By Andy Newell
US Ski Team - Salomon Athlete Force

What should I be doing for a sprint warm up? This is the most common question I am asked by other skiers. This can also be the most difficult question to answer because everyone's body is different and what works for me may not work for everyone, but I will try to present some ideas that I think will help people prepare best for a sprint race.

The most important aspect of warming up is being familiar with your body and knowing that when you step up to the start line you are physically and mentally ready to go. This comes from years of refining your pre race routine so that it is structured, effective, and most of all like second nature to you. Here is an example of a warm up protocol that I would use before a sprint race.

My warm up
Total time around 45 to 50 min.

15 min easy level one -
Make sure its really level 1. Because of nerves ect., your heart rate may be elevated at first, but make sure the skiing is kept easy. This can be an even harder task if there are a lot of skiers and spectators around but try to swallow your pride and ski your own pace. You'll show everyone once the race starts. For me this is a heart rate of below 137.

2 level 2 intervals (1:30 to 2:00 min long) -
The main purpose of this routine is to warm up the body very gradually so your system is not shocked in any way. It will be pretty easy to get your heart rate into level 2 just by skiing relaxed, snappy, and smooth and thinking about skiing with good technique. These intervals are just designed to get your blood moving and prepare you for the next step so take a few minutes recovery in-between them.

2 level 3 intervals (first one around 1:30 and the second around 2:00 min)
It is even more important to keep these ones under the appropriate heart rate, because you still want to be working aerobically. This is the main reason why I like to use a heart rate monitor during my warm up. Take a full recovery in-between these intervals to make sure your not accumulating any lactic acid. This is also a great time to get to know the course a little better if it hasn't been closed yet. During these intervals think about the different kinds of technique you want to use on the up hills and down hills, and try to identify the important transitions and corners. Split the course up so that you are able to ski every section at a level 3 pace during these two intervals.

2 level 4 intervals (first one 2:00 and the second one around 2:30 or 3:00 min)
This is level 4, NOT A SPRINT PACE!! Sorry but we're not up to full speed yet. These intervals should be slightly faster than your 5 or 10k race pace just, touching your anaerobic system. If you are still fortunate enough to be on the course this is the time to test yourself a little bit. Try taking the corners at full speed and see how far you can push your double pole or V2 into the hills without bogging. Take a full recovery in-between these intervals as well to make sure that your not building up so much lactic acid that you can't clear it out. I like to time it so that I do my second level 4 interval about 20 to 15 minutes before my prelim start time.

Accelerations
After I've recovered from the level 4 intervals I spend the next 5 to 10 minutes doing some accelerations at sprint pace. These sprints can vary in length but should be kept under 30 seconds long. This is the first and only time before the prelim that I will go as fast or faster than my "sprint" pace.

Get to the start
I think that in order to sprint your fastest you need to be warm and fired up at the start, but at the same time calm and relaxed. This is why it's a good idea to get to the start area in plenty of time before you go out. After I'm done with my warm up I like to have enough time to change my top, gloves, hat, and goggles ( this is very important when its cold out and you've just finished a hard warm up) and still get to the start area 10 minutes before I am out the gate. Getting to the start with plenty of time becomes even more important in big races like world cups where there are a lot more hassles that you need to go though like credentials, transponders, ect.

Just because you stop your warm up 15 minutes before your start doesn't mean that you should stop moving around however. Once in the start area it's good to jog around and do some quick running sprints with poles. This is also a good time to do some "ballistic stretching" like leg swings to get your muscles ready for a max effort.

Make it your own
Like I said earlier, everyone's body is different. Some of you may need to add some more intervals or pick-ups to your routine while some may need to take some away. Typically skiers that have "slower twitch" muscles may need to do one all-out effort about 20 minutes before their start. The most important thing to remember is that things change. You might have to run or spin to warm up depending on weather, waxing, or course closures, but being able to identify what it feels like to be "ready to go" can be the most import tool you have.

Last week I answered a coaches question regarding wax removal from brushes. But underlying the immediate question was another problem that I did not answer.
The coach was having difficulty with brushes clogging because his athletes were leaving a lot of excess wax on their skis after plastic scraping.

The excess wax may be coming from the skis having non-flat bases. Their plastic scrapers therefore would not have the ability to pick up the surface wax in the concavity of the base or along the edges if the center is high. In either case the skis performance could be increased with a flattening of the bases.

This can be accomplished through various methods, but should only be done by a qualified coach or technician.

Method #1-The skis bases could be flattened with a solid sanding block and sandpaper running tip to tail. Start with medium grit paper and move up to an ultra fine paper until the bases are flat from tip to tail and have no visible base hairs. After sanding you will want to follow up with fibertexing and numerous wax jobs to remove the rest of the base hairs that were raised. This is the method we used years ago before stonegriding and before we were good with metal scrapers. It is very laborious but the risks are low if you take the time to move from medium grit to ultra fine sandpaper.

Method #2- Metal scraping-A qualified technician can flatten the base with a very sharp metal scraper. Swix makes a scraper called the T-80 that comes with one great edge for base work. But make sure you are gentle with the skis as you can easily do more damage than good.

Method #3 Get the ski stone ground to get the base perfectly flat and with a structure suited to the skiers universal needs.

I hope this helps
Andy

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Rainbow Resort
Rainbow has 20K groomed for skate skiing and 17K groomed for classic skiing. There is a 5" compacted base and 10" in the woods. The trails are in excellent condition and ready for your best skis. Bookmark their snow report page, http://www.rainbowresort.com/seasons/snow.cfm

Tamarack Resort
The Snow Report can be found at http://www.tamarackidaho.com/snowreport/
The Nordic page can be found from this site as well.

Lone Mountain Resort
If you were in West Yellowstone you know how much snow there is in South West Montana. Lone Mountain is seeing the benefit of this snow, and their snow report can be found at http://www.lmranch.com/lmr_content/winter/ski_cond.shtml

Crested Butte Resort
You can find Crested Butte's snow report on their general homepage or an expanded version at http://www.skicb.com/page.php?pname=mountain/grooming

Bohart Ski Ranch
Bohart is also enjoying early season snow, and their trail report can be found at http://www.bohartranchxcski.com/weather.php

Christmas-New Year West Itasca Winter XC Ski Festival

Monday, December 26, 2005 -through- Wednesday, December 28, 2005

This cross country ski festival will be held at Rainbow Resort, west of Itasca State Park and east of Waubun, MN. The festival will include on-snow cross country ski camp for both skating and classic, techniques, seminars, video, food, drinks, time trials and more. For more information contact Amy at 612-991-4912 or info@rainbowresort.com.
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Bozeman, MT-Lindley Park Ski Clinic
Presented by: Abby Larson of the Subaru Factory Team
Monday Dec. 26th, 10:00-11:00am
There is no fee or preregistration for this on-snow clinic.
Call (406) 585-2660 for more information.
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Lone Mountain Ranch
Women's Camps Winter 2005 - 2006

Do you want to improve your downhill control on all trails? Do you want to progress to the next level in your skiing? Are you interested in participating in a positive and supportive learning environment that will boost your confidence? Are you interested in camaraderie with women who share similar interests? If so, then join us for our Women's Camp, in the spectacular setting of Lone Mountain Ranch and Yellowstone National Park.

http://www.lmranch.com/lmr_content/winter/xc/womenscamp.htm

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24 Hours of Telemark!

The 24 Hours of Telemark is a cross-country ski relay race with teams of one to six members competing against each other in different age divisions and categories. The team, or individual, in each category that completes the most laps in 24 hours is the winner.

Held each winter since 2002, this x-c race is fun for cross-country skiers of all abilities. The race course is a short but challenging loop immediately adjacent to Telemark Lodge. With the course right out the door of the lodge, it's just a few short steps from skiing to warm rooms and changes of clothes, as well as Telemark's outstanding hospitality.

The 24 Hours of Telemark has grown in size and class each year. The prize list for 2006 (donated by our generous sponsors) looks to be huge... and much of it will be given away as door prizes. Maybe you should join us this year?

Please visit www.24hoursoftelemark.com for more info.
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COLORADO CUP CROSS-COUNTRY SKI RACE SERIES

A series of cumulatively scored nordic races set to go for 2005-2006 season

Natron Nordic Enterprises, Skifire Inc., and a group of Colorado Nordic ski areas have combined efforts to create a nine-race series of cumulatively scored cross-country skiing competitions. The series will be scored similar to World Cup races, allowing skiers to accumulate points and compete for overall placing during an entire season of events.

The series includes nine well-established races that have a history of being the best events in Colorado. The Colorado Cup will join these successful events together using their established venues, distances, and techniques while providing a cumulative scoring system. Racers will be given points based on their finishing position and ranked overall by gender as well as in 10-year age group categories. At the end of the season the Colorado Cup will be awarded to overall senior and junior champions as well as age group winners. Natron Nordic Enterprises has donated four 1-year training plans to be awarded as prizes for the overall and junior champions.

The intent of the Colorado Cup is to provide a system that will support and develop junior skiers all the way through to master and elite skiers while also standardizing Nordic events so that competitors and ski areas can get the most out of every race, all season long.

More information, including the complete schedule, scoring system, event and series details as well as results can be found at www.natronnordic.com in the "Colorado Cup" section. The results will be compiled and updated approximately one week after each event. For additional information,contact Matt Muir at Skifire Inc., email Matt at matt@skifire.com, be sure to include "Colorado Cup" in the subject line.

2005-06 Colorado Cup Scored Races
Dec 10, 2005 Gold Run Classic 10km Classic Gold Run
Jan 7, 2006 Steamboat Stampede 40km Classic Steamboat Nordic Center
Jan 14, 2006 Snow Mountain Classic 15km Classic Snow Mountain Ranch
Jan 21, 2006 Devil's Thumb Ranch Pursuit 7.5/7.5 Pursuit Devil's Thumb Ranch
Jan 28, 2006 Gold Run Loppet 30km Freestyle Gold Run
Feb 11, 2006 Owl Creek Chase 30km Freestyle Aspen
Feb 18, 2006 Steamboat Pursuit 10/10 Pursuit Steamboat Nordic Center
Mar 4, 2006 Alpina Madshus Stampede 42km Freestyle Snow Mountain Ranch
Mar 12, 2006 Wilson Cup 20km Freestyle Vail

Make sure to get rewarded!
Why not let your passion for fun get you free Subaru Factory Team merchandise? The Subaru Factory Team's enjoy winter-rewards program is designed to thank you for purchasing our Subaru Factory Team partner's products.

For more information on Subaru's technically advanced all-wheel drive vehicles check out www.subaru.com

"Think. Feel. Drive."

SkiPost is a cross-country skiing informational, educational and motivational service, brought to you through a partnership with the Subaru Factory Team and the Salomon Athlete & Event Force.

The goal of SkiPost is to make the sport of cross-country skiing easier and more enjoyable for all who choose to participate. If you have questions on Cross-country Skiing see www.SkiPost.com or email us at mailto:weanswer@skipost.com

If you wish to be removed email nordic-unsubscribe@mailman.montana.com
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Have a safe and happy Holiday.
Enjoy Winter,
Justin Easter

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