1. Giant President's Day Sale 
2. Birkie Week - Race Waxing, Testing, More 
3. Wax Clinic & Ski Drop Minneapolis Tuesday 
4. Marathon Race Tips 
5. Two of our favorites from SkiGo & Holmenkol 

1. Training - the week before a big event, the training is done and it is time to rest and put the polish on all of the previous work you've done.  Even if you're not in great shape, don't try to go out and prepare now, it's too late - you'll just make yourself tired and slower. The optimal training before a big event is to combine some light speed work and intensity with very easy skiing.  A typical pre-race week that has worked well for me and many of the athletes I've coached:
• Monday: Rest
• Tuesday: Easy Recovery Ski with 10 accelerations interspersed in 45-75 minutes of EASY skiing (or rollerskiing or running).
•  Wednesday: Easy Threshold Intensity Session.  Warm up for 30-40 minutes, then do 20-40 minutes of sustained Level 3 (Threshold) intensity.  This will be roughly your marathon pace and should not make you excessively tired.  The pace should feel fast, but not painful.  Cool down with easy skiing for 20 minutes.  If you can do this on a section of the race course, great.
• Thursday: Rest or light ski testing
• Friday: Test skis and Pre-Race Warmup.  15 minutes of Level 1 (painfully slow) skiing, followed by 15 minutes of Level 2 skiing (breathing and sweating a bit, but still able to hold a conversation).  Then do "natural" intervals using terrain to ramp up to race pace for 1-3 minutes at a time. These intervals are designed to get the body primed for racing, not tire you out.  So the pace should ramp up slowly and smoothly and definitely not be painful.  Fast and fluid, but not burning.  Depending on fitness, do 8-12 minutes of work with good recovery in between.  Cool down for 10 minutes, do 5-10 10 second accelerations, then go home and rest.
• Saturday: Pre race warm-up: For a short to middle distance race (under 1hr), repeat the Friday workout before your race.  As the race gets longer, you will want to shorten your warm-up and make it less intense.  Regardless of length, you will want to make sure to get 15-20 minutes of easy skiing in before you start in order to prime your fat metabolism. If you don't have time to get a warmup in at the start, try to start slowly and ease into the race.  If you start fast without a warmup, you'll go to burning sugar right away, and your fat metabolism won't fire up, causing trouble a few hours down the road.
2. Fueling - Don't do anything drastically different with diet. No giant pasta feeds the night before the race.  Just be sensible, eat well, stay hydrated and make sure you have food and water immediately after training leading up to the race.  Travel with snacks in case you get delayed.  Test your race fueling strategy during a hard workout before the race so you know it works and does not upset your stomach.
•  Eat a good meal with lots of carbs and protein 2-3 hours before the start.  Oatmeal and Eggs seems to be the best solution for most people.  Shorter races require more digesting time, longer races, less.
• Drink water and energy drinks leading up to the start, but don't overdo it.  Just stay hydrated, don't show up having to run off into the woods at the 3km mark.
• Eat a snack or gel around 1hr before the start.  Energy bars and ripe bananas are both good options.
• Take a gel and some water 15-20 minutes before the start of a marathon
• Feed early and often during the race.  It's smart to carry a bottle with you so you can feed on the downhills and more frequently than the aid stations would allow.
• Feed early and often.  You'll have much more energy at the finish if you drink and eat to the point of almost making yourself sick. A marathon is a long way to go.
3. Waxing/Skis
• If possible, show up a day or two before an event with a few pairs of skis all waxed the same so you can test them against each other.  Evaluate the expected course conditions for track hardness, snow type, temperature and humidity.  Match ski flex with track hardness and structure with the snow type and humidity of the snow.  If weather is stable, you can test on the race course and make a decision based on tests.  If the forecast calls for change, you may have to make some intelligent guesses.  But narrow your skis down to one or two pairs if possible to minimize stress on race day.  Choosing the right ski and structure is far more important than getting the perfect wax. 
• Choosing the wax depends a lot on the time and resources you have available. Sometimes it will come down to making a guess based on the forecast, other times you can use test results from wax companies and your own testing to make the wax call with more confidence.  Regardless, make the decision and go with it. Don't waste energy fretting about the wax.  If weather looks like it will change, wax up a second or third pair to accommodate all likely scenarios.  You're much better off making a decision, waxing your skis and getting to bed at 9PM than staying up until late at night stressing about what to do.  If conditions change dramatically, get up early and re-wax in the morning.
• On race day, if you have multiple pairs to test, have a plan of where, when and how you will test so you can get it done quickly and efficiently before your race, leaving you time and energy to prepare for the race.
• Once you make the call on skis and wax, move on. Unless you have the ability to change wax and you truly need to change wax, stop thinking about it.  Relax and focus on getting yourself prepared.
4. Logistics/Travel
• Focus on controlling what you need to control and letting things go when they are out of your control.  Don't waste energy fighting  something you can't change.
• Plan ahead.  You need to have a plan in mind for travel, race logistics, ski testing, and warm up so you can be relaxed and efficient.  Know when, where and how to accomplish everything you have to accomplish before your race.  Make sure your schedule is reasonable and allows you to be flexible when something takes longer than expected (such as picking up your bib or waiting for transportation to the start).
• Prepare to be flexible. Something will inevitably foil your best laid plans, but rather than stressing about it, revise your plan and make the best out of the new situation.

There is a reason they put blinders on race horses - so they don't get spooked by the scene that is going on around them. We are the same way - there is so much going on leading up to a big race that it is easy to get distracted. Staying focused on arriving at the start calm, relaxed and ready to go will allow you to have the best race and most enjoyable experience possible.