All,
Not sure where everyone was last weekend. We had super snow and weather, giving us great training with little waiting. This will be a busy weekend, with the last two GDHL races, followed by the Family Day opportunity to recover and begin mental preparation for the Interclub finals next weekend!
SCHEDULE
We will be training dual SL Saturday at 0930 on Venture. This will be cross-blocking but a shorter course to let you get a bunch of laps in anticipation of Saturday afternoon's GDHL SL on Millenium. With Sunday's GDHL GS race moving to 10 AM on Vortex, we will be training GS at 1 PM on Big John. Last chance for our training before the Finals! Watch the board at the National Chair for any updates. We expect to have timing set for Sunday, but not for the dual SL.
Friday training is SL in the morning and GS in the afternoon.
GDHL / INTERCLUB
There are no new GDHL results to embellish, but I'm sure you are all preparing for the last two races this weekend. Remember that participation is key for the team standings and the big cash prizes that go along with them. Team standings are based on each member's best four races. However, even if you have four good races, it's important to keep turning out so that slower skiers on other teams don't get better results and more points because of your absence. My team squeaked into the money one year when the team that had been ahead of us only had four people show up for the last race and we got an extra 20 or so points as a result of beating the six who didn't show up.
The score sheet from last weekend's home Interclub race is attached. The Craigleith team skied to a fourth consecutive victory. This secured the overall regular season title, which lets us host the 2014 finals. Anne Mathers, Margaret Isberg, Greg Grinter, Allan LaChance, Kate Veer, Bebe Zoricic, Doug Deeks, Chris Shipton, Scott McLorie and Justin Kowal were the Craigleith category winners. Craigleith also had the top six and eight of the top 10 overall placings, led by Chris Shipton. Margaret Isberg, Glenn Blaylock and Bebe Zoricic were the top individual point getters. (Will Bebe and Jeff Sutherland become the next Randy and Trent? Randy is +3 in GDHL after one drop, entering the last weekend. Jeff and Bebe are 1-1 in Interclub head to head, but remember you’re on the same team.)
Now comes the hard part. Who gets to ski in the finals? Points are scored in each age category based on the number of skiers who start in that category. So finishing fifth in the men's 55 to 59 category and 20 something overall may be worth more than winning the men's 30 to 34 category and finishing second overall. Even worse, we and our opponents may choose not to start good skiers in categories where other teams are particularly strong. And it can make a difference whether there is an odd or even number of skiers in the category. Have fun with those spreadsheets TSB!
A plea for next season – we need more women who are as fast as the ones we have! Youth is an advantage but not essential. Applicants should have own equipment, including Lycra suit and good selection of wax. :-)
SELF IMPROVEMENT / LIVE IN HOPE
Quick first thought. Side slipping is normally most successful when done at fairly high speed. It’s not an exercise in painstaking polishing but rather rough and forceful removal of some debris. Don’t try to hit every spot, just get some and let the next person build on your efforts.
Some of you may recall my comments a while ago to the effect that the CSCF is trying to discourage feedback junkies and encourage athletes to work more independently. You need to get into the starting gate with an idea of what you’re trying to accomplish or improve, and the patience to accept that getting it right once doesn’t mean you move on right away to the next thing. Having a Chronosplit watch will help you get feedback as you experiment with different things. But when you specially want someone to tell you whether you’ve accomplished what you’re attempting, feel free to ask the coach at the top of the course to alert those at the bottom to your request.
Steve Young joined us last Sunday, and may do so again in the future. He pointed out that part of engraining an improvement into your skiing may be to have cue words or triggers to remind you of certain things. “Forward” is something I say to myself a lot. As it’s often said in a moment of stress, and sometimes out loud, I try to avoid including other not such good out loud words. “Light” is one I also use to remind myself to get more weight on my downhill ski, or actually less on my uphill ski. These cues need to remind us not just of results but of specific muscle actions or movements to accomplish the results. Which brings up the issue of being sure that you actually know how to get more weight on your downhill ski or whatever. I was skiing bumps on Manitou with Steve on Sunday afternoon, not very gracefully, and he suggested that I should try to keep the tips of my skis down on the backside of the bumps. I had heard that before but realized I didn’t know or couldn’t remember how to do it. I asked, and Steve provided an explanation of the mechanics, which are quite simple if you can keep yourself in proper balance. So if you’re that kind of learner, don’t be shy about asking for more information, but again don’t be impatient and try to implement six new things a day.
Feedback also works both ways. One understands that many, if not most, of the participants in our program are bright, well-educated and successful in other fields of endeavour. So if you think something isn’t right, chances are it isn’t. Please say so, especially with respect to any safety issue. One of you pointed out last week that when stopping for feedback at the finish line, it’s better to do so beside or below the coaches and others who are gathered there, as sometimes the brakes don’t hold as well as you planned. (When I was on my first CSCF course, another participant didn’t stop as she planned and dislodged her two front teeth on my knee. The fact that she was a professional flautist didn’t make this accident any easier.) Coaches sometimes like to look uphill and watch the next skier while talking to you, but it’s probably safest to stop below and let the coach move.
Finally, here is a link to a whole library of videos of recent race highlights, including Lindsey Vonn beating Tina Maze at the Maribor GS and Ted Ligety doing the same to Marcel Hirscher at Adelboden.
FASHION NEWS
This picture of Carrie at work on Sunday features the “Crown Jewels” jacket in “blue bay” and pants in “gypsy.” These are from Carrie’s personal collection, rather than the Spyder closet. Note how they’re accessorized with a Dewalt drill and 28mm bit, and a gate key in metallic blue. Saturday had featured the Pandora jacket and pristine white pants. Not sure whether last week’s “boring black” ones were given to the needy.
DIVERSIONS
HOW TO START A FIGHT – Thinking that the budget was looking a little stretched, a man said to his wife “What have you been doing with all the grocery money I give you?” She replied, “That’s pretty easy to demonstrate. Turn sideways and look in the mirror!” And then the fight started…
HOW TO GET DISCIPLINED BY YOUR PROFESSIONAL SELF-GOVERNING ORGANIZATION - My psychiatrist told me I was crazy and I said I wanted a second opinion.
He said okay, you’re ugly too.
JWM