Video Excerpts From Late Evening Hammer Session

Longer Video Excerpt Done By My Oldest Son

The Ski Season is over.  This spring was spent doing some introspection about what needed to be changed from previous years in order to attain my ski related goals.  Figuring out what the focus of my training was going to be. Getting used to the skiing treadmill in the training facility behind my house.  (Area 143)  

Basically over the last 3 years the main proportion of work has been aimed towards increasing the aerobic portion of the power curve.  This was done at times to excess.   Intensity was almost entirely below the surrogate marker of a mixed venous lactate of 4.0 mmoles/deciliter.   This  goal has been achieved .Now it is time to train my body to go fast and also to ignore pain and suffering. Now the goal is to ski fast and attain World Class  results in the discipline of Biathlon.  Considering my age, geographical handicap, responsibilities to work and family this may be improbable. Even being cognizant of all that the decision is to carry on.  

If mankind did not dream and go against the odds than nothing would ever get done.

Also I am of the belief that a situation is what you  make of it. Hell to you, can be Paradise to others. So along the way I hope to make people laugh, sometimes think or ponder  and overall have fun.

Right now I am working at work, working on getting fast, working on improving shooting, and  doing a little Bike Racing.  Driving back to Lake Placid, NY And Jericho, VT to do some specific Biathlon training.  Finishing up the 3 Weeks of Whiteface with the 8 mile Bike Race Up the Toll road Saturday at 17:30.  Looking forward to some Biathlon rollerski races. Generally training hard and smarter to realize the outlandish standard set by me for myself.

Psyched to tryout the new version of the 100 series Rollerskis  with the newest 98 series new wheels.  Just received them and so far they felt awesome on the Skatemill.  Have to install the speed reducers and brake on them.   Just like a helmet I believe for most rollerskiing speed reducers and brakes are not optional. By most rollerskiing I mean any rollerskiing on a road where you have to modulate your speed. Although I am not a lawyer, I believe that at least in New York State that by having brakes you are really legal to travel on the roadways.  Do not quote me on that to the authorities. You can take my legal opinion to Starbuck’s and get a  tall cup of coffee for just under $2.  That’s all it  is good for. 

Skatemill Awaits

What the heck is He alluding to??
Starting tomorrow there are 3 races finishing on Whiteface Mountain. The plan is to contest all three in one way or another. The first is the Footrace an 8 mile run from the bottom of the Toll Road to the Castle. Weather looks pristine. Actually if my memory serves me correctly I’ve won it the last three years. Although with slow times, but I do not train for it.
Next weekend there is a USCF Cycling race finishing at Santa’s Workshop so you get 1.6 miles of Whiteface.
The following weekend there is a Bike Race up the Toll Road where afterwards they Crown he King of the Mountain from the combined time of the Run and Bike Races.

Looking forward to some suffering.. Did you know that the last four of my phone number are 4867??
Why is that significant??

It is the Height of Whiteface. Of Course!!!

While at home I have used numerous different blenders to make shakes. Shakes allow one to mix a variety of high nutritious and energy foods into one place and devour it quickly. Recently discovered the Magic Bullet. It is small powerful and makes an adequate size shake that is easy to clean up.(It is also small enough to travel with)
The Magic Bullet has replaced the Breville Monster Ice Chopping Smoothie Maker. The Magic Bullet costs $50 and is an awesome smoothie maker. Every day I have a smoothie with at least Frozen Blueberries. Knudsen’s Cranberry Juice, and Cherry Juice and Flax Seed. Other ingredients includes frozen strawberries, bananas, Silk Soy Milk, HempBerry Protien Mix, Hammer Recoverite Powder. A great book to read is Superfood Rx about certain foods that have copious amounts of phytonutrients and anti-cancer properties. Which are high nutrition foods and assist in recovery from the abuse we deal out to our bodies.That is the reasoning behind the ingredients mostly included.
Proper nutrition is a key ingredient in a winning recipe for improbable sports results.

This spring I have spent the time in trying to understand and learn how to avoid overreaching, overtraining. This is the biggest opportunity that presents itself to me. Anybody who knows me well understands that I train consistently way over the red line. If there was a Doctor of Overtraining I would be one of the World’s foremost experts on how to get there. I must believe that it results don’t matter. The real winner is the guy who trains and suffers the most to get there.
Over the past few decades we have come to realize that monitoring elite athlete training and performance is very complicated. What seems simple at first becomes almost impossible in the real world. Where Athletes have real problems and unanticipated reactions to training, injuries and disease. One must remember that it is paramount to monitor all aspects of training and recovery in order to ultimately maximize results and eliminate wasted time, money and effort.Do not, I rewrite DO NOT try to monitor or have these tests run unless you under the care of a physician who is familiar and competent with drawing and interpreting the tests. Some of these test are drawn from the CSF and other hard to access places.

SHP(Serum Hammer Protein): This Heat Shock Protein is integral to great performance. It easily monitored but it is hard to increase and decrease by manipulating normal variables. Actually having a high value can lead to poor performance in a large cohort of athletes. As we know the ability to hammer away is an integral attribute in an Elite Athlete. It can cause poor ultimate results in mass start events when an athlete hammers too much at inopportune times.
PTL(Plasma Toast Level) SMTL(Striated Muscle Toast Level):This is by far the best index of Overtraining. Forget Testosterone, Cortisol, Endocrine and Autonomic Dysregulation. The toast levels will tell an Athlete, Coach, or Doctor. All they need to know about an athletes physical and mental state. By monitoring the Toast level Overtraining can be easily avoided. It is the earliest sign of impending doom.
SSS(Serial Stool Sampling) A very primitive but cheap way to monitor for overtraining, peaking and plateau state. This test consists of Athlete collecting small samples(2 each day) One they place on 2″square on large calender (stool smear) the other they label and keep for further testing. Then the practitioner and athlete monitor each day’s sample for change in color, consistency, undigested matter, smell etc. If needed the saved sample will be sent to the lab for further tests to evaluate gut function, nutritional status, and to ascertain whether the said individual is really overtrained, peaked, or plateaued or just full of FECES.

This 10km  race which is undoubtably the World’s Toughest 10km  finishes by climbing about halfway up the Mt Washington Toll Road.  The organizer’s and staff at Great Glen Nordic Center put on a fantastic race. The grooming  was awesome, not even taking into account  that mother nature  did not cooperate. 

Doing this race was a last minute affair for me. First of all one must consider that it is a 470 mile drive from my house to Gorham New Hampshire.  Second of all that I would have to start Friday afternoon or evening after work was finished. Anyway a solo mission to race a crazy hard race that enticed me soon turned into an epic adventure with some of my greatest friends. By the way,  along the way I earned the Psycho Parent of the Year award by forcing my 13 yo son to come along.( He actually wanted to do it and volunteered of his own volition. Even after the course was explained to him. Just ask him.) The race was all that it was advertised to be. Although I finished third it was a great trip.  It was good to catch up with Marc Gilbertson, watch Jesse Downs battle it out with Justin Freeman, Catch up with Ely Walker and the Staff at Great Glen. Go skiing with Bernie Gardner and Bob Thomas.  

Next year if it is possible plan on returning for some more punishment and great times. Definitely recommend doing this race to all. 

The best skiing in my opinion is what you have. Today the skiing at the Bristol Mtn Nordic Center was amazing.  Well groomed, fast, and hard. Albeit the is a 1km loop. It was laid out by John Morton.. My 13 yo Son Say’s it is boring and short.
Contrast this against travelling all over the world and sometimes beyond to find snow. I have skied for 4-5 hours on a snowbank 100m long next to a road in the shade. Where even the State Police were watching me.
Have not posted lately due to travel., illness, malaise, and purported abduction by alien life forms.

Next week off to Fort Kent ME and Quebec City to finish out the season.

Over 20 years ago during my second year of racing I found myself  in Northern Wisconsin about to take part in my first of many North American Birkebeiner Races. A couple of days prior to the actual event I went to watch a press conference at Telemark lodge with the Midwest Karhu Rep. Since I did not expect to be participating at such a prestigious event, I was dressed in an old t-shirt, baseball cap and worn jeans.  However, to my shock and dismay the moderator called me up to be part of the panel along with members of the top Marathon Teams.  Luckily I was invisible to the moderator and the press - until the end.  Someone got the Timex skiathlon rep to ask a specific question to me.  At this frontal assault I was more then miffed. The query was:  “Duncan what do you think about when you race a 50 km Ski Race?”

Well, I thought about it for a couple of seconds turned my Karhu baseball cap to be on correctly, stopped leaning back on the rear two legs of the chair, and I then leaned forward and grabbed the mike.  Staring decisively around the room, I a authoritatively uttered one word - “PAIIIIIN”

To clarify the statement I continued “ During a 50 km ski race I only ask myself one question: Can I feel any more pain???  If I can then the answer is push harder.

As you can imagine the room was quiet for a bit.  It appeared that the moderator was aghast, he then posed the question to the other members and got the appropriate responses of good technique, a song runs through my head, etc.

In my opinion, if one can ask oneself, any question in a race, they are not suffering enough!  Nirvana is attained when all you can do is push your body to near failure, with the caveat that it responds to what is asked/required!! ( Doesn’t one wish that was always the case!)  Stay tuned for what is thought about on all those countless hours of “mindless” training.

It has been so cold the Jury has postponed  the Classic Sprint for the last two days. The Montana Team Hanging out waiting to race has been indicative of the last two days. This afternoon they changed the 15 Skate race to a 10 km Skate race tentatively scheduled for tomorrow. Although there is a nasty rumor of changing that to a classic race and then doing the skate race at a later date. I have a flight tomorrow night, hopefully if that it is the case I will try to  change my ticket in order to be able to participate in whatever, whenever. Personally the 15km coarse is much more palatable. Hopefully it will warm up and everybody can stop sitting around and go race.  

Actually it has the tracks/trail is incredibly slow for skating so that racing on any coarse shall be a lung searing sufferfest.

Arrived yesterday in currently frigid Anchorage Alaska to contest the 15 m Skate National Championship Race. The race will hopefully Monday morning, weather permitting.  

Definitely living the dream 1. flew across the nation in 1st class 2. Arrived in Anchorage with all of my luggage. 3. Staying at the Anchorage Ski Hotel complete with Man Cave Wax Room, World Class Wax Technician, Sauna, and excellent cuisine.

Anchorage has awesome scenery and  impeccably groomed trails. This morning was spent waxing skis in the Man Cave. It is a spectacular place to work on your skis. Today waxed 4 pairs of MADSHUS skate skis with TOKO LF Blue to go out and test in the subzero temperatures. 

The local Anchorage Wax aficionado  has a 1-car garage accessorized with all TOKO wax equipment and waxes known to man. Waxing skis is really an art form. There are many components to transforming a ski into a weapon of speed. Such as ski, structure, wax, ironing, scraping, brushing, and the innate art of putting it all together.

The WAX MAN Cave is one of those places which it is possible to put it all together and create ski art.