UAA Nordic Ski Team: A Smashing Good Time

The racing, and the "official team training" happens in the mornings around here. But in the afternoons is when the fun really begins. Unencumbered by heart rate monitors or authority figures, the coaches charge around the trails for an hour or two, racing the sunset and trying to make each other suffer. We each have our own weaknesses to deal with: I with my pneumonia / emphysema / black lung issues; Andrew with his sickness for Strava, and Marine with.... I'm not sure Marine has any weaknesses at the moment, but there's gotta be something.

Marine has been leading me around the Rendezvous Trails in the afternoons. It's really fun to go out skiing with Marine because she's always ready with a smile and likes to ski the downhills, turns and transitions fast, just like I do. She is determined to get a little exercise so that she'll be ready for a ski marathon in Colorado in a couple weeks. And I am determined to keep up with Marine on our afternoon tempo sessions here in Montana. It's not easy. I usually need to be suited up in full spandex to even have a chance. Every once in a while I'll feign an untied shoe or a loose pole strap so we can stop for a moment to catch my breath and take another cough drop (to keep my pulmonary edema under control). It was during the stop pictured below that Marine told me about a ski session the previous day with someone else: "...It was a great ski. My skis were faster than his and I was just able to smash him!"

Andrew, for his part, has been struggling with his own sickness - for Strava. I never really heard about this Strava phenomenon before, but apparently you can turn every solitary, peaceful, invigorating interaction with nature into a testosterone-fueled race against anybody else who ever came down the trail ahead of you with a Garmin GPS watch. So early every afternoon, Andrew plots out all the weakest Strava trail segments around the general vicinity, he makes a plan, and he walks over to the trail system with a pair of freshly waxed skis and a zoot suit made of spandex. And late every afternoon he strides back off the ski trails and through the hotel lobby, looking hopeful, and he plugs his tell-all wristwatch into his computer to see who he was able to relegate down the almighty Strava scoreboard. There have been triumphs as well as a few tragedies, but I know for sure that you can now find Andrew's name on more than one "leader board" pertaining to the Rendezvous Ski Trail System.

You may remember that Sara, our former Seawolf assistant coach, used to hide out in closets and whatnot whenever she could. We all miss her a lot, of course, but Andrew's attempt to emulate her by hiding behind the wax bench this morning showed that he never truly learned how hiding works.

The view from the starting grid at today's women's race

Aljaz Praznik, first year assistant coach at University of New Mexico, ready for action in his feed zone debut.

And Marine. A bit dramatic with the snowsuit perhaps.

Jenna. Today's fastest Seawolf.

Sadie Fox

Michaela

The weather started raging this afternoon, so I took the opportunity to do the thing I like to do best in a snowstorm - I went out for a nice afternoon ski tour.

Seawolf Central for the week.

The stormy streets of West Yellowstone

Ski racing is a lot of fun, it's pretty challenging, and I think it's a good way to spend time. But ski racing doesn't really give me the peace and tranquility that I seem to need in large daily doses. As much as I enjoy going out and racing around with others, the best moments are always alone, when you can decide for yourself which direction to go, which way to turn, or when to pull a peanut butter sandwich out of the backpack for lunch. When you can stop and take a look around without feeling the need to make a statement or crack a joke, and without anyone else messing up your silence... These are important moments in the day of any reflective person.