1) I lost control of my emotions and allowed myself to wallow in depression after the 15k. I wasted a lot of energy with negative thoughts.

2) I spoke unguarded with a fasterskier reporter about how my skis were selected for the 15k race. I stated repeatedly that I did not fault my techs for the ski selection but the article placed blame directly on my staff. I will never treat any reporter, no matter how well I know them, as anything but the media. I apologize to the waxers at the Olympics who did great professional work for the duration of the games.

3) I finished the 30k after nearly passing out from hypoglycemia. This may seem admirable but it drained my glycogen stores to an irreparable state. My back seized so badly after the race that I could barely walk. I had no stores for the 50k.

We all learned a great deal this past season and there are some really substantial changes to Kris’s preparation for the coming season. A major overhaul of skate technique is on the way, focusing on better muscular economy and energy management during race efforts. The structure of his training has changed to focus more on shorter load and recovery cycles, and building the tools to develop and support optimal race efforts. There has never been an issue with fitness, and the focus this year moves beyond fitness to race preparation and execution.

These changes are evolutionary - based on a growing understanding of what it takes for Kris to be a podium contender on the right day. We’ve got a lot of confidence in the equation that has emerged. Over time this website has been a way to support Kris’s efforts. By sharing his commitment with the public we’ve reinforced a mutual belief in the chosen path. We’ve built confidence through the telling of a story. This weblog has served multiple purposes, with it’s first purpose being to reinforce the strength of belief behind Kris’s efforts. It’s no longer necessary. Kris knows what he is doing - he doesn’t need to be convinced. And there is a subtlety to the approach now that, frankly, is likely to be lost on most readers. So we’re not going to be talking much about specifics on here anymore. There is a plan. The goal is clear and the path is clear. Kris is building a sense of inevitability. And that’s about all there is to say about that!

Number 9 ???!?

OK - the phone probably has number 1 pre-set to voicemail. Julie must be number 2, and his mom must be number 3. Who the hell are 4,5,6,7&8? Kris claims that number 9 is actually a really good number - you know - corner position and all. I think he’s backpedalling like crazy.

There has been decent enough coverage of the 15K so I needn’t go into any great depth. Kris started conservatively with the confidence from the Val di Dentro race the week before that he had the fitness to contend. He got the perfect ride as Bauer started about 15 seconds after Kris finished his first lap. Kris jumped on for a lap and three quarters and then passed Bauer at the end, posting the fastest final 10K of the day. Its easy to suggest that he should have started faster, but the race was defined by Bauer’s pace as much as anything. He could just as well have pulled over and waited for him. It was the perfect ride. Skis were among the best in the race. While 4th place is frustrating Kris has no regrets and can’t claim that those 1.3 seconds were available to him if only…

Kris’s preparation for the Championships has been defined by a very low level of training. While this has been the plan all-along - to really scale the load back in a pre-competition peaking phase - the compartment syndrome diagnosis made us even more cautious. Mostly this was a matter of giving his legs some extra consideration. As he started to regain some feeling in his legs after Whistler Kris realized that inflammation and fatigue had masked some of the CS symptoms and he came to understand how poorly his legs had been functioning, even in classic races. So he scaled things back even further than we had planned in order to give his legs a break.

Taking training down a big notch necessitates some other adjustments for Kris in the realm of sugar management. One of the reasons he’s carried such a high training load at times in the past is that blood sugar management can become a big issue when the load comes down. The Rybinsk race last season was a good example of this phenomenon. And when blood sugar management goes bad it’s really easy for Kris to get run down and sick. This time around Kris modified his diet more than he has in the past - knocking back his carb intake quite a lot, and eating more protein. The Omniopd has also given Kris a tool to deal with the day to day, and even hour to hour dosing variations in a way that was impossible before.

It’s not time for a post-mortem on the season quite yet. Kris’s final race of the year is coming up in the distance relay and he’s feeling very good. We’ve already started talking about next year but before we get too far it’ll be necessary to do a comprehensive review of what went right and what went wrong with this year. It’s a much prettier picture than last season, and we’re all going to come out of this pleased with the way that Kris has responded to disappointment and learned from errors.

Late Addition: Today’s sprint relay was frustrating because Kris and Torin didn’t make the final. But Kris felt excellent, and did what he set out to do - delivered Torin the lead with a lap to go. He felt as though he could have skied a tremendous final - plenty left in the tank. Distance relay is the day after tomorrow. He’s fired up.

Kris crossed skis with somebody early and went down on his way out of the stadium. Once he was situated and under way he was in the back of the pack. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal - there’s plenty of time to move in a 30K. Today, however, it was dumping down snow, and passing was really difficult. Some guys had the legs to rage through the soft snow and make a go of it, but Kris wasn’t one of them. Passing on downhills was impossible - you step out of line into the soft snow and go backwards. Kris found himself standing still at the bottoms of the uphills, surrounded by people with nowhere to go - watching the race happen just ahead.

All things told it was a frustrating day. Kris was under no illusions - he didn’t have what it took to make more of the race today. But he knows that if he hadn’t fallen at the start he would have been in the points. Blood sugar control was good - he may have taken his first feed a bit early at about 8K because he felt a bit bad for a couple of K after that. But then he felt much better and the second half of the race was better than the first. Fitness was, as I mentioned, pretty much exactly what we expected. Next weekend in Davos has the potential to be a really good one for Kris, and the focus is no turned in that direction.

As of now it’s dumping down heavy moist snow. The forecast is for more continuous snowfall at temps of about +1C right through the period, cooling to 0 or even just below after a period of very heavy snow early friday night, but then continuing with snow all day Saturday. Could be a real slugfest!

Expectations for Kris are somewhat muted this weekend. He’s in France to race, and every start is an opportunity. But the focus is on energy management and being ready for Davos.

If there was any chance of running low blood sugar this morning that was obliterated when we got to the airport and the crew realized that their flight was at 7:55, not 8:55. Adrenaline causes Kris’s body to release sugar into the blood (as it does to everybody, presumably). I left them hurrying through check-in at about 7:20 to go check into my own flight. Hopefully they made it.

Hard travel and short sleep is far from ideal on a race trip. Blood sugar difficulty on top of that is super stressful. Kris is planning to run for an hour when they arrive in Davos this afternoon. From there he’ll travel to La Cluzas on Thursday for a mass-start 30K skate race on Saturday. Expectation is for Kris to be able to ski comfortably in the pack. We’d like to see him work toward the top-ten during the last ten K. I don’t expect that he’ll have the gears to contest a sprint, and we’ll all be satisfied this week with a very strong 29K. For now, all eyes are on Davos for the next chance at a great performance. Given the challenges of the last 24 hours that’s the most reasonable expectation.