Tad Elliott, featured in story 1, story 2, and story 3 in our on-going series about triathletes using Nordic skiing as a winter training tool, won a National Championship in Houghton, Michigan on Thursday, January 7, 2016. This in itself is quite an accomplishment, but what makes this victory even more impressive is Elliott's back-story of illness and the long road back that he had to take in his return to form. Interviewed from his coach's house in Putney, Vermont, Elliott spoke with SlowTwitch on winning another National Championship, getting healthy, and what he's learned along the way.

Slowtwitch: Congratulations on winning another US National Championship in the 30k skate race. How many skiing titles is this for you?

Tad Elliott: This is my 4th National Championship in Nordic skiing. My first one was in 2010 in Fort Kent, ME, when I won the 50k skate race. I repeated again in 2011 in Rumford, ME in the 30k skate race, then again in 2012 in Rumford, ME in the 15k skate race. (Ed note: the US Cross Country Ski Championships vary the format each year - there is a distance race every year but the 30k and 50k are not all held in the same year.)

ST: How many National Championships have you won in mountain biking?

Tad: I won the U23 national title two times in mountain biking, so I've been lucky enough to have the privilege of wearing the Stars and Stripes in a few different sports. It's a tremendous honor and something I appreciate every time I put on the kit.

ST: Tell me about this most recent win - how did it go down?

Tad: The distance race in Houghton this year was a 30k mass start. Race officials place skiers on the start grid based on FIS points and since I've been sick for so long and basically out of racing, I didn't have many points, so I had to start 40th in the grid, which was bad. Mass starts in skiing are no different than those in bike races, they can be chaotic and more importantly, it is easy to miss a critical move if you are too far back, so I knew that if I was going to be at all competitive I was going to have to move up to the front quickly. This is where bike racing skills come in handy too, as any bike racer worth his salt knows how to move up in traffic. This is easier said than done though and anyone who has done this knows that it burns a lot of energy, is stressful and can be dangerous, so the whole time I was thinking, "move up, but be smart - don't take any stupid risks."

At 7k down, 2 skiers attacked and got a bit of a gap, but Matt Liebsch and Brian Gregg went to the front and brought them back. Matt and Brian set a furious pace, so their efforts shattered the field and when they reeled the leaders back in at about 9k in, we were down to a lead group of 11 guys. This group then stayed together until 3k to go, when I attacked. I knew it was a "make or break" situation, so I gave it all I had and I was able stay away to the line.

ST: What was going through your mind in that last 3k?

Tad: In the months leading up to the race, I could only dream of the podium. Hell, I didn't know if I was going to be healthy enough to even START, but as you know, once the gun goes off, it really is anyone's race. I had great skis (Ed note: in the skiing vernacular this means that the skis were waxed well and were running fast in this day's conditions), I felt good from the beginning and once things really got turned up, I realized I could actually win it.

Many people don't realize just how tactical ski racing can be - it is very similar to bike racing - you have to gamble, take risks, and make moves. Sometime these moves work and sometimes they don't. You also need to be careful to not burn too many matches and when you do make a move, make it count, so once I got away, I knew I had made the right move at the right time, so I just told myself to stay relaxed, keep going and give it everything I had in the tank. And it worked.

ST: I have interviewed you in the past for Slowtwitch on how Nordic ski training is good for cycling and vice versa, can you shed some more light on this concept given this big win?

Tad: Having a strong cycling background for a race like this is key. Thanks to racing my bike a lot and at a very high level, I have quite a bit more experience in mass start races that many other skiers and this is a huge advantage. I've been in these types of racing situations a lot, so to have experience on when to go, when not to go, how to move up, when to move up, etc., was a tremendous asset. It's not just the training that crosses over from skiing into cycling, it is also the tactics, techniques and mindset.

ST: This is a huge win for any skier and the fact that you have several of these titles (and in different sports) is even more impressive, but I think probably the greatest part of this story is your remarkable comeback from illness. Can you walk us through everything you've been through in the past few years?

Tad: It all started in 2014 when I was trying to make the Olympic team. I was training incredibly hard and caught Epstein Barr Virus. Unfortunately, it wasn't diagnosed correctly right away, so even though I tried to do the right thing and get sound medical advice early in the process, the doctors missed the diagnosis initially and I was given the green light to return to training. This, combined with the high training load and the massive goal of making the Olympics all compounded themselves and I just dug myself deeper and deeper into a hole. Finally everything came crashing down and I got so sick that I couldn't even leave the house. That was rock bottom.

That next winter, 2015, my doctors had finally figured out the problem and I did my best to ease back into training, but I was still so immunocompromised that even the slightest cold could trigger serious health events. I ended up going to the ER six different times w/ all sorts of maladies stemming from my weakened immune system: strep, mono, infections, you name it. It was so incredibly frustrating, as I felt like I was doing everything right: I was being smart and I was being careful, but even the smallest thing would not just set me back, but knock me off my ass so hard that I had to go to the doctor or even the ER. I then took even more time off, but I just couldn't shake the illness. It was terrible.

ST: When did you start to feel better?

Tad: This past fall was when things finally started to turn around and I began to get healthy. After so many false-starts and set-backs, I was incredibly carefully getting back to training, so much so it was almost absurd. I would take a walk for 15 minutes and then take few days to recover. Then I'd walk for 30 minutes. That's how much fitness I had lost. I gradually worked my way back into a more regular training program, but I had to be very patient and very smart. I did terribly in my first few races (relative to results earlier in my career), but I knew I was on my way back, which felt great. Just to be back out training again felt amazing.

ST: What was the most significant factor in your recovery?

Tad: I think it was my stint at FBDR HQ for my most recent training camp that really made the difference (laughing).

In all seriousness, there were two huge factors in my recover; patience and friendship. One of the things that I've learned in this process is how to more effectively manage stress. Stress effects your life in so many ways, so I've been carefully monitoring both my training load and my stress load. What is probably the most key though is HOW I've done this: patience. If I had tried to go charging back into training, there's no way in Hell I would have won in Houghton. No way. I won that race because I was patient and smart.

The second factor that I mentioned above was equally important: the friendship of those around me. Being a professional athlete is very difficult at times and it can be a cut-throat, competitive business. I am incredibly fortune though in that I have a core group of friends and sponsors who stuck by me when the going got tough. I didn't get ANY results for a few years, yet Ski Club of Vail, Oakley, Salomon, Swix, and Caldwell Sport were there for me every step of the way. Every person in every one of these organizations treated me with the same level of support, respect and friendship that they did when I was winning, so to have all of that remain in place during that incredibly tough period in my life means the world to me. I don't know if I will ever be able to repay all of these people, but I know I never could have done this without each and every one of them. I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to work with such an amazing group of people.

ST: At the elite level in any sport, the margins between winning and middle of the pack are often razor thin, so knowing going in to the race that you still might not be at 100%, how did you prepare for such big event?

Tad: Well, you are exactly right - the margins are very thin and the only reason I came out on top in Houghton is I had a lot of help. To be perfectly honest, I'm still not as fit as some of the other top skiers and the only reason I was able to win was my support team. My twin brother Evan waxed my skis for me and he is one of the best techs (ski technicians) in the business. One of my coaches, Eric Pepper, was with me the entire time, also helping pick skis, waxing, setting up meals, lodging, and all of the other stuff that can prove to be a big distraction. Evan and Pep made everything so easy for me in Houghton that all I had to do was focus on skiing. In the end, I think that made the difference. I never could have won without those guys.

ST: It sounds as though you have learned a lot in this process. What are some of the tell-tale signs of this type of illness/over-training that you recommend athletes look out for in their own training?

Tad: The single most important thing any athlete can do is have a good coach. I am incredibly fortune to work with some of the best in business and I never could have done this without them. You need someone to help you monitor your training and recovery, it's too hard to do it yourself as you are just too close and your objectivity goes right out the window. Things that you'd never advise a teammate to do in a million years can make all the sense in the world to you when you're extremely focused on a goal, so you need the objective voice of a coach to help keep you on the right path.

Next is don't be afraid to rest. And if you feel sick, REST EVER MORE. I completely restructured my training program to build in more rest: I now train for three days, take one easy day, train for three days, then take one day entirely off. This builds fitness, strength and most importantly has a built-in a circuit breaker with the mandatory rest days. It is much harder to over-train with this protocol. I follow this plan no matter what: even if I don't think i need the rest, I now always take it.

The last thing that I did that made a huge difference is I started using the FirstBeat monitoring system. It works on heart rate variability and is a very sophisticated system to help monitor training load and recovery. I highly recommend it.

ST: What was the hardest part of being sick for so long, the physical side or the mental side?

Tad: Not being able to do the things that I love was the worst part. I really like biking and skiing and not being able to do these activities was very, very hard. I love being active: not just racing, but just being out there training is incredibly enjoyable for me, so not being able to do anything outside was very difficult.

ST: What kept you going through all of this?

Tad: The belief that others had in me is what really did it. Having people you trust and respect believe in you gives you so much confidence, it's really what keep me from losing my mind. I said it earlier - I am incredibly fortunate to have an amazing support structure: I have so many great friends, family and sponsors that never gave up on me that even at the lowest points I never lost hope.

I also have a lot of pride. Knowing you should have made an Olympic team that you didn't is a powerful motivator: there was just no way I was going to go out like that.

ST: Did you ever question if you were ever going to make it back to the top?

Tad: All of the time. Literally every day I would wonder if I could ever make it back. Fortunately my friends and family had more belief in me than I did, which is saying a lot, as I am quite cocky. My return is much more a testament to them than it is to me.

ST: When did you know that you were back?

Tad: At the finish line in Houghton. Well, I had in inkling with 3k to go and I had some great workouts at a training camp earlier in the year in Hew Hampshire and then again at FBDR camp, so I knew that things were coming back together, but if you honestly want to know when I was sure, then the answer is the finish line.

ST: You and Matt Liebsch are the only two Americans to win the American Birkibeiner in the past 7 years, so the obvious question after this big win is will you be racing the Birkie this year and if so, how do you like your chances?

Tad: It's hard to say at this point if I'm going to do the Birkie. It's a great race and I'd love to go back if I think I can be competitive, but as I noted earlier, I'm trying very hard to be smart about this recovery. While I feel like I'm finally getting back to form, I know I am not yet 100% and I'm still very concerned about coming back too fast. Like triathlon, skiing is a very demanding sport, so right now I'm just thinking about what I can do to stay healthy. I'm not looking too far down the line at this point, I'm just taking it day by day. If I'm healthy and rested enough to do the Birkie this year, great, if not, there's always next year.

ST: The vast majority of Slowtwitch readers are age-group triathletes, runners, Nordic skiers or other aerobic athletes, many of whom have also had to do with illness and injury - what advice do you have for those in the process of working through their own recovery right now?

Tad: I think every situation is different and I can only tell you what worked for me, but my advise is to be patient. Every athlete is driven - that's what gets us out there every day. The danger in this though is that it is easy for you to become your own worst enemy. Athletes are usually so eager to return to training and we think we have to be training to get results, but the truth is you are always going to be faster AND be a helluva lot happier if you wait to resume training until you are back to 100%. And even then, go back slowly. There's always going to be another race and another year, trust me.

Another very important point that often gets lost in training is the concept of balance: there's a lot of life to be lived outside of sport. It's great to be focused on your racing goals, but never forget that this is supposed to be fun. Never lose sight of the friends, family and others that are helping you along the way and always remember that just because someone isn't out there on the start line that doesn't mean that they don't matter as a person. There's a lot more to life than racing and sometimes it takes something like this to make you understand that.

All pictures © Tad Elliott