Misc: This weeks class was a non-event. A few of us showed up at Como but the building wasn't open. I was underdressed for the -4 temps. Possibly if we were able to go inside and talk and then go out skiing with a warm start it would have been OK. A few people skied anyway and the rest of us headed home. Sorry about that mess-up.

Only 4 class sessions left in the season. The last official teaching class is Feb 10. Then the Pizza Party will be Feb 17th.

Weekend: Let's get together for a weekend ski at William O'Brien on Saturday and Sunday. I'm going to ski out there each day at 10AM. Come out and ski, get a little instruction and chase a few instructors and club members around the course. I'm going to do both classic and skate. Bring a lunch and get in a long workout with a few technique pointers. Maybe even a little video taping. No promises but if things work out I'll have the camera with me.

Race Season: Feel free to send in your race experiences. It's always interesting reading and useful to other would-be racers. Road Trip reports too.

Skinnyski.com: If you are a paying member of Skinnyski go to the Account page and click on Settings. Then update your Organization to Ride and Glide. If you're not a paying member consider contributing. Skinnyski follows Running, Blading, and Cycling in the Summer as well. Check it out daily www.skinnyski.com. This is like Public Radio. It's free, you don't have to pay, but if everybody "Freeloaded" it wouldn't be there.

Arvid (the Norsk who had no torsk at jule) led five skiers to some suitable tracks in the glacier area. We worked on basic diagonal technique, and double poling technique. Slow down, and think about precision methodically: weight on one ski, pop the kick while driving the opposite hand forward and planting the pole, rotate the drive ski hip forward (don't step forward too far). On double poling, don't reach too far forward; arms bent at 90 degree angles, plant the poles with your hands at (and close) to chin level, and quick drives of the poles, don't bend upper body more than 45 degrees as you drive the pole tips back.

We then made a figure-eight that included two short rises in order to put the instructed techniques together. Remember, you will learn more by focusing on your technique over a shorter technical loop. But also remember that a point of skiing is to be outside in winter enjoying being outside. So beside thinking about technique as you ski, just ski as much as you can.

We ended the evening by skiing over to the east side, up and down some hills northeast of the rope tow area, eventually back to the parking lot.

I confess! I played hooky last night. I love skiing in the tracks when it's really cold out, but I have a huge aversion to teaching under those conditions. So I went out to Elm Creek and skied in the pristine tracks under the lights. There were about a dozen skiers out, and the glide was reasonable in the tracks. Snow that cold is very abraisive, and it wore my wax off really quickly. It didn't matter much though. With snow that cold you can get kick with almost anything.

With enough layers, and with exposed skin protected with Dermatone or petrolium jelly, you can stay warm even with the temps well below zero. I find that boot covers help keep my senstive toes warm, and that liner gloves under heavy mitts keep my fingers warm enough. Also, if you have to remove the mitts to make adjustments, rewax, etc., the gloves keep your fingers from freezing until you can put the mitts back on. Once you start moving and your body starts generating heat, you'll generally feel comfortable, even under the coldest conditions.

There's some judgement involved of course, and you need to feel comfortable that you can get indoors in a timely way if something goes wrong. A number of years ago, a friend and I got back to my car after a long, very cold ski, and found a dead battery in my car. Fortunately, the car had a manual transmission, and we were able to push it fast enough to pop the clutch and get the engine running. We felt very lucky. There were no other cars in the lot, the temp was WAY below zero, and it was miles to shelter.

Anyway, see you when it's slightly warmer.

Cross Country Cat - by Jyneen Thatcher

So what do skiers like me get for gifts? Other than the traditional socks and underwear, and the occasional gift card, sometimes I get really fun stuff. Like the book I received last year from my dear husband, titled "Cross-Country Cat". Fun little book, a quick read, with gorgeous illustrations. It's the story of a Siamese cat who liked to dance around on his hind legs, so the owners figured the cat (Henry) could handle cross-country skiing if they custom built a pair of skis. Wasn't a grand success at first, but when Henry got left at the cabin, he dug out the skis and floundered around until he finally got a good rhythm going in his kick-and-glide on the journey home. He finally got rescued, after making it most of the distance, and collapsed in total neediness at the sight of his family. While I enjoyed the story, it was the illustrations that I especially appreciated. They really show how Henry was able to achieve good forward lean, getting out over the leading ski. Henry didn't get a strong follow-through on his poling, but his timing was pretty decent. Great weight transfer too.

Exercise and Fluid Replacement

Susan Richardson, RD, and Cammy Skarvan, Nutritionist

Most athletes know the importance of preventing dehydration due to its effect on performance and the potential health consequences. Determining how to go about it is another issue. Many factors affect fluid and electrolyte losses and to make matters more complicated, there is quite a bit of individual variability. Differences depend on metabolic rates, clothing worn, external temperatures, and personal sweat rates. Exercising muscles induce a rising body temperature and this heat is regulated by sweat secretion (evaporation) and increased blood flow to the skin (radiation) (1). Sweat, which contains water and important electrolytes, is a primary avenue for heat regulation and thus can be a substantial route for fluid loss. So, how do you measure your own fluid losses? When should you drink? What should you drink? Here are some of the guidelines.

To determine your own fluid balance, there are two easy methods that you can use together: Measuring your body weight and monitoring your urine output. To get a baseline body weight in a well hydrated state, you can weigh yourself in the morning after you have voided (gone to the bathroom). The state of hydration can be indicated by the color of your urine. If your urine is between a 1 and 3, a clear pale yellow, you are probably hydrated. Be aware that if consuming vitamin B supplements, your urine may have a deeper yellow hue, and this method may not be as accurate. Weighing yourself post-exercise, again preferably in a nude state to avoid the weight of wet clothes, will allow you to determine how much weight you have lost through fluids. For example:

150lbs hydrated pre-exercise

-147lbs post-exercise

3lbs lost

3lbs÷150lbs × 100 = 2.0%

Fatigue at the end of a long exercise session can be attributed as much to dehydration as a decline in energy sources. Effects of dehydration on exercise performance can be seen with a loss of body weight as small as 2%. If losses exceed 5%, work output may decline up to 30% (2).

To avoid these complications, follow some simple guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine to stay well hydrated. Take preemptive measures. Make sure you drink lots of liquids at every meal and throughout the day. 2-4 hours before an event, drink about 500 mL (17oz) to give you time to absorb fluids and excrete excesses. Consuming beverages with sodium (20-50 mmol/L) or with small salty snacks will help retain fluid and increase thirst. (see table) (2). Keep in mind that the goal should be to reach fluid balance and not to over hydrate (hyperhydrate). Theories that suggest hyperhydrating to expand extra- and intracellular spaces has not yet proven any physiological advantage and just increases the need to void during exercise. It is also risky to hyperhydrate because it may lead to decreased sodium concentrations (dilutional hyponatremia).

During exercise, start drinking early and at regular intervals. Though it may be challenging to keep up with sweat rates as high as 2-3 Liters/hour, try to drink as frequently as possible. Do not rely solely on thirst. Thirst may not even be perceived until fluid losses have reached 2% of body weight which is already enough to affect performance (1,2). The amount and rate of fluid consumption during exercise will depend on individual sweat rates and the duration of the exercise, but the goal is to match the amount of fluid lost through sweat and respiration. It is also important to replace electrolytes lost through sweat. By monitoring your body weight after exercise, you can get an idea of your own sweat rate.

1. Sawka, Michael N. et. al. (2007).Exercise and Fluid Replacement Position Stance. Official Journal of The American College of Sports Medicine. Retrieved on January 12, 2009 from http://www.acsm-msse.org/pt/pt-core/template-journal/msse/media/0207.pdf
2. Jeukendrup, Asker, Gleeson, Michael. (2004). Sport Nutrition: An Introduction to Energy Production and Performance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Inc.

Words from the editor - Shad Holland

Last Thursday mara and I woke up early in the morning, packed our skis, clothes, and supplies for a 4 day ski weekend, then headed towards Blue Hills near Bruce, WI. The temps were in the upper single digits for the most part, but it was a great ski experience. We had a good group at Blue Hills....with Steve and Jyneen, Dennis, Ronda, Chris, Tom, John, Liz.......hope I didn't forget anyone. mara and I played follow Dennis pretty much the whole time. We did the full outter loop and it was a blast. A bit cold at times and glide was average, but we still had a ton of fun. Blue Hills is such a neat place to ski.

mara and I drove up to Cable Thursday night to stay at the Pilot Fish in (next to Telemark Lodge). The bummer was that the heater went out for the whole motel sometime during the night. Since the overnight temps were below zero, it got chilly mighty fast. They did manage to get the heat fixed around when we got back from breakfast, but we only got to enjoy it for a short time before we packed up and headed to the North End Cabin on the Birkie trail. Again temps were in the upper single digits and warmed up to about the mid teens, but it was chilly. Glide was again average, but the grooming up there is so good that effort wasn't too bad. mara and I skied with Chris all the way up to the high point, which is 1730ft. I even have proof.....:-).

They look so thrilled.....don't they?

If you have never skied the Birkie trail......there are a few things you are missing out on. One, it is the widest trail known to man. Not only that, it has the most hills known to man too. You may think I am over-exaggerating....but I have more proof.

mara and Chris climbing one of the many walls on the Birkie trail.

After skiing the Birkie trail for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, we headed over to Lakewoods Resort to hang out in the hot tub....then eat dinner. Once all of us had full bellies and Ronda had her rum cake, we drove on icy two lane roads to ABR. Thanks to Steve for leading the way at a nice controlled and comfortable speed. Once there, we talked for a bit and crashed for the night in our designated rooms. Saturday mara and I didn't want to ski while it was still super cold out....so we waited until around noon or so to ski. By this time, Steve had gotten back and rested from his morning classic ski. He lead mara and I around ABR and blistering speeds. Okay, for Steve it was probably a nice relaxing pace, but for mara and I.....it was as fast as we could go. We skied 21k in 2 hours. That includes rest stops and going to the warming house to pick up our ski passes. Steve also showed us how to do some of the advanced climbs in Peltonen Passout without having to do some of the scary steep and fast technical downhills. Saturday evening was a blast. We all hung out, some of us with beers and a little wine, had pizza and salad, and watched Blazing Saddles. It was a fun evening with a lot of fun people!

Sunday morning (and I do mean morning......4:30am) mara and I packed up and headed to Duluth so she could race at Boulder Lake. She did a very respectable time of 30k in around 2 1/2 hours. Considering the super slow snow conditions, this is a great time for her! Once she was done racing, mara and I headed home, with a stop at Fitgers Brewhouse for lunch on the way. But mara didn't get to go right to sleep when we got home.......nope, her work was doing overnight inventory Sunday night....so I drove her into work. She was up for over 36 hours straight, with a ski race within that time.........nuts!

I want to thank Steve for planning these ski trips and setting up the lodging for us. Belonging to Ride & Glide is a lot more than just learning how to XC Ski.