2013 Season in the Books

 Nearing the finish of the Super Tour Finals Hill Climb and Series. Photo: Mike Nadell

The ST Finals hill climb went really well for me and I was able to gain back a bit of time on some of the other racers from the previous three races.  I skied the second fastest time of the day which put me in the money for the day which was really great.  I moved up from twenty first to tenth in the tour too which I am really happy with.  Hopefully in the future I can limit the time loss on the earlier stages of the tour.

Sharing the podium with Kris Freeman (1st) and Tad Elliott (2nd) Always an honor to be in the mix with these guys.

First set of podium flowers for the series.

Things just kept getting better with a 7 letter word in our scrabble tournament.

The 2013 race season concluded with the 50km Classic National Championship.  I really love the 50km races but had a rough day falling off of the pace early.  This is the longest season I have ever raced and it feels good to wrap things up and head home to Minneapolis.

Great to be back with the Boys and Girls Club kids.  They were excited to show me how many push ups and sit ups they now can do.  Spring is still waiting to come to Minnesota so we have mostly been inside. 

One the plus side, the skiing is still quite good.  This is the most snow I have seen in Minneapolis since I moved here.  Can you believe this is April 21st in Minnesota?

I finally had the chance to try skijoring.  Lahti, Caitlin and I went our and enjoyed the aftermath of the big snow storm.  We skied right from the house.  Can you tell who is happier?

Sugar Bowl Hill Climb

Two more ski races to go in the 2012/2013 ski racing season.  The final two races include two of my favorite events.  Tomorrow we race the 'Hill Climb' up the Sugar Bowl downhill resort.  We ski about 3 km of rolling terrain before making the 1,000' climb up Mount Disney.  We go up the easiest downhill run, but it is quite steep when you are climbing up on cross country skis.

Caitlin and I looking over the edge at the top of Mt. Disney

Going down on the skinny skis is sure exciting

A few weeks ago we came out to Sugar Bowl early in the morning to preview the hill climb. We chose to use kicker skins on our classic skis. This worked really well and we had a really good workout climbing up to the top of the mountain.  We lucked out when we ran in to Kurt, one of the Sugar Bowl staff helping set up gates for the alpine skiers.  He was snowmobiling the downhill coaches and the gates to the top of the mountain.  He offered to help us out with  shuttle ride to the bottom of the mountain.  This allowed us to get down quickly so we could do our next interval.  

We skated up the course this morning and I wish that I had my kicker skins. Turns out in looking out the rules that kicker skins are not allowed.  Tomorrow will be hard race but I have always enjoyed climbing and have had some of my strongest results in this unique event.  We start based on our finishes in the previous three races and I have a lot of time to try and gain back.  

The final race of the year will be the 50 km National Championship on Thursday.  This year we race classic which I have struggled with this year, but I am excited to cap off the season with my favorite distance.

Canadian Nationals

Our altitude training camp in California has come to and end and it is 'game' time.  After completing my final interval workout of the year I am ready for the final 8 races of the year in the coming 2 weeks.  After training for almost 4 weeks and racing smaller races I am excited to go up against some of the big dogs.

Testing out the 2014 Salomon Skate Skis

Mulagatani has become my new favorite soup.  Coconut Milk, Lentils, Curry, Raisins, Almonds, Vegetabls... what part of that doesn't sound delicious

During our stay our hosts became pretty excited about cross country skiing.  It was great to see them take the initiative to get out and try it with a beginners lesson.  I think we have a few more downhill skiers who are now also hooked on cross country.

Loading up the car in Seattle to head north of the border.  "Yes, Mr. Border Guard we plan on skiing on all of these skis"

It has been almost a month since the team has been together.  It is fun to meet back up with our teammates.

Yesterday marked my first race of the Canadian National Championships the 10km Freestyle interval start.. I started strong and came through the midway mark in 4th place just 8 seconds off of the lead. I dropped a bit in the second lap but ended up finishing 6th.  This is a strong result for me and I am even more excited by how good I felt skiing.  I am looking forward to a lot of racing over the next few weeks.

Top 6 in the Open Male division earn $$.  ITA teammate Sylvan Ellefson took 4th and we went 1-2 fior the Americans.

 This winter I traveled out to Colorado and worked with my In The Arena teammates Sylvan Ellefson's wax technician team.  It is nice to be able to repay the favor here in Whistler as my technicians are working on Sylvan's skis.  It is good to know that even as competitors we can work together.  We want the strongest athlete to win.

The Great Ski Race

One of my favorite places to ski during college is in Truckee, California.  Sunny, warm, lots of snow and a variety of venues make it hard not to smile.  It has been seven years since I have graduated college and since I have skied in California.  There are two marathon races that I have always wanted to do out there, the Gold Rush and The Great Race.    

The Great Race starts on the north shore of Lake Tahoe and climbs 1200' up and over the pass before dropping 1800' to finish in Truckee.  As chance would have it The Great Race was last weekend and worked perfect with our plans to come and train in California in preparation for the Super Tour Finals here in April. 

Check out the profile (dark purple) and my corresponding heart rate

After 5 days of consistent sunny days and below freezing nights we woke up on race morning to light rain.  I had waxed our skis in anticipation of the rain, but I didn't factor in all of the climbing on the course and the potential for new snow at the top.  My skis were great at the start but as we climbed higher the rain turned to snow and that turned into about 4 inches of powder.  At this point the racing really got interesting.  I had about a one minute lead on the chase pack but the aggressive grind I had chosen was like sandpaper on the fresh snow.  I looked back and could tell that I was getting caught.  This wouldn't be that big of a deal except for the fact that I was working pretty hard.  I decided to just ride my threshold and make the most of it.

Wyatt caught me about 2.5km from the high point of the course, I continued to lead hoping that he would just settle in behind me at our current pace.  At one point Wyatt asked me if I was just going threshold for today.  I didn't really want to tell him that I had chosen the wrong skis for the day but at this point it was pretty obvious.  It was just about all I could do to stay on him for the last little bit of the uphill.  When we reached the high point the fresh grooming ended and we were faced with breaking trail.  Finally I at least had the advantage of resting in the draft.

My skis weren't getting much faster, but I knew that as we continued to descend my ski speed would increase.  I offered to do some of the work up front and we switched off leads to try and stay away from the others.  Still, I had worked hard enough on the climb that I didn't want to overextend myself too much.  I already had the twinges of cramps coming on in my legs.

At one point I looked back and was surprised to see two other skiers catching up to us.  Wyatt put in a bit of a stronger pull but it became obvious that these guys were going way faster than us.  It turns out that we had several minutes on them at the top. When they caught us they just skied right through us.  One of the guys gave us a hard time for making the 'old man' lead.  I recognized him as Marcus Nash and smiled.  I had to tell him that I had a poster of him above my bed growing up.  Spencer pulled away from us and I decided to put in a big push to try and hang on.  Wyatt skis were starting to slow down and my were starting to come back to life.  I worked as hard as I could, but Spencer continued to pull away.  I think he had about a minute on me at one point as I struggled in the fresh snow.  Finally we dropped low enough that my skis started to run.  At first they were just a little bit better, but then they turned to rockets.  With about 5 km to go I could tell I was gaining quickly on Spencer.  It was a tricky race in that with such variable conditions there really was no way to have fast skis the entire race.  My skis were pretty slow in the fresh snow, but they were fantastic in the wet soft snow.

The race finishes with monster downhill.  Plenty of great crashes kept spectators entertained throughout the afternoon.

Marcus, Me, and Spencer on the podium with our beautiful glass plate awards

Owl Creek Chase

Although I was born in Colorado and spent two years of college at Western State College of Colorado I always forget how beautiful it is.  One thing I don't forget however is the feeling of coming from sea level to race at high altitudes.

In college I had the unique experience of spending two years living and training at 8,000 feet in Gunnison and a final two years living at sea level in Anchograge.  Adjusting to altitude is a physical adaptation, but it is also a mental and tactical one.  Two years ago I competed in the 2011 Owl Creek Chase and pushed a little bit too hard and the wheels just came off.  I don't know if I have ever bonked so bad in a race.  This year I came back to Colorado to take up the challenge of the Owl Creek again.

 Fellow ITA Athlete Sylvan and I finishing up the Vail Mountain Games 10km. Photo: Connor Walberg

 A huge thank you to my Aunt Kit and Uncle Horst who are letting us use their home and vehicle in Eagle, CO.  Caitlin and I fly out to Colorado right after the Tour de Twin Cities to put in a solid 3 week block of training at altitude.  In the past I have raced every race every weekend and in general did well but never really shined. This year I have focused on racing a bit less and really racing well when I do race.  This strategy worked well this week and I won both races.

Racing up high hurts and the adrenaline of winning can go a long way. Photo: Fasterskier.com

I traveled out to Colorado in biathlon fashios: with 8 skate skis and 1 pair of classic skis.  My plan being to race the Vail Mountain Games a 10km Freestyle race for $1,000 cash.  Then take Saturday easy and skip the 2 classical Super Tour Race to recover.  Hopefully gaining an advantage for the 21km Owl Creek Super Tour on Sunday. At sea level 4 races in 3 days is tough but doable, at altitude racing so much is another animal.  Several competitors did it all including my In The Arena teammate Sylvan Ellefson.  At the last minute I couldn't help myself and registered for all four races but after the Vail race I was pretty tired and deciding to skip the next days race became a lot easier.

Super happy to be able to train and race together with Cailtin.  In the Vail Mountain Games we both won making it a double victory day for Team Gregg.  Having two racers in the family is like having two lottery tickets.  Photo: Michael Hoffman.  

Sylvan and I with 5km to go. Photo: Michael Hoffman

Sylvan and I worked together throughout the race to pull away from the rest of the group.  Sylvan and his Team Homegrown have been helping us with wax support all week.  Racing at this level ski speed makes a huge difference.  It is unique in the sport of skiing that a team will help a competitor out in a situation where they have no obligation to do so.  It is a real testament to the quality of a competitions character that they want their adversary to have all the same opportunities. Thanks Sylvan and Team Homegrown.

Finishing the Owl Creek Chase.  Photo: Michael Hoffman

Tour de Twin Cities

20km Classic Mass Start. Photo: Joel Woodward

What a treat to have 5 Super Tour races in our back yard at Theodore Wirth Park here in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  We are super lucky to have the opportunity to live and race at home for a month in the middle of the race season.  Caitlin sure was smart when she found us a house with snow making nearby. Sadly it is not a question of if, but a question of when the Midwest will have a bad snow year.  Although grass was showing in the yard, the 3.3km man made snow loop at wirth is perfect.

Only 1km to go in Stage 2: 20km Mass Start Classic. Photo:Joel Woodward

Racing at sea level and on a small loop led to a competitive and exciting week.  The week started off great for me with my first Super Tour podium of the year.  ITA teammate Torin Koos took the win in the mass start classic race and I finished second.  Most of the field stayed together until the final kilometer of the race.  It was a tough day on equipment with several broken poles and skis.  Thankfully and luckily I stayed out of trouble.  I have really struggled in my classic races this year with a 24th, 26th, and a 23rd, so to be back on the podium was sweet.

Chasing down Dylan McGuffin in Stage 4. Photo: Steve Kotvis

I have never had a race series with so many great photographers out on course.  Skiing laps allowed for some really cool photos and video.  Looking at the photos and video is a great way to learn from the races.

Stage 4 Classic Photo: Steve Kotvis

Of all the races in the Tour, I have been looking forward to Stage 5 the most.  15km Freestyle with a pursuit start based on your overall tour time. I started the day in 6th and 1:36 off of Torin's tour lead, but went in with the goal of posting the fastest time of the day.  I figured based on my start position I would ski most of the race by my self. My skis were superb today though and I found myself catching up to 4th and 5th in the Tour.  I skied hard all the way to the end and finished the overall Tour in 4th.  I also met my goal of skiing the fastest time of the day and earning a large mint Oreo and cookie dough blizzard.

Charging hard.  Photo: David Owen

I decided to run for my cool down while watching and cheering the women's race.  I am glad I had my Salomon Spike Cross shoes with spikes for running on the ice.  Caitlin put on quite a show today and   had my adreneline pumping as I ran around the course to cheer her on.  She started the day 1:05 back from the lead and 50 seconds behind second place.  She skied great posting the fastest time of the day and moving up into second for the overall Tour.  

Trying to look like Caitlin

It has been a goal of mine for a long time to share the top step of the podium with Caitlin in a Super Tour.  To make a sweet day even sweeter it is finally snowing.  We went for a recovery run tonight and ran into the groomer prepping the trail behind the house.  Looking forward to a nice easy ski from the back door tomorrow.

US Nationals Prep

I love ski racing and pretty much race as much as possible.  This year is unique in that I have had three weeks to prepare for the US National Championships.   I spent a large portion of last winter skiing short loops on man made snow.  We were treated to a big storm in the Methow Valley and all 200km of ski trail were opened.  The trails are groomed nightly so the skiing was fantastic. 

Caitlin checking out 'a little bit' of snow outside

We parked the car at the end of the driveway so we could make it out in the morning.   Although the trails were groomed and ready it took a while for us to get to the trail head.  I had planned to do intervals on a particular long uphill, but we we went to turn on to the county road to the trail head it had not been plowed.  Crazy to go from too little snow to too much snow.

Prepping skis in the wax room at Soldier Hollow.

The day after Christmas Caitlin and I flew down to Salt lake City.  Both of us are huge fans of Soldier Hollow the venue of the 2002 Olympics.  The Olympic 5 km course which is scheduled to be used for the distance races next week is really hard.  We both really like hard courses with big climbs.

In addition to about 8 inches of natural snow, Soldier Hollow has 11 snow guns and there are some huge piles of snow.  As I finished up with my work at the venue this afternoon the groomer began to spread out the piles.  I am excited to see if the entire course will be groomed and open tomorrow.