Day 8: Utah–I meet Pete and get killed by the US Ski Team
In the morning I call Pete and he says that instead of having breakfast how about if we just meet him and the gang at Soldier Hollow–the 2002 Olympic XC Ski Stadium–and we could visit there and hang out or I could do a work-out with them if I liked. I about popped a gasket. Where’s Soldier Hollow? “Oh about 10 minutes away from you.” We’re there, man!
We beat the white vans to the stylin’ stadium. We were cooking up our morning coffee in the parking lot when the coaches and athletes pulled in. I recognized Pete as the driver next to me. We had a nice “I know you already, you bum” visit and then he said, Want to join in? I first thought, Aw, I don’t want to bother these kids. I’m not in shape. Then I thought, The heck with that, I’m in! I grabbed the ski poles that I conveniently brought (and M had said they were a waste!) and Pete and I trotted off with the gang.
The US Team was about a dozen superfit smooth-muscled guys and the gals. Tan and t-shirted. Sport-bras for the gals. They seemed fresh-faced enough that they could be my kids. They seemed cheerful and without the poseur edge I felt in some folks in Boulder.
I shook hands with the ex-Norwegian wildman coach, Tron. “Ja, nice to meet you and have you along. C’mon, let’s kick some butt.”
First thing we did was warm up with a jog. Not bad. Those high-altitude big-hill trails weren’t so hard on me yet.
This was going to be a Level 4 day. Yikes! (There are only four levels.) Race pace! I heard Tron say intervals plus some anaerobics. Here goes! The first item was 4 times up a 150-foot very steep hill, bounding with poles, at 110% effort, with lots of air in the bounds. Torin Koos, a tall, rubbery kid of about 23 led off the line-up of skiers. I was at the end. Torin sprinted up to the mark like a polevaulter attacking his launch. Then he leaped like Michael Jordan hitting the key. Holy smokes! With every ‘boing’ he’d fly so that his hips rose up about 3 feet in the air and floated about 10 feet up the steep hill. Then it’s my turn. The coaches yell, “C’mon, Potter, let’s see some air!” We did a halfmile trot to recover. Each time up, Torin and the others just flew and floated up that hill.
Just standing around Torin looked like a normal enough human. Seeing him go up that hill my eyes bugged out. His was an exotic gift. Going up really big hills really fast is what this kid did.
The U.S. is getting awfully close to the World Cup podium these days. Of course it’s not the skier alone who does it. A new team spirit and risk-taking brought by new coaches Tron and Pete were being widely credited by the skiers for their recent top finishes. “The podium this season for sure!” Pete says. I saw what he meant during the next part of the workout.
We were to pole-bound the 10k Olympic course and attack every hill and keep good technique the whole time. I lasted about 5k then found a place to watch. As I caught my breath, the lead guys closed in to finish the 10, snaking around the multilevel twists of the course. (Yeah, that makes them twice as fast as me.) You can see most of the course when you’re in the stadium. Watching those kids come in seemed like a good simulation of an Olympic race to me: great skiers were out there, giving it their all. What a thrill! It wasn’t just a workout. Send the US team out together for a max work-out and what do you get? A race! The coaches and others were yelling from the hillsides, Go go go! And the skiers were kickin’ butt. It looked great.
After lunch they were hitting the weights. Ha! I warmed down jogging with Pete. He said, Yeah, this is just the best race venue ever. We talked about our great and wild plans to do an audio CD version of his book with new stories in it for all the skiers who’ll be spending hours roadtripping this upcoming season. What a cool idea! The kids cooling down around us were psyched about it, too, and teased about who would do the voice. Pete will! Yeah, cool! So, I’ll send him a digicorder with my kids’ lunchmoney. It’ll pay off.
We said our byes and I told Tron thanks for killing me. M said my face was still beet red. Tron said “Hey, man, we kill you any time you like.” The white vans peeled awaywith my Move-It ski stickers on them. Pete winked and waved.
M went off on a ride into the little nearby valley while I looked for rattlesnakes with the kids at a creek near the stadium. Then we blasted.
After hanging with the kids, it struck me how wide a range of talent was visible even at the National level. I started to see why the squad going to WC events each year was only a couple guys and gals. Yet I’m sure that even the littlest kid there, with the most babyfat, could’ve beat me even in my prime.
