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Skinnyski.com
Competitive skiing did not come naturally to me. Being out in the cold, enjoying myself on the trails was the only reason I skied at first. The Bill Koch Youth Ski League program at Hyland Park taught me the technical aspects of the activity - how to classic, skate, wax my skis, for example. The aim of the program was not to turn me into an Olympic champion; at least, I don't think it was. My feeling is that the goal was to turn me into a life-long cross-country skier. For that, I'm grateful.
The BKYSL program, as far as I can recall, had different levels based on ability. As you learn new skills, you move up a level. It is not about talent or performance, just the successful execution of proper classic striding, for example. At the end of the winter of 1996, I had reached the last level. All of my boxes had been checked on my brightly colored card. I was certified a cross-country skier.
In the chalet at Hyland Park, at the last meeting that winter, our coaches talked to those of us who had reached this final level. They handed out a brochure for what would be the logical next step: the Minnesota Valley Ski Club. We would train during the summer at Hyland Park running and rollerskiing with a coach three times per week. Because the park was only two miles from my home at the time, and would give me something to do during the lazy summer, I signed up.
My dad and I visited Finn Sisu in May to buy my first rollerskis, a pair of Marwe Combi's that I still use to this day for classic rollerskiing. That day, I met Ahvo Taipale for the first time, and his enthusiasm for the sport, combined with the fluorescent yellow color of the skis, kept me enthralled the entire drive home to Bloomington. I couldn't wait to rollerski; I couldn't wait for summer.
Unfortunately, either I didn't keep a training log the first few years that I was with Reid Lutter and Minnesota Valley, or I have long since lost it. From what I remember of the first few years, the emphasis was always on having fun. There were many games, from capture the flag to ultimate frisbee. The atmosphere was relaxed - it was summer after all. The intensity was usually easy, the workouts up to two hours each. It wasn't closely monitored, but I don't remember us racing each other to win the workouts either. I didn't use a heart rate monitor or a Lactate Pro until I was 15.
In the beginning, I just went three times per week in the summer. The other days of the week, I played soccer, only somewhat successfully. On the weekends, my family and I continued to drive north to Bayfield, Wisconsin and the Apostle Islands. There was lots of hiking, and eventually I started running the trails, too. I enjoyed rollerskiing so much that I started doing it on my own.
Because my junior high school was across the street from Jefferson High School, we were allowed to join the sports teams at the high school. Since many of the kids in Minnesota Valley were part of the cross-country running team, I joined, too. So the fall was full of running practice after school each day and eventually some ski training with Minnesota Valley on the weekends.
As fall turned into winter, it seemed natural to also join the cross-country ski team. Still, the atmosphere revolved around fun. We had fun at practice, at our pre-race spaghetti dinners, and when we met together just for the sake of fun. I was still in junior high school, so there was no expectation that I would contribute any points to the team at meets or races. It was my first real exposure to ski racing, and at first, I didn't enjoy the competition. I just wanted to ski!
The winter of 1998-99, when I was 15, I started competing in qualifying races for the so-called "Junior Olympics," aka U.S. Junior Nationals for cross-country skiing. My goal was to qualify for that year's event in Anchorage, Alaska, though I don't think I had anything resembling a plan to achieve that aim. I was two or three minutes behind the winner in the 5-KM races held on the weekends, both in classic and skate. In a field of about a dozen J2's trying to qualify for the event, I was ranked around eighth. Only four or five qualified, so I didn't make it.
At some point during that winter, the first appearances of competitiveness showed through in me. Perhaps it was the atmosphere around a ski race that I was drawn to - tense and individually focused before the race, but relaxed and social afterwards. Maybe it was enjoying the thrill of going fast, but then seeing how much faster the guys passing me were going. Or, it could have been the frustration of being passed so often, being dropped on a long uphill as if I was just a spectator. Whatever the reason, I started having the desire to become better; I just didn't know yet how to go about getting faster.
The answer would come that spring.
About the author...
Brian Olsen, 22, grew up just a few miles from Hyland Lake Park in Bloomington, Minnesota. He trained with the Minnesota Valley Ski Club and Minnesota Biathlon before moving East to work with the Maine Winter Sports Center. This past season, he was a 2006 Olympian. He now competes for Team Soldier Hollow in Heber City, Utah. Madshus and Marwe are among his sponsors. More information can be found on his website, www.frozenbullet.com.
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