May 30, 2013 (Salt Lake City, UT) – The National Nordic Foundation, America’s grassroots Nordic foundation, and CXC Academy, an online training subscription service are partnering up for the 2013/14 season. CXC Academy will be contributing 50% of new annual training subscription to the National Nordic Foundation for the coming season.

We at the NNF are so thankful for programs like the CXC Academy who are stepping forward to support the NNF in its quest to provide opportunities and support to our developing American Nordic skiers.

This is a great opportunity for skiers of all abilities to get back to training with a focus for the 2013/14 ski season and at the same time support America’s developing Cross-Country and Nordic Combined skiers.

The National Nordic Foundation (NNF) is a grassroots, 501(c)3 organization that supports our developing American Cross-Country and Nordic Combined skiers. This past season through the support of our American Nordic community the NNF was able to support 69 athletes with European racing opportunities in addition to domestic training camps and competitions.

CXC Academy is a program of Central Cross Country Ski Association (CXC Skiing) and online subscription service that provides professional training plans and instructional videos for cross country skiers of all ages and skill levels. Whether you are a beginner skier looking to finish your first 5K, a Master skier training for a big ski event, or simply looking to improve your overall strength and fitness, we have a training program to meet your goals.

For more about these organizations go to:
www.nationalnordicfoundation.org
www.cxcacademy.com

June 10, 2011 – The Central Cross Country Ski Association is offering a variety of Junior and Master/Citizen Open Camps this summer, along with lots of other great events. There’s a CXC camp suitable for every skier. Read on for more details.

CXC Summer 2011 Events

JUNE
– June 17-19 – J3/J2 Regional Development Camp
– June 25 – CXC Coaches Seminar with Inge Braten
– June 24-26 – Technique Clinic with Inge Braten

JULY
– July 6-10 – J3/J2 Regional Development Camp
– July 6-10 – Open Junior Technique Camp
– July 9 – CXC Summer Championships
– July 10 – USSA Level 100 Technique Clinic
– July 16 – Telemark Forest MTB Event
– July 29-31- Open Master/Citizen Skier Technique Camps

AUGUST
– August 12-14 – J3/J2 Regional Development Camp
– August 12-14 – Open Junior Technique Camps
– August 13 – Open Junior One-Day Camp

April 26, 2011 – April 25th highlighted the beginning of Training Season IV in CXC Academy. As always, we strongly suggest you start your training year by working through the Yearly Overview Steps 1, 2 and 3 to determine your annual training volume. It is a good idea to come back to these simple steps periodically throughout the year to make sure that you are progressing through the periods in a way that will help you ski FAST!

Period 1 is about reintroducing the body to training. Before this, you have likely been taking some time off. Rest is very important, but at some point, you need to make a stand and regain activity. Spring time is an excellent chance to do exercises you enjoy. Don’t be afraid to stray from the training plan slightly if a good opportunity presents itself. Maybe it’s a group bike or an ultimate Frisbee game. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s fun. It’s a long training year and a spring smile can go a long way come wintertime!

IN VIDEO EXTRAS:
New this season, is a “WAX ROOM” section on the website. As you all know, waxing and caring for your skis are basic skiing fundamentals. Every month we will be featuring videos on waxing and maintenance techniques for your skis.

– “Wax Room”: Summer Ski Storage
– “Wax Room”: Cleaning Off Klister
– “Ski Technique”: Improving Glide on One Ski – skate rollerski progression on balance and coordination
– “Ski Technique”: Improving Glide on One Ski – classic rollerski progression on balance and coordination

IMPORTANT NOTE:
We’re currently finishing our 13th final training period of the Season III. Please take note of some of the changes that will be taking place shortly. Just like in any training we will be starting over with Training Period 1 due to be published on April 25. Because there is no practical reason for our members to have access to all of the training plans of Season III, we will be disabling links to Training Periods 1 through 12 shortly meaning you will no longer have access to the training plans from last Season. Like always, each new period will be published one day prior to the actual date the period begins and offer three training plan samples based on 250, 400 and 550 training hours a year. Starting in October the American Birkebeiner Training Program and High School Racing Training Plan Samples will be added to the list of training plans.

All of the Video Extras will remain in the CXC Academy Video Library available to be viewed on demand 24/7. With each period we will be adding something new, depending on the time of year the training period falls into there will be new interviews with professionals, videos on waxing, technique and more.

Our CXC Academy Team is excited to get started on a new Season. We’d like to extend our thank you to all of you who have subscribed and trained with us in the past. We’re also happy to welcome the many of you subscribing right now to get an early start. We’ll work hard to live up to your expectations and demands.

www.cxcacademy.com

March 28, 2011 – This morning, when I was busy speculating on just how much a 30km might possibly hurt, I got a text from my family wishing me and the team luck and saying “Kenzie says 35km was a blast.” Kenzie is my 14-year-old sister. And she raced 35km before I’ve even raced 30! So THAT threw all my plans of complaining out the window…and got me motivated to suck it up and get tough. And it was a beautiful day, which always helps!

I went into the race with these goals in mind:

1. DON’T break a pole. And don’t fall down.

2. If you do fall, fall where nobody can see you.

3. Don’t give yourself a gatorade facial again. Take at least one feed the RIGHT way. (In Oslo I managed to disgrace myself in front of coaches from around the world my first dropping a feed, and then slooshing the next one all over, yet still not getting a drop in my mouth. Sooooo embarrassing).

And believe it or not, I managed to accomplish all three (although I got ridiculously close to going down face first on the largest downhill a few times). And I’ve decided I need to start figuring out which feeds to take when during a distance race, because my stomach was doing some curious flip-flops in that last lap. But hey, it’s all a learning experience, right?

And wow, did I learn a lot today. It was such an honor to ski with more experienced girls who know how to pace and navigate a pack without wasting energy. After the second lap, I was in a small group with Kikkan, Maria, Morgan and Holly. During the third lap, we lost Holly and Morgan, and I tried my hardest to hang onto Kikkan and Maria but the long climb at the end of the lap was more than I could handle. So I skied the final lap alone, always within sight of Kikkan and Maria but never quite able to bridge the gap. On that final hill, I knew Morgan was putting in a huge effort to catch me and I was totally dying, but our coaches (Gus and Cork) gave the CXC girls such fantastic skis that I knew I just had to make it over the top with a tiny gap and I could stay in 3rd place. Although I’m not going to comment on my technique in the last few km of the race because if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

Lap splits and results can be seen HERE.

One of these days I’ll remember to bring a camera to the race, but for now I think the words “sunny”, “picturesque mountains” and “totally enthusiastic cheering crowd” ought to do it!

March 01, 2011 (Hayward, WI) – All winter long, we’ve been testing and finding HF Blue with Jetstream Blue over the top to run extremely well in cold weather, and at the 2011 Birkie, this was proven once again – We went with HF Blue covered by JetStream Blue and had fantastic skis.

Looking at forecasts a few days out, we knew that the weather was going to take a dive from Thursday night until Saturday, so we held off on testing too much until 6am on Friday morning. After some quick runs on the skis at Boedecker, I came back to Telemark Lodge, assembled CXC’s crack team of waxers, and we started running through skis. Part of the privileges of being on the CXC Master Team is getting your skis waxed for the Birkie, so we had 50+ pairs to wax for them, plus the CXC Elite Team skis. Between good organization, good tools and good workers, we were able to get the skis glide waxed before 7:30pm.

The Birkie classic has definitely grown, and we had about 20 pairs of skis to binder and wax. We used a mix of hard-wax binder and a few drops of green klister ironed in with it. Between the forecast and the length of the race, we went slightly warmer than starting conditions would call for — a few layers of blue hard wax covered with green. As it turned out, the weather didn’t warm up as much as we expected, but the kick definitely stuck around.

All in all, I was pretty pleased with the CXC Team’s results — wins in the women’s skate (Caitlin Compton) and classic (Jennie Bender), with Maria Stuber coming in 5th. On the men’s side, Karl Nygren and Eric Wolcott went 2-3 in the classic and in the skate, Bryan Cook came in 5th, with Brian Gregg 8th, Matt Liebsch 9th and Santi Ocariz 17th.

– Jason Cork, Head Coach, CXC Elite Team

Report from the Winner – American Birkebeiner
Heading into the Birkie I had a plan that I set up with my coaches over two months before. We sat down and laid out both the races and the travel that I would be doing in preparation for my peak at the American Birkibeiner.

The weeks before the Birkie were the most important. I was entered in both Super Tours and Marathon races and had a heavy training load. My plan included a two week altitude camp in Aspen, CO. I raced my Hometown City of Lakes Loppet the day before I left and ran into a lot of mishaps along the way. I felt great at the start and was ready to go. The men and women start together which leads to a very tight and busy first couple of kilometers. I was swallowed up quickly in the crowd and proceeded to try and maintain contact with the other women in the race. Unfortunately I maintained too much contact and a little tangle with another woman left me without the bottom half of my pole. I went on to race without a pole for the next couple of K, then with a long pole for another couple of K, before getting a pole that fit for the remainder of the race. I stayed relaxed and was able to hold onto the lead to the finish despite my pole mishap.

When I got off the plane in Aspen I knew I was in for a treat. The mountains were beautiful and there was plenty of snow. I was staying with a fellow racer’s parents and they were some of the best host parents I have ever had. After only a few days I knew I made the right decision to train in Aspen and race the Owl Creek Chase. The altitude was very high but the terrain and ski trails were incredible. The morning of the Owl Creek Chase came and the temperatures were soaring into the upper 40’s. I chose a pair of skis with more structure anticipating a slushy finish of the race. At the start I was on the front line ready to go. I wore my drink belt in preparation for the Birkie and took of double poling when the gun fired. I found a great spot in second place behind a fellow competitor but suddenly I was swallowed up by the girls charging behind me. I went down and found myself leaving the stadium in last place. Thankfully I had both poles intact but I had a lot of work to do to get back up with the lead pack. I made my way up through the women’s field and found myself with the lead group at the 5K mark. Suddenly the altitude caught up with me and I felt like I was carrying a load of bricks on my back. I watched as the other girls skied away from me and those who I had just passed pass me back. I stayed positive again and focused on skiing the rest of my race within my limits. During the last 5K I gave a final push and found that my body had recovered and could respond. I was able to pass seven women and finish the race strong and happy in 7th place.

The week of the Birkie quickly approached and I realized that I hadn’t skied much of the Birkie course in the last 6 years. Brian Gregg took me out daily to the key locations and as we trained we discussed strategy and tactics. As the Birkie morning approached I was feeling great and ready to go. The only question was the temperature. At a frigid -8F I arrived at the start having left one of my Toko mittens at home in Minneapolis. I did however bring my Toko Windstopper gloves and knew they would work well. But how well??? My excitement was high and I found myself jumping and jogging around a lot before the start, swinging my legs and arms often to keep the blood flowing. I have had problems with my feet hands and face in the past when the temperatures have dipped below zero and my fear lay in the fact that I had 50K to ski with temps remaining frigid the whole way. As I approached the start I strapped on my poles as the gun went off and the banner went up I found myself double poling to the best start position yet this season. I ducked into second place behind a Swiss woman and suddenly realized just how fast my skis were moving! I easily free skating behind her and standing up on the slightest of down hills to avoid colliding. Awesome!!! As we cruised through the first part of the race I was also psyched to realize that my hands and fingers were warm and cozy! I stayed at the front of the pack through the entire race avoiding collisions but never pushing too hard to bury myself. My skis continued to soar along the snow without the slightest hesitation and my hands were so comfortable even on the longest of down hills. I was able to get every feed I needed and respond to all attacks that were made.

With 10 kilometers to go I decided to make my move. I knew my skis were awesome and my body was ready so I took off at the front of the group. The other women responded and stayed close behind but I could sense that I was gliding a little further on every downhill and could rest a little longer. As we approached the final 2 kilometers three other women were still with me and the snow began to fall as we were crossing Lake Hayward. Amazingly I felt my skis speed up even more! Wow I thought my skis are still rockets after almost 50K of skiing. I pushed hard and felt the gap between myself and the other women starting to widen. I upped the tempo and power and found myself in the lead as we headed up Main Street. As I approached the finish I saw Brian waiting on the other side. Nothing could have made me happier and ski faster then seeing his smiling face. I charged to the line and realized I had just won as I gave Brian a huge hug.

The weather was still frigid but I couldn’t even tell through all of my excitement and happiness. A little frostbite on my nose was the only effect the cold could have on me that day. My fingers were warm and my spirits were high.

The plan worked and despite setbacks along the way everything went seamless on Birkie morning.

– Caitlin Compton, Women’s Race Winner

Razzle your Drink Belt Contest
Decorate your Toko drink belt and post the image on the Toko US Facebook Page. On 15 March, we will select our favorite. The winner will receive $500 worth of Toko product in the fall when we have everything in stock. Here’s the link to the Toko US Facebok page.

Race Wax Recommendations for the Masters Cross Country Ski World Cup 2011 will be posted on www.TokoUS.com. Direct link to the page HERE. They will also be tweeted (TokoUS) and posted to the Toko US Facebook page HERE.

For Toko Wax Tips for Canadian Cross Country Ski Races, go to the Toko Canada Facebook Site HERE.

January 25, 2011 – One couldn’t help but be impressed by the skiing of Afton, Minnesota’s 19 year-old sensation, Jessie Diggins at the recent 2011 US Nationals in Rumford, Maine. Diggins, who went to Stillwater High School, told SkiTrax she was “really surprised and very thankful” for her strong races there. She’s been very competitive with the junior fields in the US with five junior national titles to her name – and Diggins was featured last year in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd”. But this year she stepped it up a few levels and has done more racing than before. Hence, some outstanding performances and a national sprint title – plus making the 2011 US XC Team heading to Oslo for the Worlds. Diggins graduated from high school last spring and is taking this year away from school to focus on skiing. She skis for the strong CXC Vertical Limit team and is excited about the upcoming races on the international playing field.

Before we talk about the US Nationals in Maine tell us about your personal skiing history…how did you get into the sport?
Jessie Diggins: I’ve been skiing ever since I could walk, and before that, I would be in my dad’s backpack when he and my mom went skiing on weekends! I have a very active family that loves being outside and enjoying the trails, so ever since I was very young my family’s been part of the Minnesota Youth Ski League. But my parents have never pushed me into anything; I used to do a ton of different sports and although they’ve always encouraged an active lifestyle, they never made me do a sport I didn’t like and have always been supportive.

What did you find so captivating about cross-country skiing?
JD: I love cross-country because it’s so fun being outside, traveling all over and getting to see new places and meeting new people. It’s just such a healthy lifestyle! It’s a sport I can practice throughout my life and enjoy with my family.

Your time in Rumford, was like “WOW” – did you think you would have such a week there?
JD: Definitely not! I was obviously hoping to have some good races, and I knew that I was healthy and had been training hard all year, but I never expected it to pay off so well! It was very exciting for me.

Describe what it means to be “on” with your skiing – on top of your game?
JD: It can be tricky because sometimes you’re mentally there and ready to race but your body just isn’t having a great day, or maybe you’re fit and feeling good but your head just isn’t in it. But for me, being “on” with my skiing means I’m ready to go and consistently putting 100% into a race, not just popping one good race now and then.

Did that week surprise you?
JD: Yes! It was a very nice surprise, one that’s motivated me to train smart and try to keep the season rolling the same way it has been so far.

You’re off to Oslo for the Nordic World Championships right?
JD: Yep, but first I’m headed to Estonia for Junior World Champs, and then to some Scandinavian races in Latvia and Estonia, before going to Norway for Worlds.

That’s a lot to happen in one season?
JD: That’s for sure – but I’m also making sure that I don’t get overwhelmed with everything that’s been going on this year; I want to stay in the present and enjoy every minute of it.

Tell us more about your CXC program, your coaches…it sure seems to be going strong.
JD: Oh my goodness, I could go on for so long about how wonderful the CXC program’s been this year. It’s been great having such a strong team to train with and learn from. Being the youngest on the team, I really look up to the older and more experienced skiers, and I feel like I learn something new every day. Usually it’s the little things about being a professional athlete that I never really had to think about in high school, but now that I’m on the road more often it’s important to be on top of stuff like hydration and packing food and dry clothes for every workout. And even though it’s our first year with Jason Cork and Gus Kaeding as coaches, I feel like they’ve picked it up extremely fast and done an incredible job as both coaches and wax techs. I’m very impressed!

Looking down the pike, what would you like to accomplish with your skiing – what are your goals?
JD: I’d be pretty stoked on life if things just keep going they way they have been! Skiing’s always been such a positive and motivating part of my life and my biggest goals are to simply keep it that way, and improve as a skier with both my technique and racing. If there’s ever a day when I can’t say I’m enjoying it, then I’ll walk away from racing, but right now I see myself being a professional skier for as long as I can.

What other sports do you enjoy?
JD: A lot of things! When I was younger I used to play soccer, swim, do a lot of different events in track, and dance. I also like trail running and in the summer I get to do a lot of other sports mixed into my training. It keeps it fun.

Favorite subject in high school and why?
JD: Either English because I love to read, or Orchestra, because that class gave me such great experiences that I’ll always remember, like performing in San Francisco or Chicago.

What’s your idea of a perfect day?
JD: Oh man, I feel like I’ve had so many awesome days this year already! But my favorite probably involves doing a long over-distance run/hike in the mountains, preferably finding a lake to swim in after, and then just chilling out with friends. Luckily, this sort of day happens a lot when you’re training all summer!

What is a motto that you try to live by?
JD: Stay in the present and love every minute of it!

Thanks for your time and good luck with the rest of the season.
JD: Thank you.

January 24, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – The past week in Finland has been great; good snow, good trails, good lodging…but now it’s time to get to Estonia, where the races are! After driving down to Helsinki, we boarded a ferry that took us across the Baltic Sea and docked in Tallinn, Estonia.

I’m actually pretty disappointed that they didn’t at least stamp our passports! But there was absolutely no boarder control – I guess it’s not that big of a deal in Europe.

We played some epic games of Wii bowling and golf, and were joined by a little Finnish girl that took it very seriously.

There were also some… uh… dancers on the boat. Cartwright expresses his opinion below:

Sadly, the fun and games ended after a couple of hours. We docked at Tallinn, and drove our cars off the ferry.

Since I’ve still got the tail-end of a cold, I was relegated to the cargo van for the drive to our hotel (the Waide motel), which is a very nice place about a half hour away from the race venue in Otepaa.

Hopefully I’ll kick this cold for good in the next few days. Now there’s nothing to do but explore the nearby towns and get amped up to race!