In a halfway

It's me again- the luckiest man in the world. It's been a while since my last post. Finally I decided to update this part of my blog. At least it can be some kind of summary of all what has happened for almost five great months which I've spent in Alta. Life in northern Norway became reality after years of dreaming about it. But it's not only the dream that came true. That would be too easy, too perfect. It turned out to be the biggest challenge I've ever faced.

On my way to Alta. It's worth mentioning that I came here by car all the way from Poland. It was great journey with my parents and I'll never forget it.

I remember first days. Or should I say "first day" because sun was up the whole time. Alta looked like town of strangers. All I know stayed in Poland, 2800 km away from here. "Well, that's what you wanted, isn't it?" I don't even know anymore. Chasing "the dream" was supposed to make me "the happiest" and so on. But when I think about this a little longer it doesn't look the same. Especially during my first week I got a feeling mixed with burning red dot in my head with giant caption saying: "Shit is now getting serious". And it got. Me- homebody, who was quite satisfied with his life, decided to go out of comfort zone and reach for MORE. Ambitions were always fighting against fears and this time won. Sometimes the result of this battle can lead to a huge success. Being now in a halfway of my language course in Norwegian I still can't proove that this is 100% true.

One of my first days. Sitting in a front of computer was boring so I decided to make a little trip to Komsatoppen.

After couple of lonely days it all finally started. I met international students, a lot of new people from various countries. To describe each of them I would need a lot of space and time. It got much easier to get to know this strange place having such company. Alta was something new for some of us and we took adventage of events which have been organized by our univeristy. Of course it was difficult to find some common language. At least it was me who had problems in the begining. I came here from some kind of isolation and focused on wintersports. I thought that everyone would be like me. Apparently I was the only one with such dumb idea of working in skiing business.

If you were in the North and didn't see any reindeers, then you weren't in the North. 

Alta itself didn't look like skiing paradise in my first impression, maybe because of seashore nearby. First month was mainly about breaking the ice between me and Northern Norway. It worked and after a while it got easier to find my own way of northern life. It turned to be a bit different than my imagination and expectation about this place. But who would care about it? First trip with overnight somewhere under the open sky, mornings with 20k jogging and the northern lights- how nordic is that! I was taking everything I could from a single experience. Days were long, landscapes were picturesque and there were still plenty of new things to try. However after the first deep breath of Norwegian air I found my routine. Life changed and slowed down. The sun was disappearing under the horizon quite early. Autumn has shown its another side. The dark and depressing side. For the first time in my life I got to know the feeling of homesickness. Hearing Polish language somewhere in a street was the best feeling I could imagine at that time. Skype calls with best friends and family was the most important part of evening. I felt like I was living neither in Norway, nor in Poland. It was somewhere in a halfway. Still all the memories of previous years were coming back and giving me the same message: "You need to grow the fuck up". I didn't want to do this at all. It's studies, you aren't supposed to grow up on that time, you are supposed to get drunk at least once a week, open a channel on YouTube and play FIFA ridiculous amount of time. Unfortunately, you can't afford for this when you are Polish self- financed student in Norway. Thus, I needed to find a job as soon as possible.

The northern lights above UiT The Arctic University of Tromsø- campus Alta.

All took me about four months. At the end of November I was finally employed and actually got adapted to Norway. Apparently living in the North is not about watching the northern lights everyday, going on trips, training in the morning and having a party every weekend. For me it's more like fighting not to get depressed from darkness, having good people around and trying to find my chance. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming for 20- year old student, who came here to make his dreams come true. Maybe a passion for cross- country skiing is not enough to live 2800 km away from home? At least a little bit snow outside looks promissing. On the other hand, this whole experience has already tought me a lot. Or should I say that people has done it. Here, in Alta, I heard many words for the first time in my life. For example, someone said that my handwriting (so far considered as ugly) is beautiful. Someone else admitted that it's a pleasure to train with me. Small steps like those build up my self- confidence, even if it's a bit overrating. And that's what I like most in Norwegian culture. They encourage you with nice words. Previously, in Poland, I experienced more of criticism, either constructive or just dumb.

Unfortunately this beautiful winter hasn't arrived in Alta yet. This picture was taken during a fantastic trip to Finland. That day I saw sun for the last time before coming home for semester break.

 "No matter who you chose to be", it's always difficult to get there. Stay in Alta, so far away from home, gave me a different perspective to look at my plans. All I get here will be my advantage someday in the future. Now I'm getting closer to the end of my first semester. A tough and demanding time will soon be an another part of my history. But I have also plenty of new such days ahead of me. And I still have no idea how I'm going to manage this. It's the polar night's fault, which successfully messes up my brain. Maybe I can just follow the sentence which I wrote one day at my Polish site: "Sometimes it's better not to think at all". Yes, definitely. Otherwise I wouldn't be here, right?

The luckiest man in the world

First of all, I have to admit that I failed with my goal, which was to write one post every month. I have no excuses. However, many things have changed since I promised this. The most important is, that I have been admitted to UiT The Arctic University of Norway. I'll study Norwegian language at Campus Alta in my first year. What will happen next is still unknown for me, but certainly I have some ideas regarding my further education in Norway. Nevertheless I feel now like the luckiest man in the world. Soon I become a student of the prestigious university and most importantly I'll live in Norway! It was always my dream to live in the high North. Alta is the hometown of Finn Hågen Krogh and also of skilled sport researchers. Studying in such place must be so exciting! My dream would never come true without priceless help of my closest family and friends. I can't thank them enough for everything they've done for me through the last year.

During my residence in Norway I may not have enough time for blogging. I hope that I'll be able to write at least on my Polish site. I also plan to record some vlogs to show the amazing arctic landscape. I'll let you know, if my videos come out. Now I'm about to prepare for my great journey to Alta. It's going to be an amazing year!  

The important role of double poling

This time I put away biathlon and move on to cross- country skiing. This season was in my opinion crucial for one important aspect of skiing. I mean the role of double poling. In recent years the meaning of this technique became bigger. With this post I'm going to introduce some examples, which can prove my statement.

Do you remember this season's 15 km classic race in Davos? On the course, which contained steep uphills and tricky downhills, two great skiers in World Cup GC- Dario Cologna and Petter Northug, decided not to use a grip wax. They double poled the whole 15 km. Cologna managed to finish 3rd, Northug was 10th. They both lost a little bit of time getting uphills but on downhills, which were essential part of the course, had an advantage. This let them finish on good positions. The situation of not using grip wax happend also in Toblach- Dobbiaco, where was held 7th stage of Tour de Ski- 10 km classic race. Similarly to Davos, the course was also a gradual uphill followed by fast downhill. Alexey Poltoranin was one of the skiers. who double poled the whole 10 km. He succeed and won the race, overcoming a few seconds of loss, which he had on the top of the course. Right after the 15 km in Davos, students and professors from Idrettshøgskolen of The Arctic University of Tromsø started their researches of double poling. They wanted to find out, how the upper body endurance capacity compares to running. Tests ran by them will use a special machine, which simulates double poling, and a treadmill. Students will measure skier's maximum oxygen uptake while using only his upper body strength. After few days, they'll repeat the measurments, but then a skier will be supposed to run on the treadmill. They plan to invite Petter Eliassen as a professional skier for tests. I'm very curious about results. Few years ago Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre made a nice video regarding double poling and revealing its secrets. I remember this as my first source, which I gained the knowledge from. You might like it as I did, despite many things have changed since then. Just look at the video below.


There's a big chance to see more world's top skiers double poling the whole classic races in the next World Cup season, not only classic sprints. However, it'll still depend on a course profile and snow conditions. It will be interesting to retrace the strides of this technique.

Grip wax is getting useless in most of today's legendary ski marathons (Swix Ski Classics). It may sound really foreign for everyone, who hasn't ever seen one. Actually this is true. I think that Vasaloppet is here great example, but not the only one. Since 2013, when Jørgen Aukland won this race double poling the whole time, we had learned, that this is the most efficient way to get through 90 km of (mostly) gradual downhill. In ladies' competition Laila Kveli became in 2014 the first woman to win without grip wax. Diagonal stride can be used only on the first hill and maybe somewhere else, but after a lot of double poling anyways (because of flat terrain or downhills) most of kick wax is gone. In addition, it slows down skis a little bit, which can be significant especially taking into consideration 90 km race.

The map of Vasaloppet.

However, elite contenders of Swix Ski Classics choose to double pole in more difficult long distance races. Recent Birkebeinerrennet, which runs through mountains from Rena to Lillehammer, wasn't an exception. I was truly amazed when I saw these guys double poling the whole hilly race with 3,5 kg backpacks. Astoundingly, strong arms of Petter Eliassen, John Kristian Dahl, Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Øystein Pettersen & co. let them to keep up with Martin Johnsrud Sundby skiing diagonal stride. Such an amazing performance! Eliassen won the race ahead of Sundby and Dahl and prove his strength. I can say the same thing about this year's Marcialonga. The trail was shortened to 57 km, but still remained the last uphill to Cavalese. There Tord Asle Gjerdalen managed to win without grip wax of course. The unique character of long distance races, such as Swix Ski Classics, gives the perfect opportunity to work on a strategy. One of its elements is choosing the most efficient waxing and technique, which lead to double poling. Even some of the ladies try to use only their upper body strength in other races. Not always it's successful. On the last stage of Swix Ski Classics (Årefjällsloppet) winning Seraina Boner used traditional kick wax. The course was shortened to 47 km around Vålådalen instead of finish in Åre and definitely hilly enough for her to make an advantage ahead of double polers (Britta Johansson Norgren and Lina Korsgren). She had also very good skis, which were working perfectly throughout the whole race. In men's race Petter Eliassen and Tord Asle Gjerdalen made a great move on the toughest part of the course and broke away from the leading group. The crucial role played their strong double poling. Nobody could keep up with them, even Anders Aukland- the previous yellow bib's holder, who chose to use grip wax this time. The race was won by Petter Eliassen (Team Leaseplan Go), who attacked in the last 2 km. It was the 4th win in a row for him and fantastic confirmation of his victory in the whole Swix Ski Classics season. Øystein Pettersen (Team United Bakeries) won the sprint classification. Team Santander was the best in team competition, Anders Høst (Lyn Ski) was the best youth athlete.

Podium of the best skiers in 2014/2015 season. Masters of double poling, long distances and great battles. From left: Anders Høst, Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Petter Eliassen, podium lady ;), John Kristian Dahl and Øystein Pettersen.

In ladies' competition Katerina Smutna (Silvini Madshus Team) won the champion title. Tone Sundvor (Team Synnfjell) won the youth trophy.

Best women in Årefjällsloppet and Swix Ski Classics. From left: Katerina Smutna, Sofia Bleckur, Seraina Boner, Masako Ishida and Tone Sundvor. 

Swix Ski Classics have a great tradition and history. It was really fun experience to watch this season on the official website (there you can also find complete results) and I won't miss any race in the next winter.

At last I'd like to share my experience with double poling. Usually I ski a lot of free technique. I don't even own any classic skis. Unfortunately, I got slightly injured at the beginning of the past season. That's why I was rather double poling than skating. In a result I had an opportunity to improve my upper body strength. After couple of training sessions I could easily double pole for 2 hours on regular course with medium uphills and downhills. Maybe my very low weight and relatively strong arms helped. I've always admitted impressive fitness of athletes, who can ski plenty of kilometers without grip wax. After my practise I'm even more respectful for them. Double poling requires a lot of physical and mental strength in the toughest parts of the race, when muscles are burning and every move hurts. I'm going to pay more attention as well for watching Ski Classics as practicing a lot of double poling. I suggest the same thing for everybody. That's because we're in a front of a revolution. The revolution of double poling.

Biathlon for everybody?

It seems impossible, it sounds incredible but it's true. In Poland everyone can become a biathlete for one day. This day finally happened on the 21st of February, when Polish National Championships of Amateurs and Masters were held by Jamrozowa Polana at The Center of Polish Biathlon in Duszniki- Zdrój. I participated in this great event and now it's time for posting a short review.

During two days of the Championships were organized two races: sprint (7,5 km for men, 4,5 km for ladies, two times shooting in prone position) and pursuit (5,6 km, three times shooting in prone position). I was competing on Saturday, in sprint competition. To participate, I needn't have any experience in shooting on biathlon range. Many people took advantage of it. On start were also masters, who ended careers years ago. I knew from the begining I won't be able to fight with them, especially without any skill in shooting. At least the course wasn't difficult. Skiing trails around Jamrozowa Polana are rolling and dynamic. I described it in this post. As you can see, I skied the long tarmac loop three times during the race. The snow conditions seemed to be in good shape. I thought that not using any wax would be better than trying figure something out, what can totally ruin my skiing. Secondly, I took part just for fun and didn't feel any pressure for a result. I'm sure, that there were many people who came with the same goals. Before start we had a short meeting to give us the instruction how to use a rifle. I started early, with bib 3.

Soon at the first loop it turned out, that the snow on further parts of the course isn't as firm as I thought. My unprepared skis were like sticked to this. Fortunately it was only few meters. My biggest fear before the race was a steep uphill in the middle of the loop. It was difficult to keep the right pace. I have also never taken part in any race and it may be one of the reasons why I didn't know how hard I should go. First shooting was literally my first shooting ever. Obviously the quick instruction meeting wasn't enough for me to get used to a rifle. I ended with 4 penalty loops, even though targets were as big as for standing position. During skiing my penalties I noticed that some of the participants (masters) with higher numbers were overtaking me. They were skiing really fast and certainly shooting better than me. 

Second loop was painful for my legs. I was keeping up the pace and overtaking some of the ladies. Surprisingly, they were cheering me on. The rest of this loop I skied alone. Second shooting was better. I missed only 2 targets. After quick visit on penalty loops I headed out for my last 2,5 km. I was caught in the middle by someone on his earlier loop. I struggled on the last uphill but I accelerated all the way to the finish line. It was a strange feeling not to have sore legs after this effort. I believe I'll be better next time. After the race I could watch other athletes starting. 

A fromer Polish biathlete- Lukas Witek is finishing his race.

Joanna Badacz (0+0) won ladies' race. Dorota Zuberska (0+3) was 2nd and Agnieszka Uznańska (1+2) 3rd. They were all former biathletes.

The men's race was won by Waldemar Poręba (1+0) followed by Lukas Witek (2+1) and Dariusz Mazurkiewicz (1+1). 

I ended up on 18th place. I'm happy with this result and I know that I did my best. Maybe I could shoot better. Aside, it was for me the first race ever. Many contestants were in the same situation. The fact that I was the youngest man on start was for me also beneficial. In total, 40 participants finished the sprint (6 women and 34 men). As I mentioned before I didn't start next day in pursuit. In general, such events organized by Jamrozowa Polana are an unique opportunity to challenge yourself. I have never heard about any other possible way to try shooting with biathlon rifle. The National Championships of Amateurs and Masters were also supported by Polish Biathlon Association, which provided prizes. Some of them were given away in a raffle after the race.

Increasing number of participants in every next competition shows that biathlon become more popular. Duszniki- Zdrój is the only place, where people can try it. Next opportunity to participate is summer biathlon on roller skis. Are you going to join in?

Test: One Way Premio 9 full setup

Couple of days ago I finally had an opportunity to test my new One Way Premio 9 boots on snow. That occasion was also ideal to use Premio 9 Skate skis, which I purchased at the end of last season. As we all remember, last winter was very poor. This is why few days ago was the first time on new skis. I was really excited before I started. Finally I prepared my Premio 9 skis, take the Diamond 930 poles and put boots on. This perfect setup was ready to go.

My slight injury didn't allow me to spend long time on skis. Something happened to my right knee and this made skate skiing difficult and painful. However I could switch double pole if I wanted to. That helped a lot. I could entirely enjoy the new equipment. First thing I noticed was low weight of skis. Premio 9 skate are very good balanced. It felt like being on roller skis, which was great impression. I've always wanted to gain as high speed on snow as on tarmac. These skis are close to the ideal, especially while skiing uphill.

I couldn't experience all advantages of my skis without good boots. This is why I decided to buy the latest version of Premio 9 Skate by One Way in brand's online shop. You can find an information about it in previous post. First impression was strange. I've never skied in such stiff boots. My previous pair compared to this one was like slippers, literally. Premio 9 are that stiff thanks to doubled upper coverlace and carbon outsole. This makes them also a little bit heavier than cheaper model- Tigara. However Pilot 3 outsole provide excellent stability and control on skis. Few grams (and Euros) were worth it. Previously I had also problems with tibia. It hurt while skating. Since I've used new boots, the problem has gone. Maybe it helped but I've made also some improvements in my technique during last summer, so I can't definitely tell, what actually makes my skiing comfortable. Last but not least thing is the way I insert my foot into the boot. This system is very similar (maybe even the same) to this one used by World Cup athletes. It's really cool to use a top- drawer product.

At last I'd like to add few words about Diamont 930 poles. I've used them for a year. You may ask, why did I choose poles with "only" 30% of carbon. I know, that a good skier should own at least Diamond 9 MAX. I've heard a lot about excellent stiffness of the best poles made by One Way Sport. I wish I had one of the highest models. However I'm afraid of using them on not well prepared tracks, where I could easily break it. Not always I have an opportunity to ski on perfect groomed trails. For example last time I skied on trail, where was many holes and my basket was plunging inside them. At this moment I'm satisfied with Diamond 930. Maybe they aren't the stiffest and the lightest but are perfect for my current needs. Maybe someday I'll need more carbon, then I'll definitely buy some of the higher models.

I can't wait for spending another hours on skis. I'm already packed and ready for long and nice skiing. See you on tracks!

"Santa Claus is coming to town"

Are you tired of looking for perfect Christmas present? Do you fear a disappointment with getting an useless gift? Don't you have enough time to go shopping or don't like queues? This post can solve all your problems. Christmas is about happiness, spending time with family and giving beautiful presents. We all know, that usually the perfect gift for us is the one chosen by ourselves. That's why I ordered the most important present for me, which I received a couple of days ago. I couldn't wait with unpacking solid box from Finland (note: the country of Santa Claus). Now you may predict, what did I get. The box contained two beautiful products inside: a pair of One Way Premio 9 Skate boots and a T- shirt from latest Endless Winter collection. I'm pleased to write some words about these nice things.

One Way Polar T- shirt.

First of all I have to admit, that I didn't have any chance to try on my new boots in action yet. Unfortunately, I'm slightly injured. It's nothing serious, but I can't go skiing. In addition there isn't any snow in the neighborhood and I couldn't do it anyway. I'm stuck, so it's difficult to make a review. I promise I'll write more about Premio 9 Skate another time. For now I post some pictures I took right after unpacking.

However, I can write more about the T- shirt. I ordered it with my boots at One Way online store. You can check the site out here. As you can see, it's very well designed. Print with pictures of polar landscapes and details make it close related to the main idea of Endless Winter. If you don't know, I'll pleasantly explain all. Endless Winter is a brand new collection of casual clothes developed by One Way Sport. Products' design refer to polar themes. You can learn more here. Looking at the product, everyone should associate it with Northern Scandinavia. We can say the same thing about the Polar T- shirt. As I wrote before, the print looks awesome as well as a badge. Aside, it's well done. Details, such as stripes, aren't printed. They are embroidery. The quality of this product is really high. It costs 29,90 EUR, which is comparable to similar products of other brands. It may be a very good idea for Christmas present. If you look for something unique and comfortable, products from the new Endless Winter collection by One Way will be perfect. You need to hurry, beacuse "Santa Claus is coming to town". In addition, the Finnish brand is offering a free delivery on all EU orders in the online shop, because of upcoming Christmas Holidays. For the offer's details, see the brand's facebook page here. Don't miss this occasion for giving a special present. Merry Christmas, Nordic People!

Changes

Last couple of weeks were a little challenging for me. I started studying and my new duties made it hard to blog. To be honest, I struggled to write something on my Polish blog. Now the things are going very well, but still there are some changes ahead. Unfortunately, I have to declare that I'll post here only content which is related to sport equipment. During the season I won't be able to care on both my Polish site and English version. This blog is going to turn into SadurSky- technically nordic. I hope my final frequency will be one text per month. However, there are also some good news. New post will come up very soon. I hope you'll enjoy the new form.