Sunday, January 06, 2008

Scott and I were gone recently for US Nordic Nationals in Houghton, MI for the CSS Nordic Ski Team we are helping coach. We had a great week. The snow conditions were great along with temps. Our athletes had a rough showing due to a flu that hit the night before the first race and then spread through most of our team. We had a few good results as well. I had not been to a US Nationals for skiing since 1994. A few of my former NMU teammates are now coaching, so it was good to catch up with them. One of the coaches for our CSS team was also a former NMU teammate. I miss ski racing a little, but still not sure if I would ever race again. The bike season is really long and in order to be a really good skier one has to train properly, including a lot of rollerskiing. I rollerskied this year with our CSS team for the first time in maybe 5 years. I have fun helping others develop ski technique.

We have gotten a ton of snow this winter so the nordic skiing has been fantastic! Scott and I have been skiing for over a month now consistently. Scott is convinced biking makes him weak and skiing makes him strong. My arms always seem pretty sore and tired from skiing. It is a very good workout!

Other than skiing and coaching I am getting ready to start the next semester. Last semester was really tough with coaching, teaching, and being in grad school. Hopefully, this semester will be a bit better. I hope the weather stays good for skiing. It is so nice to have a real midwest winter!