2015 USA Cross Country Championships And Sourdough Snowshoe Race

2015 USA Cross Country Championships and Sourdough Snowshoe Race


I don't have a lot of wisdom concerning cross country, having never run an XC race before (but wanting to now), but I do have one thought that has been going through my mind. I had the honor of getting a press pass so that I could sit right at the finish line and take photos and notes from the runners. It was an amazing experience to be able to be right there when the elites came across the line, and then to be in the midst of the chaos as athletes collapsed to the ground, officials directed runners to certain areas, press people surrounded the winners, with people on the sidelines yelling their hearts out at teammates. Some runners came across and seemed to recover quickly, while others fell apart and had to be dragged over to the tent and in the shade. The level of effort left out on the course was inspiring. My one thought has to do with the current scientific thinking around fatigue and what I witnessed out on the course. Science has shown that we never really run out of energy, and that it is not our muscles or the actual build-up of lactate or other bi-products in the muscles that cause fatigue. Rather, the current thinking has to do with the idea of a "central governor" that controls our efforts and monitors our body. When we start to get out of homeostasis the central governor begins to shut our muscles down to preserve itself. Fatigue in this model is really a trick, a trick our brain plays on us to preserve itself. What I saw during the race is that the Juniors and some of the Elite/Open men and women seem to be able to overcome their central governor and push one level beyond. This was especially evident among the Juniors, as many of them came in to the finish line and instantly collapsed, blacking out for a brief moment, and taking some time before they were able to walk again. The Masters and many of the Elite runners did not reach this level of effort, they ran using their mind, while the Juniors, young and throwing it all out there, somehow were able to run past their mental limits and push into that zone of pure physical limits.

So, my thought, quick and unformulated as it is, is that as we become better at our sports, we develop mental attributes that allow us to be better runners - knowing how to pace, pushing through hurdles, training smarter, etc. However, this mental development also hinders us at a critical point, the point where we need to push beyond all of our known limits and find one more gear. The Juniors, still young and running on physical and emotional strengths don't have that mental limit yet - they simply have not reached it - so they go all out and simply collapse at the end. Spectacular and something to think about. How often do you really go all out? Probably not as often as you should.

Photos from the race (some more good ones on Boulder Running here).

 Kaitlyn Benner and Val Constien out front (no central governor holding them back)

 Kaitlyn Benner winning in spectacular fashion.

 About to collapse...

 The aftermath...

 Conner Mantz winning the Junior Men's race.

 Paul Roberts from Lyons showing what it takes to go to China (no central governor again).

 CU's Paul Miller pale and dazed - but going to China (no central governor)

 Women's Open at the start.

 Laura Thweatt and Sara Hall dueling it out at the start of the last lap.

 Boom!

 Men's Open start.

 Chris Derrick making a surge.

 Derrick making the "3-peat goggle" sign at the finish.

 Sportsmanship.

Does this man exist?

In other news, I ran the Sourdough 30K Snowshoe race last week. "Running" 18+ miles with snowshoes is !*$king hard! Great time, but I failed with my nutrition and lost four places within the final 2 miles. Totally my fault, and something I will focus on next time. Still, great time. Finished 9th overall in 4:16.

Week Of December 3-9

Week of Dec. 3-9

Monday: 5 hours of telemark skiing, ~25,000'.

Tuesday: Same thing, 5 hours of telemark skiing, ~25,000'.

Wednesday: Ran the Rocky Point Loop. Tried to get out and do one more "adventure" run since the snow has been lacking. This is a fun, 11 mile loop off of Crooked Creek. The gate is closed, so you have to park at the winter gate. The entire run was on snow, so it took a bit longer, but still a nice, seldom done run. 1:49, 11 miles, 1,300' gain.

Thursday: More telemark skiing, ~25,000'.

Friday: 7 hours standing and walking. Did some cross-training in the gym, as a major storm hit and dumped around 9 inches.

Saturday: 7 hours standing and walking. Still dumping snow, so did the 15x15 run in the gym. After warming up for 15 minutes, did the 15x15 test and got 1.05 miles. Hard today, but still about the same as earlier this fall. After 15 minutes at 9:00 minute pace, did another 15x15 and only got to 1.02. Tired.

Sunday: 7 hours standing and walking. Did a nice cross-country workout in the new snow. 8 miles, 1:11, 900' gain. Went up the Leland road to Kings Creek, then back down. Then went up St. Louis for a bit. Skiing at night is pretty fun, but it is really dark and quiet in the valley, and there are some extra dark spots that have a different energy to them. I tend to ski really fast through these spots.

 The Rocky Point Loop trail with plenty of snow on it.

Looking down Crooked Creek to the Divide.

The History of Telemark Skiing in North America - Old Photos Of Ski-Runners

The History of Telemark Skiing In North America - Old Photos of Ski-Runners

I wrote up a small article on the history of telemark skiing in North America based on Vivian Caulfeild's 1914 book “How to Ski and How Not To" for the webzine Free Heel Granola. The book is the third book to be published in English on skiing. The other two that were published slightly earlier also contain a bunch of old cool photos, which I have extracted and published below. Telemark skiing has come a long, long way since these early pioneers. However, what I like about these old photos is that just like running, although the technology has radically changed over the last 100 years, the technique and style are still pretty much the same. Also, I really like that early on skiing, and specifically telemark skiing was referred to as "ski-running" and a skier was a "ski-runner." You see, 100 years ago skiing was not just about going downhill. It was about “running” across hills, climbing snow-covered mountains, exploring powder filled valleys, and enjoying peaceful winter days in the woods. The downhill aspect of our sport was only one component; the uphill was just as important. A good skier was a “runner” who could handle the most difficult terrain and snow conditions, both on the downhill as well as the uphill. In the spirit of these early ski-runners, I went out this morning and skied 8 miles, 1,200' gain in 1:15. Still plenty of rocks out, but stuff is slowly getting covered - let the ski-running season begin!

E.C. Richardson's "Ski-Running" (1905) 

W.R. Rickmer's "Ski-ing for Beginners and Mountaineers" (1910)

Winter Has Hit - Cross-Country Skiing

Winter Has Hit - Cross-Country Skiing

Well, this last storm really finally delivered the goods. Everything got pretty covered, with between 8" and 12" on all the trails. We decided to go out and try some cross-country skiing in the new snow. The plan this winter is to try and do a lot of cross-country skiing to keep up the endurance fitness. If one can sustain a good kick-and-glide over a distance, that should help keep a solid endurance fitness level over the winter that will transition nicely back into running. Similarly, it is a good form of cross-training which will be nice. Went up on the Deadhorse climb and skied 7 miles with 1,200' gain. Pretty fun to be out in the woods getting a nice, low impact cardio workout when it is 13 degrees out and dumping.