And it did.  Tuesday morning we found firm and fast skiing at Sovereign Lakes in the morning and decent skating on the upper Silver Star trails.  I didn’t quite mean to put in 4 hours of skiing on my first day of groomed skiing but time flies when you’re having fun…

Yesterday was a bit warmer but the high clouds prevented much snow loss.  Feeling a little tired from the day before, we shortened the day’s skiing to only 3:45… The highlight of the days was finding the lower Silver Star trails freshly groomed, opening up another 15km or so of good tracked skiing.

We’ll keep you posted on the rest of the week and try to get a few pictures updated later in the week.  But, rest assured, the ski season has started.

I have just finished my first season as the soigneur with the Giant mountain bike team…it has been awesome!  Being my first year on the job, and my first summer for a really long time, I wasn’t really sure what to expect – but tackled the new challenge with enthusiasm!  My job involves assisting the mountain bike racers with massages, recovery and nutrition, drinks in the feedzone, and anything else I can do to help them go fast and keep happy and healthy!  It’s fantastic!

Felice in Vail

I love Bend, and I think it is one of the best places in the world. But this year I found myself at home in many other locations for mountain bike races, including US Series and World Cup events. Each new place presented me with new challenges, beautiful views, languages to learn, courses to inspect, roads to navigate and places to train! The destinations included:
- Fontana, California
- Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
- Offenburg, Germany
- Houffalize, Belgium
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Vail, Colorado Springs and Sol Vista, Colorado
- Mt St Anne and Bromont, Canada
- Mt Snow, Vermont
- Windham, New York
- Canberra, Australia
- Champery, Switzerland
- Schladming, Austria

I can’t choose a favorite, but think the Swiss mountain town, Champery, was the most picturesque; Pietermaritzburg had the most delicious food (particularly the steak restaurant we attended 3 times!), Houffalize had the craziest fans and, of course, Canberra gets a vote just for being my home!

One of the biggest challenges of summer was figuring out when and where I was going to do my own training in each location, since I often didn’t have much time to spare and I always wanted to make the most of the time I had to train.  Sometimes, if the race was somewhere that the boys had been previously, they could give me a hot tip on trails or paths for running or rollerskiing.  Other times I would stick to the mountain bike race course or I would have to take a guess and go on an adventure!

A few notable on-the-road workout locations:

1. Schladming – Riesach Waterfall, Austria. I undertook an epic marathon length run to reach the top of one of the most spectacular waterfalls in a beautiful vally.  Unfortunately the workout was unplanned – I had initially intended to go for a short jog to freshen up my legs, but I just I realized my legs felt great so I just kept running… so I had no camera and needless to say, 3:45 hours later, foolish Felice was pretty hungry and thirsty – but happy!

2. Vail Mountain, CO. After realizing my enthusiasm for exercising, when we arrived in Vail, Adam bet me a burrito that I would have sore legs by the end of the weekend.  There were plenty of great trails on the ski hill for some altitude training.  Running/skiwalking with poles to the 10,981ft summit of Vail mountain was spectacular and the view was well worth the effort.  Then running back down did the trick… I owed Adam a burrito.

3. Pikes Peak Hill Climb, CO. Following a hot tip for a wicked session from Carl, I set off up the STEEP staircase to gain almost 8000ft with an 11% grade.  Unfortunately, any attempts to break the course record were thwarted due to a medical emergency involving a heart attack of a fellow stair climber. However, that gave me the opportunity to meet a fellow climber and keen XC Oregon enthusiast… hopefully he will make it to a camp this year! And of course, the view from 14,000ft was amazing!

4. Queen Elizabeth Park, South Africa. It actually wasn’t the greatest running location because it was so incredibly hot and humid… not really what I was used to after 12 consecutive winters… but how often do you see zebra, antelope, or monkeys on your morning jog? Definitely amusing!

5. MTB Race Course in Windham, NY.  With my limited bike skills I usually choose to inspect the race courses with a morning run.  But I was stoked to survive the Windham course – it is awesome and I am looking forward to seeing the Giant riders racing fast there at the World Cup next year!

It wasn’t difficult to find motivation to get out and exercise in so many great summer training locations.  I soon found that traveling on the mountain bike world cup circuit was nothing short of inspirational.  Especially working with the Giant team of dedicated and talented athletes, who over the season they had many great races.   Just to highlight a few in particular, Adam Craig placed an impressive 6th place at the World Cup in Champery, and 10th at the World Cup in Bromont.  At the USA National Champs in Colorado he was victorious in the short track race following a mistimed attack which actually payed off, and 2nd in the XC event.  Aussie downhiller, Jared Rando, placed 16th at the world championships in his hometown, Canberra, in front of an ecstatic crowd.  And Carl Decker was unbeaten in the Super D national series.

As usual, I am thankful for JDs guidance – he has been very helpful with adapting my training plans around the unusual travel schedule and making sure that everything was on track throughout my summer adventures. Now it is fall and time to prepare for the ski season – I loved my first summer in years but I can’t wait for winter!

Training is going really well. So far we’ve done a lot of distance, a few interval sessions and one TT. For weights we drive down to a really nice gym in Wanaka, a little town about half an hour downhill from the Snowfarm. After many trips down the road I’m still far from comfortable with driving on the left side (Left to Live!). Right hand turns and roundabouts really freak me out. Shifting with the left hand seems very hard. Needless to say, I’m not driving a car until I’m back in Bend.

A picture from the far end of one of the longest trails. "The Farm" off in the distance.

Morgan Arritola in perfect classic tracks.

Andi (NZ) and me on our classic ski this morning.

Our apartment is on the outskirts of town with views of rolling hills covered with vineyards and orchards.  Spring is in the air, with colorful blossoms, warm sunshine and green forests – it is really beautiful and refreshing.  The nature of the rolling hills means that there is some fun and challenging running terrain – great for natural intervals!  

As an environmentally friendly act (the real reason being my own selfish desire to train), I have been commuting home from the world cup race venue by foot. The venue is not far away – about a 30 minute jog on the most direct flat route. However, running the same route everyday in such a beautiful place would be a crime, so I have taken it upon myself to explore the network of mountain bike and deer hunting trails which weave through the forest, up and down hills and across ridges.  It isn’t hard to stretch the journey home to well over an hour – as long as I am home in time to massage the athletes of course!  On Friday I followed a dirt road up a long gradual climb right out of the valley – the last section of the climb was a perfect 20 minute effort to the top of the ridge, where I found myself experiencing a spectacular view over the German countryside which was well worth the effort!  Today is the day after the MTB race, and also a rest day for me… we all know that coach JD doesn’t want anyone launching into to much running too soon… no one wants an overuse injury before the next training year has even started!

One of the simple pleasures of life in Europe is going grocery shopping!  Part of my job involves making sure the cupboards are stocked to feed the hungry racers.  There is a fine selection of fresh and local produce, and even if I have a little difficulty with the label, chances are pretty good that it is going to taste great! So the favorites list this week consists of my top 5 foods from the store:

1. Cheese – With my limited German language skills I can manage to ask for any Käse recommendations… a quick taste test just in case, and then you can request as much of the huge block as you want!

2. Muesli – America really needs to do something about the quality muesli situation.  Best when combined with himberre joghurt (which is worthy of its own mention), and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, post-training snack, or sometimes dessert in this household!

3. Pizza – I know it isn’t from the store, but I have a theory that the closer you get to Italy the better it gets.  Remember that I started in Australia, which is a long way away – and I thought pizza was pretty great there! Bellisimo!

4. Bread – European fresh baked brot everyday for these racers!

5. Chocolate – No explanation required!  Actually, this should definitely be number 1.

I guess I should mention that the world cup was yesterday which is, after all, the reason why I am here!  The boys put in inspirational efforts, particularly Adam, who finished 14th after riding an aggressive first lap from starting in 49th position and continued to ride within the top 15.  There was pumping music at the feed zone and some technical terrain for viewing the action… it was great fun!  Next stop will be in the hills and mud of Belgium. Tchüss!  

Felice

As you may or may not be aware, I have a new, fun and exciting summer gig with the Giant mountain bike team.  This involves accompanying the athletes around USA and the world for lots of mountain bike races!  I massage and provide general support for a great group of people, and I am trying my hardest to help them race their best.  Currently, I am supporting Giant XC mountain bike athlete Adam Craig as he commences his assault on the 2009 World Cup.  Stop number one for the World Cup was last weekend in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa – about an hour inland from the city of Durban, in the luscious, beautiful and sunny KwaZulu Natal region.

Having never traveled to the African continent, I didn’t really know what to expect, other than the advice and safety warnings from my concerned Aunt who has traveled to various African countries on numerous occasions – which consisted of a general warning that my regular training choice while on the road, running alone first thing in the morning, was not an option!  But it didn’t take me long to realize that South Africa is an amazing place, so I thought I would share a list of some of my favourite and amusing things that I have found. 

1. Zebras – What isn’t cool about zebras?  You would be cool too if you could get around town with a black and white striped coat while sporting a Mohawk!  I saw them in the park while running in the nature park this morning and they calmly strutted off the path out of my way. Yeah Zebras!

2. Geckos – There is a little Gecko that must live in the banana tree outside my window.  He crawls in the open window and scurries across my wall – turning himself the colour of the wall if he hangs out there for a while, so all you can really see are his eyeballs.  I wish I had Gecko feet and could climb walls and tress like my little gecko friend.

3. Sunshine – My pursuit of endless winter around the globe from Australia to the northern hemisphere has resulted in many consecutive winters and some seriously pasty white skin.  I have endured one summer since 2001, and the count is 12 winters in a row now!  So I must admit that I was concerned about my ability to tolerate temperatures above freezing.  But the sunshine here in Pietermaritzburg is reminding me of how nice hot weather can be, and I have now embraced the chance to enjoy the heat while following an awesome summer sport.  

4. Bike race atmosphere – The people of South Africa came out in force to witness the first mountain bike world cup on their continent.  All of the athletes put in great efforts in hot and humid conditions on a hard packed dirt course, and it was great to see the support from the crowd.  Hometown athlete Greg Minaar was the star of the downhill event, and Burry Stander was the crowd favorite in the cross-country race.  Placing 1st and 3rd in their respective events, the South African spectators certainly had a lot to cheer about, and good reason to party into the night! 

5.  Meat – For those that know that I am a reformed vegetarian, you may never have thought I would be saying this – but I had the best steak I have ever eaten last week.  What else would you expect from a restaurant called “The Butchery”.  Luckily I gave up my vegetarian ways a year or so ago, otherwise I would have missed out on the amazing steak – which cost only $10!!  I was not the only person at the table who claimed that it was indeed the best steak ever.  The boys on the team loved it so much that we actually returned to the restaurant for the following 2 nights, and numerous other menu items where enjoyed including carpaccio, ribs (a large serving was actually ordered as a starter – much to the surprise of the waitress!) delicious black field mushrooms, seafood, chicken and escargot (I skipped the snails, but apparently they were great).  However, I recommend not being in a hurry, as efficient service unfortunately is not something that the staff were concerned about, but we are relaxing in South Africa – who cares?!?

6.  Avocado trees – In the backyard there is a huge tree, with thick branches and dark green leaves, which is fun to climb.  While eating dinner under the tree the first evening we arrived we noticed fruit hanging from it… having never seen an Avocado tree (I admit I never had really considered what sort of plant an Avocado comes from), we looked up wondering – is that a huge lemon?  Just remember: watch out for falling Avocados – they land with a loud thud – and it seems like they could probably do a bit of damage.

7.  Robots – Instead of the term traffic lights, they are called robots!  At first I was a little confused when given directions to the tourism office: go past the town hall and turn at the robots!  I was a little unsure about obeying the orders of a robot… but it turned out to be just traffic lights, so I am not worried about world domination by robots just yet.  The terminology lead to us creating a few more space age names for technology – for example, the security fence with remote control gate at our hotel  (complete with barbed wire, electric fence and metal spikes) is now termed the “force field” and the internet is referred to as “magic” – which, in some cases, simply does not exist!

8.  Monkeys – I know I have already listed a few animals, but monkeys are also pretty cool.  Just not as cool as zebras or geckos – simply because I am actually a bit scared of them!  Our host informed us that they sometimes gang up on female people.  At first I thought he was pulling my leg and making it up, but he was serious!  However, creatures that can make swinging and leaping through trees look easy and are worthy of a mention – I just speed up a little when I run past a bunch of them so they don’t get any cunning ideas of pouncing on me!

9.  Challenging training locations – After my Aunts warning to not run alone in the streets, I had to get creative with my training ideas.  Some handy theraband elastic straps provided by Therapeutic Associates have enhanced the usual hotel room circuit workout – thanks Chuck!  But to avoid boredom, I went in pursuit of some new locations.  Luckily, Adam gave me the hot tip to run in the nature park where he had found some sweet single track paths, that seemed safe enough… this lead me to the zebras, monkeys, impalas, ibis and lots of grasshoppers and amazing wildflowers.  Furthermore, the hills make for some tough natural intervals.  And finally, thanks to the lovely people at Virgin Active – they gave me complimentary entries to work out in the airconditoned comfort of their health club!  Nice!

10.  World Cup – Did I mention that the opportunity to play a role in the World Cup is awesome!!  Not only witnessing the racing of some of the best cross-country and downhill mountain bikers in the world, but getting to help out is an amazing and fun experience.  Location number one, South Africa, has been great. I am looking forward to more fun at the next stop in Germany – I will keep you posted!

This was my first year with XC Oregon, and I basically had the opportunity to re-learn everything that I have known about training, racing and playing. I started my racing life as a cyclist, and started to use skiing as a training tool, and quickly found that ski racing was just as much or more fun as bike racing, and that eventually led me to where I am right now. It also led me to this point of total exhaustion that I am experiencing right now…. But its kind of a good exhaustion.

Racing this year went completely different than it has for me in any other of my 3 years of racing. I increased my flat land power infinitely, but that lead to an infinite decrease in my climbing, I changed my technique to hopefully alleviate some overuse injuries and increase my total output, but lost my trademark high turnover, highly aerobic dependant style of skiing. I trained harder and faster than I ever have, and when it worked I was skiing FAST, winning the skate leg of the Methow Pursuit was the highlight, and when I skied slow, well… it was REALLY slow, with a mental crushing 25th at the Boulder Mountain Tour. So overall, I had a pretty balanced year, unfortunately, it wasn’t that “break out” year I was hoping for, and felt I was due for. Maybe next year….

XCO has been an amazing experience, I now count the Crew as some of my closest friends in Bend, and cannot wait till next season to start, and try to ge that break out year. Till then, I have some other goals: ZVi and I are gonna try to tag team some Crits the summer, Ev and I are gonna bust out some curry and rock some MTB races, Marshall and I might finally get to have a boxing match (bad idea! but also could be really entertaining, we’re gonna use 10lb gloves!) and the all the others will get together and do some OD’s and BBQ’s.

Thanks to all the sponsors, TAI, Center, Sporthil, Aeromech and the local shops, and thanks to Fisher and Alpina, the best skis and boots(personal sponsor)

Saturday was the 31st running of the Gatineau Loppet (formerly called the Keskinada – why they changed the name is beyond me). The “real” race is the 53km skate race, held on Sunday; I however, opted for the 53km classic held the day before.
It had been warm and raining in the few days preceding the race, so the course was hard and fast. The organizers opted to change the course and cut out several sections that run through narrow, windy, wooded trails, as they thought the conditions were dangerously fast. Needless to say, I was excited to hear how fast the course was going to be. The race loops around Gatineau Park is on a variety of summer roads and contains lots of gradual climbing, kick double pole-grade ascents and long fast descents. My kind of race!

After a nice drive through Upstate New York – I saw more than one horse and buggy on the road – and a massive GPS-induced detour (I nearly threw it out the window and ran over it with my car) I got the venue to late to ski, but got a chance to check out the conditions in the stadium. It was definitely going to be klister, but what flavor was beyond me at that point.

Race morning proved to be cold (10F) but beautiful and sunny. After a little bit of testing I settled on a mix of KR40 and Silver Universal over Chola. And considering that I have never really had to go it alone for klister conditions, I am pretty proud of the fact that I had fast skis and bomber kick the entire race, I don’t think that I slipped once all day.

The race start was a little hectic; they start the first wave of 53km and 29km skiers together so there are lots of people fighting over the tracks. About 600 meters into the race I saw the woman who won last year go down in a tangle of skiers. She managed to catch back up to me around 15km and I skied about 100 meters behind her for a while. I caught her near the 20km mark, but decided that I didn’t really want to play games with her for the next 35km, so I took a ride from the next guy to pass us and skied away from her. That was pretty much it. Probably not a very fun race to watch but it was a blast to ski.

After 53km of uneventful racing, I did however, managed to eat in the ice skating rink of a parking lot, on my way into the awards. I ripped open my finger and dropped my delicious ginger ale into a puddle (this was far more upsetting than bleeding) and then had to assure a nice old man who witness my moment of grace, that I was indeed not hurt, just embarrassed.

Off to the Birke tomorrow, here’s hoping that I feel as good I felt last weekend!

A little stealth waxing in the hotel

As some of you probably heard, Brayton, Evelyn and I got the chance to race in Europe again this winter. I opted to skip the Birkie, getting another weekend of racing in here in Europe. But that means I’ve been traveling alone in a non-English speaking country, definitely a first for me. Of course in Switzerland, everyone is friendly and many speak English anyway. And even if they don’t, they’re very used to tourists, making a mess of German.

After the requisite long flight, I drove the three hours to the Engadin Valley in Switzerland which is our home base for this Central Europe trip. Admittedly I got a little lost leaving Zurich but it didn’t matter, added a half hour of scenic (read dangerous) driving and I was already planning to take the long way, going over the Julier Pass, which is frequently closed in winter.

The skiing is absolutely spectacular, although sometimes finding the tougher trails is a bit of a trick.  It’s easy to ski thru the valley from town to town, but all the climbs are hidden on little off-shoot trails that take some searching. Tomorrow I drive to Italy for the first set of races this weekend. My time alone will end, however, because I’ll be meeting a couple other Americans, Anders Haugen and Bart Dengal, in Italy for the OPA cup races.

]]> http://xcoregon.org/blog/?feed=rss2&p=405 0 http://xcoregon.org/blog/?p=399 http://xcoregon.org/blog/?p=399#comments Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:57:29 +0000 Paul http://xcoregon.org/blog/?p=399 We woke to find a perfect sunny day on Saturday… not the 2-4 inches on top of transformed that was threatening. We all rolled to the start line hip hop on the radio making us all recall our highschool dances and first cars, Nelly shouts “eeya eeya, uh oh!” and we all join in as back up singers.

Rolling up to Galena, you can smell the lodge, and all that are crammed inside, waiting for it to warm up enough to go see if the meadow is sunny. From here we all separate, but all going to one place. 

The start line is set, all the elite are in their lanes, little flags telling them where to stand, and as if on cue, the tension is broken by, ” Evelyn Dong, to the starting area, Evelyn Dong, 2 minutes to start.” and we are no longer staring in the snow with blank gazes, we are all stretching to see the little pink haired-johnny-cash-all-in-black-energizer-bunny run to the start, having been detained by a whardrobe malfunction. Today is going to be great!

I wish I had had the form that I was willing to be there, I just did not, but Marshall, he did, Evelyn, she sure did. And then there were the kids in sequins, THEY really had it in them. Katie, Hailey, Tara, they were on it! 

(I got the full scoop on the mens race, so Ev, you may have to fill in here a bit on the ladies.)

In the last 5 KM, Marshall Greene (Alpina, Madshus, XCOregon) Zack Simons (Rossignol), Mikey Sinnott (Salomon), Billy Demong (Atomic), Bryan Fletcher, Aunders Haugen, and Carl Swensen, all were flying in, unknown to Greene, Zack and Billy were working together, to try to break down Mikey, and it was wearing on the pack. Demong takes a flyer and shakes things up, Simons and Greene are tucked in, Sinnott takes a beating, the final k’s fall off, and the pack is shattered, as is Demong, Simons digs, goes for the line, lets off and looks right, Greene and all his power is there, Simons lunges, Greene follows, toes parallel, tips lined up….. It is over!

In the end, after reviewing the tapes 5 times, officials rule that Simons is the victor, and Greene is second. All in all a great race!

just chillin, cuz its easy like sunday mornin...

Way to go Greene Machine! (Donger too!

Sunday, we roll out of bed, a little tired, and a little sleep deprived, but ready to check out the nordic center, and do a little Extra Blue skiing. After and hour of solid classic skiing in the most amazing trail network, we all decide that it is time we moved to Sun Valley, and become significant othe

Paul, Tay, and Ev, kicking up Sidewinder

rs of “sugar-momma’s” (or daddies for Tay and Ev) and just be professional coffee drinkers, with skiing habits!

The Crew...

The team is on the prowl. After having weeks of high pressure, and GREAT skiing, in Bend, we are all about to embark on a series of travels that will test our training and preparedness. 

Marshall is going to Europe for a month, Engadin Ski Marathon, Europa  cups, great food, the scenery, man life is tough.

Brayton is back east racing and seeing the fam, before he embarks over the pond, to meet up with Marshall.

Sara Max is actually already over there, racing some very prestigious marathons, and just generally having a good time.

Felice, too is in Europe, racing her brains out, and scoping locations for her upcoming travels this summer with her new job.

Evelyn, Zach, Paul, Taylor, Wes, Stephanie and Jason, are sitting tight, prepping for the next bit of regional races, like the Boulder Mt Tour, and Great Ski Race, as well as some local races like the Diamond Lakes John Day Race.