Time for Technique - Take 2 (recap)

Two words for this recap - tempting and waxing. Let me expound.

It is always tempting to hole up on cold nights and say to yourself, "it is far too cold outside for any reasonable person to be outside." When has reason been a driving force for Minnesotan athletes? Well, as you skiers, runners, and snowshoers know, it doesn't take long to warm up even in the coolest weather once you get moving. Last weekend's snowshoing event in the midst of near-arctic temperatures should inspire all of us to get outside.

Next, don't be lax about the wax. I haven't waxed my skis since I was out for weekend skiing a few weeks back during high 20s low 30s temps. I knew better, but didn't make the time to properly wax my skis. Last night was proof enough to me that wax can make a huge difference in ski performance. Make sure your wax is reasonably fresh and appropriate for the conditions (temperature, snow type, and humidity). FastWax has a great site to help, but our local ski shops can also give advice.

For those of you who didn't attend, you missed out. Chris T showed up this go around and provided some excellent ski technique tips, including V1/V2/V2 Alternate along with the pole timing. We hope to incorporate more technique drills in the next few weeks while the ski season holds. Our next get-together will be held at Snowflake which has a much better flat staging area for completing drills. It was a great asset to have Chris around and we hope he is able to make future Tuesday gatherings.

Last, the trails were freshly groomed. It is a rare day in Duluth to be one of the first to navigate freshly groomed trails and that is exactly what the conditions were like. The hard-packed snow of last week was no more, which was great for control. Like last week, the course felt relatively open in spite of the fact that plenty of cars were present in the upper lot. We are truly blessed to have so many trails in Duluth. We completed (2) full loops on the lit section.

Next week is a definite maybe, so please email (goodcleanfun@kenwoodlaundromat.com) me if you are inclined to attend so we are able to ascertain numbers and make a qualified assessment. Also, I'll plan on taking pictures without my lobster mitts to hopefully yield better results!