Retro Post: Turkey Day Victories 1 year ago

Hey Everyone,

This post has been archived for well over a year.  For whatever reason I couldn't make the photos work in the Blogger software.  Then the snow fell and I dropped the blog ball.  Maybe Spencer has a follow up post we can pair it with....

Last Sunday, myself and fellow Far West Farm Team teammates ran in the annual Truckee Turkey Trot. While some early season snow has been great for skiing, conditions shorted the race this year to a <2 mile frolic around a local park in a foot of new fallen snow. With some fast running and luck (my contribution) we made out pretty well as a team. Beth Taylor of Bates on the right won the women's race and a turkey, Noah  Brautigam, of Middlebury in the middle, won the men's race a turkey and a pie, and myself on the far left managed to post a respectable time and win a pie in the raffle. All in all it was a pretty good day for hungry skiers.

Soon we will be on the road to West Yellowstone and the following Bozeman Supertour races. If any Polar Bear alumni will be in the area and are looking to go for a ski, feel free drop me a line at seusden@gmail.com. Additionally, this two week adventure of a road trip will be duly chronicled on the Far West Farm Team Blog at http://farwestnordic.org/seniorblog/.

Spencer

Sometimes You’ve Got to Clean the Klister Box

And....We're back.

Hey Everyone,

Sorry it has been so long.  Last November, the last time this blog put something out, I experienced some technical difficulties posting photos.  Then, before I sorted them out, ski season took over my life.  I don't really have an excuse to account for April through October... Instead, I have this great post from Wilson.   Keep an eye out for a few retro posts that never went up in the next week or so.

Hey Team!

After a 12 month hiatus I figured it was about time to bring back the ol’ blog.

First an update. After a season working at Bates I decided it was finally time to move back out west. This time I chose a position that I think most Bowdoin Grads can get behind. For the last month I’ve been working with Nick Crawford (’09) for the Bogus Basin Nordic Team out of Boise Idaho. It’s been great to reconnect with him, and we have an awesome young group of skiers that I am really excited to work with throughout the winter.

This may come as a surprise to those of you who chose careers outside of the ski world, but ski coaching isn’t just about making an enormous salary. It’s all about cleaning the Klister Box.

This is a day that I look forward to every year. You may think that I’m still high from the wax remover fumes (and you may be partially (mostly) right), but bear with me here.

(me about halfway through cleaning tubes of klister one by one. I have a couple possible explanations for the blurriness: 1) The fumes in the air lead directly to the blur 2) “Wax-Remover Goggles” ie this is how Nick was seeing the world at that moment (noticing a trend?) or 3) Nick is just a great photographer

  

Reasons why Klister Box Day is Awesome:

First and foremost, I get to read every box multiple times. There is no moment during the season when I am so sure of my Klister’ing supremacy. Right now you could give me hypothetical temperature, humidity, and snow-type and I could tell you exact quantities (down to the mL mind you) of exactly the mixture you need for world class skis.
 

Next, but similarly important, is that I still have at least 2 months before that first race where klister actually comes into the picture,  I panic, and cover the entire ski in “universal” klisters from 4 different brands.

I get to remind myself that I am full of a ton of random knowledge that is totally useless outside the ski world. Are you familiar with the blue Rode wax often called Skari? Did you know that Skari is a Norwegian word for crusty snow, and that the word ‘Skari’ used to be used basically universally for ice-klisters? (That fact was blatantly plagiarized from Zach Caldwell’s rad website… and yes that is what was open on my computer while cleaning the box http://www.caldwellsport.com/rode/).

Smelling all of the old Klisters and kickwaxes has the same effect on me as the smell of Evergreen has on small children approaching Christmas. Chola is a personal favorite, but basically anything that smells like pine tar or salmon (it’s a real thing) gets me going.

Guru extreme 39, and Guru Extreme 39 Hard.

And finally the pleasant sense of euphoria that comes over you as the last freshly cleaned tube of klister (that had previously cemented itself to the bottom of the box) slides into its own individual carton… ok maybe that is just the fumes too.

For a little more excitement here are a couple more pictures of our awesome day:

No Shave November

Hey Everyone,

First, a house keeping detail.  Spencer no longer blogs for us. Instead he contributes to the Far West Nordic Farm Team blog, which he is a member of after all.  I've put a new link in the side tab.

Ok, back to business.  No stories this week, just a challenge.  As many you may have realized, five days ago the world kicked off 2012's month of November.  As with many ski teams world-wide, the Bowdoin Nordic Alumni are participating in the time honored tradition of No Shave November.  For those of you unfamiliar with No Shave November the rules are simple:

1. On Nov. 1st, shave (if you missed the date you can shave now, you'll just have a little bit of a late start).

2. Do not shave for the remainder of the Month.

3. At the end of the month, whomever has the most facial hair wins.

While No Shave November has traditionally been a male dominated contest, we live in the 21st century now and have opened it up to female participants with leg hair entries.

More excitingly, this year, there will be prizes as soon as I figure out what they are.  So, if you haven't already, shave, start growing, and then send in some pictures to at the end of the month for your chance to win fabulous prizes.

Stay shaggy my friends.

Desert Adventures with Dippo

Hey Everyone,

Below Wilson shares with us his latest adventure, some great photos and a few new work out ideas from a soon to be coach, no spoilers though:

I spent the last week down in Southern Utah.
It was fantastic!

My week started out by paddling Westwater Canyon on the Colorado River. Westwater is quite
possibly the best (non dam-released) whitewater in the country in October. From there I stuck around
Moab for several days, and I hiked, ran, and relaxed for several days.
At the end of the week I headed down toward Canyonlands National Park for some solo
adventuring. My first day down there I climbed Cathedral Butte on the Southern edge of the park (to see
those pictures check out summitsunday.blogspot.com). The next day I headed down into the Salt Creek
Wash (in the Park). The day involved about 16 miles of hiking and running, several ancient Puebloan
ruins, a slot canyon cave, and “The All-American Man.”
Here is a smattering of photos from that day.

Notice the “pac-man ghost” in the upper left

Hoodoos!

The All-American Man (USA USA USA!)

Current Ski-Team members, Spencer, and those of you who still harbor athletic goals should stop
reading now as I am about to talk about two awesome master-blaster workouts.

The first I call the “Sunset Showdown”

Park your vehicle approximately 1.5 miles away from an awesome viewpoint.
Wait until the sunset is 10-15 minutes from peaking (I’m sure that NOAA can help with sunset times)
Sprint as hard as you can to view said sunset
Stop and enjoy view for just a little bit too long
Realize that it is about to get dark (be sure to not bring a headlamp)
Sprint back as hard as you can, knowing that if you don’t find your car immediately you may not find it
until morning.

The benefit of this workout is that it keeps you honest – no one sandbags their way through it. I also find
additional benefit in the adrenaline and stress matching real race conditions, because let’s be honest we
will be arriving to the starting line within 2 minutes of our start for any given race (unless you are Chris
who has already floro’ed his skis and lined up for next years Birkie).

Who do you think won this workout… me or the sky?

Workout two “Natural Bridges, Natural Intervals”

This workout is tricky in that it is only really designed to work at Natural Bridges National Monument
(though suggestions for adaptations are certainly welcome).
Natural Bridges has four main attractions: The bridges Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo as well as an
overlook of the Horsecollar Ruins.

The workout involves running to Sipapu and back, drive to the Horsecollar overlook trailhead –run
out and back, drive to the Kachina trailhead –run out and back, and finally drive to the Owachomo
trailhead –run out and back. This workout has two main components. The downhill sections challenge
your quickness and agility. The climb should be full on lv 4/5 burn. While the total sum is only around 4 miles of on time, those four miles do involve around 1000 ft of vertical (oh yeah and you get to see some pretty spectacular sights… or sites).

Depending on how you are feeling you should probably be considerate of the other tourists as they
may be providing you with encouragement and showering you with praise (I was asked *Insert German Accent* “Are you some kind of professional” as I passed one such tourist… duh).

These photos hardly do the place any justice, it is really spectacular. That said, there is very little
exploring to be done in the immediately surrounding area.

Sipapu (The second largest natural bridge in the world)
You can get all the way down to the bottom, but this is the better photo.

Kachina (The “youngest” of the three bridges)

Owachomo (I couldn’t physically orient myself in such a way that I could get the whole bridge into the
photo without being about a quarter mile away)

Now that I have thrilled you with a story of adventure I have to reveal some terrible news.

This winter I will be working for Bates College as the assistant nordic ski coach.

I hope I’ll still be invited to alumni functions.

Bates Blows,

Wilson

Nation Nordic Foundation

Hey Everyone,

This week I want to hold off on a story from one of our Alumni and instead address you directly about something exciting happening in the ski community.  Some of you may have heard of the National Nordic Foundation.  For those of you that haven't, its a foundation that helps support our athletes so they can race at the international level.  Not only does it provide funding for stars like Kikkan Randell and Andy Newell, but it also sponsors events like the J1 Scando trip, which brings United States high schoolers overseas to compete against their European counterparts.

 Every year the NNF runs a "Drive for 25" fundraiser to make this sort of sponsorship happen.  However, this year is special.  This year, a generous community member has pledged to match every dollar donated with five, up to $50,000.  So, for every $1 you donate, the NNF receives another $5.  The math here can overwhelm you pretty quickly once you add up much a $25 or $50 donation can mean to our skiers.

Now, before I go on, I want to make clear that I totally understand how these alumni outreach things can be abused.  Any recent Bowdoin grads are probably pretty familiar with this kind of misuse.  I promise not to let this blog go that direction and to keep my posts requesting donations few and far between.

However, this is a really cool and really unique opportunity.  Its like having a 5x bonus multiplier on life.  Just a little bit of money can make a huge difference.  You can donate to the NNF directly here: https://www.grouprev.com/nnfdrivexc  or, even cooler, you can find your favorite ski athlete and donate directly to their site.  For example I donated $25 to Kyle Hanson's site.  All I had to do was google "nnf kyle hanson" and the first link that came up was his site: https://www.grouprev.com/kylehanson.  I had the pleasure of working with Kyle this summer in Alaska.  He's a stellar athlete and a great kid.  Find your favorite athlete, and make a donation.

My Thanks,
-Chris

Wilson Visits Spencer

Wilson Dippo of 2012 sent in this post about the recent reunion of two of the ski team's closest friends.  He gives some insight into the life of a pro-skier from the outside:

I just spent a week in the Truckee area with pro-skiers Spencer Eusden (Bowdoin ’12) and Beth Taylor (Bates (blows) ’12). Spencer thought that I was coming to visit so that we could reminisce about the good times at Bowdoin, maybe drink a beer or two, and have a generally jolly time. He was, however, gravely mistaken. My actual plan was to experience their lives for a couple days, and write this exposé about the life of a pro-skier.

Don’t worry – post college I hate reading too, so here is a photo that should clarify any questions that you have about pro-skiing.

The quick version:

A Slightly More Texty Version.

Plain and simple Spencer is a pro and I am still way better than him (just ask the shirt). Some things that, despite calling himself a professional, Spencer still doesn’t understand:

1)      Sure you can do 4 X 12 minutes at threshold – well if I do 12-8-12 at lv 4 I am getting a better workout. (36 minutes lv 3 verse 32 minutes at lv 4 – doesn’t take a math minor to figure that one out).

2)      Sleep is an essential part of any good training plan. Spencer seems to think that waking up at 7 to get in a 2.5 hr rollerski is a better use of his time than sleeping in until 10:30.

3)      Rollerskiing is hard and stupid.

Sure he beat me by something like 40% in an uphill time-trial. But come on, it’s only a time trial… on foot… uphill. No one can prove that means anything.

Spending even just a few days in Truckee was fantastic. Any skier – past, present, or future – should be envious of what Spencer is doing right now. He is getting after it, and doing it in style. When I first walked into his house Beth yelled down from her upstairs loft, “Spencer………… will you make us pancakes?”  A typical day for me this past week involved waking up early as Spencer headed out for his first workout, and promptly falling back asleep. Somewhere between 2 and 3 hours later I would wake for a second time when he returned. Our mornings and early afternoons were filled with vigorous activities such as lounging on the docks at Donner Lake, napping, reading, watching Southpark, and eating at Tacos Jaliscos[i]. As the afternoon approached we would dress in brightly colored tanks, short shorts, and running shoes and head off into the mountains. In the week that I spent in Truckee I put in eight hours and fifteen minutes of training which effectively doubled my volume for the training year (also… I skipped both strength sessions, and 2.5 hour rollerski, and a bikeride).

Spencer and Wilson head out to an afternoon workout. Spencer may or may not run with a helmet these days.

Spencer demonstrating how to properly crush chocolate milk as a recovery drink

PS Spencer is going to crush face this winter – I’m calling it now.

---

[i] In all seriousness, if you care about Spencer you have two options. A) buy him credit toward Tacos Jaliscos so he doesn’t go broke. Or B) hold an intervention as approximately 82% of his diet consists of tortillas, cheese, beans, rice, and beef tongue all from Tacos Jaliscos. I am afraid that he may actually become a taco.

My BP stands for Blogpost

Spencer sent this post into me the other day.  While not a workout accidentally turned hunting story, its still pretty epic:
 

Hi all you Polar Bears!

This is Spencer of the class of 2012. As briefly mentioned in previous posts, after 4 of skiing at Bowdoin I still wasn't ready go give up racing. Right now I live in Truckee, California and am training with Far West Nordic http://farwestnordic.org whose senior (or as I like to call it "pro") racing team is small but growing. I've been very lucky in the coaches I've been working with, Martin Benes, Ben Grassechi, Jeff Schloss, and Glen Jobe are great coaches and a lot of fun to be around. 

I plan race at West Yellowstone over Thanksgiving, senior nationals in Utah, most of the western supertour races if you ever find yourself at one of these events be sure to say hi. Also my ski club has the illustrious honor of hosting spring series the first week of April this year, but more to come on that later. The real reason I wrote this is to share an awesome bike ride I did last week.

In coping with the pretty significant increased volume of training I have been doing this summer, I've been using road biking as a way to get easy distance hours in and give my body an occasional break from running and rollerskiing. Unfortunately since I spend most of my time and money on skis, my road bike is "a little" dated. A little in this case means a 1985 steel frame trek I inherited from my grandfather. Since my bike isn't the fastest I have developed a preference for climbing over cruising flat mile after flat mile. I decided to make a loop out of some two of the best climbs in the area Martis Peak and Blackwood Canyon. I started from where I lived just north of Truckee and climbed out of the valley the town is in to Martis Peak, at 2,600 ft vertical climb.  Here is the view from the top of the north shore of Lake Tahoe. The peak on horizon far right is just above the top of the second climb. 

Then I cruised down along the north shore. At this point I got passed by a couple other pretty good road bikers who I resisted the urge to chase after. One thing that has been reinforced for me this summer is the importance of keeping workouts that are supposed to be level one in the right zone. It reluctantly let the bikers go reminding myself that I had passed a road biker during some roller ski intervals the day before. The second climb up Blackwood Canyon is really scenic and a little more gentle then Martis at 1,500 ft of vertical. 

On the way home I jumped in lake Tahoe to 1) soothe my legs and 2) to clean myself up for work. I found a great job working in the produce section of a local health food store and have since received all the slightly mushy organic produce I could eat. Here is a map and elevation profile of the bike I made on mapmyride.com, a pretty cool tool for tracking epic bike rides. All in all it was a 70 mile bike that took about 5 hours and had some awesome but hard earned views.