XC and CX - cross training

Over the last year I`ve been authoring pieces for this site saturated with didactic text focusing on anatomy, pathophysiology and management of common maladies specific to Nordic skiers. This month I`ve elected to leave that behind and talk about x-training, …more specifically “CROSS” (cyclo-) training!

Full disclosure. I`m becoming (way too late in my cycling carrier) a bit of a Cyclocross addict. If you are not familiar with the sport of “Cyclocross”, I invite you to search it and watch a video or two. It`s a wintertime favorite of European cyclists especially if you happen to reside in Belgium. Like middle distance mass start XC ski races, it`s full gas for 40-60 minutes. The sport matches the winter weather in the countries that embrace it, namely “rugged”.

 I describe myself as an “average minus” Masters athlete. The older I get the better I was. Some of you are old enough have the same the story. I was a two “team sport” athlete in college and played city league soccer and lacrosse thereafter. This even continued years after a hip replacement at 51. I needed the team contact. I needed a reason to work harder on the road and in the gym. I needed to match up against someone on the playing field. I also enjoyed watching my surgeon shake his head in comic disapproval. 

I still need those components of sport and figure I will until my kids put me in “a nice nursing home” as they promise. Cycling and skiing fill the void quite nicely.

I come from a skiing family. My grandfather was a first generation Swedish American who made skis for a living during the depression.  We all raced at either the community, high school or college level. Everyone was a Ski Meister in high school back then. Alpine, jumped, XC, we just skied. School and work brought me southeast for a few years and the North Carolina Alpine adult league got me on snow occasionally. It just wasn`t the same and I missed the fitness demand and simplicity of the Nordic side.

 I re- kindled my passion for XC skiing when I started working for the USST as a medical pool provider in the late 90`s.  I was drawn to the exceptional characteristics of Nordic skiers, both mental and physiologic. I was drawn to their sense of community. Mark Twain is credited with the quote, “The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog”. It`s easy to exchange “my dog” with “Nordic skiers” in that sentence. A very special group indeed. And not just the athletes. Every coach, technician, administrator, and volunteer I had contact with were nothing but “class” and “pro”. I am finding many similarities between the Cyclocross world and the ski world. Grit, determination, tolerance for foul weather training and racing, tactics, venue atmosphere, community, etc. The attraction to “Cross” is a given. 

Whether it be skiing or cycling, I enter a few races a year. I race, I look at the results sheet, I sulk, and then drive home reminding myself why I enter races to begin with.  At 60+ years old I need something to prepare for. To look forward to. I need the race day atmosphere. If I didn`t have this, I suspect I would train the same routes, at the same pace, with the same folks, week after week, year-round,…….. to allow for ice cream. 

Cyclocross offers exceptional complimentary training and racing options for Nordic skiers. As an athlete requiring a seasonal competition fix, here are 10 reasons I am hooked on CX and XC and you should try it,……….

2.     Toys and tinkering. Both sports involve getting the most you can from what you got, and you can always dream of upgrades!