Whenever nordic skiers are being stereotyped, you are almost sure to hear the word granola, often accompanied by words like crunchy, and nature. So what better to bake than a food that will fulfill all the world’s stereotypes about us? Because granola can be made with just about anything, the recipe is wide open to your interpretation. Substitute craisins for raisins, throw in your leftover almonds, replace the fiber with chocolate – go nuts!
NORWAY – Bringing young athletes from all the ski disciplines onto one team is the recipe for excellence in the future. “Team Morgendagens Helter” is 5-year talent development project organized by the Norwegian Ski Association and backed by major sponsor Statoil, designed to share training strategies and increase the pool of experience across the different ski disciplines.
A group of handpicked Norwegian junior skiers in the Norwegian Ski Association’s talent development group are treated to their own mentors among the World Cup racers, as well as team camps that blend athletes from all the ski disciplines. The result is major motivational boosts.
There aren’t many people who can spend more time in work boots than cycling shoes and still harbor reasonable hopes of keeping up in a bike race with Tour de France veterans. But count American nordic combined skier Billy Demong as one of the few members of that group. Over the past few years, Demong has been an avid bike racer during the off-season. This summer, though, he’s been more focused on remodeling his house...
If I know it’s going to be a big day, I make sure I have a solid breakfast. People always say that it’s the most important meal of the day and that’s true. When you wake up in the morning, you probably haven’t eaten in at least 8 hours. Your glucose stores will be depleted, which are the main energy source of the body. A lot of people tell me, “I’m not hungry,” or “I...
Martin Rosvall, 32, works full time as an assistant professor of physics at the University of Umeå in northern Sweden. But the constraints of a full time job, work-related travel and conferences are no barriers to stellar marathon performances, Rosvall says. Point in case: In March, he finished 15th overall at the Vasaloppet, the 90 K classic race that attracts more than 20,000 skiers and was Rosvall’s main goal for the season. The legendary race...
OSLO, NORWAY – It’s a well known fact that cross-country skiing is among the worst offenders when it comes to increasing risk of exercise induced asthma and has some of the highest use of asthma medicine among elite athletes. According to the Norwegian TV station NRK, as many as half of the skiers on the Norwegian national team have asthma. “These are not exact numbers, but we test the national team every year, and about...
Yeah right, we’re all skiers, and we all need to eat carbohydrates. Pesto, the classic Italian combination of basil, pine nuts, garlic, cheese and olive oil, is a staple. Relatively easy to prepare, it meets a skier’s carbohydrate needs. However, one doesn’t live by pasta alone. As the chief dishwasher as well as cook in our house, I’ve adapted the classic pesto recipe for to incorporate vegetables and protein, while minimizing the number of dishes...
If Nicaragua is not the last place you would look for a story about cross country skiing, it’s pretty darn close. But for former Junior National Champ and Alaskan Espen Haugen, the small Central American country has become an obsession. Growing up, Haugen was an avid skier and member of the Alaska Pacific University (APU) team with such greats as former U.S. Ski Team member Nina Kempall and 2009 World Championship medalist Kikkan Randall, as...
Most of his competitors train full time; Martin Rosvall, 32, works full time. In March, Rosvall was 15th overall at the Vasaloppet, after having led the podium finishers large portions of the way from Sälen to Mora. No small feat for an amateur.
Been out of the game for the past few weeks with an illness that kept me from trying out and eating tasty recipes but here it is. We’re back with a delish recipe involving, rice, cheese and spinach… my favourite! Risotto with Mushrooms, Red Peppers, and Spinach Ingredients: – 1 cup Arborio rice – 3 cups chicken stock – 1/2 onion or three shallots, chopped – 3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely – 1/2 a red...
In the voice mail he leaves me with directions to his cabin in the woods, Andy Newell gives me the street address—number 380—but tells me to just give him a call when I get close, since it’s not marked. But when I drive through the nearest town, he doesn’t answer, and then, predictably, when I find 376 and 382 a mile down the dirt road, I don’t have cell service. After driving past two surly-looking...
The summer is in full swing. For athletes, that means building up your training base with long workouts, intensity sessions, and time in running shoes and on rollerskis. While the training is what will keep you fast for those race weekends in January and February, during July and August, the season can seem a long way off. The temptation to have a barbeque with your friends, knock back a few of your favorite adult drinks,...
Protein is a very important component of any athlete’s caloric intake, but it can be difficult to sort myth from fact when judging how much protein to incorporate into your diet. In the next few paragraphs, I hope to debunk some myths and provide you with a new pieces of information that might improve your diet and subsequently enhance your training. Myth: You only get protein from meat. Fact: While this is a bit exaggerated...
The summer sun is enticing to outdoor enthusiasts like most of us skiers, but it can be more dangerous than we realize. We all grew up with Mom chasing embarrassingly after us with a bottle of SPF 200, but it turns out Mom was right. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and studies have shown that endurance athletes are at a greater risk due to the extended hours spent in...
Sara Renner is getting a crash course in normal living. Since announcing her retirement from skiing after her final race—the 30 k race at the Olympics, she’s jumped into the “real life of motherhood and work” with both feet. “It’s really eye-opening the amount of stuff you do in a day when you don’t ski [train],” she said. “It’s so busy!” Renner is now balancing motherhood with a new position—she and her husband, Thomas Grandi,...
Tired of going out for a rollerski in the rain only to come back with soaked boots that need to sit for a day and a half trying to dry, stuffed with newspaper? Tired of rollerskiing in the hot sun? Tired of rollerskiing already, period? Running may be the answer, according to Dick Moss of Sudbury, Ontario. He’s been a coach for 29 years, working primarily with runners, but he has seen the occasional Olympian sneak...
Following her Olympic debut in Turin, Italy in 2006, Rebecca Dussault planned to take a break, to include the birth of her second child, before returning to racing. The short break lasted a year and a half longer than planned when her husband Sharbel contracted a serious auto-immune disease. The long delay meant that her points coming into the 2010 season were far less than optimal and despite numerous fantastic results and a SuperTour championship,...
Breathlessness, delayed recovery, cold intolerance, feeling fatigued after even mild exercise – any athlete has experience these symptoms at some point or another during their training. Usually they are signs of an oncoming cold and the remedy is simply to slow down for a few days. In some cases though, these may be signs of a severe iron deficiency. Iron is essential to athletic performance, and especially to endurance events. According to a study commissioned...
Canada now has three Training Centres spread out across the country—Quebec, Thunder Bay, and Whistler. The Callaghan Valley Training Centre (CVTC) is still in its infancy—after four years, it’s still trying to get its legs under it and prove itself. Despite having the perfect training site, an Olympic venue, and ideal conditions for athletes to develop into top-tier athletes, the Centre has been dogged with bad luck—three coaches in four years, a complete athlete turnover after...