Start of Skiing

Waxing- Top of  Washington Pass

These are a few pictures from our ski this morning. Be sure to click on them to enlarge them if you need. We had a nice day of skiing. 2.5 hrs on a 2 kilometer trail results in a lot of laps. For the first few times on snow even if I was skiing back and forth on a 100 meter trail I would still be having a blast. There is no possible way to get bored these first few times on snow! Sounds like it is going to snow a bunch more tonight..... so more skiing tomorrow!

First Tracks In The Freshy Pow-Pow

I couldn't help but use the above title as it used to be the reply-to name of a friend in college. But indeed it is a great feeling, as yesterday I pulled out the boards for a couple hours' skiing on Washington Pass in pretty decent conditions. About 8" had fallen the night before and Scott went up and packed things down well with the snowmobile to create a good platform. This morning we returned for a 2.5 hour ski in actual tracks as Scott had returned to drag a chain-link fence around the 1.5K loop and later set two classic tracks. Not too bad for the end of October!

On Sunday we're leaving for Silver Star, B.C. for a week-long skiing camp. Silver Star is looking forward to one of their earliest openings this weekend and we're taking full advantage by packing up the new skis and gear and getting up there to grab as many snow-time hours as possible before the opening races in West Yellowstone, less than a month away. More stories and photos next week.

SNOW and NEW CLOTHES

The weather has been shifting as well as our excitement levels. There is nothing like waking up to a couple of inches of snow out in the yard. It’s funny how quickly your attitude shifts into a more determined pumped spirit. Even the smell of winter gets you all jumpy inside making your nerves runny crazy. Its fun to work hard during the summer but with such warm weather, your mind seems to be in a separate place than the cold weather stance.

Sam, Erik and I have continuously finished every workout for the past couple of weeks feeling strong and confident with where we are. So far this is the best condition any of us have entered the season with. We still have about a month of preparation but that’s icing on the cake - lots of the hard painful work. As a Nordic skier that’s what we look forward to most. We love that taste in the back of our throat when we are pounding so hard during that last 30 seconds of the interval. All summer we are looking forward to this part, when we can watch our improvements and get ready to test them throughout the winter. With exception to the actual racing part this is what we enjoy most.

The three of us have just received some high performance compression clothing from a company called 2XU. It seems to be perfect timing considering the training we are shifting into. With the increased intensity, your muscles seem to be feeling the fatigue during the workout and at night more than ever. This is the time that recovery becomes most important. We have discovered with this new clothing we can skip the achy feelings in the morning and continue feeing good throughout training. We have found wearing the compression tights while we sleep may not be the most comfortable sleep garment but it sure does wash the heavy feeling out of your legs allowing you to wake up with fresh legs. It is great, the compression tops seem to be working the same way. We have also experimented using this clothing during workout and it seems to be just as successful. We all have found it reduces fatigue as quickly, and as it claims, “creates an enhanced body position sense for agility and speed”. It has been great to experiment with this new clothing, thanks to Rita Kenny at Winthrop Mountain Sports for providing it to us! I think it is a key to recovery that I have been missing out on. Now is the perfect time to discover it.

Sam using 2XU shorts during training

ONE MONTH UNTIL OUR FIRST RACE!

Recovery 101

As my training has gotten harder emphasizing recovery has become key to handling the load. The time between workouts has become even more important in the puzzle for success. I use the following methods to try to get recovered as quickly as possible.

Recovery during workout- take some sort of sports drink mixture with me to every workout. I have found that it helps me stay fueled and hydrated so that I can finish the workout just as strongly as when I started. Over the last few years I have experimented with many brands but this year I have settled on the Hammer product Heed. Heed is a high energy electrolyte drink, and it has little flavor, so it doesn’t make my stomach feel bad after drinking it

Recovery directly after workout- After finishing my workout drink a water bottle full of some sort of recovery drink that is high in glutamine and protein. I use the Hammer product called Recoverite, which is a well balanced glutamine fortified recovery drink. It has high levels of protein and a full spectrum of electrolytes. On the longer workouts I will try to bring a sandwich, a piece of fruit, or a granola bar to eat immediately afterward.

Recovery shortly after workout- Within an hour of my workouts I try to get in a solid meal that is protein based and filling.

Recovery between workouts- Between workouts I do different things to restore my body for the next workout. One very important thing is to stay hydrated. You sweat out a lot of water during workout so you want to make sure you are ready for the next workout. I also try to do different things to help the recovery of my muscles. One thing I have found very successful is ice baths. I try to sit in the cold water of a mountain stream for 10 minutes. It feels really good after a hot workout, and it helps in recovery. If cold water is not accessible you can also try elevating your legs, this has some of the same effect. Sports massage is another very helpful recovery tool and I do occasionally get to have Alison Hanks give me a massage.

Sleep is perhaps the most important recovery aid in my arsenal. Deep, high quality sleep, also known as REM sleep is the time when your body produces the most growth hormones that allow you to adapt to the training stress of the day’s workouts. This is when we actually get stronger and fitter. When possible I also try to take a nap; it makes me feel refreshed for the afternoon workout.

Using these four methods of recovery has really helped me handle the harder training.

Hammer-time!

The MOD Squad is proud to now be sponsored by Hammer Nutrition, a company based out of Whitefish, Montana focused on providing top-quality nutritional products for endurance athletes. The athletes of MOD have been using Hammer products for several seasons now and look forward to the opportunity to stay on the forefront of product use with this exciting company!

Some of the primary products the MOD athletes utilize are:

Heed: A complex-carbohydrate sports drink that is exceptional for the majority of our workouts. We've found that using Heed instead of plain water in our bottles even for short <1 workouts helps us maintain energy and stamina while staving off workout-ending "sugar-bonks".

Sustained Energy: This energy drink is THE choice for long efforts. It's balanced with carbs, protein and fats to keep fueling your metabolism at any level of exertion but especially when you're out for 2+ hours. We're looking forward to using Sustained Energy during the upcoming season's sprint competitions where calories are needed but solid foods might downgrade performance.

Premium Insurance Caps: These are, hands down, the most full-spectrum multi-vitamin we've used. As with many other supplements you often must look to the absence of illness or negative symptoms in order to see the benefits of usage. Seeing as how all of us have gone through a (so far) successful training season with zero illness we take it as a sign that regular vitamin supplementation with PICs are a good choice.

Recoverite: It's no secret that recovery is the key to successful training. The MOD Project athletes have experimented with several products over the past few seasons, seeking that one ideal solution which maximizes training effects while preparing you for the next session. Our research into these topics revealed that the amino acid glutamine is a huge aid in repairing damaged muscle tissue as well as boosting immune system efficiency when your body is weakened from tough sessions. Recoverite combines that with protein and complex carbs and gives you a glassful of power to beat any barbell-pounding beefcake's muscle shake, no problem.

Check out Hammer's website for more products and information: www.hammernutrition.com.

To purchase Hammer products locally in the Methow Valley, check out Winthrop Mountain Sports in downtown Winthrop.