Ski Season 2016 - Goals for Next Year

Just reading the results for today's Birkebeiner ski run and fellow Brit Andy Musgrave comes in just behind the leading group to secure a top ten place over the 54 km race.

At the other end of the sport where i am - fun &  firtness - in comparison i managed about 62km all week....all be that in soggy lowland conditions.

My conclusion on this year's season in two parts is that it has been pretty dire, soft conditions. Lacking a foundation layer from early winter is the issue, with big dumps making for soft edges.

In truth i wiuld have been better off dedicating the season to purely skate style, given the broad and harder packed mid lanes - despite classic being the predominant style and of course, the big classic distance races remaining so top, two of three of the local clubs drive the tramlines way too far out on the edges where the machine weight doesn't press enough beyond the towed weight, so the skipoles stab into indeterminate snow.

I prefer classic. It is more varied and i feel more power can be put down. Skating seems both lighter but more challenging on breathing and concentration. Like rising a fixie bike with say a 42-17 lowish ratio- you have to keep it going , side to side, side to side....however i am starting to feel i can use more power from my legs in skating, and my coordinatuion has become much better.

So i would say that given a short winter with 'mild' conditions again, I would stick to skating and avoid frustration with my skintecs. Given early snow and a "blue wax conditions" I would opt to train up for a 40 or even 50 km classic ski run, either one of the official ones or something with friends like the Nordmarka railway trip, or some circular route up on Hardangervidde or in Vinje.

Skating comments and goals 2016 - 2017

1. Concentration practice.

I find the metronomic motion a little irritating especially when my skis seem to fight a natural rhythm by having variable glide. I am getting much more of a feel for this though, as well as applying more power outwards from my driving foot.

2. Sidedness

I have as most skiers do, a right side dominance in terms of driving off, and have developed correspondijngly, better feel foe glide duration on my left.

I am going to fix this by
a) more double dancing, which forces even sided co centration of effort
b) circling practice - as per keith nichol's youtube nano lesson on this
c) no poles with concentration on left side glide to drive from the ball of the foot and extended glide on the right.

3. Warm Up and Breathing

I need to crack how to warm up comfortably on skate skis, and then also on effective breathing under way.

4. Duration

I want to extend the duration time wise by just getting used to keeping on going at a lighter pace for much further, aiming to do 10 km non stop - we have a training route here which is undulating yet not steep on the main section auch that you can always leg skate or parallel double pole, thus never getting a tucked downhill breather in softer conditons. I want to aim to do 30km on skate skis.

5. Speed

Speed means technique, power and interval training.

6. Roller skis- Roller Blades ?
More on this below

Classic 'kick' Skiing Comments and goals

1. Follow through to glide ski weight down

This is the critical thing and I think i have over exaggerated it , actually with the net reault that a relaxed run in diagonal kicking goes much bettr now end of season even on my ancient gravel and slush planks. It should be quite a fluent move with the weigjht not coming down unil infront of the other side's shoe - with a slight swing of the hip forward-  however not to overcook this as I have done recently. The mid ski will touch the snow around boot level time, but weight is not on it until a little further forward.

2. Duration and fitness

Stamina can be worked on. I think my speed is fine and can just grow with my fitness and ability. But stamina needs to be worked on. This means longer runs at the weekend and some medium hard one hour sessions ayt night after job.

First this needs to be time oriented - in combination with number of rounds. Then distance can be a goal in a given time to hold the tempo up.

Both Styles

1. Downhill skills and confidence

I am still bailing out too often and need to learn more yet also just go back to what works for me- a wide, grand slalom stance out of the tramlines.

Christy stops and general agility , being able to plough from varuioius stances to save the day.

2. Dry season training.

I always have november and now decemebr stuck between bike ( salt on roads and icey side roads and forrest tracks) and skis. I got a frozen should building up to elg hoofing early winter so have to look at this. I need to run in the woods and build this
Up pre season while avoiding injury.

Roller blades or skis are a real option to explore now. Baby steps first.

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This year I am beating all the pensioners round the usual courses in classic and catcing them up on skate skis. The next step is to train maybe with better guys to challenge myself, or even get instructon. I feel my fitness is never good enough until about 8 weeks into the season, which means these years, peak at the end without stretching it much further on.  So i need some more intense sessions in Nov December and a reasonable consistent bike training theoiugn the aummer months.

I also need a new traoinijng buddy who is more serioius than either of my current pals

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Ready for the new too.

The next thing of course, next year, or maybe even later this year, is getting my fjellski out and buying boots for them. There after? Hytte tur and maybe randonne skis. And back to snowboarding?

Four and Fifty ...The Birkebeinerennet , 'Birke'n 2014'

This weekend sees the annual homage to pain and passion on the 54km between Rena and lLillehammer which is called the Birkerbeinerennet.  For keen skiers, profs and obsessive amaterus, the test is born from a Legend and lives on myths.

You can read the legend of 1206, for yourself, but the biggest myth is that the race is dominated by professionals and the super competitive oil executives and finance 'wolves' .


The only remarkable thing about the later managment participation  is that they have managed to subdue the otherwise untamable shrew into a housewife and overcome the eventual boredom of Nordmarka hour by hour. Many are out eight hours during the week , without sunlight, and then more at the weekend at their cabin on the Norsk Hamptons, so the wives become Birke/widows and the kids must wonder what daddy looks like if he is not either stuffed into a red condom tight ski suit or with both hands at the wheel of his BMW.

The prevalence of their participation in the event is all blown up by the finance media, who have after all only a small stock exchange to cover, minor scandals and a majority of workers in Statoil, public services or protected food industries. 

For the majority of competitors, or participants really, they will average about 4 hours depending on the conditions which have a lot to play and are often variable due to the ascent of 1000m underway over the 54km. That by my reckoning corresponds to 5 hours training a week, but within that there must very good technique and some longer february weekend runs or events.

 For the elite, well this is a bit of a surprise because those 8 hours a week training to come under 3 hours need not be all year round but rather built on a base of fitness off ski and off rollers too. As with okay times for M45 , men full mid life crisis just under 4 hours, then specific stamina training, some speed sessions each week and technique coaching coupled to good 'feste' are the factors which  rule to keep you within the mark. Here is one elite-peleton guy's account who went from almost five hours downwards as he entered the so called mid life crisis, clearly he was just peaking!

So the event is not unassailable as would be the myth , and fully possible for the average club competitor or even the averagely fit skier who decides to increase their training and have first qualification and then participation to a sensible 4.30 hrs mark.

Younger seeded adults have a tougher time because their marks are more restricted. But also later seeded/starting competitors can have harder 'spor' with partly destroyed edges, and of course rising temperatures as the day goes on so conditions play a part for everyone in their variance. This year may like 2007 be blown off with sleet and wind chill forecast. partly destroyed edges, and of course rising temperatures as the day goes on so conditions play a part for everyone in their variance. This year may like 2007 be blown off with sleet and wind chill forecast.

You have to gain seeding to enter Birke'n by competiting in other events or from self same 54km west from Rena the year before. From this result profile  you are then allocated a peleton by age and performance and a time to make it in / to round the mark they say, very nautical for this most inland and land lubber of events. i reckon I could seed at 4 hours mark if I could train from late November,  this would have been possible in earlier years due to snow conditions, if I had taken some more instruction and in technique. Finally I catch up with technique in a weird year with no underlying groundfrost and a meter of snow or more lying still on most forrest roads. Soft, hard, sharp...best for waxless in fact.

x 

I would without doubt do a 50 km ski run at this time of uyear on Atomic Skintecs or Fischer RCS waxless because for longer run'feste' is best- grip is best , as long as you have some glide, avoiding back slides in the kick which can drain or injure you and saving time in not rewaxing.

In any case, I could aspire to Birken given a good season, but it is a palava to go up to Rena from here. Yesterday I did a meagre 14 km with 200 m climbing but i would have done it at 9km/ht if my mobile had not gone off and i had not stopped to take photties on the wonderful sunny day. An Icey way back round-the-mountain was only slow on the worst uphills, and back in the car after one minutes breathing I felt like I had just warmed up!

This reminds me of cycling where eventually the first hour was a warm up for stiff, highly trained muscles and if I was late for a race I paid for not warming up  by being OTB!

 I may move up that way to the great valley Lillehammer lies in a few years time though and have the route on my doorstep more or less.  For now, there are several runs within eaasier access and in any case I would like to set up my own run with the club here at about 40/45km with both styles catered for not just classic. This makes it easier to train for with a mild snowless autumn and november, because classic roller skiing is a fussy affaire. Easier to skate on roads, and it is so popular now here partly due to worn out tram lines with ice forming, while the middle lane was soft. 

This year I have had the time between contracts and financial capability to live off my wife and my own savings. New car, new sofa, biggerr house on hold...thank god , I am really into

downsizing and degrowth any hows. So my training has all been in daylight or twilight with a base of exercise in the mild autumn on woodland elg-hoofing. Loping with poles at 9am after the day is wound up like a family faced clock of preschool, school, washing machine on, dishwasher emptied. Most of it has been foggy and damp, around freexing point and it has threatened to be washed away by rain every week for the last four, but miraculously has survived to a decent depth on the harder under surfacesI rather miss not stretching a head torch over my brow. 

Headtorches a plenty to find in Oslos Nordmarka, the woods and moors which are actually the second best thing about Oslo after the Fjord with its Islands. The town itself is a bit of a dump by in large, now festooned with messy achitecture on its seafront. For the finance and oil executive crowd there will be eight to twelve hours a week training on skis. That will not include family tours or other events which are often taken as a test of form. This self announced wolf pack are actually a tiny part of the  whole event.

  The majority are club racers and old timers, many a year-on-year seasoned sixty year old as much as there are the midlife crisis type. Not forgetting the 2 on four week off semi pro oil workers, who can train up like hell if their shift pattern matches the event.  There you have the three main segments who maybe make up 90% of competition with pros and the executive/finance crowd being a fraction of the remaining.

The down side of the small economy outside dollar-barrell indexing is that financiers get a lot of boring personal coverage in the media. Partly because they are as arrogant as their more numerous London or NYSE comrades who by in large like anonymity. Here when they/ disinvest or close sites the effect is much more amplified for the local society because if they work outside the dollar-barrell cushion which creates living costs amongte the highest in the world, they fall pretty hard. Also the state and councils even are allowed to co invest in enterprises here, all above board, hands off the operational management and 

this means that local societies get an interested investor as in the current rage about fishing port and processing plants in the north where there are few other on shore jobsand fishing in family sized boats runs in the blood. Most other countries set up an innovation board to do this which is of course highly beaurcatised and wastes money as in Scottish Enterprise. Norway has that too, but I have yet to see any real fruits personally. 

Anyway, out they will with cheering wives at the finish, how clever daddy is if only you knew what he looked like outside the red swix condom-lycra suit. Remember you are a small percentage and only the business dailies care about you, we dont give a damn.

Lykke, Lyktestolpe, Livstil...The Joy Of Ski

Du kjenner ham der syltetynn og litt over trent gubbe. Birkebeinetmannen er i sporene. Han som vil utfordre selveste  finansulvene i Birke'n. Ellers Aker Solutions mann , avdeling bygda som trener med firmalaget halv seks om morgen i lysløypet. Neida dette er ikke noe krise heller ikke midt i livets gang. Ikke noka solution trengs, de er i toppform. Sjelveste Ole Einar'n skal fortsetter som to og førti åring i VM.

Barna og kone ser lite av dem der og mange vil holde formen med gummidekk versjonen av den opplandske mannsprøven.

Formål , blir det Birk'n eller ei...

Birke'n er då en veldig bra formål for mange som er veldig aktive som skigåere ellers som noe å bygge opp formen mot over flere år for den tidligere lathans eller to barns far som ville tilbake til formen de hadde for et par tiår siden.

Prioritisering er noe jeg er flink på i jobb sammenheng, ikke alltid hjemme. Men de store steinene i glasset dvs de livsdelene som er mest viktig til meg har jeg i fokus. De må balanseres, noen ganger er det frustrerende fordi en vil fremstår i ønske listen ofte trening eller det sosiale faller fra til fordelen for familien og huset.

Men velg da et muligt merke som er tilpasset hvor mye tid om uken du har og beregner da din forventet form. Ta råd og leser opp om hvordan formen kan utvikles for din alder og tidligere form. Til slutt minus femten prosent og dermed er du fram til fornuft i merketiden. Da forbli feber, småskader eller dårlig føre som noe du har tatt høyde for.

Formen er Beregnelig til en viss grad...

Formen din er en funksjon av antall timer og plannleggning av innhold over tid og det skal gjerne være ni måneders målrettet trening altså mye uten en fnøgg på bakken.

Eg snakkar fra høyhesten som delvis kvalifisert trener og halv utdannet sportsfysiolog, delvis universitet i Glasgow, Skottland, delvis selv lært. Og en gubbe som helst unngår folkemengder og flokkatferd, særlig når det er konkurranse i blandet.

Men ikke ha din kone som skienke og barna som tror pappa leser korte godnatthistorier fra kondomdrakten.

Trives du veldig i skisporene ? Er kroppsformen bra for skirenn over de lengre avstan? Vet du hva du må oppnå med stilen og hvordan du skal tilpasse det, smøringen, innsats og spising ut på Birken eller en annen utfordrende skirenn?

Andre Formål enn Konkurranse og Lange Skirenn

Jeg har en tung og kraftig kroppsform som er kanskje best evnet mot skiskøyting, men jeg liker de tekniske nuansene i klassiske. Jeg har dermed lagt opp tekniske formål for meg selv i året samt at jeg skal utføre lengre treningsøkt tom tre timer, og gjennomføre et selvbestemt skitur på fire eller fem mil på en dag.

Då tok jeg meg selv gjennom bøker og tonnevis av Youtube innlegg for å forbedre klassiske sitlen. Vekk med stavene for de første 45 minutter av sesongen da !  Det som jeg fort  oppdaget var at klassiske og skøytestilen egentlig ha mer tilfelles enn man synes kanskje. Det er nå lenge siden Robert Koch innførte revolusjonen som ble til en schism i sporten. Folk glemmer hele episoden, er glad for at skiskytere padler opp over bakken og skileverandør er begeistret å få solgt en annen "nødvendig" skipakke og alt av tilbehør.

Egentlig jeg har aldri hadt skøyteski bundet på beina. Men skøyta på ski har jeg ofte.  Et teknisk formål jeg hadde var å slutte med uryddige sving med halv plog, slalom kroppstilling og dermed ofte et sakte endepuntke til utforkjøringen. Jeg er da ikke stilte til å skli inntil til det neste fasen og holder ikke fart videre. Da er det trinnesving "step turning" som skulle læres.

Jeg tok den etter den første utfordring som var bedre vektoverføring i klassiske diagonal gang. Egentlig det var en dobbel nøkkel å ha vekslet fokus mellom dette og step-turning at jeg oppdaget.

Forbedringer i Teknikken Hented fra Begge Stilarter

Diagonalgang er for folkfleste den foretrukkete stilaren på snøen her. For den ene er det tradisjonelt her i Noreg, og for det andre er det jævla god trening. Man får en kontinuitet ved å holde diagonalgang på flatte og egentlig det er læringsrik for stilen til å kjøre på litt nedover bakken. Med ryggsekk eller litt dårlig glid er dobbeltak staving ikke så tiltrekende på flatte og slappe, sugende utforkjøring i det tidlige påskeföret vi nå har.

Der var nøkkelen med to sidet tenner! Diagonalgang er egentilg i sin riktig utførsel, en parallel skøyting. Hvis man som meg øver på både slikt rare utforkjøring og step turning da er det plutselig klart at det ikke er noe "schism" mer enn noen konservative FIS medlemmer og skiindustrien ville skape.

Utstyr er ikke så veldig dyrt for overgangs trening...

Dette har gått mye bedre i det siste ved bruk av mine 33,33kr loppemarkeds smørefrie "Trak" ski. Med myke spenn og lange møntre på sålen i den fiskeskinn utforming, er de tydeligvis veldig bra evnet ypperlig feste i disse myke, slorpete spor. Ved at de er bare 198 og ikke min vanleg 208 er de da kort nok for behagelig skøyting med forbehold om noen bannaner spor jeg tegner i snoen og forlater bak meg til under av den neste på egentlig skøyteski.

I tillegg må jeg peke til at det er blitt klisterføre for seks uker siden. Da er smørefrie bedre for pålitelig feste men også for et påletileg glid mens man skøyter uten klister eller rødt knagger i bakken.

I dag hadde det blitt så blaut i sporene at det lønte seg å skøyte i utforkjøringen og slappe motbakker. Deretter var det litt padling på brattere bakker med spisse kneer og vektet godt framover. Det siste var slitsomt i føret. Men litt greit å variere treningsform fra jogging opp de små sjappene.

Før Man Kjøper SkøyteskiPakke....

En annen faktor i tilfredstillende fremgang er støvler som støtter og binder inn anklen. Jeg skaffa meg et par Alpina RCR combi på tilbud men de er ellers svinedyre og langt fra perfekt utformet for mine poter. Dessuten  kan de ikkje festes på min nye gamle trettitre krone venner. Men mine urgamle alpina blå turstøvler er suveregne og dersom jeg giddet å impregnere de igjen, mye mer behagelig i slike forhold. De RCr combis var veldig alreit i nysnø men ble ubehagelige på hardt underlag og overalt vanskelig å få skolissene riktig slikt hælen ikke løftet seg. Men de har en dings for spisset hæl som funker og da i tillegg selvsagt har de borrelås festet anklestøttere. Mer tid før jeg misdommer dem da.

Så skaff deg kortere smørefrie ski på neste loppemarked du kommer på hvor som helst i Norge eller Fretex (som er blitt nokså dyrt for urgammel ski... pga Boho' beskjegget studenter i tweed luer kanskje ?) eller finn.no og da bruk litt tid på youtube (mads lære ...serie fra NRK og toppidrettshøyskolen er den aller best IMHO).

Staver ikke trenger å være super lange for første få øvelser...egentlig kort under skulder høyde staver er greit for å ta konsentrasjonen vekk fra hendene og da senkes CoG litt som hjelper før man skaffer 170cm karbon spidder.

Og så kom deg ut på en stille skogsveie med skøytebane og prøv litt sakte gang, får den nesen-skuldren-hoften-kneet-foten rytm og swing ting i gang og slapp av litt. Jogge litt opp motbakkene i sporene men unngå dem ved utforkjøring og prøv å opprettholde skøyting på stadig brattere bakker og lære å svinge ved skøyting eller smä trinn som en måke padler på plenen for å få opp meite markene.

Pust inn, pust ut, Enjoy! Du har ungått å bruke gjerne ellers 3000kr på en fin skøytepakke som kanskje du vil ikke bruke så ofte enn du trodde. Da blir det en glede å kjøpe slike ved super salg rundt eller etter påske hvis man har trivdes på loppe'ski.

Da har du også tre par ski plutselig. Hmm. Hva med kombiski? De ble kjempe utrendig etter en kort post Koch oppblomstring i utvalget. Kompromis ! Men da også kunne butikkene selge to par ski for begge stilarter.

Nå er det kanskje slikt at karbon - nomex-titan- you-name-it kunne brukes for å lage en rimmelig bra kombiski. Jeg for min del ser ikke noe store utfordringer bortsett for litt dårlig glid i sporene. Men man får trente begge stilarter i det samme økt med behag.

Atomic har kommet med en ny utforming som gir god spenn men et bedre feste / fraspark i at skiene gir seg under trykk i festesonen og blir kjempe myk plutselig. Det da sprettes ut . Som en terksel som brytes. Slikt kunne nytes i en kombiski.

"Fantaski " i telemark har noen lure skityper, enn jeg har sett i rbuk er et bred skøyteski med et rart borrelås aktig innlegg kun langs en kant av sålen. Det gir feste for en del fra spark og fiskebein. Mannen som eide dem likte skøyting men ikke på motbakker altså han hadde kommet på et perfekt ski for seg selv.

Jeg føler at det er ikke bare at man lære gjennom de to stil artene i en komplimentarisk måte, men man også får et behagelig variasjon i kroppsbevegelser. Ofte under klassiske tur får jeg vondt i ryggen ovenfor hoftene men det løsner seg etter en halv timer. Men ved overgang til "juksestilen" blir det løsnet opp på et par minutter max.

Ja vel en pondus, og hvis du har giddet å lese så lenge er det sikkert at du har det utholdbarhet som trengs for årets Birkebeinet .......på tv.