Most successful ever online kit launch for Adidas

Manchester United (who else?).  Again demonstrates the phenomenal marketing power of a top global sports brand.  See article at the link below.
Drum article

Breakdown of top earning athletes by sport

Top 5 individuals aside, over 60% of the top 100 earners are from US centric sports.  Significant that even a truly global sport like "Soccer" only has 15 of the top 100 earners.

Source: Forbes via Globe & Mail.

Last (lift) ski of the season - May 18

High up at Sunshine, Alberta.  A Cross country trail in the meadow beyond for early/late season training.  Should have brought my skinny skis!  Beautiful spring day in the mountains.

One of Those Nordic Days

Don't try this at home!  Impressed by the skill demonstrated on skinny skis in this video.

One of Those Nordic Days

Northug again in the 50km Classic

Another gold for Northug (4 at these World Championships -19 overall for Norway including 11 gold).  Germany with 5 golds and Sweden with 2 golds next in the medals table.  The Norwegian women almost unbeatable right now.  A creditable 5th for Alex Harvey in the 50km. Winning time for Northug in the 50km was 2:26:02.
Article - World Championships 50km Classic

Lake Louise Loppet March 1, 2015

A beautiful day for the 43rd running of one of the older Canadian Loppets.  A couple of very fast icy downhills on the first 10 km loop.  Considering the recent weather, the course was in decent shape.  My lack of skiing this year was fully exposed in the last 5km or so.  A gentle 1hr and 55mins to complete the delightful 20km course.

Peter Loughheed Park, Kananaskis - Blueberry Hill

A great 30km ski last Friday to warm up for the Lake Louise Loppet on Sunday.  Conditions quite good at the higher part of the trail system, despite the general lack of snow and warm weather of the past few weeks in Southern Alberta.  This has to be is one of my favourite trails.  Part of the reward is the fantastic view at the top of Blueberry Hill.

Second World Championship medal for Alex Harvey

While Norway are still dominating with 11 medals so far, it has been an outstanding competition for Canada's Alex Harvey.  He followed up his sprint silver performance with a bronze in the Skiathlon.  He is the first Canadian ever to win 2 medals at a World Championship.
Faster Skier article - World Championships Skiathlon

World Championsips (Falun) - Men's classic sprint final

3 minutes of lung popping skiing.  Video of final (from Norwegian TV - where else?) at the link below.  Exciting stuff, Northug holding off Harvey at the end.  Race strategy mixed with all out effort to execute.
Men's Classic sprint final Falun
Inches between gold and silver.

Some Loppet comedy

What can happen on downhill sections of mass Loppets.  This example from the recent Tartu Maraton in Estonia, one of the World Loppet series events.
Loppet Comedy Video

First ski of the season!?

Yes it is the 7th of February.  The season can be very short in southern Ontario if there is no skiing between Christmas and New Year.  Happy to be out there.  Lots of the fluffy white stuff now, with more forecast.  I fear a little late to be in any decent shape for the double Loppet weekend in Alberta at the end of the month.  So it goes.  Just need enough legs to make it fun rather than painful.

More on low intensity training

This article (link below) is about building a strong aerobic base through low intensity training before going to higher intensity.  That said, some valid points in the post article comments about available time for building this magical aerobic base.  How may of us city dwellers have the luxury of more than 10 hours per week of on snow training?
More discussion on low intensity training - Faster Skier article

Norway, Canada and Sweden podium in 15km Classic pursuit

Nice to see a Canadian (Alex Harvey) split the Scandinavians with a silver this weekend.  Sounds like the race was decided by an exciting sprint finish.  Who looks happiest on this podium?
Tour-de-ski 15km Classic pursuit Jan 4

Charlotte Kalla is Sweden's sports personality of the year...

...beating out 5 time winner Zlatan Ibrahimovic (who else?).  A series of outstanding performances in an Olympic year secured the votes needed to win the award.  The enduring (growing?) popularity of the Winter Olympics is a definite factor in this.  Story here: Kalla award

Classic Poster Art

Here are some lovely advertising images of skiing in the twenties.  All wood and wool.  These evoke a bygone era of travel and adventure.  See a selection at the link below:
Vintage Ski Resort Posters

Ole Einar just keeps going!

This guy is amazing!  Two weeks after getting back from Bangkok, where he received the award for best male athlete of the 2014 Olympics, he wins the first race of the season.  This wasn't just some preseason warm up, it included many of the best biathlon athletes in the world.
What makes the biathlon unique is the combination of shooting and skiing.  If you miss a target you have to ski farther (a 150m penalty loop per missed target, or a time penalty).  You can see how this would make for an exciting race where positions can shift quite dramatically after each shooting round.  Ski toques off to Ole Einar again!

The easy Loppet training plan - phase 1

I am a decent recreational skier.  I ski for fun (and to keep somewhat fit) and hopefully can reach some milestones from time to time.  My training program takes into account available time, how I feel that day, the weather...in other words it is flexible.
A 5k run with variable intensity (alternatively a hilly 8k when at the cottage) followed by some stretching and strength exercises 45 mins total.  I will try and do this 3 to 5 days per week, although if I miss a day (or two) I don't worry about it.  Leading up to the winter I can usually get a 15km roller-ski in at the weekend.  It would be good to add some intervals to this, but hills included in the run are a good proxy for this.  The fitness level this provides will get me through most Loppets with a smile on my face and no lasting after effects.  I will aim to add some science to this in future posts.
P.S. Never unconditionally believe a post with the words easy, Loppet and training in the same sentence!

Canadian Ski Marathon

This looks like a unique and fun event.  A 160km ski over 2 days between Lachute and Gatineau winding through the picturesque eastern Laurentians.  Almost the equivalent of skiing a Vasaloppet  two days in a row!  There is an overnight stop in Montebello.  It is billed as North America's oldest and longest Nordic ski tour.  You can ski sections, the whole thing or even carry your own gear and camp out overnight.  Always scheduled for the second weekend in February each year.
Canadian Ski Marathon website

Training - quality vs quantity

This is an ongoing debate, but quality is perhaps winning.  What about the 10,000 hour rule?  (You need to put in 10,000 hours in order to become expert at an activity - K. Anders Ericsson, later popularized by Malcolm Gladwell) - How does quality factor in to that study?  Overall, I take this as a good news story for us recreational skiers.  Yes, we all know you need to put in the work to truly master something, but we are all different in terms of  natural abilities and indeed aerobic capacity.  Either way, allows me to believe that if I do the right thing (vs pure volume) I will progress.
Norwegians on volume - Faster Skier article

The jaw dropping benefits of cross country skiing

So we cross country skiers are on the path to immortality (well at least closer to it than non-skiers!).  This article references a study from Scandinavia (where else?) that clearly supports the unique health benefits of cross country skiing.
Globe and Mail article