By Jessie Diggins

Think about it: today is the first day of the rest of your life. So what are you gonna do? Hopefully, something awesome.

Personally, the first day of the rest of my life started out amazing. Waking up to a banana-and-peanut butter pancake was a good way to fuel up for an intense interval session on the Rendezvous Trails. Most of the CXC team did a boatload of hard, fast intervals, ending with a sprint relay with the Green Mountain Valley School kids.

Picture taken by Cork

It was a great way to make a workout fun so you don’t notice as much when you’re suffering. Although I think Gus might have noticed (for video of the sprints, check out CXC’s facebook page. It’s pretty sweet, complete with sarcastic comments on the video).

Since the CXC team has officially signed up for a Dodgeball tournament – which we WILL kick butt in – strength training’s pretty important. Never mind skiing; my main focus now is to learn how to not throw like a girl. So bring on the medicine balls!

Although I may never be able to juggle medicine balls, some quick-steps and agility will come in handy for the “5 D’s of Dodgeball”: dodge, duck, dip, dive and….dodge!

Because if you can dodge an icicle, you can dodge a ball. Even if the icicle is taller than you are. (picture taken by Eric)

One sweet thing about taking a year off from school is that I now have time to do the things I actually enjoy, one of which is messing around in the kitchen. I’ve been learning how to cook way more recipes, and it’s been a very tasty experience.

The bruschetta I made last night…

And tonight Kuzzy made the biggest elk burger in the world.

I think it’s safe to say that the CXC team is doing pretty darn well here in West!

by Jason Cork

Along with everyone else who a) skis and b) writes blogs, I was at West Yellowstone for the opening SuperTour races. Unlike most people, I (and the rest of the CXC Team) c) got here November 12, and d) will be here until December 6. Twenty-five days of West Yellowstone, Montana, and yet I’ve managed to take exactly zero photos involving skiing — thus, this text-dense blog post. The rest of this week, I’m looking forward to skiing a ton (preparing for four races in four days, which actually turned into four-in-three, sort of killed my training momentum), eating at the bus that sells Mexican food and not working 60 hours in five days.

We’ll follow this stint of the trip up with NorAms at Silver Star, British Columbia, and at Rossland, where there’s a Mini-Tour. [This will roughly quadruple the amount of time I've spent in Canada, lifetime. Not sure how to feel aboat that.] All told, we’ll be on the road 40 days, get five days off around Christmas and then head to US Nationals for a couple more weeks. Right now, I can’t decide if I need to embrace Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again” as an anthem or consider writing the Hudspeth County attorney to demand justice.

Not pictured, Brooke Gosling

I’ve realized that this is a pretty boring blog post, so I’ll wrap this up and let you get on to reading a more entertaining blog. A quick list, though:

Top-Five Meals Andy, our Austrian cook, made for CXC

1. Cheese Spaetzle
2. Hungarian Goulash
3. Chicken casserole
4. Brats and sauerkraut
5. Roast pork

Garrott Kuzzy

The week of the West Yellowstone camp is always one of the craziest of the ski season and this year was no exception.  From skiing on roller skis into the Park our first day,  to postponing the sprints because there was so much snow that the timer could not get over the pass, it was an eventful Thanksgiving Camp.

Here are some photos of the highlights. . .

Igor and the CXC Junior team brought the snow. . .and lots of it!

Photo: Jim Coors – CXC Masters Team

So much snow you could ski on the roads!

Photo: Ian Harvey – Toko

Kicking off the North American racing season with bib number one.  Oh yeah.

Justin Easter single handedly made our Thanksgiving dinner and, of course, carved the turkey.  Andy, our Austrian Caterer, cooked up most of our food for the week with a distinctly Bavarian flavor: brats, sauerkraut, schnitzel, and even Warsteiner on tap.  A big thanks to Andy and Justin for their hard work keeping us well fed all week.

Aga, one of the CXC Masters Team members, skied with us all week.  When we weren’t on the trails, the elite team athletes enjoyed the company of our many masters team members over some of Andy and Justin’s satisfying meals.

Photo: Ian Harvey – Toko

Tad Elliott took the first win of the season for CXC in the 15km Skate.  Nice work Tad!

Photo: Ian Harvey – Toko

Thanks to our coaches, Jason Cork and Gus Kaeding, for getting us some fast skis and to Ian Harvey and Toko for some fast wax and race shots.  Major props to Gus who tackled a spectator crossing the trail in front of me, narrowly preventing a serious collision.  Guess it pays to have a coach that can bench 225lbs!  That was probably the most entertaining thing I witnessed all weekend.

Photo: Mike Brown – Sisu Skiers

Finally, thanks to Ben Popp, Mike Nightengale, and Mike Brown with Sisu Skiersfor inspiring, organizing, and sponsoring the Kuzzy Kids Clinic at West Yellowstone.

We had close to 30 kids from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, Wyoming, Great Britain, and Utah participate in the clinic.

In reality, it was the kids from The Utah Nordic Alliance (TUNA), who led the clinic.  They demonstrated how to pull flawless 360’s, effortlessly skate backwards, and have a lot of fun on skis.  Major props to their coaches for pulling together such an active group of skiers.  Keeping up with their tradition of supporting local skiers and events, Salomon pitched in some cool boot bags for all the kids.

A big thanks to my teammate Brian Gregg for his help, too!  He spends a ton of time working with kids this age at the Boys & Girls Club in Hayward through hisIn The Arena project.  His help was invaluable making the afternoon a big success.  For now, I’m looking forward to a week of kicking back in West Yellowstone and the opportunity to enjoy all this new snow!

By Benjamin Lannin

I just returned from two awesome weeks in West Yellowstone with Team CXC.  Every time I get the opportunity hang and ski with the CXC crew I’m in total awe.  These cats are true professional bangers from every angle.  Being able to watch their technique and how methodically they train is always inspirational, stoking the fire inside.  Two weeks on snow was a true blessing as it always takes me lots of time to balance and ride a flat ski again.   Thanks so much to the coaches and team for letting me lurk about and try to absorb as much as I could.  Thanks to CXC, Salomon, and Toko for all the support and making this magical time happen.  Special thanks to Santi for rooming with my sloppiness for two weeks.  Thanks to Coach K for the company on our epic journey out.  And ten-thousand thank yous to my family for letting me go to fantasy ski camp.  To the CXC players I’m praying for all your seasons to go above your expectations and I’ll see y’all at the Birkie.

Tad warming up for the win

B Gregg with the eye of the tigger

All the expos cool new gear

"I want to see mountains again Gandalf!"

The Jeep is officially deflowered

By Gus Kaeding

The elite skied down on the rendezvous trails for the first time this morning.  There were tracks and the skiing was very solid, dare I even say good skis?  For pictures and more snow updates, check out our facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/cxcskiing

By: Jessie Diggins

Wow. Just….wow!

Compton and I cruising

Breaking tracks through sparkling powder, gliding through peacefully silent woods…the first ski of the year never fails to amaze me, and remind me how awesome this sport really is. It’s sometimes easy to lose perspective when rollerskiing all summer and fall, but once I hit the snow I’m totally motivated all over again.

The guys, following the tracks…

Of course, the huge bear tracks right next to the tracks made the ski pretty exciting, as I fully expected to see the actual bear around every corner. Sadly, we didn’t encounter the bear, although on second thought maybe that’s a good thing.

Everyone was super excited to jump in the van and GET ON THE SKIS!

I thought I’d been drinking enough water, but I woke up this morning with a dehydration headache. Turns out, just water doesn’t do much, and Gatorade  keeps you hydrated much, much longer. So now I’ve redoubled my efforts to acclimate properly. Without the headache, thank you very much!

Compton and Cork posing it out!

The road on the drive up to the plateau where we skied.

By Gus Kaeding

Sometime last winter I decided to start writing some of my thoughts down in a notebook.  Kind of like a diary I guess, except cool.  Since winter ’10-’11 is nearly upon us, I decided this was a good opportunity to go back in time and review some of my musings.  Below is a random list, in no particular order of things I felt were pertinent to write.  Some have to do with skiing, some don’t.  None should be taken seriously.  Why do so many have to do with fashion?  I’m still kind of wondering that myself….enjoy!

-How is Alaska so dark?  I was there for 2 weeks without ever realizing the watch I had just gotten for Christmas had glow in the dark hands.  They never charged.

-The comment section on Fasterskier operates on the same level of intellectual stimulation as a Jersey Shore marathon.  Yet in both cases, I can’t get enough.

-I just recently discovered that Hollister is in fact not a college.  Stupid T shirts.  Yeah, I’m sure you were established in 1894.

-Gotta love when an American wins NCAA’s.  Big ups to Gelso.

July, sweaty work.

-What’s wth the Euro tight pants fad?  I don’t get it.

-Lance Armstrong is so cool.  I really hope he hasn’t doped.  Hero to zero scenario for me.

-If it’s above 32 degrees and you’re wearing a baklava….just stop.

August, hot work.

-Who is Zach Efron and what does he do?

-Nordic  clothing trends of ’10

Past- Double kneed duckwash Carhartts.  Blundestones.

Present- Huge glasses.  Ski skirts.

Future- ¾ length warm up pants?

-I read an article on baseballdork.com about a Red Sox prospect (Casey Kelly) and found out his cousin is Kikaan Randell.  Not sure if I should gloat about that or not?

September, wet work.

-To Canada- charging for grocery bags.  Really?  You’re better than that.

-In Maine, I drove 19 miles due North on Highway 1 South.  What up with that?

October, windy work.

-Why is it that every person who owns an Iphone, feels compelled to show me within the first 5 minutes of coversation?  Yes, I know your device is very cool but, please do not “google” every third word I say.

-3 most “Unique” races of ’09-’10

1.  Point to point sprint in WY (yes, I fell.  Sprint course-1, Gus-0)

2.  15k Classic in Bozeman (roller coaster course, super fun).

3.  Madison 10k Crit (double pole zones were weird but easily the coolest venue of the year).

-Ending with the fashion trend, whoever decided plaid shorts were a good idea?  Sometimes I wear them and it makes me want to kick my own #$$.

Today, November 11^th the CXC Elite Team piled into a van and started the long drive out to West Yellowstone.  I’m hanging back here in the Midwest to work one last Superfit clinic at Joe’s Sporting Goods in St. Paul.  If you’re in the area, please stop in and have your current skis flexed and fitted.  I’ll be joining the team out in WY on Monday after CXC marathon team member Benjamin Lannin and I attempt the Sunday night redeye drive.  If you live in the Twin Cities, please stop in this weekend to Joe’s and say hi.  Otherwise, I’ll see the rest of you on snow!!!

Come Join the 2nd Annual Concept 2 SkiErg World Sprints!
Date : Saturday, November 13 , 12pm – 6pm
Location: The Fix Studio 3725 Minnehaha, Minneapolis, MN 55406 (The Fix Studio)

That’s right, this is a WORLD event, and the people at the FIX Studio in Minneapolis MN are making sure you get your chance to compare times against skiers all over the USA and the WORLD through the Concept 2 contest!
 
Heres how it works:
…
1) Call The Fix Studio at   612 -  220 – 0215 and get a slot. Walk-ins are most certainly welcome, though you may wait for some people to finish theirs. Coming in early would be a good way to check out the competition and see how it’s done!

2) There IS an entry fee of $10, but it goes to two Olympic hopefuls ( Matt Leibsch and Jennie Bender ) who are busting their butts to be professional skiers, so it’s a good cause for the future of cross country skiing! You also get a prize if you go fast!

3) Get in some last minute double poling up the biggest hill you can find

4) Come to the Fix Studio November 13th between 12pm and 6pm to double pole 1000 meters. The test generally takes between 3 minutes 30 seconds to 4 minutes 40 seconds.

Its best to wear sneakers, shorts, t-shirt, bring water, and take your inhaler if you’re an asthmatic, because your mouth is going to be a sucking black hole…..are you ready for the challenge?

To learn more about the machine go to : http://www.skierg.com/logbook/skierg-world-sprints
or just http://www.skierg.com/

Men and Woman separate
Age Categories and prizes for fastest time are:

0-12
13-18
19-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70-79

There will also be SPECIAL PRIZES for people who:

1) Fastest time who beats Matt Leibsch – WIN A PAIR OF SKIS!!!
2) Fastest time who beats Jennie Bender (Woman only) – Choice of a FREE RMR, EMR, VO2 test and/or Sports Massage at the Fix Studio.
3) Junior who scores better than Piotr from GO Training – WIN a dozen bruegger bagels! Mmmm
4) Fastest time of a non Skier* (aka all you bikers from The Fix!) – TBD

* Rule to #4 : Make sure you specify this in signing up. Means you have never been on nordic skis. (Though will start this winter…!)

Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Jennie Bender and Matt Leibsch

Garrott Kuzzy

As the final send-off before a winter on the road, I spent a week back in Minneapolis catching up with friends and getting skiers fired up for the season ahead.  A highlight of some of the events during a full tour include: the CXC Hoigaard’s SuperFit getting skiers outfitted with new equipment, leading a USSA Level 100 Coaches Clinic at Hoigaard’s, an afternoon of playing with the St Croix Valley youth ski club in Marine, an Olympic slideshow at Finn Sisu, and a morning with Madame Skold’s 5th Graders at the French Immersion School in Edina.

If you haven’t been to a CXC/Salomon SuperFit yet, you’re missing out on some pretty cool ski fitting technology using a “Flex Mat” to find skis with the best flex pattern (aka: the fastest skis).  That’s the same technology we use when picking our skis–the fastest boards on the tour.  There are still a couple of SuperFit sales coming up this fall, so check it out!

Another cool piece to the SuperFits are the USSA Level 100 Coaches Clinics led by CXC coaches and athletes.  At Hoigaard’s, we had coaches from St Paul Central, Edina, Bloomington Jefferson & Kennedy, and Anwatin Middle School/City of Lakes Loppet Ski Foundation.  Each of these programs has between 60 and 100 student-athletes.  By working with these coaches, we were able to reach out to over 400 junior skiers.  With the Minnesota State High School season starting next week, this was the perfect time of year to refresh the coaches on drills and skills to teach the kids.

These coaches are taking a big step forward in Coaches Education: learning how to bring their skiers to the next level and have even more fun on skis.

Adopt an Athlete

If you haven’t heard of CXC’s Adopt an Athlete program, you should check it out.  Basically, groups or clubs come together to fund raise for CXC and essentially “adopt” an athlete of their choice.  The funds raised by the Adopt an Athlete program go towards funding the entire team, which covers coaching, training, travel, and race expenses for the CXC Team.  In return, the “adopted” athlete becomes affiliated with that club and can help them at various events of their choice during the year.

The club that adopted me is the St Croix Valley Ski Club in Marine on St Croix.  Led by Everett Myers, the club has over 120 youth skiers and parents that get together for a weekly Sunday ski all winter.  Last weekend, they hosted their annual club Ski Swap.  I have never seen so many tiny skis, boots, and poles getting passed along through the generations.  According to Everett, over 80 skiers signed up for the club on Sunday afternoon–45 of which were brand new skiers to the club.

It’s a real honor for me to be able to work with such an enthusiastic club and pretty cool to see individuals like Everett doing so much work to build the cross country ski community from the grassroots level.  Jessie Diggins, another CXC Team athlete, came out to help me work with the kids.  We worked on a variety of ski-specific balance, strength, and coordination exercises with a fun twist to keep the kids motivated.  We also played a variety of games, including football, soccer, and capture the flag.

After a full afternoon of games, the group relaxed in the Marine Town Hall with an Olympic Slideshow and the kids got autographs and postcards to take home.

The final highlight of the week was a presentation to Madame Skold’s 5th Graders at the French Immersion School.  Unfortunately, the extent of my French is limited to “hello” and “good-bye,” so it was a pretty short presentation.

Actually, Mme Skold (my best friend Dan’s mother) got special permission from the principal to have an English speaking guest.  The class was very attentive and enthusiastic.  Many of the kids had even been to Hayward and seen the Birkie or skied in the Barnebirkie.  It was pretty cool to see a class full of 5th Graders fluent in French.

For now, it’s time to pack up and hit the road to West Yellowstone tomorrow morning.  After a refreshing rest week, I’m ready to start skiing.

Nygren

I remember reading an article a few years ago with a line saying, “It’s time to build the race form.”  With a crisp bite to the air in the mornings I have been thinking about that phrase a lot recently. With the first races of the year only weeks away it really is time to start getting into race shape.  For me this means more Level 4 intervals, strength as less of a focus, and a heavy focus on execution.  Executing every workout extremely well so that it has the greatest possible impact is now very important.   I am not saying I am lax the rest of the year but rather extra careful now.  Just like training builds throughout the year so too does focus and execution.  A focus on execution includes morning jogs, eating very well, streaching, icing, napping, hydrating, eating right after training, and hard focused training.

In an attempt to really get after it I went out and bought a cheap rubber storage bin and have been contrast bathing after every hard workout (2 min ice water, 2 min hot tube, 4 reps).

I have learned that building race form is about executing and controlling the things you can, letting go of what you can’t, and allowing the years training to develop and pay off.