Website: You may have noticed that I have been using a new address for the website. The old one will continue to work. We now have our own Domain Name. The website is now at www.rideandglide.org The e-mail lists work with this new Domain as well.

Clothing: We are going to make a clothing order this Winter. I’d like to get it in by the 2nd week in Dec. Check the link on the web site for sizing and prices We need a minimum of 6 pieces for jerseys and for jackets/vests. I think we’ll make that with no problem......Hat’s too.

Road Trip: We are heading back up to ABR the weekend of Jan 5th. Actually some of us will be leaving Thursday morning Jan 3 and hope to ski at Blue Hills on Thursday, The Birke Trail on Fri and then on up the Montreal Wis for skiing at ABR and Wolverine. This isn’t just for hardcore racers. Some of the best touring terrain around, this is great skiing and a fun group. Lodging will be $30-$35 per night for Fri and Sat. We stay at my cabin on Thursday night (no charge) Some people leave Thurs morning, or Fri morning, or Fri eve. Let me know your interest. We can handle 16-18. We stay in full houses with all the amenities, not hotel rooms. Car pools of course.

Weekend: Saturday skiing at Troll Hollow. 10 am. They are supposed to be fully open (or close to it) Meet me in the lodge at 10 and I can get you in for $5 (club event), otherwise it will cost you $8.

Equipment: FinnSisu equipment day on Sunday 10am. Breakfast will be served (Juice, Coffee, Bagels, etc) It would be good if some people would come at 11 instead of all at 10 so we don’t overwhelm the staff. This is an excellent chance to get stuff that fits at good prices from the best shop in town. 15% off on clothing as well.

Wax party: We will have the “Gang Wax” at my place in Withrow on Saturday Dec 8 10am. Also we’ll have a Potluck for lunch. Bring a dish to pass. The club will provide drinks and our famous Beer Cheese Soup. Come see real skis being waxed and get hands-on help with your skis. RSVP More info next week.

Forum: The Ask an Expert idea has lots of questions already. To manage it I have set up a Discussion Forum for Ride and Glide. Go to the Ride and Glide Forum to view the categories and read questions and answers. You’ll need to register to post questions. Just follow the instructions. Ride and Glide Coaches and Staff will try to read the questions by mid week and attempt to answer them in time for the Friday morning Newsletter release. Feel free to answer some yourself if you feel you understand the question. By all means enter questions any time of the week. We’ll see how this works. I don’t have much experience with BB’s and how they work as a replacement for e-mails. They need to be visited to be effective. Whereas sending things out by e-mail works just by people reading their mail.

Ask an Expert: Summary of topics on the Ride and Glide Forum

• Do I need to wax waxless skis?
• How do I wax for long classic races?
• How come I’m so sore after bounding?
• Do I need a heart rate monitor?
• Should I buy rollerskis?
• What should my first classic ski race be?

Sue's Nutrition Corner: The Importance of Fluids

This week’s topic is about the importance of staying hydrated during skiing. Most people know to dress warm and in layers and keep skin covered in cold temperatures, but not being properly hydrated will encourage the onset of hypothermia quickly because the body cannot regulate it’s temperature.

Weigh yourself before and after you exercise to determine how much fluid you have lost. For every pound of weight lost, replace by drinking one pint of fluid.

A good rule of thumb is to drink 16 oz. one to two hours before exercising and four to six ounces per hour of training or competing. Remember: one gulp of fluid is approximately one ounce.

During Light Activity drink water and/or enhanced water. Use sport drinks for Moderate and Heavy workouts. When you get into the Prolonged workout, it’s time to begin using the more specialized sport drink, i.e. Accelerade (during event) and Endurox (post event) which utilizes protein to increase the ability of sodium to maintain fluid balance during the event and for recovery after the workout.

Next week: Carbohydrates…..do we really need them to exercise?

We had about 15 people on a cold night (15*) for Intermediate Skate. We started out with a brisk pole hike to try and warm up. We hiked over to our favorite lights and hill by the Pavilion on the lake. We covered all 3 dryland technique drills. A dryland drill is an approximation of the motions actually used in skiing. The purpose is to teach the muscles the right positions, movements and timing so that when you get on snow you’ll know what to do. On grass we can teach the movements without the interference of balance problems caused by being on skis and snow. So it’s the fast track to learning how to ski. Then all that required is execution once on snow as you already know what to do, you just have to overcome the balance problems to accomplish them and that comes with practice. We did all drills stationary at first and then slowly up the hill. These are drills, not Plyo’s. We’re training muscle memory not cardio and strength at this time. Later, when we ramped it up, the cardio and strength aspects came info focus. So we slowly went through V1, Field Skate, and V2. Slow motion weight transfer and skate and tried to stick (pause) the landings on each stroke. Then gradually increased the speed and tried to remain fluid. The V2 drill I have developed is really good at getting people to do a relaxed V2. It works well as a demonstration of the moves in dryland and I use it on snow as well. I think it really make V2 easy. If you haven’t seen it be sure to grab me sometime and I’ll demonstrate. I’ll attempt to describe the dryland drill here with a list of steps (no poles). Remember this is a learning drill and at first it’s not really like the V2, but we get there eventually.

1. Stand with feet together ready to do a double pole, Hands shoulder height, arms at 90 degrees


2. Do the double pole motion with arms a bit wider than shoulder width and elbows out


3. Continue with the double pole and as your hands reach your hips take a step to the left as you follow-through with your arms
   
   a: If you want you can slap your thighs as your hands pass your hips as a timing reminder that it time to step to the left
   
   b: Don’t step until the slap happens
   
   
4. Your arms have now followed through behind you and you’re standing on both feet with them separated by about 2 feet


5. Next bring your right foot back to your left foot and place it on the ground
   
   a: As you are doing this recover you arms forward to get ready to do the double pole again but from the other side
   
   
6. Back to step 1 but this time you step to the right with your right foot and repeat

This is the exact V2 timing. Practice this so you can do it smoothly and at diff speeds and intensities. Be sure to relax. Once you’re comfortable start doing it on one foot with the inside foot held off the ground an inch or two but held right next to the weighted foot. Then do the sequence "Double Pole, Step, Recover" Done on 1 foot it’s actually V2 skiing. Next start moving forward instead of just side to side. Relax, especially the arms, and you doing the V2 ;-).

Last night was a perfect example of one dilemma we face in coaching. The weather was cold enough (as we aren't acclimated yet) to discourage us from working outside, but once we got outside and expending energy it became tolerable. But when we stopped for a bit of technique instruction, hands and noses got cold. So, do we spend the full session on cardio-vascular work, and give up the time that could be spent on technique drills? Do we consider dealing with the weather as part of the whole package of "learning to ski" and each night is the chance to get self-feedback on what clothing combination works for what temerature range. Probably all of us have been in group programs where we have found ourselves being completely miserable and constantly asking "are we done yet? Can I go home now?" And other times when we ask "why did I drive all the way over here to do something I could have done just as well at home?" I admit that dryland for skate-skiing has a few more options for incorporating technique into pole-hikes than classic does, so our group is at a disadvantage. So I hope there was something positive for those who showed up last night. If not, I will empower you with two phrases to use when it is appropriate: #1- "SHUT UP AND LET'S SKI" This useful phrase comes in handy on those high energy days when you really want to keep moving, and the instructor has already done a wonderful job at demonstrating the technique, and you are ready to go. #2- "GIVE ME TIME" This phrase will remind us that you are still processing the last information you received, and want to master it before moving on. It is especially useful when I start to nag you about arms when you are still concentrating on the previous leg drill. Or if you feel in danger of being dropped from the pack on either the warm-up or cool-down hike, that phrase will remind us to loop back to keep you in the peloton.

Last night's indoor session gave an introduction to the sort of weight training, or gym work, that can develop the muscle groups and synaptic connections needed for skiing. From that introduction (which we will probably repeat if we don't get snow very soon) you should be able to select which exercises will cross-train and optimize your gym workouts, to complement our techinique instruction.

Homework for all, before the first night on snow- suit up in your full gear, including gloves/mittens and ski boots. Practice putting on your skis (clean them of old klister or gooey kick wax first, to keep Mrs Santa happy) and try your one-foot balance exercises with skis on. Re-adjust the pole straps to accommodate your most frequently worn gloves. Next, turn off the light and do these exercises again, in the dark, to simulate Tuesday evening conditions. The first night on snow, we will be busy enough getting you started with skiing; we don't have the luxury of enough instructors to help you put on your gear. We usually have been able to help you adjust your kick wax (see Phrase #2, above) but don't count on us to re-wax your skis for you. If you have brand new skis that haven't been prepped yet, just come in snow-tolerant hiking shoes, and we'll do parallel dryland work instead of risking damage to the skis.