelling the man’s name and receiving absolutely no response.  I knew there was a house through the woods about a half-kilometer back so I tried to convince the operator this would be the best way to get to us since we were 25 min out on a 50 min loop.  Unfortunately, she had no idea what house that might be or where we were and did not what me to leave the man to get the address.  This meant the paramedic would have to navigate the long ski trail and would be a while.   Luckily the man regained consciousness after a long minute and said he thought he had just gone into shock.  He seemed stable enough now that the 911 operator let me go and find the house I had seen.   A confused lady open the door at the second house I tried, wrote down her address and then called 911 herself at my suggestion.  After returning to check on the man I returned to the house and lead some firefighter and a paramedic a ways through the woods and then down the ski trails.  I have to admit they seemed a little out of their element tromping through the woods in deep snow.  The man had to be carried on a board all the way out of the woods and it took us a while given the snow, brush and what not.  The paramedic seemed confident that he would be okay so I returned to my skis to complete my ski with a drastically altered perspective on safety.

    I have learned a few very important lessons.
    1.   It is possible to get seriously hurt cross-country skiing.
    2.  Always stop and ask people if they are okay.
    3.  Carry a cell phone.  Luckily he had one because I definitely did not.

     

    • Heidi Henkel 2:10 am on February 1, 2010 Permalink | Reply

      I had a situation last winter in which I was the injured one. I was about 20 minutes of easy skiing away from my car on a very easy, mostly flat community ski trail in a park, one I had skied the day before with a six-year-old at her father’s request. I lost my balance because one of my skis was slower than the other going down a small hill. I decided to “fall” on my butt rather than flail into the woods trying to “save it,” thinking that a sit-down-on-the-trail fall was safer. Well, just under the snow where I sat down, there was a very large, very sharp branch, and it went into the back of my right leg and made a big puncture hole. My leg instantly went numb. I dealt with shock, skiing out with a not very functional leg, getting a ride to the ER (thanks to someone stopping to see if I was OK), massive bleeding, surgery, drugs, systemic infection, more drugs, blood clot which was probably caused primarily by the infection…3 months of one life threatening thing after another. PT involving things like getting the hamstring to contract normally, getting the leg to move normally, getting the muscle fibers to line up normally. 8.5 months of PT. Well I am skiing again, but now I know any stupid thing can happen, even skiing easy on a very easy trail.

      I also have had an experience in which I saw 2 skiers collide and I went and asked the one who did not get up right away, if she was OK. Her hip hurt. She wanted to get up and keep skiing, but I convinced her to accept some medical intervention, including a ride in a first-aid sled and an X ray. It turned out she had a femur fracture- it was good that she did not get up and keep skiing.

      Yeah, always stop to ask if people are OK. And I definitely give safety more thought than I used to. I guess I learned that stuff does happen, safety is a real thing to take into consideration. And I have a much greater appreciation for simple things like being alive and being in good health.

  • nygrenk 11:04 pm on December 27, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Preparation for Nationals 

    With the recent snow fall it has been great to hit up the local trails, dial in my new Salomon skis and get in some really solid training.

    Cleary Lake Park is just a few minute drive

    The new snow is packed down and the skiing is great

    US Nationals are right around the corner and it is time to be in top race form.  In order to acccomplish this a tapering procedure is often used.  In order to taper first you need to over tax your body for a little over two weeks or so and then drastically decrease the volume of train for a bit over a week.  While decreasing volume training frquency is maintained the duration of intervals and overall training is shortened.  As a result your body over compensates and really charges up.

    One drawback is I typically feel caged during the later part of a taper.  With more rest and energy then I am use to and the excitement of up coming races I find I need something to take my mind off things and allow me to relax.  This year my intentional distraction has been completely rebuilding a 78 Honda motorcycle with my brother Erik that we got for free because it had not run since before we were born.  It is currently entirely disassembled and in boxes so I complete cleaning and painting everything.

    Lots of peices = A big benificial distraction

    Just finished painting the frame and waxing some skis

     

  • nygrenk 9:27 pm on November 26, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Race Prep in Yellowstone 

    With the first distance race of the season tomorrow moral is high and excitement is building.  Everyone has a slightly different pre-race routine but for most it includes an easy ski with some pickups and ski testing.   Our ski testing started this summer when our skis were hand selected using extensive flex testing from a large supply of Salomon race stock.   The above picture is few of the choice skis we decided to bring out west.  Now in preparation for racing it was time for some on snow testing.  We did numourous test to to make our race selection.  The picture below is from simple feel tesxting.  We were swaping out skis amongst ourselves and going for a short ski to determine which flex, grind and  skis we like best.

     

    In addition to just feeling which skis we liked better we also glide run out tests.  Many teams were using the gradual hill depicted below and it prove helpful in further narrowing down our choises.

    The hardest part proved to be making a final decsion.  The new Salomon skis were running so well that it was very difficult to decide which ski should recieve the final race wax.


    After a lot of testing and I have decided to go on a stiffer pair of my new Salomons with a cold grind that BNS just put on them yesterday.  I am feeling good and confident my skis are going to be fast.  Tommorow is going to be fun!

     

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