Assessing My Season

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Assessing My Season

Postby jbotti » Wed Apr 06, 2016 2:01 pm

I try to do this every year, an honest assessment of the quality and quantity of the work I put in, the results (or lack thereof) that this work produced. More importantly I try learn from the year and build a mental game plan as to how to get better results with the same time allotted next season.

My season started off great with three days of pow skiing at A Basin in November. The combo of the work that I put in last year with the exercise regimen I put in place around September (focusing on glute and core strength) seemed to pay off great. My skiing was quite solid in November and I had Max, HH and Diana to point out what else was needed. After 2 years of hard work on CA it was showing up in the conditions we had which were quite fun but not overly challenging (8" of fresh over groomed terrain each day with some soft bumps forming at the end of each day). But I was losing some or all of my CA in transition. This perhaps summed up my season. Lots of work on holding CA through the transition and lots of work on perfect hand an arm positions throughout each arc. To have this hold up in the toughest of terrain and conditions was not something I was able to accomplish in my remaining 25 or so days that I got in this season. That is of course a disappointment.

I made some great progress with it skiing bumps with Diana in Feb at A Basin. Had a great day at Squaw after that where I skied steep soft bumps quite well but in relation to all the conditions I end up skiing, this was definitely easy and fun conditions even if a good bit of the terrain at Squaw was steep and challenging.

Looking at the season, continuity (lack thereof) was a major factor. I had 15 days in by the end of the Holidays but finished the season with a measly 28 days total (I realize that would be a lot or plenty for many but I try to ski 40+ days each year). Each time I skied it seemed like it took me two days to get back to where I was and then I was done and heading back home or I had one more day to try and move the ball forward. Getting run into by a friend at our annual men's weekend in Montana definitely sucked. I slammed my head quite hard and had concussion symptoms for 2 weeks (much better now with really no lingering effects). Skied the nest 3 days with Max and Heluva but I definitely was not myself. I did fight through and things improved on the last day but again I was just trying to get back to where I was, and was definitely not moving the ball forward. Gave up two weeks of skiing in Montana (when It snowed almost every day!!) to take my daughter around the US to look at colleges. Great trip!! Certainly did not help my skiing.

Takeaways:
had some great lightbulb moments where I was able to see and feel a new level of proficiency in my BPSRT on groomed terrain. Made some good progress on my arms and hands. None of the work was enough to fully ingrain the movements even if they are holding up well now on groomed terrain.

I have a solid framework to work from for next year and solid notes and understanding so that I can at least mentally start the season in the same place

Quite simply I need more snow time to make the progress I want to make and much greater continuity through the season. January (where I didn't ski past 1/2 until February) was in hindsight pretty costly. It is potentially easily rectified next season and even 3-5 days in the month next season will make a huge difference. I can't complain too much. I will be an empty nester starting the 2017-2018 season when I will easily be able to ski 60-70 days. Unfortunately my 56 year old body has started to notice that its not 34 anymore, but I have the right exercise program in place and I know that I can keep things at this level of fitness and flexibility for at least another 10-12 years.

The main reason I posted this is because its great time for everyone to do the same. Assess your season. Give yourself credit for the progress made for and for what you have learned. Be critical when you see areas that you can improve. Most importantly learn from it all and make sure you start next season having learned from this season and able to recall what you need to work on and how to do it.

Lastly, if you are inclined to share, please do as I and others would like to hear.
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby rwd » Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:56 pm

John,
Can you post any video from this season which would demonstrate the positive changes in your skiing? I think it would be helpful to those of us not yet at your level, or with your resources.
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby Max_501 » Wed Apr 06, 2016 4:40 pm

jbotti, you are harder on yourself more than anyone else I know! The good news is that CA is typically the final piece that one needs to master to rip in difficult off piste conditions and you are getting closer with each trip!

rwd, there isn't anything in jbotti's video that can help anyone here become a better skier because our model is HH and we already have tons of video of HH showing us how to make the movements. OTOH, putting your own video up for MA can help you.
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby HeluvaSkier » Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:32 pm

JB,

I agree with Max that you may be a bit too hard on yourself. Even concussed on the last few days we skied together you were skiing quite well. Most I know, and most on this forum, would be happy to own those turns. I think the best thing you could do for your skiing is log a 70+ day season... That kind of time on snow makes you become extremely comfortable on snow... even if it is just skating around the base area. I haven't had that kind of snow time in 10 years, but skiing becomes so automatic when you're closing in on 100 days. I only wish I had been sensible enough to start PMTS back when I was logging 70+ days per season.

I do understand the drive to improve. I actually keep a "frame of reference journal" from season to season, which is an Essentials-based journal which serves as a mental download throughout, and at the end of, every season. It helps me remember what I was thinking while making certain runs (often on video) and relate that back to the skiers who I aspire to ski like... Harald and Reilly. I use that to do comparison MA and break down what I'm missing and where I'm missing it... not just movement-focused, but a look into how I'm thinking about my turns as I'm making them and how my perhaps limited frame of reference contributes to movement deficiencies. In short it is a "what do I still not understand" analysis of my skiing. This is countless hours of frame-by-frame MA... usually my skiing beside Harald's, Reilly's, Paul's, [insert name of awesome skier].

My latest analysis has brought me to the realization that I need to get my pelvis separated properly as part of my upper body on a brushing ski, not just an edge-locked ski (as you know, but it is more apparent now than it was when we skied together). I plan to spend the off season working [more] on this coordination and control so I can take my skiing to new levels. I also plan to come into next season more fit and more flexible than years past, so I should have an advantage over prior years.

For those reading, it takes true acknowledgement of one's deficiencies and then hard work to correct those shortcomings in order to become a high level PMTS skier.

Cheers.
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby jbotti » Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:59 pm

Definitely looking forward to some 70+ day seasons!!
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby cheesehead » Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:10 am

My season in southern Wisconsin: started skiing January 5. On the other hand got to ski in March -- March 1! I managed to get about 20 days in altogether.

Even though the shortest season on record made some progress with short turns, thanks to the great video by Diana.

I was just starting to get the hang of it (using much more counterbalancing than I had before) when the big melt happened.
--- aka John Carey
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby Max_501 » Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:33 pm

Last season I moved my focus to mastering bumps and manky crud. Both require massive CA and a huge flex with tipping and pullback, all of which need to be nearly simultaneous when skiing at speed (which is needed for blasting through manky crud). This season I picked up where I left off, however I had spent a significant amount of time during the off season working on dryland training. My goal was to increase CA and balance (indoor slackline). What a difference a summer makes! When I hit the slopes in November things really started to click. I could snap off rapid BPSTs without getting aft too often and I could hang in the zipperline in most conditions. However, when the bumps are rock solid (ice) I can only make 5 or so turns before I get late and have to bail. There appears to be two issues, first I'm just not fast enough to make super tight bump turns (including flex/extend) on the harder faster snow, and second, my body (knees and back) can't take the bigger hits from frozen bumps at the higher speeds. So I have to ski a rounder line in these conditions, which was still fun! I have a suspicion that the combination of reaction time (decreases with age) and ratio of fast/slow muscle fiber (genetic) are key for bumps and if you aren't physically fast enough (because you are lacking in one or the other) then there's no shot at skiing the faster line in certain conditions.
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby h.harb » Sat Apr 09, 2016 3:52 am

Here are some of my comments about what I work on in my skiing from a previous post. I will elaborate more specifically about what I want and what I need to do to achieve what I'm looking for in my runs.

This is purely an outside observer's observation however; I work my butt off to ski with these movements and it's not easy. Getting everything to match and change edges quickly with the same consistency for a whole run takes amazing concentration and focus. To do this at speed with connected high energy is very difficult. It's amazing to me when I watch Reilly's skiing how many high end turns in a row he can connect and not make a mistake. We all make mistakes, however to feel the mistake coming and correct it before it becomes obvious is a real high level ability. In our camps, we instruct people not only to focus on the right movements, but how to correct a movement that went wrong, not just continue to deteriorate as the run progresses. Getting it back together mid turn, when you sense something went wrong, is crucial.


This season has been frustrating to me in some ways due to a number of issues. Although much of what I wanted to achieve; I did, but not without obstacles. First, you have to identify your obstacles. In my case , flexibility, and strength on my right side, due to less use of these muscles for almost a year, therefore; my right leg and hip were relatively weak. This is relative to my normal situation, which maybe adequate for most "good" skiers, but not for what I am striving for in my skiing. Building strength with proprioception and flexibility, are my major challenges. In addition, I had to reorganize my sense and amount of Counter Acting and Counter Balance, on my right side, due to new alignment and boot set up from surgery.

My Program; I skied close to a hundred days, so fatigue from skiing is an issue, for proper supplemental strength building and flexibility. Skiing alone will not do the job or get me where I need or want to be. I have to be in the training room between skiing sessions. I also need rest, I can't just jump from a hard ski week into the gym and expect to improve my conditioning. Trying to do so may actually retard my progress, so I have to wait and rest before doing intense physical workouts during the ski season. Even with rest after skiing, you need rest and recovery after indoor physical training as well. And if you are skiing at a pace to get 100 days in for the season this doesn't leave much time for everything you want to accomplish.

That said, I did get in some sessions with 100 squats per set, and dead lifts in my work outs. I also did many days with one or two sets of light weight lifting type squats, to keep my legs moving. I do a morning routine also, with one legged step ups, to get the muscles working before skiing.

I'm normally flexible enough, for most activities, but I found the lay off after surgery, really affected my right side, lower back and hip muscles. It really becomes apparent how much flexibility one needs to ski at the best levels. This is often taken for granted, especially if you always had it. In addition, lots of skiing does make the muscles tight, so does training.

So more flexibility and rest were needed. When I skied hard with quick movements, to try to improve my retraction speed for example, the next day my back and hip were usually very stiff. You have to realize that reaction speed and plyo-speed in muscles, (explosive movements) are the last to come back. In this regard, I can't be too hard on myself and my performance. With a new knee, you have to be cautious as well, so many challenges had to be overcome, many elements of fitness training have to be co-ordinated. I don't know of any knee replacement subjects who have incorporated all of this and done it to their satisfaction in the first 10 months after surgery.

So now on to the skiing part. What do I think of specifically when skiing. First, I noticed my CB on my right side was not adequate, and my flexing or knee bend after release was not as pronounced as my left side. I found I had an involuntary extension on my right leg in the "HIGH C", (this was for knee protection primarily). Even though I thought I was flexing enough, video analysis showed it was not to my satisfaction. What I mean by this, my right leg wanted to extend because it didn't have the strength to stay in a lower bent position to accept the load in the " high C" part of the arc. Most people won't notice this, however it's very obvious to the technical eye. Those were my first projects, fixing these what should have been small details, however; I found out this takes time. It took time, training, focus and lots of effort. In 2 months of skiing and training; I saw noticeable changes. At the same time, I changed boots to Dalbello DRS, 150 flex, race boots.

In my dry land training, I began to notice, hip and leg strength increases, so I began to push the edge change speeds and retraction amounts. This was frustrating because the skis didn't hold the way I wanted or was used to, and the arcs were not as crisp as I wanted. A month later, the biggest breakthroughs happened in March, when I adjusted my cuffs and changed skis to the new iSpeed Super Speed, the 2017 models.

This may sound like a very well orchestrated step by step evolution, but it was far from it. Everyday I went out to ski or teach I had new tweaks to evaluate. Many days I had alignment changes I was experimenting with, as well as edge angle and ski sharpening efforts daily, to achieve the perfect set up. I was getting close but, still not where I wanted to be. For some time, I figured I was not going to be able to ski the way I wanted to the first season after knee replacement. Then a few days before leaving for Europe; I hit the set up that came close, the skis, the boots, my lower back, my legs all felt right. I made some runs I liked. They are not what I call "power skiing" the way I could ski 2 season ago, but I was on track.

It's a long process, but if you look at the reality of the situation I have to be satisfied. I still expect to have good and bad days, but I know now I can do it and ski the way I want to again in the future. I'm driven to get back to where I was and possibly even better.

In my skiing runs I focus on keeping my inside foot back and close to my stance boot. I also focus on my flexing, both legs in transition, and to increase the flexing on every turn. So it's pull back, CA, high in the "C", and CB before the falline. So going back to what I said at the beginning, for me to get back to where I want to be with my skiing, it's about flexibility and strength and then technique.

I want high energy skiing with movement consistency, not an easy goal, but it's within reach. Another summer of training, lots of biking, rock climbing and weight training. Flexibility and lower back strengthening are where I'm headed as soon as I get back from Austria.
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby Roundturns » Sat Apr 09, 2016 2:47 pm

I read this and it reinforces that if we want to strive to be the best we can be ,then it's hard work and commitment to achieve that objective. I noticed this year that riding a spin bike standing up at higher resistance, added to my tread mill workout resulted in increased quad strength that Produced being able to ski longer before stopping .

IMHO fitness is a prerequisite of being able to strive to achieve a higher level of skiing. But you can be the fittest person on the hill, but if you don't have the correct movement pattern you are just a physically fit mediocre skier!

So what is provided here at PMTS Forum , provides us the information to take it to a higher skiing performance level.

I enjoy learning how much effort and conditioning the elite PMTS skiers on this forum are doing in an effort to ski at their best.
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby jbotti » Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:52 am

For some of us getting up in years (I am ten years younger than Harald) he is the perfect model for what needs to be done to stay in shape and maintain proper flexibility to ski at a high level and that doesn't even speak to how hard he works on his skiing, every day, every run. I noticed almost nothing going from my 30s into my 40s with regard to fitness, strength and flexibility (yes I was a little slower on the bike but I could still hammer quite hard). But I did notice a bit of a cliff right at around 52, when I needed way more rest between hard workouts and I had to realign my training focus. I want to enjoy skiing and other activities well into my 70s (20+ more years of good skiing is the goal). Its pretty clear reading his posts what will be required. Yes it will be some hard work but the alternative (not being able to ski or do other physical activities) feels a bit like pre-mature death!
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Re: Assessing My Season

Postby skijim13 » Wed May 18, 2016 4:10 am

I am also in the same age as you, I still work out hard and the gym and on weekends. As I am getting older I find it harder everyday. I have been working a great deal on staying flexible and found that it helped greatly with my CA. My focus for dryland training will to keep improving to flex both legs during my release and learn to tip to a higher angle on the tipping board. I also hope for a better winter next year in the Northeast since my on snow time was greatly limited.
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