Ouch!
I picked up my first pair of x country skies two months ago, had one skate lesson and have just been going a few times a week and cross training(about 150 miles total skiing) so i am a complete amateur
Entered a 10k freestyle race at the local trail area (8800 ft elevation-fun) and took a stab at it.
Got my ass kicked, which is always pretty awesome, especially when it’s by some Norwegian 15 yr old that looks like he was born with the things on his feet. I caught and chased this kid on the whole second lap and he made skating look so smooth and effortless it was insane, where i struggle to look semi-coordinated.
Think i finished in 30:05 and 4th in the citizens, but the good collegiate dudes were all 25-26’s, which blows my mind.
The sport is awesome, i felt like it was the most complete sport i’ve ever tried. Full use of entire body, takes incredible balance/core strength, huge aerobic engine, technique and flying through the snow covered trees on a perfect trail chasing people down was a great rush.
I definitely am going to get some technique lessons and ski more in replacement of some of the indoor trainer work. It’s just to beautiful and fun not to do it.
If you are just starting, go do a local race, it’s a blast.
I’ve been x-country skiing, both classic and skate for many years but only did my first race two years ago. I won my AG and handily beat a guy that normally beats me me by about five minutes in a 5 kms running race as well as other faster than me runners. Such sweet revenge.
X-country skiing is a lot about technique. It’s also the best possible work out since unlike running or cycling, you also get an upper body work out. I don’t even run in the winter months, just x-country ski.
+1 on these posts: Cross country ski racing is awesome! I raced Cross Country (mostly skate technique) for a few years until moving to an area where the mountains were too far to drive to. In my mind, it’s absolutely the best single sport full-body endurance workout and core-strength builder…take a look a the current generation of Olympic athletes - they are absolutely ripped.
A tip: Invest in a good pair of roller skis (with brakes) for workouts on pavement. Even if you are lucky enough to actually live in the mountains, you’ll want them for the summer. Just be prepared to eat asphalt occasionally!
Good for you, I also just started and I’m no where near as fast as you. Going 30 min for 10 km after 150 miles of skiing would make you one of the better skiers at our club and believe me we have some talent. I suggest you stay with this sport and you can expect to do very well at the masters level.
WOW, you are incredible for a beginner. The Canadian masters championships were hosted by our club last year and the overall winning time came from the mens 2 category with a time of 28.20. This is done on a very difficult 2 loop 5 km course. I believe Dev Paul was registered but had a broken his ankle at this time last year. I know he is a very experienced skier and I’d be interested to here him comment on your potential. Congratulations on an amazing first race.
The sport is awesome, i felt like it was the most complete sport i’ve ever tried. Full use of entire body, takes incredible balance/core strength, huge aerobic engine, technique and flying through the snow covered trees on a perfect trail chasing people down was a great rush.
Nordic Skiing often get’s the Boring stamp from many people. Personally have never understood this. #1 Aerobic sport in the world. Requires outstanding technique. Works almost every muscle in the body. Requires great balance and agility. Downhills can be a huge rush and the uphills, well let’s just say your heart and body will never work harder.
We are buried and I have found myself skiing a ton this year.
I wish we had consistent winters so I could actually dedicate myself to it.
The PA cx championships are canceled a lot of the time due to lack of snow… this year they were canceled due to too much snow and not being able to get the trails groomed.
I been ski racing since '87 and will ski my 20th Birkie ski marathon next weekend…if you want to suffer deeply and suffer often you have come to the right place…The highest heart rates I have ever hit have been at the top of hills in nordic ski racing…and the sense of speed when you get it rolling?..incredible…
I think that cross country ski (and biathlon obviously) have the highest incidence
in the Olympics of the competitors crossing the line and throwing up.
That says something about the sport that I find really appealing.
Of course, I live in Phoenix. Not going to happen.
We finally got a good amount of snow here in Nj, so I went out and got some xc skis to do some cross training. All I can say is wow, It kicks your ass and is fun as heck the same time. Now only if it actually will snow more here.
Of course, I live in Phoenix. Not going to happen.
-Jot
Good to meet you at IMAZ!
I live in Kansas, but had a XC ski lesson with a 2002 Nordic combined Olympian last Saturday in Breckenridge, CO.
I learned you don’t have to be an Olympian to want to throw up at the end of the hour! Very inexpensive (less than $100 for lesson and equipment) and highly enjoyable.
Never before have I had ab muscles sore all the way up to my chin!
If you simply shuffle around the classic tracks with unwaxed waxless skis, I can see how you could get bored. But if you wax correctly, it can be as exciting as bombing down a twisty turny road in aero. As others have said, it is the greatest total body workout that you can do. And it seems to really develop the arm strength that you need to go fast while swimming.
Hey, I hear there is a 45K skate race at your club in North Bay next weekend. I might head over. I did the Gatineau Loppet a few hours ago and it was one of my worst races in all sports in 5 years (you have to have a few of those per decade). I my warm grind skis and the weather changed on us and we had light dry snow all day (that’s part of the sport…it’s not just about being fit)…Anyway, I had just enough for the structure to bite in to the dry new snow and slow me down. I spent the entire day moving to the front of my group on uphills and spent every downhill madly skating down as the gruys pulled away from me in a tuck…anyway, its kind of silly to try to hang on that way, and eventually it caught up with me and I was on empty for the final 5K. Ended up in 2:44 for the 50K, and missed my goal of top 30 by 11 spots. I got 6th in 40-44 though which is my best overall age group position at this race ever, so I know the fitness was there…just bad execution, and I think I overestimated my fitness and felt that I was strong enough to pull it off…well, I fell 5K short…the chocolate covered raisins at the aid station at 45K came from Heaven…if I did not have those I would be frozen in a snowbank now. As Fleck knows a ski bonk is much much worse than an Ironman bonk cause now you can barely balance on your skis!
On the bright side today my son did the 10K in 44 minutes on a pretty tough course with a ton of vertical and pretty sticky snow. Not bad for a 13 year old…with my warmup and cooldown and skiing along in the 10K event with him, I got a massive 65K day of skiing done!
To the OP, that is a great 10K time at 8800 ft for a newbie. Totally agree, that you’ll want to replace trainer time with more ski time.
Did you collapse into a heap and roll around at the finish line like the olympians did? That looks like the fun part
I could have, but i just braced on my poles haha. My whole core hurts today. I limped around a tough 11.3k loop today and did a easy swim afterwards and i feel wrecked.
There is a 45k in steamboat springs on march 14 called the Coureur des Bois 45k/90k.
I am not bold enough to try the 90k, but are any ST’s doing the 45k? Seems like a good way to kick off my spring break…
…bite the bullet and go for the 90K. There are no Kona slots, not Mdot tatoos, no finisher gear…no nothing. That’s the great thing about Nordic racing. People do it for the race and the love of the sport only
…bite the bullet and go for the 90K. There are no Kona slots, not Mdot tatoos, no finisher gear…no nothing. That’s the great thing about Nordic racing. People do it for the race and the love of the sport only
Are you calling me out?
Damn, here comes the pride train.
FML
No, not calling you out. If you are local and there is a 90…well, kinda hard to resist. You have 3 weeks to get there. Don’t worry about doing long skis. If you can ski daily, then just spend the next 2 weeks cranking up your overall mileage…try to get 10-12 hours in on skis per week for the next few weeks in addition to some tri maintenance training to mix it up. If you can do 10K in 30 minutes, you should be able to pull off 90 in around 6 hours, assuming similar terrain profile.
Here is the report from a 100K XC ski even that we “whipped together” in 2008…just sent out a mass email and a whack of dudes showed up…no support, no registration, self timed, no finisher certificates…just a bunch of guys skiing 100K “because it is there”
