Silent Sports article(s)

I'd like to comment on the ski technique article in the last Silent Sports (and if you don't ski this will all be meaningless to you so skip to the very end). I feel like the author is trying to make a good point in that you should use the ski technique that is most appropriate to the terrain. That is a good point and there is a difference in what an elite skier will do vs a strong amateur vs a more recreational skier. Each technique has its place and trying to V2 up a steep climb is not efficient but neither is using the V1 on a flatter or very gradual up hill. I feel like the author does a disservice when he says that most parttime skiers won't have the balance for the V2. I personally think that not learning to V2 is like not learning how to shift into all the gears after buying a new 20 speed road bike. Why wouldn't you learn? Not to mention that some longtime skiers struggle with balance while some people seem to have naturally good balance.

And I'm saying all this as someone who only learned how to V2 last year and is still refining her technique. Personally I find that being able to V2 allows me a chance to recover if I've been doing a lot of climbing and so mostly doing the V1. It is a relief to change it up and can feel relaxing after a lot of V1 climbing. Also, as I've gotten more practice with the V2 I find that I can just keep using the V2 if the terrain is a more gradual incline and still feel comfortable . . . and fast.

I know a lot of people read Silent Sports (or they should!) and I don't want beginner skiers to get the wrong idea that somehow the V2 is too hard to learn or is too tiring to really use. And if you're a skier struggling to learn the V2 please sign up for one of the Madnorski free lessons and request Don Becker as your instructor (tell him I sent you to learn the V2). If you can V2 some but want to really refine it and can afford lessons that aren't free then contact Yuriy and pay for a lesson because if he can teach me he can teach anyone. Don't just write off your V2 as useless because you timed yourself and you were faster doing the V1. Instead learn to do both well so you can "switch gears" on the skis.

Okay, end of skiing rant! If you find any of this useful or intriguing please feel free to donate to the Ski for the Cure on my behalf!!

One more rant regarding Silent Sports . . . . how much did I enjoy the letters to the editor this month taking on Bill Hauda and his anti-vegetarian rant last month? Totally loved them. I know Bill so I know that he loves to rile people up and that's his style. A couple of doctors wrote in and did a great job responding to his article. Much better than I would have (since I would have probably also wrote some equally provocative rebuttal). I wish they had the article online so I could link to it.

This weekend I'm off to do my first City of Lakes Loppet in Minneapolis and I signed up to do the classic race (my first classic race ever!). I have lots of fun planned for the weekend including a post-race stop at Pizza Luce. I will also be hitting up some other yummy restaurant stops on Saturday pre-race as well as shopping for a new ski bag at the local outdoor stores. I'll try to actually update my blog post-race with something of interest like choosing the wrong kick wax, falling or running over someone who has fallen, sore hip flexors, arms falling off from double-poling, etc.