The American Birkebeiner ski trail is a 52km long, 6m wide ribbon of grass that transects the Chequamegon National Forest between Cable and Hayward, Wisconsin. Maintaining the trail requires almost constant attention. The CXC Vertical Limit Team athletes spent Sunday afternoon doing volunteer trail work to get the trail prepped for the winter. Every five years, [...]
We are winding down another camp in Hayward, WI. This week was speed block #2 for most of the team. We had lots of hard training and we are starting to feel pretty wiped out. This morning, Coach Igor’s wife, Nina Gavrilyuk, joined us for the big OO time trial. Nina [...]
The other week I led a CXC/Birkie Nordic Walking Clinic in Woodruff, WI at Premier Physical Medicine and Wellness Clinic. 42 people made the clinic ranging in age from 8 to 86 years old. It is one thing to hear about nordic as a lifetime sport but it is really cool to see both young [...]
Well, we’re in Hayward again. It’s absolutely nuts how quickly the summer is passing! It’s September already and we can technically consider it fall, yikes. Don’t get me wrong, fall is probably my favorite season, with all of the leaves changing colors and the temperature dropping a bit, but I don’t think I’m quite ready [...]
The International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) has 10 trails around the world they call “IMBA Epics” – sort of like the Seven Wonders of the World for mountain bikers. Atop IMBA’s list is the most famous ride, so famous that Pink Floyd named a song after the trail, Comfortably Numb. I’m in Whistler, BC at the [...]
The CXC Team Vertical Limit September Camp kicked off this Thursday in Hayward, WI with VO2 max testing on the treadmill. With multiple tests so far this year the results will be a great way to chart progress. Ideally we will have become more aerobically efficient after the long hours of summer training. Hopefully our [...]
By Gus Kaeding Hey everyone, I am back in Marquette after quite a bit of hopping around. For the past month I have been dealing with the fact that my body seems to be falling apart. Following our last training camp I developed a nasty case of shins splints. I was headed back [...]
(video work by CXC Team Vertical Limit member Audrey Weber)
I enjoy a game of Chicken Bingo. I have never been much for gambling, but as far back as I can remember I have enjoyed this game My brother and Me placing our bets For those of you unfamiliar with the game here are the rules: How it Works: Squares are sold for 50 cents. If the chicken poops on [...]
Yes, you heard it here first, CXC is Trendy. According to Fasterskier.com, Green and Vintage are the two biggest trends of the 2009 dryland season. They have yet to pick up on the growing Nordic Walking trend, but as they say about all things Nordic, “It’s big in Europe.” Bill & I spent the afternoon cutting [...]
Well, the CXC Team Vertical Limit has just wrapped up an awesome camp in Ironwood, Michigan. In order to convince the reader of the awesome-ness of this camp, I am going to recount, in my opinion, ”The Top-10 Reasons Why August Camp Was Awesome.” 10. Homemade pasta dinner. Nothing like combining carbo-loading with a cultural experience. 9. OD [...]
Pictures from a perfect off day, spend in the waters of the Presque Isle River in the Porcupine Mountains. Sometimes, you just need to take a little break from skiing, and focus on having fun. So on Monday, with no workout scheduled, Kuz, Karl, J. Diggs, Kelly, Audrey and I went in search of adventure. [...]
By Maria Stuber After James and Kelly’s wedding in Colorado, I had a pretty bad ankle role and couldn’t train for a couple days. Bryan Cook and I spent some time in Boulder where our good friends Shane Mundt and Tami Kochen took excellent care of us. Shane made us tons of good food. There was [...]
The last time I wrote was in the middle of our speed block at the Hayward camp in July. Needless to say I survived my first speed block : ) and it wasn’t even as bad as I thought it would be! I have to see how I feel after a second, but I [...]
The Ironwood camp is rapidly approaching and I am excited to train with the team again but I also greatly enjoy training by myself. In order to be a successful skier I think you need to like training alone in the forest or on a quiet stretch of road. I think the hardest part is [...]