Easing Into It

Athlete Jason Kask
This week is the first week in a long time that I have constantly worked out. These were not big workouts by any measure but they were workouts where I was there to train myself. No athletes to worry about, it was all about me (well one was about me and Tyr). This started on Sunday, a friend told me that she would and some mutual friends would be skiing at Korkki Nordic Center. This is a trail that I try to ski at least once a year. So why not on the coldest day so far this winter. When I was there it was not bad (-4 degrees F). I had overdressed but all in all it was a great ski. Just moving outside by myself. My friends got me out the door but I was pretty excited to ski by myself, something I rarely do. The woods were silent when I stopped moving. It was great. My second ski of the week was at another great trail, Chester Bowl. There I skied with Jennie Bender (amazing athlete and super cool lady), she was in town after Biathlon IBU Cup Trials at Mt Itasca. We had a great ski, three (Jenny Bender easy) laps of Chester is a solid workout when you are pretty out of shape. It is such a fun trail that any ski there is amazing. Jennie gave me some excellent technique tips. When you coach all the time you rarely take the time to really analyze your own technique so skiing with someone that is great at technique analysis was excellent. The third workout of the week was at Hartley Park. Jennie, Alena and I had a great classic ski. The tracks were amazing. Three days in a row was pretty sweet, up to this point it had been a bunch of coaching (that doesn't count) and walks with Tyr (which are great but at 8 months he is not supposed to run for extended periods of time). My fourth workout of the week was on Wednesday, Chris and I went for another great ski at Snowflake. With the little snow we have conditions are excellent there. We had a great ski, solved some world problems, solved more local problems and had a great time catching up. My fourth workout of the week (after taking a day off Thursday because I didn't prioritize working out) was on Friday. This one was short and sweet. Tyr went for his first ski! Pretty amazing day for me (they grow up so fast!) It took him a while to get the hang of it, we skied with Jennie as she warmed up for some intervals, and he would run in front of both of us, then jump out of the way as we almost mowed him down. After about a kilometer he figured out that behind is the best place for a dog. The next four kilometers went really well (astonishingly well) as he ran behind us. He would stop and smell (the snow...) then I'd call and he would be right behind us again. Everything went super smoothly and I was the greatest dog trainer ever until we got back to the chalet and there was another dog. Then all bets were off and I was thoroughly ignored. But, the first ski was an overwhelming success. That aside it was a pretty short workout for me, but I was OK with that because I had a lot of work to do. I got out skiing and had Tyr's first ski. Solid day. That makes us current. I don't know how much training the weekend will entail. There is a strong possibility of a run and maybe a ski on the lake but it's Christmas so I'm not going to worry about it.

I feel pretty good about this week. Four (legit, though easy) workouts in five days is good for me. I'm pretty proud of myself, to be honest. Hopefully next week the trend will continue and I will be in a good place to start working with a coach on the first of the year.


Coach Jason Kask

I know better than most one of the keys to success in sport is consistency. This was something that happened with this week's training. If any goals are to be met consistency is the key. The other thing that went well is scheduling and prioritization. Honestly this means I will have to work on Christmas Eve but all things considered it was worth it. Having a realistic approach to training is really important Athlete Jason did that well this week. He didn't try to go for workouts that he would have done in college, he did workouts that were what he needs now. This is hard to do as an athlete because we usually only think of ourselves at our peak fitness. It's also great to see Athlete Jason put his money where his mouth is and pay somebody to coach him. I shouldn't have to do that for free. 

The 2011/12 Ski Season: Short and ...

This winter has been an interesting one for me. I live in a place with no snow, and no easy access to snow. It requires a two and a half our drive to get to a ski trail. That is a lot of commitment to just go for a ski. I've done it before and never regret the drive because I love to ski. The problem is I also like to explore Colorado Springs and it gets expensive driving up to the mountains every weekend so I have not skied as much as I would like this winter. In general this is not a problem, there are lots of ways to stay active without snow, none quite as enjoyable as skiing but fun none the less. It quickly becomes a problem when I decide that it is a good idea to sign up for all the crazy races Colorado has to offer. In my current detrained state I can still ski race at a clip that would be a  solid performance in a local Wednesday night race and it would be a great training session. Again there is a problem, I can't drive 5 hours on a Wednesday evening, to be honest I probably could but the next day would be long and with my mountain bike sitting next to the door is never going to happen.

Everybody wanted front row seats!

Instead I show up at the Teva Mountain Games in Vail for a weekend of fun. There will be ski races, bike races, climbing competitions and outdoor concerts- a plethora of fun to be had!  It made for a great weekend. I saw they were hosting a 10k skate race and though it would be fun to give it a go.  And it really was fun.  The mass start (with $1000 on the line and a $100 prem for the first k) went out hard as could be expected.  It just so happens that the next day was a marathon in Aspen and everyone was eager to get their hands on an extra couple bucks for the weekend so it as the most stacked field I have raced in years.  I skied my race after going out way to fast and held on pretty well through the flats on the fist half. I had some good climbs on the second half and finished. Not much more to it than that. I went home took a nap and headed out to watch the climbing competition.

Mixed Climbing 

It was pretty amazing to see what those guys can do.  I then headed to La Cantina for some great food and went back out to the street concert- an 80's cover band that was putting on an excellent show. The next day I watched a friend ski the ski mountaineering race which looked very like an exciting challenge and spent the rest of the day skiing Vail. That evening I went to watch the bike slalom, and on snow criterium as well as the boot race, all were quite fun to spectate!

On Snow Criterium

When I picked up my packet for the two races I was entered in, the 10k and the Vail Uphill, I was surprised to learn that I the only person entered in the 'track ski' category. Then after skiing a day on the mountain I began to feel the dread seeping in that I had made a terrible mistake.  This mistake was confirmed the next morning when I show up with my skate skis (the only ones I brought) and the first thing said to me is "those aren't the skis your racing on are they?" I proceed to explain that I am and not only that I don't have any other skis with me. All that I have in my car is a pair of worn out running shoes with no tread left. After having this conversation a couple more times I put my toes on the line for the two mile endeavor from Lionshead Village to the top of the gondola, two miles of the steepest climbing I have ever done. Here is the course map. It took 45 minutes of herring boning to get to the top. At this time I think it was the hardest event I had ever done. That would change later in the season...

Boot Run

A few weeks after the Teva Games a friend called and asked if I wanted to do a race in Steamboat Springs.  The North Routt Coureur des Bois (Glide the Divide) is an ultra-marathon that covers 90 hilly kilometers north of Steamboat across the Wyoming border and back.

I had heard about it before and thought it would be the year to do it because I am living in Colorado. That is a terrible reason to do a race of this nature. Again it wasn't a nice little Wednesday night race. It was 90 kilometers of the most grueling terrain I have ever seen. At the start I saw a volunteer with a sweatshirt on that said 'America's Toughest Ski Race' and I thought that was pretty bold. The first 14k were pretty flat, we raced around a lake. I ended up at the end of this section with a group of five, including a coach from JO's that I hadn't seen in years. We didn't get a chance to chat much but it was nice to know one person in the group.

Then we got to the first road crossing (we had to take our skis off and run across the street). A few more k's passed and we started to climb...it lasted a long time but I still felt good at the top and then we had some flats followed by the bumpiest, iciest descent I have ever experienced!  It was the first of many sections that felt like I was water skiing on a day meant for sailing! Then we climbed a little more and came to an aid station at about 30k. At a third of the way through the race it was still fast and I was feeling good- my former coach and I were cruising along at a good clip.

It started to warm up in the next few kilometers but I felt good through the 40k mark. After that it got a little rough. I made it to the aid station at 45k in Wyoming. Here I sat down and had a bite to eat. I had a few Fig Newtons, a slice of bacon and some Snickers. I decided to pass on the shot of whiskey that was offered, I am quite sure that would have made my situation worse!  The friendly volunteers kept telling me I was quite relaxed, this was true but only because I knew I needed to eat and gather my resolve for what was to come. I saw a fellow skier from northern Minnesota leave the aid station so I decided I would follow and we could ski together.  This was wishful thinking on my part. He had a 100m lead and I could not catch up. In about five k he was out of sight. I went through the 50k mark and then began to climb. It was a long section to the aid station at 60k. The whole time I thought of how jealous I was of my friend doing the 45k race. In the beginning I was excited to have this race under my belt for what ever bragging rights would come with it, at this point I only wanted to finish because I did not know how else I would get out of the middle of nowhere other than  skiing out and I did not want to feel like I had to come back and prove I could do it. When I made it to the next aid station I sat down and had some more to eat. Here I exchanged glances with a friend that classiced past (miraculously with excellent kick!). There was nothing for him to say, we both knew that I was in a bad place with a long ways to go.  After he left I remembered what I should have said a simple 'good job'. It would have been fitting but I couldn't think of those words at the time, I was pretty out of it.

I left the aid station and proceeded down a huge hill that was snow plowed out, I was amazed that I didn't fall during the entire event. I descended for a while which was nice except that I could not tuck for digestive reasons so I just stood there going fast in the shade and very slow in the sun trying to stay on my feet.  At this point I though I would finish, I wasn't feeling good but now I was more upset about starting than I was worried about finishing. There was a large valley where I saw a building and seriously though about skiing over to it for a nap but decided against it. I made it to the woods again and started to climb. Here a woman caught me that asked if I knew where the next station was. We had just passed the 75k mark and the previous aid station said that was where we would have the next one. I told here my friends that had skied it in the past told me it was at 80k after a huge uphill, they were right.  She said she was a little worried because she was coughing up blood. I though that was a legitimate thing to worry about but had no way to help her. We were still a long way from nowhere (aka the finish). We proceeded to the base of the large hill my friends described and took off our skis and started hiking. Once at the top we were at the aid station. This was the last one, 12k to go. there was a race official here taking someone back to the finish that had dropped and the woman coughing blood told him of here situation. He was very concerned (as any race official should be) but she refused to drop. He asked me how I was doing and I said I would finish, I had come this far and didn't want to have to do that again to remove this from my bucket list.

After leaving the aid station we descended and I started to feel a little better (though I still could not tuck). Again it was super bumpy and with my legs on the verge of cramping made for a few sketchy pitches. Once it flattened out I skied my way uneventfully to the finish. Here my friends were waiting with a warm coat even though it must have been over 50 degrees it felt nice to put it on. We sat at the resort that comprised the finish and had some food and something to drink. We shared the stories of our ordeal and how it compared to other races and previous years. As always the great company after any race makes it easy to forget the immediate pain. It was concluded that it was deserved to describe it as "America's Toughest Ski Race".

This will conclude my race season of 11/12.  Next year I can only promise one thing, if I remember how I felt during this race I will not sign up again. It was concluded at the finish that if you had a bad experience it takes about 4-5 years to forget it and sign up again, hopefully my memory lasts much longer than that! While it is always a bummer to see the snow melt, I am happy that it has led to longer days and great riding in the Springs. 

Winter Travels

Over the last few months I have spent a lot of time traveling. In the middle of December I went to Boston for a meeting. After that I headed home for Christmas and was hoping to spend as much time as possible skiing. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans- I only was able to ski four times!  Other than the lack of snow it was great to be back in Minnesota for a few days. I was able to see  my family and spend some time with my friends. My family spend Christmas at the cabin which is always a blast. There was just enough snow on the lake for perfect lake skiing! For New Years I headed back to Colorado to spend some time in Vail with friends. We spend a few days dodging rocks on the mountain. There was enough snow to ski but it was pretty thing in places.  On New Years Eve we decided to hike into the mountains. We cooked dinner over the fire, and looked down at the fireworks. It was an amazing vantage point to see the fireworks from, being able to look down on them from the top was awesome!  Once it was too cold to stay out any longer we began our hike home.  It was a great way to spend the New Year!

I left Vail and dropped some friends off at the Denver Airport, from there I headed back the the Springs where I repacked and headed to the airport myself. My flight headed to Orlando, from there I drove to Clermont. USA Triathlon sent me to help with the Elite Triathlon Academy's winter training camp. It was a great opportunity to work with some of the best up and coming triathletes in the country. They had a great week of training in Clermont, a hot bed for triathletes in the winter months.

After a little time in the Springs I went to Denver to help coach a camp there. It was a great group of athletes to work with. They were from all across the country and most of them had not met before. I have never been to a camp with such excellent group dynamics.  Everyone trained hard and looked like they got a lot out of the time they spent in Denver. Each night after dinner one person in the group gave a presentation on a topic that was important to them. These led to excellent discussion from topics ranging from psychology, altitude, nutrition and lessons learned from years of racing. All in all it was a great time all around.

The travels continue next weekend. I am headed to Houston to watch my grandpa play his alumni baseball game in Houston, Texas.  It will be great to see the family and the game!

Thanksgiving: Great Snow, Great Skiing, Great Friends

Thanksgiving was a great time this year. It always is but this year is especially awesome. It began with a drive to Vail for opening day.  I arrived the Thursday before Thanksgiving to surprisingly little snow. On Friday the mountain looked a little bear and it would be a madhouse with everyone there for the first day of the season Kristen and I decided to head to the Nordic center. It was the first time I had gone cross country skiing in Vail. There were some bare spots but it was all in all a great ski! Getting on snow the first time of the is always a little shaky but it was fun to get out. We spent the rest of the day walking around Vail Village. That evening we headed over to Minturn for some live music.

On Saturday I continued my journey north. As I left Vail it began to snow. This seemed to be a trend for most of the drive. About an hour north of Vail I encountered a semi that had rolled over and was across the entire road!  At this point in the road The cab was hanging over the guardrail and we had to drive on the shoulder to get around the accident. The drive remained snowy until I reached the interstate. On I80 the road cleared up a bit until I was 3 miles from my exit where the road was closed! After I left the freeway I headed north again up to Jackson, WY, from this point until the far side of Teton Pass the drive was beautiful!  At the the top of Teton Pass there were lots of cars parked and people skinning up the mountain. The snow looked amazing! The drive continued uneventfully until I was 60 miles outside of West Yellowstone when it started snowing hard. The last few miles took about two hours to drive but I made it. The best pert is that there was some warm Wild West pizza waiting!

The week of Thanksgiving was filled with skiing, coaching and catching up with friends and family. It is always great to spend that week in West because EVERYONE is there. I am especially lucky because I get to spend the holiday with my family. The week turned out to be one of the most beautiful weeks I have ever spent in West Yellowstone, warm and sunny with plenty of snow, it doesn't get any better than that. We had some great coaching sessions. All the athletes were excellent, they made great progress technically while getting in some great volume over the week. It is amazing for them to be able to have the opportunity to spend an entire week focusing on training. I remember how great that opportunity was when I was in high school. The amount of work that goes into the trip behind the scenes is astounding. The trip leaders and parents that accompany these athletes do a great job making sure the kids are able to not only have a trip but an affordable trip which is equally as challenging.

After a great Thanksgiving dinner I headed back to Colorado Friday morning. Instead of heading straight back to the Springs I went to Steamboat Springs to spend some time with my cousin Fred and his wife Penny. It was great to see both of them and see the sights of Steamboat. Fred and I went backcountry skiing on Rabbit Ears Pass on Saturday and Sunday with Buster. Both skis were great. I also got to see Howelson Hill, the home of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. It looks like a great facility. Alpine, jumping, cross country all housed in the same location. They even have a weight room  on site. Not only does it look like a sweet facility it works.  This club has produced 79 Olympians! The number only becomes more impressive when Steamboat Springs' population is 12088. Saturday evening Fred, Penny and I went to the hot springs just outside of town. It was awesome!  Looking up through the steam and seeing the stars was sweet. Luckily we were able to stay on our feet because the areas around the spring were treacherous with all the ice on the ground.

After a great trip I headed back to the Springs. It was tough to come back to the lack of snow, but it was good to be home. 

2011 USOC International Altitude Training Symposium

This past week I was lucky enough to attend the USOC’s International Altitude Training Symposium. The opportunity to listen to some of the most renowned researchers in the field was pretty awesome! The presentations were a mix of hard science and practical experience from coaches, researchers and other practitioners. Speakers included Dr. Levine and Dr. Stray-Gunderson, researchers that first experimented and found the efficacy of living high and training low. Some of these presentations were quite technical but they have led to improved performance because of their practical significance.

When I arrived at the symposium on Wednesday afternoon I ran into one of the U.S. Ski Team coaches who I have known from racing in the Midwest. Not only was it nice to see a familiar face, it was great to catch up with him and talk about how coaching at the international level compared to his past experiences at the club level. I also ended up sitting by one of the coaches that I met in Buffalo at the USAT Coaching Summit. The three of us spent most of the three day symposium together. It was really neat to be able to compare the different models used by triathlon and skiing to produce great Olympians. I kind of felt like a mediator because I had the most insight into each but the people I was with were definitely more versed in the intricacies of their respective sport that I so it was great to be be able to learn from each of them.

At this point in the game I am a fan of the skiing model. There was a great presentation by the Nordic combined coach and a few of the members of the combined team. They not only discussed how they use altitude but the structure of their team. The residence program they have in Park City creates a team environment that fosters competition and camaraderie that creates champions, as was exemplified in Vancouver. The success of the Nordic combined team at these Olympics was previously unimaginable. They are also using a different periodization model than I have seen in other ski programs; while this is an important part of their success I believe that the team atmosphere created by the residence program allows this model to be successful.

I have heard that more business takes place on the golf course that in the office. This after hour’s business was demonstrated at the symposium. Each day at least one of the presentations contained the phrase “last night we were discussing this during dinner and…” While the only golf course I saw during the symposium was abandoned, which is a good thing because golf is not my strong suit! Each day after the symposium everyone went out for dinner. The first night the group I was with ran into a contingent from USA Speed Skating. It was interesting talking to them about the differences and similarities of speed skating and skiing. I also met people from swimming as well as a couple of coaches from Spain and Brazil.

After the symposium concluded on Friday a few of us went to the incline. The incline is a one mile hike that gains 2000 feet over that distance! It was a pretty sweet experience made better by great company. The hike up was quite challenging to say the least but once at the top there was a great view of Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs. Instead of hiking down, which I have been told is quite taxing, we took the Bart Trail down which is a four mile trip. It was a great conclusion to an awesome few days!

Colorado Springs and USA Triathlon

A few weeks ago I moved to Colorado Springs to work for USA Triathlon at the Olympic Training Center. I’m sure it will take a while to get used to working for eight hours in my cubicle but there are millions of other people doing it in the United States so I should be able to survive. So far living in the ‘Springs’ has been uneventful. I have begun to explore some of the parks and trail systems which seem pretty nice. There is a definite southwestern feel here that is obviously absent in Minnesota. Colorado Springs is said to be the most dog friendly city in the country which is quite apparent. There are dogs everywhere! It is pretty crazy.

Today I went for a ride and was passed by a group of riders from the Garmin Cervelo Team. It is pretty amazing how many elite athletes reside here (though it is not surprising as it seems to be a great place to train). Working with the elite triathletes has been interesting. I don’t get much interaction with them outside of swim practice but that time has been fun. Watching them train is the same as watching any other group swim, be it the U of M, or a high school practice, these guys just go faster and farther. This brings up the statement that there are no secrets to training. People claim to have them but they are not out there. Great coaches are able to identify what workouts and periodization will allow each athlete to reach their potential. They are good at using the information at hand, no secrets. Central Cross Country Skiing has the motto of ‘Dream. Plan. Execute’. This motto is applicable at every level. The difference with the athletes at the OTC is that they dream a little bigger, make their plan harder, and execute it with more precision that most other athletes. These factors coupled with the drive and ability to handle this amount of stress allows them to be the best in the world.

Last weekend I went to the Elite National championships in Buffalo, New York. It was fun to travel with my co-workers and get to see an ITU draft legal race. It definitely plays out different than your typical non-drafting tri. After the race three of us ran back to the hotel to grab our swim suits and headed back to the course for a swim. This made Lake Erie the third of the great lakes I have swum in. After a quick lap around the course we headed to the Anchor Bar to experience the original buffalo wings. We got there and there was an hour and a half wait! We decided to skip it so we would have time to visit Niagara Falls. The falls were less impressive than they are from the Canadian side but still fun to see, especially at night. The next day we scheduled plenty of time for the Anchor Bar!

After the triathlon Sunday and Monday were filled with a coach’s summit. It was very interesting to sit and listen to the coaches of national team athletes and how they all interact with each other and their athletes. After a day and a half of meetings we tried to head home but were delayed an hour on the plane in Buffalo. We made it to Chicago just in time to miss our connection but finally made it back to Colorado Springs. We were the lucky ones; one of the people in our group was delayed overnight and did not get home till Tuesday!

Shootin' the Breeze

This weekend got off to a great start. After driving up to Duluth Wednesday night I headed to the Ridge Thursday morning to help wax for Duluth East Nordic. Luckily the temperatures did not change much because it was already tricky enough without having to guess what the temp would be at race time. The even better part was we nailed it! On a tough day we had great skis, fast and sticky all at the same time. At one point on the course while I was testing it was easy to look around and see that I was the happiest coach on the trail! The great wax helped but the both the boys and girls skied great races. Both teams were just ahead after the skate race and solidified their victories with a solid performance in the classic. While the girls were expected to be in the mix the boys came into State ranked 5th so they pulled off an 'upset' to those who underestimated them. It's funny because after being in the cities every coach I talk can't impress upon me enough how difficult their section is but when it comes down to it Section 7 has been a dominant force almost every year. It was great to see Duluth East win the boys and girls titles for the third time (of the six times it has happened).

After the excitement at the State meet I stayed up north and coached with the Duluth/Cloquet CXC Master's Chapter. We had an excellent ski Saturday at Snowflake Nordic Center. The course was quite fast but much more skiable than I had anticipated. As always the volunteers did and excellent job grooming. After the ski I headed to Carlton for the Trampled by Turtles Concert. Having never been inside Black Bear Casino I was surprised to be engulfed by a cloud of smoke when I stepped inside. Luckily the conference room did not allow smoking. The concert was awesome! Trampled has put on a great show every time I have seen them. Their skill on their instruments is hard to beat. They play at tempos that are extremely fast but never miss a note!

During the session with CXC on Saturday I heard there was going to be a biathlon race at Snowflake Sunday. I decided to dust off my rifle and give it a whirl! Luckily for me it was quite windy on Sunday. This is a huge advantage if you haven't shot your rifle in three years. After the first shooting Phil Rodgers and I were in the lead. During the second shooting Phil left the range quicker than I did and was about a penalty lap ahead. On the third shooting we came into the range for our first standing shooting. It was next to impossible for me to keep my sights trained on the target. The gusts were blowing my whole body around! Phil kept his lead and I knew I would have to hit at least one to catch him in the next shooting. During the next lap we both came to the conclusion that it was better to just shoot fast and get on with things instead of waiting for a good shot. I cam into the range just as Phil took his first shot. During the quick succession of shots that followed he managed to hit one. I fired quickly and missed all five as Phil clinched the win.

After the race I headed to Cloquet for another session with the CXC Master's. There was an excellent turnout! We had a great ski in the wind and twigs that had blown onto the trail. After skiing and talking about the Birkie for a few hours we parted ways and I headed into the blizzard that was engulfing the Twin Cities. Luckily I made it to Forest Lake before it got really bad. All in all it was a great weekend of waxing, coaching, racing and hanging out with friends and family!