CXC Team Vertical Limit Blog » Social

East Bound

gkuzzy — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:37:57 +0000

Not since my freshman year at CXC have I ski raced in the East. Yeah, it’s been that long. I can’t wait to get back. We’re leaving tomorrow morning for the long drive from Wisconsin to Maine–27 hours according to mapquest. We’ll be competing in the 50km National Championship and the SuperTour Finals. Here are the details:

March 24: Marathon 30/50km mass-start skate

March 26: 5/10km mass-start classic

March 27: Classic Sprint

March 28: 5/10km skate uphill pursuit

To get me ready for the trip back East, Chris and Judy, my bosses at New Moon, had me over to tap some maples and enjoy some venison on the grill. With the unseasonably warm March we’ve had, the sap is flowing fast. Chris has already made several gallons of fresh Wisconsin maple syrup from the 20 or so maples in his yard.

My favorite energy drink, and one you can only find in the spring, is maple sap straight from the tree. It basically tastes like fresh water with a hint of sweet maple syrup. No other drink is more refreshing. Chris and Judy sent me home with a jar of fresh syrup that tasted great on my pancakes this morning.

Of course, Egan couldn’t wait to show off his new boards too. Chuck, we’ve gotta find Grant a pair of these!

Hopefully this is the only deer we come across on our road trip East. Next post will be from Fort Kent, the Northern Most Town in Maine. On a map it may look like the Northern Most Point in the US, but other places we’ve traveled this year are actually much further North, including Spokane, Washington, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan, and, of course, Fairbanks, Alaska.

What is wrong with me?

ceptor9860 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:02:48 +0000

When did Ironwood sprout a Mtn. range?

By Gus Kaeding
The other night I exchanged text messages with a friend of mine who’s in graduate school. We have a history of poking and prodding each other for being a little lame on the weekend nights. Obviously, weekends are typically important to a skier so it is normally early to bed, which is fine. But, it is somewhat different than the average Friday night of a 25 year old.
I told her “Well it’s 9 o’clock, my bet is you’re doing homework, then bed.” She replied at 11pm that I was close, it was a movie than bed and that she knew I hadn’t done anything better. Sadly, I got that text the next morning because I had already been asleep for 45 min by 11…..after watching a movie. Driving to my interval workout the next morning I got to thinking about our exchange. Combined with the fact that it was 35 degrees and pouring rain outside, I had a moment of self reflection and asked “what the hell is wrong with me?” It has long been my contention that there is a something a little “wrong” with everyone who cross country skis and to be the best, you’ve got to be one step shy of bat$#!& crazy.
Well, yesterday morning I got a pair of wax less skis, drove out a glorified logging road which possesses a puddle that comes over my tires. I layered up on clothes and skied out to what I like to call, a big a$$ hill. The grooming here lately has been more miss than hit. So after skiing in some tracks, I began some 6×4min level 4 intervals. At the end of my last interval, drenched to the bone, alone in the woods, I threw up my breakfast. I had a little chuckle to myself and thought “yup, there is definitely something wrong with me.” For some reason, I love every second of it.

As crappy as the weather was that morning, it was far from the norm as of late. The skiing has been, for lack of a better word, perfect. Every skier knows the unexplainable sensation of perfect skiing. The snow is fast, the sun is out, and it’s easy to forget the elapsed time on your watch. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Switzerland, Alaska, or Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; training in these conditions is simply a pleasure and I know there ain’t nothing wrong with that!

Sunsplashed Marquette!

Next up is the Spring Tour in Craftsbury, VT. Then on to Maine for Supertour finals. Should be some good posts upcoming so keep checking in!

The 2nd Most Ridiculous Ticket I Have Received While Training

nygrenk — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:27:52 +0000

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!

The Birkie

Maria Stuber — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:07:58 +0000

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.

Right to Play, Beckie Scott, and giving back

audreyweber — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:10:38 +0000

It is not often that you can say that you have simultaneously been in the presence of all of the most dedicated and generous people you have ever met. A few weeks ago I had just that opportunity. On February 2 Gus, Kristina, Karl, and I all had the privilege to attend a Right to Play fundraiser organized by the Madison Winter Fest.

Right to Play, for those unfamiliar, is the leading sport-for-development organization, which uses sport and play to improve the lives of some of the world’s most impoverished children. Programs currently operating in 23 countries use specially designed curriculums impart social skills, safety and health practices, as well as a whole set of values aimed at spawning social change in communities.

The event was attended by representatives of CXC, the American Birkebeiner, the Winter Fest, members of the Madison nordic ski community, as well as others. One very special guest happened to my all-time ski hero and an ambassador of Right to Play, Beckie Scott.

At the event Beckie spoke about her career and how after her great success at the Olympic games she felt a responsibility to use her position to make a difference for others. She described all the support she received from others on her way to Olympic gold, and how she believed that she should in turn play a similar role for others. She found her opportunity to do so in the Right to Play organization, which she became involved with and subsequently became an employee of.

Another special guest was Don Becker of Becker Law in Madison, a man who is endlessly giving of his time and money in order to support local and now international efforts in a variety of areas. Don was so enthusiastic to support Right to Play that he pledged to match all funds raised up to $10 thousand.

Don Becker hands off a check for $10,000 to Beckie Scott of Right to Play.

The evening was highly inspiring between the presentation by Beckie and the demonstrated generosity of the guests. Those in attendance took advantage of the live auction portion of the event to open wide their pocket books in the name of Right to Play.

Auctioneer Dennis Kruse of the American Birkebeiner entices bidders with a one-of-a-kind Right to Play/Beckie Scott banner.

A few aspects that most impressed me during the course of the evening were the idea of using privilege of position to make a difference for others, as well as the lasting impact that development of the mind can have. Among Don, Beckie, and all the others involved in the event, there was no shortage of examples of those who wanted to share their good fortune among others. It struck me that a person such as myself need neither win a gold medal or be financially well off in order to do the same. Also, I really liked the idea that unlike many other humanitarian organizations that focus on providing material and physical services to those in need, which, of course, are valuable and much-needed, Right to Play provides for children a service that will serve them the rest of their lives, namely, the development of their minds. It is along the lines of giving a person a fish versus teaching that person how to fish. Even when a child is grown, the skills they learned through Right to Play will continue to benefit them and their community. It might seem silly to worry about the ability of starving children to play, but as Beckie said, Right to Play provides children with the gift of humanity, something that is as essential to people as food or water.

O, to be a kid again!

jojowinters — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:21:14 +0000

This winter season I had the pleasure of coaching a slew of youngsters at Pillsbury Elementary in Minneapolis as part of a partnership with the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation. I met with third, fourth, and fifth graders weekly to bestow upon them my enthusiasm for Nordic skiing. Generous sponsorship from UCare Minnesota, Rossignol, and Solomon, provided the kids with skis, boots, and poles for the winter. Over the course of ten weeks we practiced how to put on ski boots and click them into bindings, how to fall and get up properly (a skill that came in handy), how to handle mass start situations (or rather how to stay upright in a chaotic clump of kids on skis), how to stride, double pole, and herring-bone, and most importantly, how to bomb the downhills. Despite the inevitable collision here and there, the kids improved greatly during the ten week program and enjoyed gaining confidence as skiers.

Besides learning the skiing basics, the course curriculum included weekly nutritional lessons. We discussed different types of food kids and adults should eat to fuel their bodies properly. The smell of hot lunch wafting from the cafeteria doors seemed to mock me, though, as I rambled on about making sensible nutritional choices.

The program culminated with the Minne-Loppet at the City of Lakes Loppet weekend extravaganza. A sea of kids from Minneapolis schools, including my stead of Pillsbury students, embarked on a 1.5k journey onto the Lake of the Isles in Uptown, Minneapolis. It showed that the contingent of Pillsbury skiers had prepared well for the mass start and had worked hard to improve their agility skills on skis. What a rewarding afternoon for skiers and coaches alike!

Refining hill bounding skills in the early season

Mastering the art of tumbling and getting up

Practicing the ever-elusive no-pole stride

Demonstrating proper technique when approaching a descent

Preparing for a future elite wave mass start at the Birkie

Sizing up the competition

Making a calculated move to overtake the leader!

Taking Time for Recovery

kchaudoin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:44:14 +0000

Taking time for recovery is always an important part of a successful training regime. Whether you are taking time off one or two days per week to recover from training blocks or taking an additional amount of time off because of sickness or overtraining, it is all crucial. At the moment, I am exercising the “taking time off because of overtraining” form of recovery. Starting a new program can be tough and it’s almost like you have to consider yourself a “freshman” or “rookie”, even though everyone on our team has been training years and years even before they joined CXC Team Vertical Limit. Generally when joining a professional team you are introduced to much more travel, more intensity, more training hours, new weight lifting programs, new coaches, as well as new teammates (that may be older leading to potentially having a larger training base than you do). Because you are trying and adjusting to so many new elements of the sport, a skier new to the professional ski racing scene may have a standout year, or they may need a year to adjust, as is the case for me.

At Gustavus Adolphus College I was so used to either training the same amount as my teammates or even doing a little more. During the academic year I was never able to put in too much more training than my peers because of academics, so it was much harder to overtrain in school, than it is out. Joining CXC was totally different because I was suddenly the youngest, and my training plans always were a little less than everyone else, whether it was 15-30 minutes shorter in distance workouts, or 1-3 intervals shorter during intensity workouts. Because just a year ago I was so used to doing the same amount of time or intervals as everyone else, if not more, it was really hard for me to be as in tune with my body as I was at Gustavus. It was hard to think I may be doing a little too much, when I was already doing less than others around me. And because I haven’t had the responsibilities of school work and I worked minimally, it was easy to push over the fine line of being in peak physical condition, or overtrained. For me, the overtraining came on pretty slow. I felt great all summer and fall, but after having multiple races that were further and further from expected results this winter, I realized what was going on.

I confirmed that I was overtrained by taking some advice from a fellow teammate and doing an orthostatic heart rate test. This is a great test for monitoring how your body is recovering from training. It is very simple, the first thing you do when you wake up (without getting out of bed) is take your heart rate. As soon as you have found that, you stand up and take it again. The difference of your heart rate lying down, and your heart rate after standing should be no more than 20 beats difference.

To recover from my fatigue I have taken some time off. Now I am at the point in my training where I am going for very easy training sessions, that are also pretty short, 45min-1hr in duration. My current goal is to be rested and recovered in time for the Birkie. I figure all of my extra training this year gave me a great base for a marathon ;). Throughout this whole thing I am trying to be really positive. I am definitely not the only professional skier who has ever overtrained, and even though I have been training for 10 years, I continue to learn more and more about myself as an athlete which will make me even better in the future.

Luckily, I have been able to keep myself busy during my time off and recovery period. Our coach, Bryan Fish, wanted me to take up knitting so that I could knit him an afghan or a scarf in my spare time, but fortunately I never became that bored. I’m just kidding, I like knitting, I’m just not very good at it. Anyways, here are a couple pictures of activities I have taken part in during my time off:

See you at the Birkie, rested and recovered!

A snow sculpture in the park during Ely's Winter Festival. The sculpture is a troll skiing!

My fish tank I just set up a few days ago full of guppies! Most people give me a hard time for liking guppies, but I think they are awesome.

Banff

lieb0088 — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:49:09 +0000

This morning I went up to the World Cup Venue for a ski. The trails were great and I am super psyched to be here with all these athletes. I am feeling good and ready to race Friday. After my ski Marybeth and I headed up to Banff for some sightseeing. It is only about a fifteen minute drive and we didn’t want to miss seeing the splendor of Banff for the first time. While we were there we looked around the Fairmont Banff Springs, it was an amazing sight to see. Then, we took a Gondola to see the mountaintop of the Canadian Rockies. The Gondola climbed 2292 ft (698M, we are in Canada) at an incline of 51%. I love this kind of adventure, and I was very proud of Marybeth for going on the Gondola with me and leaving her comfort zone. We then toured downtown Banff and did some window shopping. I am feeling great this week and I am so thankful for this amazing experience. Soon it will be time to race the world’s best…I couldn’t be more stoked.

Gregg and I at the venue

Fairmont Banff Springs

Banff

at the top of the Canadian Rockies

Downtown Banff

A little too real safety reminder

nygrenk — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:37:15 +0000

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.

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

Maria Stuber — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:57:31 +0000

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)