Sunday, December 19, 2021

Advanced Group Training Program for this season

Here is the advanced group training program for this winter:

The following progressive interval sets are set out for each week.   We will do them on Monday evenings and Wednesday afternoons (pick one, NOT both!).   Over the holidays, you will likely need to do your intervals by your self or with a small group.

Dec 20th   4 x 30 seconds - fast, but with good technique

Dec 27th   5 x 45 seconds

Jan 3rd      6 x 1 minute

Jan 10th     4 x 2 minutes

Jan 17th     5 x 2 minutes

Jan 24th     3 x 5 minutes

Jan 31st      4 x 5 minutes

Feb 7th       3 x 8 minutes

Feb 14th     3 to 4 x 8 minutes

For each interval set, set out a course that will approximately take you that amount of time and then give you about a 2 minute very easy skiing rest in-between each interval.   Ideally, half the intervals would be on flatter terrain and the other half (with the workout) would be on hillier terrain OR alternatively half of each interval is on flatter terrain and half on hillier terrain.

The plan for each week is to have one interval workout (as above), one hillier and longer ski, one injury-prevention strength workout, and two easy 1 to 2 hour distance skis on flattish terrain.

The easy distance skis should be 100% under an appropriate heart rate - HR under130 for those over age 40 ... and HR under 140 for those under age 40.   The continuous easy distance ski for a minimum of 45 minutes is really important as it allows your body to develop the important capacity to recover from day to day, and from effort to effort and ensure exercise is healthy, rather than become a chronic stressor.   If you are *ever* getting tired legs the next day after a ski, it's a sign that you are skiing far too hard and need to add more easy skiing into your training.

If you follow this plan, world domination will surely follow.

Steve


Thursday, December 9, 2021

Historic Moment! Downtown Nordic holds inaugural daytime training session!

 December 8th, 2021 will go down in the history books as a very special day.  The first ever daytime training session to be scheduled on a regular workday was held.  Eleven exceptionally good looking, and questionably employed DN skiers took part in the event.  They were coached by the ever dashing and stalwart Steve Scoles in both classic and skate techniques.

The training session was deemed a grand success and we look forward to more daytime training sessions. It is nice to ski and actually know who you are training with. We were all getting tired of finding out that we were actually skiing in the dark with the Jackrabbits group.  We have absolutely nothing against the Jackrabbits.  They are all outstanding and model citizens, as well as talented skiers.  We just find them to be a little too fast and much less grumpy and confused than we are.  



Saturday, November 27, 2021

Introducing your adult program coaches!

Sue - Athletic Beginner Skate Coach



Nicest person ever.  But will happily destroy you in a sprint.


Anne-Marie - Athletic Beginner Coach


Don't let the smile fool you; she has killed bears with her hands.


Katrina - Athletic Beginner classic and some skate Coach


Katrina hitch-hiking to heaven


John M - Intermediate Classic Head Coach and Skate helper


John has been ski instructing for over 45 years.   He started instructing at age 3.


Jim - Intermediate Skate Head Coach and Classic helper






For all modelling inquiries, please contact Jim's agency.


John K - Multi-dimensional coach


John K is mixing the latest high-performance cocktail that will make you much faster!


Steve - Extremely humble coach for world domination


Sorry.  This is the ONLY ski picture I have.  I'm the one on the left.


Athletic Beginner and Intermediate sessions all meet on Windsor Park main training grid (to south / right of the clubhouse).  Look for the bright yellow toques.

Advanced sessions generally meet on the Blue oval


Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Registration is closing early!

REGISTRATION IS CLOSING THURSDAY, November 25th at 11PM  - as we are hitting our limits.

Register now or see you next year! 






Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Instructional sessions start November 29th!!

 


Hey Skiers - Great news!

Your coaches met and have decided we will start DN instructional programs the week of November 29th!   We have the snow and we have decent temperatures so we are going to get going.  Please read all of the details below:

 

COVID Policy:  We expect all members partaking in adult instructional and fitness programs to follow public health rules and be fully vaccinated.

 

Be flexible AND punctual:  all programs will be "meet outside on the snow" as we are not allowed to gather inside the Windsor Park Clubhouse for the time being so ... we need you to be on-time and also be flexible if we need to cancel due to too cold temperatures.

 

Instructional Programs:

Athletic Beginners - Mondays (classic) and Tuesdays (skate) tentatively starting November 29th 7PM - 3 sessions of each technique

Intermediate - Tuesdays (classic) and Thursdays (skate) tentatively starting November 30th 7PM - 3 sessions of each technique

Advanced - Mondays starting November 29th 7PM and Wednesdays at 1PM (this timing may change a bit as winter progresses)

 

Daylight sessions - this year, we have the ability to offer some daylight instructional sessions - let me know if you are interested and the days that work for you - we will see what we can do to help everyone get skiing better this winter.

 

A few final tips:

Be sure to get out skiing at least once or twice before the first session - so you know your equipment is ready and your body is a little more ready!

 

Register soon if you are interested - we are getting lots of interest and will cap registration if numbers start getting too high.  Registration will close for sure by November 27th at the latest. Register here:  https://zone4.ca/register.asp?id=27191

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Registration now open and dryland training starting


Registration is now open for DN Adult Programs this winter!

We will have instructional programs for Athletic Beginners, skill development for Intermediate skiers, and fitness/interval training for advanced skiers.

We're not sure though on which nights we will run programs and we may run some stuff on the weekends.   We are also need to see what COVID-19 restrictions will be in place, but we are fairly sure we will be running some good programs this winter.

We will have some dryland training at Garbage Dump Hill every Thursday at 6:30 starting on October 21st until the snow flies (you must be registered to attend these workouts).   Meet on the North side.

Be sure to email me first before coming out to dryland training!  ( Steve _ scoles at hotmail )


Here is the link to register!

https://zone4.ca/register.asp?id=27191

Downtown Nordic - Transition to Skiing - Episode 1

Katrina (DN Athletic Beginner Head Coach) and Steve (less important person) show you some basic things you can do to improve your core stability and be ready for some great skiing this winter!

Downtown Nordic - Ski-walking/striding/bounding progressions - Episode 2

Katrina shows you how to progress through 4 different levels!

A few years back, we had Twila from Pure Fitness show us some really good strength exercises to make our bodies very resilient.   

It's best to add these exercises into your regime gradually -- they don't seem like much when you first do them, but then the next day, you realize they strengthen all of your muscles that are very weak!!

Do a few light reps of these your first time and see how your body feels the next day before building up to more reps.

After 4 or 5 weeks (of doing these twice a week), you could build up to 6 to 10 reps of each exercise.

Again, be really gradual as you add these in.   

I have been doing these exercise once or twice every week for 9 years and it's really allowed me to be quite injury-free over that time.  But I always do a good warm-up and never push myself very hard with them -- just a modest workout that helps balance my body with everything else I do.










Sunday, March 14, 2021

Downtown Nordic Ski More Places World Record Achieved

 After countless sleepless nights, wretched loathing and despair, the lofty long-standing world record, held for forty years by the famous Norwegian-Scottish explorer Bjorn McSkialot, has finally been broken.  

As the snows of the pandemic winter melt away, the tally of 30 distinct Manitoba ski areas has been achieved.  The final official listing, as approved by the officials at Guinness Book of World Records, is as follows...


The world record was obviously not achieved without the liberal shedding of blood and tears.  A beloved, fairly new pair of skin skis were haphazardly stone ground (for free!!) during the attempt on the infamous ski trails of the St Charles Golf and Country club.  The lovely camouflaged crushed gravel, which was thus found to be protruding through the icy snow, was very effective at achieving its version of a stone grind.  

Also, a late season attempt to crust-snow skate ski at the St Boniface Golf Course, resulted in a broken ski pole.  The particular session ended with a one poled "ski of shame" back to the groomed trails at Windsor Park.

I have been asked by several folks what my favorites were this season   I have had several so I will leave you with these categories:

Favorite new trail:  Teulon  It’s fairly close to the west side of Winnipeg, very well groomed for both Skate and Classic, has some very challenging hills, and is just well organized overall.  The cute little cabin will be an added bonus once the dreary pandemic ends.

Favorite ski day:   Sunday, February 21st at Birch and Pumpkin Creek .  It was a warm, sunny day.  Snow conditions were just about perfect. The trail was groomed from Birch ski area to Pumpkin Creek.   We skied for hours, through the hills, forests and fields at Birch and over to the lovely Blue Moon, The Stroll and Rogers Pass trails at Pumpkin Creek.   We only saw one other skier on the trails on a otherwise perfect Sunday Ski day   Happily, we ran into DN member and friend Ken Bell in the parking lot afterwards. He also had a fabulous day out there and we were thrilled to share our post ski endorphins together in  the sunshine.  

Favorite Prize:  Despite breaking a 40 year old record and receiving the Guinness World Record, breaking out and skiing on old favorites and discovering new ski trails was the biggest reward!  This Pandemic Winter has been fraught with uncertainty, confinement and stress.  It seems that Nordic Skiing, even on the bitterly cold days was the best medicine for anxiety, sadness and isolation.  I challenge the pharmaceutical industry to find anything better for the mind than even a bad day on the trails (I know its a cliche, but is there such a thing as a bad day on the trails?).

I do hope people find a way to attempt their own versions of the "Ski More Manitoba trails" next year and set the bar even higher.  Regardless of whether one breaks the record, there is a lot of satisfaction to be gained in leaving your "regular routine" and skiing on new trails.  

Friday, March 12, 2021

 

Last call for segment winners to email me to claim your prize.

Firedudecndn@hotmail.com

No email, no prize.

Please respond by Sunday 6 pm.

Thanks 😀

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

 Segment final results.


Those in red and underlined below please email me at firedudecndn@hotmail.com to claim your prizes.  Thanks

Recreational (most segments completed)

1st C Willim (5)

2nd M Solano (2)

3rd tie between D Penner/L Harringotn/K Froese/D Kyle (1 each)   Winner chosen by random draw D Kyle


Competitive Womens

1st Tie between L Ball and M Anthony  (Random draw determines 1st place)  M Anthony (19 points each)

2nd L Ball  (19)

3rd E McKinlay (7 points)


Mens

 G Buhr  (29)

1st J Anthony (19)

2nd C Mohr (10)

3rd C Martin (9)


In the interest of fairness, openness and not having any appearance of improprieties I will remove myself from the results and not accept any prizes because I was the program administrator.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

 Segment update:


Recreational Segment:


Marie S


Competitive Segment:

Mens

G Buhr  38:07

J Anthony 46:03


Womens

L Ball 42:36

E McKinlay 43:51



Monday, February 22, 2021

Downtown Nordic Ski More Manitoba Trails World Record Attempt Update

 We are nearing the end of February, 2021.  In Manitoba, there has not been a recent significant snowfall.  The nordic ski trails are showing signs of degradation, erosion, and melting.  As we close in on the world record, tensions are running high.  Will the remaining snow hold out?  Will there be enough snow to still ski at Burwalde, Shannondale and Bittersweet?


Only six more locations are required to break the World Record.  We are going to follow Floyd's timely suggestions with attempts to ski Pine Falls and Victoria Beach tomorrow.  Following that, all further tips and suggestions are welcome.  

Friday, February 19, 2021

What kind of climate do we live in that -15 feels "like a nice day"

😎 


Aaaaaand we're back after a couple of weekends of real MB winter weather...


Birds Hill Park

Recreational segment:


https://www.strava.com/segments/16896329


Competitive segment:


https://www.strava.com/segments/27351667



Monday, February 1, 2021

Some great skating videos

Here are some great skating videos to help to visualize great technique.   They are in Norwegian - so also an opportunity to learn a new language! 


skate - slow-mo

three techniques of skate compared


Very Advanced Uphill skate

Downtown Nordic Ski More Trails World Record Attempt

A little update on the Downtown Nordic "Ski More Trails" Pandemic Winter challenge.  I have presently skied on a grand total of 16 different trail systems.  I am now regrouping,  and  eating bucket loads of spinach in order to find the strength to persevere in this World Record attempt.  Here is the official list of the ski trails so far....

As you can see, due to the lack of snow, there haven't been attempts on the usual western ski trails such as Shannondale, Birch, etc.  Hopefully the snow dances continue, and these can soon be added to the list.

After hours spent on the different trails in Manitoba, here are some of the insights I wish to share:

1.  During this pandemic winter, with all of the isolation and uncertainty, it always feels better to get outside every day;

2.  Favorite new trail discovered within the Winnipeg city limits is the Churchill drive ski trail.  It consists of an approximately 6 km classic loop, as well as a somewhat shorter skate loop, all groomed by volunteers;

3.  Favorite new trail discovered in the province of Manitoba is Teulon.  The trail system consists of approximately 6 km of both skate and classic tracks.  The trails are meticulously groomed, and contain some surprisingly challenging hills throughout.  The drive is not much further than going to Birds Hill if you live in the west side of the city.  The $10 trail user fee is totally worth it;   

4.  Thanks to being challenged by my eight year old friend Adam (who went first),  I learned that you can totally get air on nordic skis at the Wildwood park ski jump, and live to tell about it.  Its also a heck of a lot of fun; and

5.  We are so fortunate to have such a variety of nordic ski trails within the city and throughout the province.  

As we enter the second half of the ski season, I hope to see many more challengers to the "Ski More Trails" World Record attempt.  Please share any recommendations on any lesser known trails that would assist in this endeavour.  I hope to see more Downtown Nordickers out on the more obscure trails soon.

Friday, January 29, 2021

Segmentation

 Back to Windsor



Recreational Segment:


https://www.strava.com/segments/19455404



Competitive Segment:


https://www.strava.com/segments/27147834

Friday, January 22, 2021

The sandilands of time segments

 This week we're heading out to the south woods of Sandilands.


Recreational Segment:  


https://www.strava.com/segments/27082847


3.7 kms



Competitive Segment:


https://www.strava.com/segments/14181316


11.4 kms

Monday, January 18, 2021

Speed test results

 Speed test results:



Corey Mohr17 Jan 2021 3:43/km 110bpm 39:392
Christopher Martin17 Jan 2021 4:12/km 153bpm 44:503
Gord Buhr15 Jan 2021 5:15/km 101bpm 55:594
John Anthony17 Jan 2021 6:15/km- 1:06:395
Lesley Ball17 Jan 2021 6:20/km 163bpm 1:07:336
Mhari Anthony17 Jan 2021 6:46/km- 1:12:07

 Segment results:                                                       


Competitive Male


G Buhr 5 pnts

Recreational segment:


C Willim

D Kyle


Competitive points standings:

Men

G Buhr 16

J Anthony 7

N Ferguson 5

C Mohr 5 

B Van Den Bosch 4

C Bartel 3


Women


M Anthony 14

L Ball 9


Friday, January 15, 2021

 Apologies for the late posting for this weeks segments.  This week we'll explore Beaudry Park....



Competitive segment: 


https://www.strava.com/segments/11127940


Recreational Segment:  


https://www.strava.com/segments/11127949


Segments are open now and close around 6 pm Monday.


Don't forget about the virtual speed test:  


https://www.strava.com/segments/26996790   


The speed test closes Sunday around 6 PM

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

 Overzealous health officials won't let us have a virtual race so we'll have a speed test.


Course opens now. Closes at 6 PM Sunday. This is an individual speed test. It's 10.6 km.

You MUST ski this solo or ONLY with members of your household. NO GROUP SKIS.

You have 5 days to complete it. Points awarded as described for segments.

https://www.strava.com/segments/26996790


IMPORTANT ROUTE INFORMATION!!!!
Start at the stables parking lot, on the Bluestem trail. At the first opportunity (about 100 feet from the start) veer right in the grooves. Ski along the Bluestem trail until you get to the Esker downhill. (It's before the warming hut on the Chickadee trail) Ski down this hill (It's windy and twisty) to the Chickadee intersection; then take Chickadee to the Chickadee parking lot. Get back onto the Bluestem (on your left) and ski back to the stables.

Monday, January 11, 2021

 Grand Beach Segment Results


Recreational:


C Willim

M Solano

K Froese


Competitive Group:

Men

G Buhr 5

J Anthony 4


Women

M Anthony 5



Standings:


Men


G Buhr 11 pnts

J Anthony 7 pnts

C Mohr 5 pnts

N Ferguson 5 pnts

B Van Den Bosch 4 pnts

C Bartel 3 pnts


Women

M Anthony 14 pnts

L Ball 9 pnts

E Mackinlay 3 pnts


Apologies for the competitive segment, I was not aware it was not groomed.  My bad.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

 January 8 to 11 segments.


Segments open at 8 AM January 8 and close around 6 PM January 11, plus an hour or so grace time to upload your workout....


Grand Beach


Recreational Segment:


https://www.strava.com/segments/13888580   


It's only .8 km long but it's a good warm up if you're going for speed.


Competitive Segment:


https://www.strava.com/segments/13951626


It doesn't matter how you get there, just get across the back side of this trail...

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

 Segment results for January 4th:


Recreational:


C Willim


Competitive group:

Male

C Mohr    19:57  5 pnts

G Buhr     27:51 4 pnts

J Anthony 30:59 3 pnts


Female


M Anthony 33:59 5 pnts


Club standings:


Female


M Anthony   9 pnts

L Ball           9 pnts

E Mackinlay   3 pnts


Male 


G Buhr                     6 pnts

N Ferguson              5 pnts

C Mohr                    5 pnts

B Van Den Bosch    4 pnts

C Bartel                   3 pnts

J Anthony                3 pnts

Monday, January 4, 2021

 January 13th (conditions permitting) Virtual Wednesday night race.

The course will be posted that morning (it will be at Windsor Park Nordic Centre). Virtual race will begin at noon and close at 10 PM. All participants must START their ski within these times. Points awarded the same as weekly segment winners.
Recreational club members will be allocated participation credit the same as completing a segment. Please follow WPNC rules and health guidelines. This will be an open class race (skate or classic- no separate categories; all skiers in the same class except for male/female)

Friday, January 1, 2021

 This weeks segment takes you to the sort of hidden gem that is Birds Hill Park.  It also breaks up the recreational and competitive clubs.


Recreational Segment is the north side of the Chickadee trail starting at Griffins Hill and ending at the group use road, at 2.1 km it's further in the trail so you'll be nicely warmed up:


https://www.strava.com/segments/26873060


The competitive segment is the opening section of the Bluestem trail from the stables parking lot to the warming hut at Chickadee/Bluestem/Esker trail confluence, it's 5.3 km with plenty of twists but fairly flat, this will be a good test of your early season fitness:


https://www.strava.com/segments/11094283


NOTE:  Soon a virtual race will be organized.  Stay tooned.  


You can join the strava clubs at any time.  


Recreational:      https://www.strava.com/clubs/DowntownNordicXCSkiRecreational


Competitive:    https://www.strava.com/clubs/DowntownNordicXCSkiComp