The end of my time in Norway is almost here. Only a few hours separate me from taking the plunge back into the U.S. of A.  I’m looking forward to catching up on events back home, but it’s challenging to leave this “skier’s paradise.” For this reason, now is a great time to look back on what I’ve learned, experienced, and been part of while here in Norway. Also ask the question:  What makes the Norwegians so fast? The plan is to do a series of posts comparing different aspects of skiing/biathlon here in Norway to that in the US.

Before looking closer at what topics to write about, I recently returned from a trip in western Norway that “helt fantastisk” (completely fantastic). The trip was kind of a spur of the moment seeing as my friend Arild and I simply loaded up the car with skis, food, and a camera and set out to explore the high mountains and deep fjords of western Norway. Check out the photos at the end of the post!

So the question remains; what have I learned here in Norway? Well, for one I’ve learned that the Norwegians like to wear their hats fairly far back on their heads exposing their foreheads. Has anyone else also noticed this? Well, I finally figured out the answer to this puzzle. It’s because they don’t want a tan line just above their eyebrows (Norwegians wear hats enough to make this a problem). I proudly displayed a tan-line for several weeks this spring, just to let everyone know I am still the foreign-kid.

But seriously, how do the Norwegians train and what makes them so good at this sport? Yes, this is a good question, but hard one to answer. In my attempt, I will explore several basic aspects of skiing in subsequent posts. Here’s the list I’ve put together so far. The hope is these topics will cause a fair amount of discussion.  If there’s anything I should add, let me know!

1)    Structure of the race community—Who and how many are participating? Who organizes the races? Registration? What’s the difference between the club and the team?

2)    General training philosophies—What general philosophies make up the Norwegian model?

3)    Intensity training—Intervals, time-trials, how often and what type?

4)    Shooting training—Dryfiring, shooting tests, and games.

5)    Specificity—How much do the Norwegians ski? rollerski?

6)    Eating Norwegian—What’s are main focuses of the Norwegian diet? Is being as thin as a Norwegian healthy, smart, and good for skiing?

7)    Strength Training—When and what type?

8)    Wrapping up—So, what makes the Norwegians so good at skiing?

Mt. Breitinden (left) and one of the trolltindene mountains seen from Romsdal–Arild and I were at the very upper right portion of this picutre

Arild relaxing with his head on 1500 meters of air

Looking out over Geirangerfjord

Perfect skiing conditions on the 2nd of June…

This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 3:47 pm and is filed under Norway, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.