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!

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 09, 2011 (Rumford, ME) – We caught up with Tad Elliott (CXC) who claimed the men’s 30km skate race title and Liz Stephen, the winner of Thursday’s 20km women’s freestyle race at Black Mountain, Maine, site of the 2011 US XC Nationals.

Elliott talks about being the U23 National Champion in both mountain biking and cross country skiing. He plans to remain on the East Coast before traveling with the US Ski Team to compete in the U23 Worlds in Estonia.

Stephen, a member of the 2010 Olympic team in Vancouver, talks about that experience compared to her welcome result at the US Nationals and her future plans for the winter racing at WCups in Europe and later in Sun Valley.

January 07, 2011 (Rumford, ME) – The waxing for yesterday’s skate races was predictable and straightforward. The organizers did add a bunch of freshly shot new snow overnight which made it necessary to add XCold to the HF Blue. So the wax was LF Blue, HF Blue/XCold mix, followed by a top coat of JetStream Blue. The Blue structure was excellent. Most people do not understand Nordlite XCold even still. XCold is an additive that increases durability and hardens the base, but that is not the most important thing that it does practically. What it really does is make the skis faster at slower speeds (ie breakaway speed). For this reason, it is superb in freshly shot man-made. If conditions are simply fast and cold, it is not needed. If it is slow and cold, it is the ticket (either mixed with Blue or as its own layer in extreme cases).

This was one of the most exciting and stimulating race days that I can remember. In the men’s race, there were 3 skiers who battled it out: Lars Flora, Noah Hoffman, and Tad Elliot. These three were very close throughout the entire race, despite the individual start format. On the last lap of the 30k skate, with about 1.5k left, Tad was 2 seconds up on Noah and even with Lars. I was happy for Tad that he finished .10 ahead to take the win. The impressive thing was that Noah and Tad had excellent information and simply kept doing what they had to do in order to win. Unfortunately for them though, Lars is skiing fast! They kept on having to suffer more and more in order to match Lars. It was an extreme game of “up the ante”. I am sure that had Lars followed the other two in the start order, he would have won. Congratulations to all 3 of these warriors on a great day and thank you for inspiring those who witnessed the battle.

The women’s race was another story. Evidently Liz Stephen skis really well when she is pissed. She took the race out with intensity and simply took the race. Her effort level, tempo, and will to win was simply unmatched today. She earned the big win, that’s for sure.

January 06, 2011 (Rumford, ME) – Liz Stephen, East Montpellier, VT, took charge in the women’s 20km freestyle event winning by just under a minute over APU’s Holly Brooks who landed on the podium for the second time at the US XC Ski Championship in Rumford. Stephen’s USST team mate, Morgan Arritola, from Fairfield, ID, who raced out of the Sun Valley Education Foundation before being named to the U.S. Ski Team, placed third.

Stephen was encouraged by her result. “I felt great out there and the course held up well,” said the winner. “I tried to put myself in a world cup race and make it even a bigger deal to get all that I wanted out of myself. I got some splits along the way but mostly was just going off the body. A big thanks to all the volunteers for making a great course.”

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Liz Stephen (Burke Mountain Academy/U.S. Ski Team), 50:03.5
2. Holly Brooks (Alaska Pacific University), 51:01.3
3. Morgan Arritola(Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation/U.S. Ski Team), 51:19.1
4. Caitlin Compton (Central Cross Country Skiing), 51:27.2
5. Kate Fitzgerald (Alaska Pacific University), 52:01.2
6. Evelyn Dong (Cross Country Oregon), 52:29.5
7. Chelsea Holmes (Sugar Bowl Academy), 52:43.5
8. Morgan Smyth (Alaska Pacific University), 52:44.7
9. Nicole Deyong (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation), 52:47.9
10. Jennie Bender (Central Cross Country Skiing), 53:07.9

January 05, 2011 – Rossignol’s Nordic Team Athlete, Torin Koos, started the New Year off strong winning the CL Sprints at the 2011 U.S. XC Ski Championships in Rumford, ME. The win is a great start to the season. Torin trained hard this summer and was not surprised by his fitness when he spoke with press post-race. “I had great training this fall, went to Europe and had some good races over there. It should keep get better and better,” said Koos.

Torin races on Rossignol’s X-ium Classic package, including X-ium NIS Classic Ski, XCelerator Skate NIS Binding, X-ium WC Classic Boot, and Oneway’s DS 10 pole. It is the lightest weight classic race package Rossignol has ever offered.

The X-ium Classic ski offers a great compromise between kick and glide using the sure-kick concept. The X-ium boot’s seamless lace cover and more accurate heel hold results in better envelopment of the foot and weight reduction. The XCelerator binding has a flexbit system, closure system and unnecessary material has been removed to decrease the weight.

Oneway’s DS 10 Titanium pole is 100% Carbon reinforced with titanium making the pole stiff and ultra light weight. The rabbit strap allows for twice the adjustment of a regular strap and the cork grip provides warmth, comfort and anti-slip grip.

Watch for Torin and the rest of Rossignol’s Nordic Team throughout the season on the X-ium Race packages.

January 04, 2011 (Rumford, ME) – The USSA National Championship classic sprint race in Rumford, Maine lived up to expectations as an exciting and challenging event. The organizing committee did an amazing job given the prevailing weather conditions over the past week and Sunday’s race was fair for all the racers competing.

The weather forecasts were as predicted for Sunday with warm air temperatures and wet corn snow crystals. Track conditions were extremely dirty and keeping ski bases as clean as possible was one important aspect to having fast skis. Structure also played an important role in the ski preparation process, as the snow was very wet due to temperatures not dropping below freezing for the prior 48 hours before the race. Glide wax selection was straight forward, as the weather and snow conditions did not drastically change prior to or during the race.

Swix racing service was present at the event and ran a number of on snow tests to determine the optimum combination of glide wax, base structure and kick wax that was used by many top competitors in the classic sprint.

Starting with glide testing, we tested base and mid layer paraffin waxes. MB77- Moly Fluor Wax was an ideal base paraffin for these dirty snow conditions. On top of the MB77, testing found HF8BW to run the fastest, with the BW additive aiding in repelling the considerable amount of dirt on the race course.

Once we had our base paraffin and layer paraffin waxes identified and applied to our skis, the next step was to find the ideal Cera F top coat. Testing found that FC8X was the fastest Cera powder. The combination of MB77, HF8BW and FC8X is a widely used in World Cup racing with a history of providing excellent race results.

The morning of the race, Swix RS tested final layer Cera F liquids and base structure. We found FC8L to be the best liquid to use over the top of FC8X. The structure test revealed that the T401 Swix Super riller with the 1.0mm coarse bar combined with the 1.0mm Broken V structure roller over the top greatly reduced the wet friction created by the moisture in the snow. Also, this structure combination did not collect dirt, keeping the skis as clean as possible in these extremely dirty snow conditions.

Kick waxing was very straight forward, given the snow crystals present. A thin klister base of KR20, covered with a thin layer KR35 provided a strong binder layer for the top, race wax layer of KR70 with just a few dots of K22n mixed into the KR70. The KR70 provided great kick and the K22n added toughness to the KR70, reducing wear and icing. It was important to make sure the race wax layer was not too thick, as this would collect dirt and slow the skis down.

Weather conditions look to improve as the temperatures will be dropping below freezing for the next week. The snow guns are running and we are looking forward to testing in the new conditions. Look for updates at www.SwixRacing.us and SwixNordic on Facebook.

Only Swix’s Cera Nova wax matrix takes the guesswork out of waxing by creating a perfect wax for each snow condition.

January 03, 2011 (Rumford, ME) – Alaska’s Holly Brooks lead an APU podium sweep at the 1.4km Classic Sprints on Sunday winning her first career National title along the way. It was a dream come true for the talented skier who came to Rumford really motivated to win and she was happy to share the podium with “…a bunch of my APU teammates.” SkiTrax caught up with the new US women’s classic sprint champ after the race for her thoughts on her performance and the conditions.

January 03, 2011 (Rumford, ME) – Rumford USSA Jury decision: the U.S. Cross Country Championships classic race scheduled for Tuesday (Jan. 4) is postponed until Wednesday (Jan. 5) to provide the best opportunity for course prep. The next coaches meeting will be Tues at 4pm. “With the coming colder temps the Jury feels we are well suited to make and move snow over the next two days to provide world class conditions for the remaining three races at U.S. Championships,” said John Farra, USSA Nordic Director.