Kelly Milligan, 1984 US Cross-Country Olympian, showed last week at the Soldier Hollow SuperTour that she can still ski with the best US Cross-Country women. Fasterskier.com decided to find out what drives and makes 40-year young women still race as fast as Kelly does. Read through for some great advise for young and upcoming female skiers.
It is interesting to see that you can still keep up 20 years after Olympic racing? Do you think you ski as fast today as you did in Sarajevo 1984?
I do not feel as strong now as I did back in my 20's but I may be almost as fast. I'd say two years ago I was pretty close to as fast as I was when I made the 1984 Olympics. By not being as strong I mean I feel more vulnerable to injury and over training. I used to recover from a hard race or work out in a couple of days and now it can take a week. I also get these strange little pains in various muscles, joints, etc. after and during some workouts. These pains are always in the back of my mind and I think sometimes keep me from being as mentally tough as I would like to be. I also find myself more tentative in some situations like sliding down the neighborhood dirt pile with my daughter Katie (age 8). I used to never think about how some activity, like shoveling or sliding might cause an injury and thus maybe I shouldn't do it.
What are your best results the last 2 years? How about before then (back in the 80's)?
My results at Olympic trials in 1984 were a 3rd, 4th, and two 5th places. In Bozeman in 2002 I got two 5th place (4th American) finishes and also was the 4th American in the Sun Valley 5 km International Invitational that was held before the Boulder Mountain Tour that year. I then placed 3rd in the Boulder our a couple of days later. Those are by far my best results since 1984.
 is probably my biggest strength along with my ability to push myself in a race; – it sure isn't my double pole!</p>
<p><B>What have you learned about training and racing during the 25 or so years (including breaks) you've skied at a high level? What should be prioritized? </B></p>
<p>My training is based on pretty simple principals. I try and do one long (greater then 2 hours) workout a week and one hard – either pace, race, or interval a week. Interspersed in this week I like to get two more quality workouts of a moderate hard and shorter distance and some quick speed. If I am tired I don't do it, or I cut back what I planned to do or I take several extra rest days. Looking back at my training log from the 80's the overwhelming notation is that I was always tired. Today if I'm tired I think it is very important both physically but more importantly mentally to take it easy until you get that pep back.</p>
<p><B>What do you observe about the much younger women you're skiing with that they should/could work on/improve?</B></p>
<p>I am always amazed and yet pleased when I am able to ski with and even beat younger skiers. I do not know why the U.S. women are not getting any faster. As a supporter of US Nordic skiing I find it depressing that the U.S. women are not making improvements, as a competitor I love being able to ski with these same women. My biggest piece of advice to these racers would be if you have been training for several years and are not making any significant improvements then it is time to step back and have someone else help you look at your training and figure out why you have stalled. I think we all get caught up in training the way we like to even if that may not be the way to get faster. </p>
<p><B>Are you going to US Nationals in Rumford this year – what are your goals?</B></p>
<p>I will be racing at Rumford this year. If I can finish in the top 20 Americans I will be satisfied. I have had a couple of rather frustrating years of training because of some chronic injuries. So if I am top 20 this year then next year I would like to be top 10 and in 2006 I would like to be top 5. If you can place in the top 5 you can also win on any given day…. yup it may be a pipe dream but that is my “goal.” To help with this I also have a running goal. I ran personal bests in all distances when I turned 40 and I am trying to improve those times so that I run new personal bests when I am 45, just in time for 2006. Running is so much easier then skiing to see improvement, times in running are much more straight forward then skiing and seeing those times go down in the summer gives me confidence that I will also ski faster in the winter.</p>
<p><B>Can you give us a short summary of your skiing and professional career? </B></p>
<p>I started racing at 14 when I was a freshman in high school. I won the 5th race I entered and was hooked. At 16 I made the US junior team and decided then to try for the 1984 Olympics. Making that team was a realization of a goal but it also became a bit meaningless in the racing sense when I realized how far behind the world I still was. I decided then that making an Olympic team wasn't enough, I wanted to win. Unfortunately I tried to catch up with the world in a year and over-trained so seriously that it took me almost 3 years to get healthy again. After that I spent a long time doing other life things which included veterinarian school, marriage, a child, and owning my own business. During all this time I continued to train and race at some level but I don't think I was mentally prepared to ever make it too important again. After my year of over-training when even taking a walk was an effort much less racing, I had a real identify crisis, which included suicidal thoughts. If I am not one of the best skiers in the country then what real worth do I have and why do I want to even be alive. Luckily I found a great counseling support group at my University and some really good friends that liked me even if I couldn't win a race. If asked I will tell you I am an athlete first and the rest is icing which is why I am getting such a kick out of racing at this level and still being competitive. It will never be all-important again. I think being older and having a real life which really means having other interests that are just as important as skiing keeps it all in perspective and keep it enjoyable. If it is not fun anymore I think you should really question why you are doing it. Racing has always given me a sense of purpose and fulfilled some basic need in my make up. I figure I will be competing at some level until the day I die. Sometimes I wonder if I would be a happier person if I wasn't so competitive, but it is probably a meaningless question as I wouldn't be me if I wasn't always striving to “do better” or ” go faster”.</p>
<p><I>Editor: Wow – those of us that know Kelly also knows she can talk a blue streak.</I></p>
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