Training around the Bend

Greetings SkiErg Followers!

Coming to you from Bend, Oregon, I am finishing up my first ski training camp for the 2012–2013 season. That’s right, it’s time to start up again! I had a good season this past year, despite chasing snow most of the winter and skiing on man-made snow for the most consecutive days in a row ever. After spring series in Craftsbury, Vermont, Nordic skiers all over the country took most of April to recover and are now back at it. This year there is a World Cup in Canada in December, meaning the US takes more athletes to compete, so everyone is ramping up with quality training.

Before Bend, the US team had a testing camp in Park City, Utah, at the new Olympic Training Center, and were put through many different physical challenges. One of their tests was using the SkiErg! It’s good to see it being utilized at the highest level.

I caught up with Holly Brooks from Alaska Pacific University’s Nordic Ski Center, who is a new member to the US Ski B team this year. Holly commented, “It’s my first time doing it (the SkiErg Test) but it’s a great, specific quantifiable measure of applicable power. We did the max pull five times and the 30-second test. The Concept2 SkiErg measures force and ‘distance traveled’ so it’s a test that you can always replicate…super nice!” You can read more about what sort of testing they did in her blog.

If you have never been to Bend, Oregon, in the spring, it is a definite must. Bend’s attraction is mainly ski touring and mountain biking, because in the winter I hear they get too MUCH snow too often for Nordic skiing. You might leave town in a sunny 60 degrees, only to drive up to Mt. Bachelor 20 minutes later to be engulfed in a blizzard!

Follow my training and travels throughout the season!