Tad Elliot (photo by Salomon), son of my own childhood coach; 3-time Nordic Olympian Mike Elliot of Durango. I recall holding Tad in my arms when he was a baby. Today? In my book? Tad is without a doubt, the absolute coolest Under-23 Stud currently residing on this Plane(t). I can say this because I, like hundreds of others, have attempted to ski race him to absolutely no avail. Read below and click on the links to see why I say this.
***
Well, it's only one more day before i attempt to defend my Nordic State Championship Title. One week after the 75-kilometer suffer-fest of the notoriously difficult Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon.
i tested my wax on the Race Course this morning. Concern arises. Of Course. Us Nordic Ski Racers worry far more about Race Day waxing decisions that we do about, say, how the hec we're gonna pay the rent or feed our children. It's really a matter of Priorities, you see. And the first Priority, of course, is, duh...SKI RACING!!!!
Anyway, you'd think a lifelong native of the American Southwest would be utterly dialed in about what wax to use on Race Day. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no more trickier place in the world to wax for than my Beloved Southwest...conditions at my local Nordic Center here in Flagstaff, for instance, varies in wax temperatures over the span of three possible waxes within any given kilometer.
(two years ago; racing toward a Silver Medal in the AZ State Championships. last year, i won the State Championships, and this year? well...all that comes down to the final sufferfest this Sunday...stay tuned!)
It ain't my baby daughter keeping me up at nights...it's my Race Day waxing contemplations! On the course this morning my skis felt fast. I'm using a fancy-smancy new Fischer ski boot/binding set up on my Karhu race skis which feels like I am skating atop pogo sticks...there is a LOT of built-in BOING Factor in this new nordic ski technology! A distant cry from the wooden ski, three-pin bindings, and pine tar for grip wax that i grew up racing upon in Durango, Colorado.
So, speaking of Durango, immediately after I got back from testing my wax this morning, I emailed my childhood coach from Durango, Mike Elliot, 3-Time Nordic Olympian which I have profiled in DL previously. I asked him about what he thought about my wax choices...to which he responded to within 45 minutes (remember, Coach Elliot must be well into his sixties by now and could still easily kick my ass, your ass, and a whole bunch of other asses together!) by stating:
Steve,
Hot scape your skis with CH or LF 7. This will clean the bases. Wax with LF 7. Let the ski cool completely. Iron again and scrape. Brush vigorusly with a brass or steel brush. Put on FC 8 Cera F. If you do not have FC 8 Cera F. use the FC8WS Tubo. Caryon on the wax. Do not be stingy. Put your iron on 150 degress C or 300 degrees F. One slow pass over the ski. Brush virgorusly with a horse hair brush or boars hair brush. If possible wax the under coat the night before. leave you skis in the car or outside so the bottom gets cold. You can wax the FC 8 or the Turbo in the morning of the race if possible. Warm up on different pair of skis if possible. If you do not have another pair of skis, test your race skis and warm-up by running with running shoes.
You were in the right range for waxes with the temperatures you talked about. If the forcast is for warmer than you described, clean with CH or LF 8. Then do the same process.
Let me know how it goes.
Good Luck
Best Regards,
Mike Elliott
ps: With the variety of conditions your skis will not be fast in all conditions. Freezing the skis the night before will help with the coldest uphill.
Okay, so for most of you, that sounds as close to Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology as you ever want to get to, right? Well, to me, it makes utter and complete and golden sense...which is the precise color New Daddy Ilg will attempt to retain for another year.
Oh,
and for the real Chi Hit?
Coach Elliot mentioned that his son Tad, who i recall holding in my arms as a baby, was featured here for America's largest nordic ski race:
Birkie Elite
and interviewed here, which is an absolute crystallization of precisely why Wholistic Fitness was born in Durango, Colorado...it's just that we Durangatangs grew up with outdoor cross training as the most natural, common sense thing in our worlds...
please do your training a favor, and read Tad's interview right here:
Tad Elliot's Interview
So,
now you know what you've suspected about this Durango Wolf Boy all along;
"Durangatangs just know how to have (elite level) fun!"
May this DL - and it's sneak peak into my own coaching lineage - inspire your own training toward an ever growing appreciation of Wholeness,
Fun,
Focus,
and...
most of all;
Appreciation
for
how Blessed it is
to be
an
Awakened
Fitness Warrior
On The Path Higher...
head bowed,
coach ilg
