| December 27 ,
2007 Vol. 8/ No. 13 |
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Dear SkiPost;
I appreciate your newsletter. Keep up the good work.
I have a question. I am a 60-year old skate skier who skis 2-4 miles everyday. I get leg cramps often at night. Any thoughts? More stretching? More fluids?
Best regards.
Hello,
Cramping can be a big problem in cross country skiing. The time when many athletes will experience cramping is when they are first starting out on snow. This is largely due to the different movement than they might have become use to in their off-season training.
You hit the nail on the head with the hydration piece though. Muscle cramps can often be avoided with some good hydration. It is all too comon to hear about skiers who don't hydrate as much when they are on snow, because it is cold outside. You need to keep in mind that you are wearing layers of clothes to keep you warm, and working hard - in the end you are loosing plenty of fluids even in the cold.
Stretching is also very important. If you have access to a Physical Therapist it would be good to have a chat about what exercises you can do to combat the problems you have. Since we don't know the exact location of your pain it is tough to give you specifics, but a Physical Therapist will certainly have a few good stretches that will help you along.
Enjoy the winter, and thank you for your question.
Dear SkiPost;
I live in Black Forest, just north of Colorado Springs, and love to Cross
Country ski. Whereas I have been doing it for many years now, I have never been
formally introduced to the sport - no formal training, no good equipment,
etc. I have just picked up used equipment from discard places such as Good
Will. My skiing is never on prepared trails, but, rather just from home as
nature provides, going mainly cross country, through trees, up and down fairly
steep slopes. So, while I am no novice, I have never had the luxury of choosing
the best equipment for what I do.
I am looking for suggestions for suitable boots and skis that match what I do
and my terrain. I should add that I am an avid runner and compete in many
local races, and would kind of like to do that on skis! As a retired teacher,
I probably can't afford new equipment....
Help, anyone?
Thanks
Thanks for your note. This is a nice question, but to be honest a difficult one to answer. If we were to take the racing part of your question, the answer would be fairly simple. If we take the touring part of the question it would also be fairly easy to address. But, taken as a whole it is slightly more complicated.
In the end we want to answer both, and for that the easiest way to go is to say that you need to try equipment at an equipment demo or a Nordic Center. What you are looking for if you are going to get better at skiing while venturing to groomed trails is a light touring ski. This will allow you some flexibility to go off trail, and will give you a good taste of what kicking and gliding has to offer.
As you identify which element of the sport is most appropriate for you, the next step is to try different skis within that class of ski (i.e. race ski, touring ski, or backcountry ski). Each type is different and each type has something special to offer.
Honestly, there is no substitution for just getting out on skis and trying them, and there are plenty of options out there from buying demo or rental equipment, or going to ski swaps to save some money. However, we would have to guess that when you let your compeititve side sneek into your passion for skiing you will certainly want the fastest skis around! Hope this helps you, and thank you again for your question.
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By Abby Larson, MS
Many people ask about the health benefits of specific foods, supplements, herbs, vitamins, minerals, or phytochemicals. They want to know if this product or that product will have this effect or that health benefit. Research studies regarding different nutrition supplements, foods, and things found in foods come out everyday. It’s confusing and overwhelming, even for people in the field of nutrition. Some of the new research agrees with previous research and some of it finds the exact opposite effect as other studies. High carbohydrate diets, low carbohydrate diets, low GI diets, soy protein, vitamin E, antioxidants, omega-6 fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids, glutamine, red wine, phenols, lecithin, and arginine are just a few examples of some of the foods and compounds found in food that are of hot debate in nutrition research. Unfortunately many of these published studies are taken out of context, abbreviated and republished in magazines for the consumption of the masses, thereby adding to the confusion.
One of the reasons why there are so much conflicting data is due to the design of studies. Epidemiological studies (the study of trends and their controling factors), although useful in following trends of populations, are inherently flawed for determining cause and effect relationships since so many working factors can not be controlled. There are many extraneous variables such as genetics, unreported variations in diet and exercise, and exposure harmful environmental toxins can not be controlled completely in these studies. Nor can a subject’s level of honesty when reporting information. Using information from epidemiological studies to define the efficacy of single foods or nutrients ignores the synergistic effects of many different factors. Compounding this is the comparison of results from these studies to more rigorously controlled research studies. These studies may or may not use human subjects, most have far fewer subjects than epidemiological studies and tightly control extrinsic factors. This makes it impractical to extrapolate results to humans living outside of “the research bubble”. Real humans don’t consume exactly 25 g of soy protein daily, or 10 grams of plant sterols in conjunction with a reduction in saturated fat to less than 10% of daily calories.
Good health can not be defined by a single factor such as waist circumference, body fat, VO2 max, or cholesterol level. Along the same vein, good health can also not be attained through one specific food, nutrient, or supplement. Good health is composed of a myriad of factors and can be enhanced though a conglomeration of positive lifestyle factors. We all have “bad” habits but hopefully we have more “good” habits that will help to tip the scales in favor of health, fitness, and longevity. Foods are just foods; no one food can improve your health just as no one food can make you unhealthy (unless it’s contaminated of course!). There are many factors that work together to compose your health profile. Activity level, diet, environment, spirituality, genetics, stress level, sleep pattern, and even your outlook on life can all influence your health, wellness, and performance. The bottom line is: There is no magic bullet. The advice I give to most people is to be a prudent reviewer of new products, fads, and diets and be especially wary if the “researcher” is trying to sell something or has been funded by a specific corporation trying to sell something. And above all moderation in everything!
Another Food Suggestion From Abby:
Grilled Salmon with Spinach Salad
Salmon, fresh wild caught (if available)
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh dill
Drizzle oil and lemon juice over salmon (both sides) and grill. Do not over cook! Salt and pepper to taste top with a lemon wedge and fresh dill. If ambitious, try buying a cedar board (can be found at many grocery stores now) and grilling the salmon on it. It adds a very pleasant flavor to the fish.
Spinach Salad
1 bag of spinach
Strawberries, sliced
Almonds, sliced or slivers
Orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced
Mushrooms, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil and White balsamic vinegar for dressing
Serve this meal with leftover rice or pasta (from meal made previously), or with a crusty French or ciabatta bread, or tortillas (they can be grilled with the salmon) |
CrossCountrySkier.com
Your home for all things Nordic skiing. Here you will find features from the most recent issue of Cross Country Skier magazine, CCS Nordic News, the latest happenings in the cross country ski world and special web-only features. CrossCountrySkier.com not only has a new look, its content has been expanded exponentially — read more about our new features.
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| Events/Clinics/Announcements |
Cross-Country Technique Fundamentals - CDROM
This CD lays the foundation for both Classic and Freestyle techniques on
which we can build a consistent technique program that will continue to
develop great cross-country skiers for years to come.
WAKE UP! IT'S TIME TO TRAIN - DVD
70 minutes of exclusive interviews with US National Team coaches, drills and
technique, fitness testing, sports physiology, core strength, training
volume, intensity levels, race footage, and much more.
X-COUNTRY - DVD
The inside story on one of the toughest sports around by top World Cup
racers.
Visit the CXC Store
http://cxcskiing.org/CXC%20Store/education.htm
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Cayuga Nordic ESG - Classic
Saturday Jan 5, 2008
Sponsored by Salmon Hills Outdoor Adventure Center, Redfield, NY
ESGQ/NYSSRA Series Qualifier. Classic, Wave Start, 10:30 am.
5 km Scholastic, 10 km all others, BKYSL to follow.
Registration closes 10 am, $20 by 1/2 - $25 after,
Payable to Cayuga Nordic Ski Club, Race Entry Form
http://www.nyssranordic.com/raceorg/entryfor.pdf with NYSSRA Nordic
Contact: Dan Karig, 71 German Cross Rd., Ithca, NY 14850
607-277-3380 or dek9@cornell.edu
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Salmon Hills ESG - Freestyle
Sunday Jan 6, 2008
Sponsored by Salmon Hills Outdoor Adventure Center, Redfield, NY
ESGQ/NYSSRA Series Qualifier/NYSSRA Club Series. Freestyle, Start 10:30
am.
5 km Scholastic, 10 km all others, BKYSL to follow.
Registration closes 10 am, $20 by 1/2 - $25 after,
Payable to Salmon Hills, Race Entry Form
http://www.nyssranordic.com/raceorg/entryfor.pdf with NYSSRA Nordic
Contact: Thomas Griffith, 100 Noble Shores Dr., Redfield, NY 13437
315-599-7008 or info@salmonhills.com or dek9@cornell.edu
www.salmonhills.com
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Boulder Lake Ski Race
Sunday January 13, 2008
Duluth, MN
Renowned for it fast and fun rolling course through the north woods, this 5th annual celebration is also known for having snow and being the premier early season race. 2008 will mark the first year this race is part of the Minnesota Skinny Ski Series, and is excited to be kicking it off for this winter!
Register at www.active.com
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38th Annual Salomon “Frisco Gold Rush”
Featuring the SALOMON Nordic races and TUBBS Snowshoe 7K
February 3, 2008
Click Here For More Details
Join us at Colorado's oldest XC Ski & Snowshoe event - the Frisco Gold Rush hosted by the Town of Frisco and the Frisco Nordic Center.
To Benefit the Summit Nordic Ski Club
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NOTE: If you have an event you would like to have in SkiPost please send emails to weanswer@skipost.com
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