Tazlina Mannix

2011: A new year, new changes, and reflection

2011-01-05T08:49:00.013-09:00

“If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living.” -Gail Sheehy

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I’m home in Alaska. It’s nine in the morning and dark outside. The sun has yet to rise, but I’m still on Eastern Time, wide-awake and ready to go. Recent Chinook winds have brought warm temperatures to Anchorage, melting away the snow, turning parking lots to ice. Nevertheless, it feels good to be home in spite of the darkness, in spite of the ice and poor ski conditions. It’s funny how home is comforting no matter what…

Since mid-November I’ve been on the road ski racing, first in West Yellowstone, Montana and then in Silver Star and Rossland, British Columbia. After the early season races I traveled to Vermont to be with my family for the holidays. It was good to be on the road, but hard at the same time.

Racing in West Yellowstone, Montana.

(photo credit: Andy Caniff, Swix)

Over the last six months I’ve struggled with illness. Coming off some great summer training and PRs on many of our team interval courses, in late summer I got totally knocked down by a nasty walking pneumonia-type bug for six weeks. It took a lot to get back on my feet after that as I went into the fall. Then at the beginning of December, two weeks into our first period of racing, we stopped in Silver Star, BC and I got hit again. In Silver Star- one of favorite ski spots in the world- I was quarantined, because the last thing anyone wanted was to get sick. I barely skied at all and didn’t race, fighting a bad head cold for around ten days. Just back on my feet, we traveled to Rossland, BC where I raced two of the three races in a mini-tour before sitting out the last race and packing up to head east for a holiday break with family.

Upon arriving in the east I once again got sick- this time with a nasty chest cold, complete with a terrible hacking cough. I took the entire time off, only going for periodic walks. I struggled to sleep at night, as my cough worsened when I was horizontal. I coughed so much, in fact, that I began to experience rib pain. It was minor at first, but got gradually more uncomfortable as I continued to cough. After some time it was clear that I’d either badly bruised, separated or cracked rib(s) on my left side. Perhaps that was the straw that broke the camel’s back- it was definitely time to go home.

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Ski racing is a wonderful, exhilarating, inspiring pursuit. It can be rewarding beyond measure and full of incredible lessons that reach far beyond sport. I love ski racing and am so thankful that it is a part of my life, but I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been extremely hard lately. I feel like I’m in a big hole. For much of the last two years I’ve struggled to find form, my body has felt off, and most recently, I’ve been plagued by illness. At the same time, most certainly in conjunction with this, my attitude towards racing has changed. I’ve felt negative and anxious. My racing has been labored, and my muscles have been tight. Through my studies in psychology at APU, I've come to understand just how interconnected the body and mind are, and I can see without a doubt that I’m generally just really burned out.

Rather than fight this, rather than continuing to go through the motions, racing with a tired body, an anxious doubtful mind, and less than a whole heart, I decided to take a little vacation from ski racing. Having not taken more than a few days off- and always only due to illness (or appendectomy)- since I was fourteen, I gifted myself a break. To be completely honest, this wasn’t as calculated or as easy as it sounds. Sometimes forced rest- in this case by illness- can be a blessing in disguise, and that’s exactly what it has turned out to be. Over Christmas I couldn’t even go for a short walk- let alone train- without having horrible coughing fits, and so I didn’t train. Simple as that sounds, it was a big deal for me. I skied only once in two weeks while in Vermont. I took care of myself. I let my mind relax. I didn’t get anxious about losing training base. I spent time with family…

My dad opening Christmas presents...

My Nana...

My mom tasting the local ice cream at Ben & Jerry's during our Christmas shopping trip in Burlington, VT.

I played with my youngest cousins, Charlotte and Annika Mannix, ages three and five, who I only see once every few years. I held their new baby brother, 11 week-old John Fredrick Mannix, for the first time and watched him smile, blow bubbles and coo...

I prepared food...

I baked cookies with my mom and brother…

(photo credit: Ian Mannix)

And then we ate them and we gave more away…

I took leisurely walks with my family around the incredible Shelburne Farms, an expansive 1,400-acre historic landmark- turned working farm and environmental education center, on the edge of Lake Champlain.

And my brother took beautiful pictures, as he always does (thanks little brother)…

(photo credit: Ian Mannix)

Around Christmas time I chose not to attend US Nationals for the first time since 2003. When New Years rolled around, I didn’t make any resolutions, but now, in hindsight I realize that I actually did in a way. The change in my life in 2011 has come in the form of letting go (at least temporarily) of a compulsion to train and the self-imposed pressure to race no matter what. I've gradually accepted this change and the gift of some time off. And so I’ve returned home, I’ve found peace with not being across the country ski racing, being frustrated, fighting sore ribs and persistent illness. I’ve tackled new projects- cleaned my house and organized my bookshelves. I’ve paid bills and organized paperwork. Last night I opened my last Christmas gift from my family, a wonderful new bread book, and was inspired to create a new sourdough starter…

I’m planning a fun birthday weekend with my mom and have convinced my parents to let me steal my dog back for a month or so for some company…

(photo credit: Ian Mannix)

I have some baking projects up my sleeve, as always…

And last, but not least, I’ve started my senior project- a thesis of sorts- and the last class of my undergraduate career at Alaska Pacific University…

I’m not done ski racing yet though, and I do miss it. I’ve been following the tremendous success of my teammates the last few days at US Nationals- today both men and women took the top two spots in both distance races, with many other really impressive performances from other my teammates as well! I’m so excited for my team and feel very lucky to be part of such a talented group. I’m also incredibly appreciative of my coach, Erik Flora, for his patience and understanding, and most of all, for his belief in me.

And while I miss my friends and teammates, and the travel and camaraderie, for the time being, I’m happy to be where I am. Sometimes it takes being away from something to realize just how much you miss it. So I’m enjoying the solitude of my cozy condo, not fretting about the ice rink-turned ski trails in Anchorage, eating good food, and compiling fascinating articles on the personality type of elite athletes for a literature review for my senior project.

I can’t exactly say what’s in store for me or how long my hiatus will be, but that’s what’s nice about it. I’m looking forward to completing my degree, testing out some new sourdough bread recipes, taking walks with my dog, and when I’m rested and rearing to go, I’m going to be back on skis.

The journey continues...

I’ll keep you posted. Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

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“Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.” -Pauline R. Kezer

Adventures in the Wild West, APU-Style!

2010-12-08T13:01:00.002-09:00

Skiing- Silver Star, BC.

Check out the latest APU video by my teammate Reese Hanneman. This time I was able to help a little by taking lots of race video during the men's 10km classic race in West Yellowstone, Montana (my first time taking race footage). I also jumped into a few of the night skiing shots at the beginning of the film. Thanks, Reese, for the great portrayal of our most recent team adventures!

I'm sidelined with a cold right now, so rather than training, I've been drinking lots of tea, sleeping, and willing my body to get better in advance of the classic sprint and 10km freestyle races this weekend at Sovereign Lakes here on Silver Star Mountain, BC, Canada. Stay tuned for more updates!

Life on the Road: Snowstorms, good eating, fresh corduroy, and endless K's...

2010-12-05T12:29:00.010-09:00

Life doesn't get much better than this...

Blue skies and picturesque trees- the view from the trails this morning.

I'm over two and a half weeks and four races into two months of travel, training, and ski racing, and not even a recent lingering head cold has been able to bring down. So far I've experienced no shortage of: abundant snow (and snowstorms), camaraderie, holiday spirit, great food, fantastic training, successful racing, beautiful scenery, fast skis, and plentiful amounts of fun! Since mid-November I've been on the road with my APUNSC team. We started out in West Yellowstone, Montana, where an incredible snowstorm made for an exciting Thanksgiving weekend of race postponements, stranded race timers and TDs, stuck and unstuck vehicles, closed and re-opened roads and passes, and a particularly memorable morning of playing in the snow, followed by some incredibly successful APU race performances.

West Yellowstone, MT: mid-storm.

It was a great beginning to our trip, as the team showed that we were not only an incredibly cohesive group, but a well-trained, focused collection of athletes.

APU Ladies having FUN! A deck-jumping, snow-loving romp in the bottomless West Yellowstone powder.

The APU ladies after cleaning up in all four races (over three days) of the West Yellowstone SuperTour.

APU athletes eating well. Celebrating Thanksgiving early (ahead of the opening races). Overwhelmingly the best APU athlete-cooked turkey day dinner yet!

After a solid block of racing and an over-distance workout on the Rendezvous Ski Trails in West, we packed up our bags, our hundreds of pairs of skis, our wax benches, our massive quantities of leftover food... and began the annual pilgrimage north to Silver Star Mountain in the heart of British Columbia.

We couldn't have been more excited to see the... 100+ km of twice-daily groomed trails, fairy tale village, and signature Silver Star snow-loaded trees. This place is truly Nordic skier heaven!

We're several days into our training camp here in Silver Star. Intervals have hammered out at the race venue at Sovereign Lakes, but I've been hit my a little cold. After hard racing in West and two lengthy days of driving, my body needed a little rest and was sure to let me know. Luckily, this bug was short-lived, as I was able to get out on the trails today (after a couple of days of rest). It was a perfect day to get back onto the trails, with temps in the mid-20s F, blue skies and beautiful views of the rolling hills below the mountain. It was also a great opportunity to test some of my classic skis, which were delivered to West fresh from the grinder.

Getting a feel for both my new skis and my recently ground skis is always critical heading into the season, so that race ski selection is streamlined on race day. With the help of the APU wax staff and the support top-notch grinders this process has been very productive, and I've learned a ton about my fleet over the last couple weeks. After having excellent skis in all four races in West, it felt good to get out on a few pairs of classic boards today to get a feel for them in Silver Star snow conditions. With some good testing and a great ski under my belt today, and my cold winding down, I know I'll be ready to hit the race courses at Sovereign in a little less than a week!

Thanks for tuning in! Until my next post, happy trails!

West Yellowstone!

2010-11-21T11:18:00.004-09:00

Hi from West Yellowstone, Montana! Today was our first "official" day on snow here (last night some of us got out for a super fun, informal, shake-the-legs-out headlamp ski). We hit the ground running (well, actually skiing) with a little moderate intensity to spark the body and also got some fun, easy skiing in as a team. We're psyched about our new uniforms for the season, and coach Erik did a girls photo shoot today as we were heading back to the car.

Yep, we're loving being here (and celebrating teammate Sadie Bjornsen's 21st Birthday today, fourth from right in the above photo)!

Monday we're celebrating team Thanksgiving early, and Wednesday the races kick off with skate and classic sprint prelims. More to come from West soon! Thanks to Erik Flora for taking the photos.

Handcrafted, Full Bodied

2010-11-19T17:24:00.000-09:00

On the road (and in the air) again...

2010-11-19T16:43:00.007-09:00

The snow is falling in West Yellowstone, Montana, and we're on our way to the first races of the season. The West Yellowstone Ski Festival is the tradition start of the North American race season, with four competitions taking place over the Thanksgiving holidays. This year we will be racing a classic AND a skate sprint prelim (on the same day), a 10km skate, and a 5km classic. APU will be out in full force, sporting our new Swix blue uniforms (thanks, Swix!). This is the biggest APU team yet to attend the West Yellowstone SuperTour races, with almost 20 athletes in attendance!

Tonight we stay in Bozeman, MT after a long day of travel, and tomorrow we make a big Costco run for our week in West (including all our Thanksgiving food). After our opening weekend in West, we head to Silver Star, British Columbia- one of my personal favorite race (and training) venues. From there we'll compete in Rossland, BC before we have a short break for the Christmas holidays. During that downtime, I'll be flying back East to spend a week with my parents, brother, and grandmother in Vermont before US Nationals are contested in Rumford, ME at the beginning of January. The two month trip will finish off with more SuperTour races in Lake Placid, NY in the middle of January.

Since I'm going to be away for two months, the last few days has been hectic finishing up school, training, and preparing to leave. It's a challenge to pack for racing and Christmas, anticipating both cold and warm weather throughout my travels... but it's fun at the same time. Being on the road is exciting, as is the anticipation that goes along with the beginning of a new season! It's exciting, because I feel prepared to hit the snow.

I'm psyched to have a great team surrounding me, great coaching and wax support, top-notch and generous sponsors (in Swix Wax, Poles, and Accessories; Fischer Skis; Salomon Boots and Bindings; Rudy Project Eyewear; Nordic Ultratune Stone Grinding; and PowerBar). I'd also like to thank Carlile Transportation Systems- my main financial sponsor- for their unwavering support over many years. Also, big kudos to GCI- my telecommunications sponsor, hunting guide, Rob Holt- my Alaskan wild game provider, and my doctor, Ruth Higdon. Last, but not least, I am so appreciative of the love and support of my parents, extended family, and boyfriend. I couldn't be where I am without all the help and encouragement I receive!

To wrap up this post, make sure to check out the great video (posted above) that my teammate, Reese Hanneman, created recently (thanks, Reese, for letting me re-post your awesome video!). He's got some artistic talent. This definitely has my vote as the best APU ski film yet! Most of the footage comes from Hatcher Pass where we did much of our early winter preparations... Way cool!

SNOW!

2010-11-05T21:20:00.003-08:00

Yep, winter has hit Anchorage! We skied at Hatcher Pass, north of Anchorage, last week, and I did intervals on the Spencer Loop on Wednesday. This afternoon I went for a distance ski on the Anchorage hillside. It was a beautiful evening for a ski...

Getting ready for winter...

2010-10-17T21:31:00.007-08:00

Today I spent my day getting ready for winter in two ways... Just like every other Sunday, my day began with an over-distance (OD) workout. After breakfast, and as soon as it was light enough to see the trees outside my living room window (something that's happening later and later these days), I was out on the road rollerskiing. This morning I went right from my front door, completing one massive loop around the Anchorage Hillside, returning home just in time for lunch.

Just like every other day, the focus of my morning was training- getting my body in tip-top racing fitness- so that come winter and the start of racing season at the end of November, I'll be ready to ski fast. Today my OD was on classic rollerskis (no r-ski photos, unfortunately), but a few weekends ago I went on an awesome fall mountain run with my teammates. It just happened to be one incredibly photo-worthy workout that I just can't resist sharing (see below)...

Mountain run OD with the APU ladies (and Reese). Thanks Reese for the great photos!

2.5 hours cruising through some beautiful Alaskan terrain. I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday morning! (Reese Hanneman photo)

Today was not one of the glorious, sunny autumn days of which we've had many. All the same, it was a perfect day for good, long workout! The fall colors that have greeted me on my last few Sunday runs are now gone. And on this particular Sunday- for the first time this fall- the forecast was for snow. Although it turned out to be not quite cold enough for that type of precipitation, it sure felt like winter isn't far off.

With the changing seasons on my mind, a different kind of "getting-ready-for-winter" activity followed my OD. My mom, boyfriend and I smoked and canned wild Alaskan salmon for the winter! Um...um!

My mom came down from Talkeetna for the weekend, and just as we normally do, we created ourselves a project! A while back we decided that this weekend was going to be salmon canning weekend. With 40+ new 2010 red salmon in the freezer from this summer's dipnetting trip and still a ton of salmon from '09 hanging around, we decided that it was time to get out the smokers and canners and get to work.

Last night we sliced all the fillets into strips, made a huge vat of brine, soaked, rinsed, and then air dried the fish to be ready for today's work. This morning we began the smoking process. While I rollerskied around the Anchorage Hillside, my mom took care of the fish smoking, and by the time I returned home we were ready to put the smoked salmon in jars, seal them up, and pressure cook them for 2+ hours.

Three pressure cookers-loads and 41 jars of canned smoked salmon later, we'd made another step towards winter-preparedness. OD down, salmon processing down... Today was a productive day!

Thanks to my super Mom and fabulous boyfriend for embarking on this great project with me! I'm pumped to eat canned salmon all winter long. It's, without a doubt, the fuel of champions!

The 3rd Annual Talkeetna Fun Run & Walk for Kids and Families

2010-10-04T14:16:00.007-08:00

5 year-old Bethany Kehoe (above) participates in the 2010 Fun Run/Walk

On Sunday, October 3- with some much appreciated help from family and friends- I continued what's becoming a fall tradition, the Talkeetna Fun Run and Walk for Kids and Families. Three years ago I organized the first event- a fun, un-timed recreational run/walk- as a way to give back to the community that raised, nurtured and supported me throughout my formative years. Each subsequent year the event has grown, with sixty people taking part in the 2010 run/walk.

It was a gorgeous autumn afternoon in the Upper Susitna Valley, complete with yellow leaves, blue sky and sunshine. Participants, ranging in age from infant to adult, ran/walked either a 3 miles course or an out-and-back one mile through the Talkeetna Lakes Park.

The event was preceded by a group stretch at the trail head of the Talkeetna Lakes Park

One of the youngest participants takes a look at the prize table.

Great prizes and refreshments greeted runners and walkers at the end of the event thanks to generous donations from PowerBar, Great Harvest Bread Company, and Skinny Raven Sports. Participants enjoyed cookies, energy bars, and sports drink. Every kid was able to take home a prize, two families took home loaves of Great Harvest bread for their participation, and one family won the Great Harvest gift basket in the post-run/walk drawing.

Despite the short duration of my stay in Talkeetna, it was a wonderful trip and a great opportunity to reconnect with friends and family. Every time I visit I'm overwhelmed by the tremendous outpouring of support for me. I am so grateful for the interest in my athletic pursuits and the unfailing encouragement from the Talkeetna community.

In addition, it's exciting to see the new construction of trails throughout the area and community members making such great use of them. I feel so fortunate to call such a wonderful, active, inspired community my home!

A huge thanks to everyone who participated in the 2010 Talkeetna Fun Run and Walk for Kids and Families. An additional thanks to PowerBar and to Great Harvest Bread Company and Skinny Raven Sports in Anchorage for donating prizes and refreshments. Last, but not least, thanks to my mom, Karen, for helping to organize and set-up for this event every year. I look forward to another great event next fall. Until then, see you out on the trails!

Check this out...

2010-09-03T11:56:00.002-08:00

I'm organizing this fun run/walk for kids event in my hometown with the help of my mom, the P.E. teacher and cross-country running coach at Talkeetna Elementary. It's a great way to have fun with the kids of the Upper Susitna Valley and to give something back to the community that has supported me so much over the years. It gets the community out on a beautiful fall day for a run/walk, some snacks, and great prizes!

Thanks to everyone who is making this event possible, and a special thanks to my parent's for helping organize and my personal sponsors: Carlile Transportation, GCI, and PowerBar, to name a few...

Please come join the fun. Mark your calendars!

Summer Training Alaska-Style

2010-08-17T21:02:00.009-08:00

The view from the edge of Eagle Glacier, summer 2010.

What have I been up to...? My last true update was posted before 2010 summer training even began, after my little break at the end of racing season. I told you of my spring escapades, but never got around to filling you in on this summer's excitement. Since full-time training got going in late April, I've been logging double sessions daily, racking up 20+ hour weeks of skiing on the Eagle Glacier, spending my Saturday mornings doing long over-distance rollerski workouts (up Hatcher Pass and all over Anchorage), hitting the weight room for strength and core, and hammering out intervals and intensity workouts. Yep, this summer I've been training, because as the saying goes, "skiers are made in the summer!"

The first weeks of June, July, and August my APU teammates and I headed up to the Thomas Training Center on the Eagle Glacier for our summer on-snow training camps. This year marked my 9th summer of ski camps on Eagle, ten years since my first camp the summer after my freshman year of high school. Although I've lost count of the exact number of weeks I've spent up there, I'm pretty sure I'm well past 20 camps, somewhere in the range of 20+ weeks of on-snow skiing since my first time on the glacier at 14 years old!

It's pretty amazing to think that I've been skiing on the Eagle Glacier for a decade of my life. Looking back, I feel so fortunate to have had this incredible summer training opportunity. Every cross-country skier dreams of skiing year-round, and I know I have benefited tremendously from each and every camp on the Eagle Glacier. It's also amazing to think of how far I've come since my first camp. I am able to train so much more and at a much faster pace now than in years passed, and with each camp I make technique improvements (soft snow classic skiing being one of the most notable changes I've made over the course of my time on Eagle).

While camps on the glacier promise to be hard and exhausting, I find myself looking forward to the simplicity of training up there. Upon getting to the facility, frequently via a short 10 minute trip by helicopter, the pace of life completely shifts...

The Thomas Training Center is perched on a edge of the Eagle Glacier with the town of Girdwood, Alaska and Turnagain Arm distantly below. On a clear day, civilization is within sight from the living room window, but even with the hustle and bustle of humanity in view, our life on Eagle is different than it is when we're down below. For a week our lives are centered around ski training. There are no errands, no driving to and from training, and no grocery shopping. There is no internet. On the glacier we train, eat, and sleep. For a week out of each month during the summer, life is really simple, and we train with absolutely no distractions.

Skiing is our number one priority during each camp, and the training on the glacier is pretty incredible. The course is groomed prior to each session, and the main goal of every week is to get in a ton of quality time on snow.

The APU women's team post- hard interval workout on the glacier.

For me, camps are one of the highlights of the summer. Not only because this experience helps me personally become a better skier come race season, but because it's a great opportunity to learn to work together as a team. Both on and off the trails, we get to know each other better. We make meals together, wash dishes, watch movies, share bunk rooms, do intervals and speed work, and ski distance together. In my mind, camps makes us better ski racers, because we push each other on the trail AND learn to coexist and be good teammates in a communal environment.

After a good week on the glacier and a lot of team "together time," we jumped back into normal life and often into a "recovery" type week where we were able to mix up training with other, non ski-specific training activities. Some of my teammates headed out of state for vacations, while I chose to stay closer to home, throwing in local adventures whenever I could. Over the course of my "recovery" weeks I had some fun outside of ski training, including a dipnetting trip to the Kenai River where we fished for red salmon, some blueberry picking, a bike trip in Denali National Park, and a little packrafting (as seen below)...

This summer I've also enjoyed hitting up the local Saturday farmer's market whenever I'm in town and making bread. I come to look forward to my baking day all week. Usually falling on my "off" day, I enjoy experimenting with different recipes, as I gradually read my way through my shelf of cookbooks. So far this summer the bread of choice has been 100% whole wheat cinnamon raisin walnut swirl bread.

With August halfway gone, it's amazing to think that summer will pretty quickly be giving way to fall. Kids are heading back to school, and it won't be long before the first snow hits the mountains. Part of me longs for a little more summer. There are a few more mini-adventures I still hope to fit in before the seasons change. That said, it's been an enjoyable few months packed full of rollerskiing, skiing, biking, hiking, baking, packrafting, fishing, and life, and when the snow does finally fly, I'll be ready to jump whole-heartedly into winter and ski racing!

Enjoy summer while it lasts, and thanks for tuning in!

Check out the APU Nordic Ski Center in the news...

2010-06-29T22:23:00.004-08:00

I realize that a thorough update is well overdue (and I promise that one is in the works), but until I get around to posting, check out the latest article on the APU Nordic Ski Team (my team of many years). We trained on snow on the Eagle Glacier at the Thomas Training Center for the first time this summer at the beginning of June, and the Anchorage Daily News did a great story on our first camp. On Monday we head up to the glacier again for camp #2, and I'm excited for some totally undistracted training AND lots of skiing on SNOW!

Back soon with a more lengthy update...

The finale, a new beginning, and a big thank you!

2010-05-09T20:22:00.016-08:00

It's May. Up in the mountains the crust skiing is still amazing, but the remnants of winter are soon to be gone. The telltale signs are in town... The trees are beginning to bud, and the vibrant fresh green of spring is beginning to burst out over the formerly dull brown landscape. The new training year began two weeks ago, so nearly every morning I've been making my way up from springtime into the mountains in search of hard, crusty, fast snow to ski on. Crust skiing is something Nordic skiers looks forward to in the spring. At a time when the days are warm and sunny and the nights are clear and below freezing, the snow goes through a magical freeze-thaw cycle, turning any terrain that is still snow-covered into a firm surface perfect for gliding on.

My APU teammates and I are back into the swing of training for the race season still many months away, and we're doing our best to take advantage of every on-snow opportunity, since it's a matter of days before the last skiing will melt away, and we'll be on the roads rollerskiing. But before I get ahead of myself, I suppose I should make sure to properly wrap-up the 2009-2010 season and the short period of down time in between then and now...

After a great time in Europe, I traveled back to the US, stopping in Vermont for a few days to see my grandmother, skiing at nearby Bolton Mountain Nordic Ski Area for training. After a little rest from the travel, some great time visiting, and a little (or more than a little!) laundry washing, I was back on the road heading up to northern Maine- Fort Kent and Madawaska, to be exact. There I finished off the season with the 30km freestyle National Championship, followed by three more races. In the end it was four races in five days, a good, solid finale to the season.

30km skate National Championship in Fort Kent, Maine

On the day between the 30km and the last three races, I was an instructor for Fast and Female, a program designed to empower young girls through participation in sport. Chandra Crawford, a Canadian cross-country skier and 2006 Olympic gold medalist founded Fast and Female, which now organizes events throughout North America. This was the first US events outside Alaska, as the only other Fast and Female ski days have been in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Kikkan Randall, APU's own 3-time Olympian, has spearheaded the US Fast and Female events over the last two years. Once again, she (with the help of the Maine Winter Sports Center and NENSA) pulled together all the elite women racing in northern Maine and encouraged us to be ambassadors for our sport.

Well over 100 elementary-aged girls from Madawaska, Maine participated in Fast and Female.

The girls were divided into groups based on age and assigned to a few elite athlete ambassadors/instructors. Once we'd met each other, we made headbands (with the colored paper assigned to our group) to display our names, and we made up a team name and cheer- which we performed for all the other girls.

Fast and Female, along with the last four races in Fort Kent and Madawaska, marked the conclusion of my season, and after a fun, but tiring time, I was headed home to Alaska.

Once at home, it was time to get out and play... but before I had a chance for that a nasty stomach flu knocked me out for a few days. With that behind me, I set out making the most of my spring. I got out back country skiing a couple of times...

Practicing my tele skiing in Hatcher Pass, Alaska

Not long after I'd settled into the pace of life at home, I was back on the road, visiting Crested Butte, Colorado and spending some time in Moab and Lake Powell, Utah.

I crust skied in Crested Butte, despite the red dirt that had blown in from the desert and covered the snow. The conditions were surprisingly good, dirt and all, and the terrain for crust skiing was spectacular. For some variety, I did a little tele skiing and skinning (summiting Mount Crested Butte), as well as a little snowshoeing.

After a few days in Colorado, it was time to get warm, so off to the desert we went. We stopped in Moab for a night and went mountain biking the next day before jumping in the car for Lake Powell.

The four days in Lake Powell were hot and sunny, and I added more variety to my "off" season training with some swimming and hiking. The lake was largely vacant, as it's considered to be early in the season, which meant we had lots of space to ourselves. We camped on a beach across the lake from Bullfrog, a small establishment and marina, and during the day we hiked, boated, and swam. At night we roasted marshmallows over the campfire, grilled sausages, and told fireside stories. For this Alaskan, the cool nights were a nice change after hot days in the sun and sand so warm it hurt your feet. Despite my low tolerance for heat and having to put on endless amounts of sunscreen, I had a wonderful time in the desert.

Hiking around Lake Powell

Checking out the Defiance House Native American ruins in Lake Powell.

After a break jam-packed with fun and different activities, I am now back home. Two weeks ago we shocked our bodies back into routine with the 3rd annual APU team start-up camp. There was no easing back into training. Nope, it was a jump-right-in kind of week, complete with testing, hard intervals, lots of distance training and LOTS of skiing on snow in Anchorage. It felt a little brutal at first, but my body soon adapted, remembering that life's usually this way!

After the start-up week, the team buckled down and made last minute preparations for our 1st annual APU team fundraiser. Since the beginning of April, we'd been planning a huge end of the season celebration and fundraiser to help cover our racing expenses from the past year. We'd gone out into the community to ask for donations for our live and silent auction, sent hundreds of invitations, planned floral arrangements and decorations and slide shows, and on May 4th we had an incredibly successful event. Thanks to many generous donations, we were able to raise more than enough money to cover our travel and racing expenses from the season, with the remaining money going into our competition fund to help with our bills for next year.

This fundraiser was an incredibly eye-opening experience. It helped me realize just how amazingly supportive the Alaskan community and my own individual community is. After a long season and at the beginning of a new one, I'd like to take the chance to thank my family, friends, and supporters for everything they've done for me. I'd like to thank my hometown- Talkeetna, Alaska- for believing in and supporting me. I'd like to thank the people who attended the APU fundraiser, as well as those who made donations. I also want to recognize my sponsors, who have made it possible for me to be a ski racer. All of you are part of my community. You are part of my dreams and goals, and I can't thank you enough!

So now it's onward towards another season. It's time for more hard work and more training, and I'm psyched and ready to begin. Thanks for following and stay tuned!

Oh, the adventures I've had...

2010-03-20T18:03:00.004-08:00

What a spring of skiing, racing, and traveling it has been! I started with the Birkie in Wisconsin, flew to Europe, and traveled (and ski raced my way) through Germany, Italy, France, Slovenia, and Austria. Unfortunately, the OPA Cup racing did not go as I had hoped, but I've had an incredible time nonetheless.

An Austrian cow, spotted on an adventure through the old city center of Salzburg.

Coming off some good ski "marathons" I was excited to tear it up in Europe, but things did not quite go my way. I had no way to anticipate how much a couple of long races, a lot of travel, and a little food poisoning would take out of me. And while I'm familiar with a lot of travel, I didn't really know much about my body relative to marathon distance ski racing. I know I can race fast, and I've done so in Europe. Unfortunately, this time around I wasn't in good racing form.

All I can say is that I really love traveling and skiing. I love Europe and miss it already. I've learned a ton, and I can't wait for more opportunities to ski race! So now I'm on to more racing (tomorrow I head up to northern Maine for the season finale). But first, a few of the highlights from Europe...

Everywhere we traveled, we seemed to be in a blizzard. Ramsau, Austria, for example- it was a winter wonderland in mid-March...just the way I like it!

I couldn't help but be in awe of the ski culture in Europe (I am every time). This beautiful little wax room, complete with boot dryers, was just outside the entrance to our hotel. Ski trails were everywhere. People skied to the grocery store...

The "Sporthotel" where we stayed was 400 meters from Ramsau's World Championship XC Ski stadium.

Now onto a little non-ski related European fun...

Castles were everywhere, as they tend to be in Europe. They never cease to amaze me, so on a day off, we took a little detour and visited the Hohensalzburg Castle (one of the largest medieval castles in Europe).

So once again my European travels have come to an end. I was honestly sad to leave the great snow and ski trails, the good racing, spectacular scenery, great food, and the camaraderie and fun! My travels were inspirational and make me want to train more and work harder so that I am able to continue this incredible life as a ski racer.

A roller coaster ride through the snow in Rogla, Slovenia.

The boys went five times each!

It was some serious FUN!

Thanks to everyone who has helped, supported, and encouraged me this season. Thanks to those of you who have housed me, sponsored or funded me, and cheered me on. I could not travel and race without you! Stay tuned for an update from northern Maine and the last races of the season...

Life is good in Ramsau, Austria!

2010-03-15T13:30:00.002-08:00

The Ramsau, Austria 1999 World Championship stadium.

Training in Ramsau. Heading to Munich tomorrow to fly back home.

It's been a great trip. Stay tuned for a better update to come...

Rogla, Slovenia

2010-03-10T10:16:00.000-09:00

We’re in Rogla, Slovenia- the land of huge snow banks, blowing wind and snow, and the site of a World Cup just a few months ago. My second weekend of racing on OPA Cup tour is nearly here, and it’s the OPA finals. We start with a 2.2km classic prologue on Friday, followed by a 5km classic mass start on Saturday, and then a 10km skate handicap start on Sunday.

After a good week of training and racing in France, yesterday we headed out east, covering nearly one thousand kilometers through three countries. The drive was long, but spectacular. Castles, tunnels, fantastic Italian food, beautiful mountains, good chocolate, and great company made for an enjoyable day of travel. We arrive in Rogla tired, but happy to see snow (as much of our drive passed through areas devoid of any sign of winter). We settled into our accommodations- little “bungalows” located behind a massive hotel and adjacent to the alpine and Nordic areas. Blustery conditions greeted us, continued through the night and have yet to let up. Snowdrifts cover the roads, walkways, and ski trails. Parked cars, trees and streetlights are plastered with snow, and the snow banks are twice my height.

Today we trained at the Nordic venue, just a ten-minute walk from the hotel. The wind was howling, so we dressed warmly and made our way to the trails. Although most of the other teams have yet to arrive, the area is still beginning to feel like a race venue. People were putting up fencing in the stadium, the piston bully was out grooming, the courses were marked, and Slovenian team was also out training. The wind was a force to be reckoned with, having scouring the tree-less areas of the course, dumped snow on the newly groomed trails, and would quickly chill any exposed skin. At times I felt like I was standing still on my skis, despite my efforts to move forward, while other times the trees provided welcome shelter and a fortunate tailwind gave me a little extra push.

This storm is expected to pass by Friday, in time for the races to begin. I hope it does, but mostly because I want to see where I am. Just as in France last weekend, I know I’m in a spectacular mountainous place, I just can’t see more than a few hundred meters ahead of me. No matter what the weather does, I think we’re in for some good racing though. The field of racers is solid and the courses are world-class. Stay tuned for more updates from this weekend and the rest of the season!

Two Views

2010-03-05T21:21:00.004-09:00

The view from my balcony in Saint Francois de Sales, France as the sun sets.

Not bad at all!

The view from the ski trail yesterday, taken during my distance session around 11am.

The trails were packed with people out skiing, including tons of children. Rumor has it that it's "winter break" for the schoolchildren of Paris, which makes sense judging by the number of kids who were out there cruising around today. How cool!

*On another note, one of my fellow "OPA cuppers" posted a great account, with photos and the inside details I neglected to include, of our "little" trip 25km to Chambery, France on Thursday afternoon. Brayton Osgood was among the five of us on that particular adventure. Check out his post here.

Anchorage to Wisconsin to France...

2010-03-04T09:17:00.016-09:00

The end of the season is still over a month away, and I've jumped back into the thick of it with a big schedule of races. After a little down time following US Nationals and a short, but intensive training block, I set my sights on the second half of the season. It was good to take some time to reflect on my racing, goals, and the ups and downs of life as a ski racer. Ultimately, I realized my true love of ski racing, through the good times and the challenging. One of my friends insightfully reminded me that the difficult times are so hard because of the passion I have for skiing and racing. So I suppose it makes sense that this path I have chosen to follow is the one for me. The frustration of not meeting my own expectations this season is a bump in the road, motivation to be better, to train harder and persevere.

With that in mind, I rebooted and planned a 5 1/2 week multi-stop trip with races in Cable/Hayward, Wisconsin; La Feclaz, France; Rogla, Slovenia; and Fort Kent and Madawaska, Maine. The whirlwind began three days before I left Anchorage with the local 30km freestyle Sven Johanson race at Kincaid- one of my favorite local races. It was a great race and the perfect tune up for my next race, the American Birkiebeiner. The Birkie, as it's nicknamed, is the largest race in North America, with around 7,500 participants. This year the Birkie was in it's 37th year, and it was the largest field of racers to date (registration actually had to close early because the limits had been reached for each wave). It was also a notable year for a few other reasons... Wisconsin put on quite a show with a glorious blue-sky day, perfect temperatures, a fast course, and the loudest crowd of ski fans I have ever heard cheering each and every person as they skied down Main Street to the finish.

The Birkie was a great race for me. 50km long- a point to point race from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin- it suits my strength as a distance skier quite well! This year it was also part of the Worldloppet race series, a calendar of the best (and biggest) marathon-distance ski races taking place all around the world. Having had a great experience in the Engadin Ski Marathon in Switzerland in 2005- the only other Worldloppet race I've entered- I was excited to check another Worldloppet off my list! This year the Birkie featured a solid field of elite North American skiers, and I knew it would be a perfect start to my trip.

I am happy to say, it did not disappoint. I was warmly welcomed to the Cable/Hayward area by the president of the Birkie Foundation, Dennis Kruse. He helped me register for the elite wave and then generously offered me a place to stay at his beautiful home, conveniently located near the race start in Cable, Wisconsin. It was a fun-filled four days, with good training and previewing of the Birkie trail, ski testing, race waxing, racing, and celebrating! I had great waxing and race support and put down one of my best performances of the year, skiing to 2nd place in the women's field in a time of 2 hours 16 minutes and 49 seconds. I skied 44km of the 50km with a pack of women, which gradually decreased in size as we went. In the end, it was down to three of us with 6km to go. I skied hard, finishing exhausted and totally pumped with my podium finish.

5km into the 2010 American Birkie (L to R: Taz Mannix, Jojo Winters, Maria Stuber, Rebecca Dussault)

Photo Credit: Kelly Randolph

Two days-post Birkie I was on the road again. This time travel consisted of a 3 hour drive to Minneapolis, 13+ hours of flying (to Atlanta and then Munich), 2 hours of waiting in the Munich airport, followed by ~12 hours of driving through several countries. After being in transit for well over a day, and through numerous times zones, I arrived in the tiny town of St. Francois de Sales, France. By 10pm we had unloaded the vans, settled into our rooms, and were devouring a dinner of potato gratin. Shortly thereafter I was fast asleep, jet lagged, exhausted, and so happy to be sleeping horizontally once again.

Entering the tiny town of St. Francois de Sales- home for a week.

Since I’ve been here I’ve enjoyed fantastic skiing, beautiful scenery, exciting car rides on narrow roads, great camaraderie with awesome people (American, French...), and great food. While I've traveled around Europe quite a bit as a ski racer, this is my first time to France, and I've been really excited to experience a new European culture. Even though I basically can't communicate beyond gesture and mime, I've taken in so much.

One of the few houses in our small little town

Some of my favorite things about France so far include: the architecture- the blend of old and new; castles and fortified towns (I just can't get enough of that!); the incredible mountains and beautiful scenery; and, last, but not least, the food! The time I passed in the Munich airport was no big deal... because there was an amazing bakery right at the exit of terminal 2. There were bread, pastries, and gourmet sandwiches galore. I was definitely caught going back a second time!

Yesterday I got out for an afternoon to check out a city 25km from our tiny village, and again included food in my adventure. After checking out the amazing church in the town center and meandering through the cobblestone streets, we couldn't resist stopping at the patisserie.

Checking out the incredible architecture of the church in Chambery.

Standing outside one of the patisseries we found.

The afternoon wouldn't have been complete without an exploration of the local cuisine. The local pastry shops did not let us down with bakery cases full of croissants, macaroons, nut and fruit tarts, pound cakes, butter cakes, tiramisu, eclairs, linzer sables, dozens of varieties of cookies, bars, and more! As an aspiring baker, this was definitely the highlight of the afternoon and a good sweet snack for the ride home.

Yesterday we snuck in a little non-ski related adventure, but today we're back in ski mode with racing this evening and Sunday. In typical central European "OPA Cup" fashion, the team sprint races tonight don't start until 7pm (for men) and 8:50pm for women, with the last heats going after 10pm. It's not what we're used to in the US- racing at 1opm- but it's bound to be fun and competitive. I'm sitting this one out, having just carried a pretty high racing load over the last couple weeks of marathon racing. That, coupled with tons of travel, is hard on the body. When I decided to come on this trip, I knew that this would be a good race to sit out in preparation for the distance skate race on Sunday.

So that, in a nutshell, sums up my life since US Nationals. I put in a little training block after Nationals, and now I'm on the road being a ski racer. It's a pretty fun life!

Thanks for tuning in... Pending internet availability, I'll be posting from my next stop in Rogla, Slovenia next week.

Thoughts on Ski Racing

2010-01-06T16:04:00.005-09:00

So clearly, I am not much of a blogger. I guess I'm not that into the posting of day-to-day tid-bits. I also don't much like the idea of having an internet personality. Perhaps that's because I like the facets of skiing that are solitary- I also like the camaraderie, the friendships, the community, don't get me wrong- but I like that much of what I do is solo... I suppose what I am saying is easily perceived if you've visited my blog lately. Really I am not a very good blogger. What I do know about myself is that I love to write, and at this moment in time, it feels particularly cathartic.

Lately I've been feeling lost in limbo. My focus has wavered as I've let the challenges of ski racing get to me. Taz the ski racer has always been 100% Taz the ski racer, has never wavered, rarely succumbed to self-doubt or looked to other pastures for greener grass, and has had her sights set far down the road, knowing that patience is the key. Last year was an all-time low for me relative to performance, the way my body felt in training, and, most importantly, mentally. It was a slump, a 365+ day athletic/career low, but somehow, for some reason, I plugged along. I guess I just knew it couldn't get any worse, and with the help and encouragement of my family, friends, and coach, I began to feel better, began to race better, and saw a spring return to my stride... Each day I trained, and I started to realize that the low was just part of the journey, that it wasn't a permanent state of being. It was encouraging to find myself clawing out of my slump. Now I find myself somewhere between where I was at my worst and where I was at my best, and while I'm am so proud to be on the rebound, I am plagued with pangs of impatience and frustration.

2010 is an Olympic year, the once-in-four-years event that athletes around the world aspire to take part in. Strangely I feel very conflicted about the Olympics these days it's almost hard to put into words... I remember being a young child skiing out the trail from my house imagining racing in the Olympics. Every step of my journey as a ski racer I have thought about the Olympics, wanting so much to work hard and ski fast enough to be able to take part in that experience. Of course I have sought much more from ski racing than just this one opportunity, but it has been a goal nonetheless.

At a time when resolutions seem especially relevant, I look at my life and realize that every day for many years I have worked towards my resolution of becoming the best ski racer I can be. Each day I've made many little goals in hopes that incremental success will get my closer to my larger ones. I am the kind of person who likes working towards something, likes seeing improvement and change as I do all I can to be the best I can be. I am a firm believer in setting goals, expressing them, and working hard, without excuses, in an effort to achieve them. It's important to me that I am true to myself when identifying a goal, that I want to achieve something not for fame or fortune or status, but because I am passionate about what I am doing.

Long ago I decided I wanted to give 110% as a ski racer. I didn't specifically want to be an Olympian, although I did imagine that as I whizzed down the ski trail as a child. To me the recognition one receives as an "olympian" is a title, a feather in one's cap, a distinguishing accolade. It says a lot about someones work ethic, talent, and athletic prowess. But it's about so much more than being able to say your an olympian.

With Olympics occupying a spot on my list of goals for some time now, I've thought a lot about what they really mean to me. If I ever get the chance to become an Olympian I want it to be because I deserve to be there. I want to have earned my spot on the US team, and I would like to think I could go and be competitive. If I get to take part in the Olympic experience someday I want it to be because I am a student of my sport. I don't want to be there to prove anything to anyone, and I don't want to do it for the recognition that it brings. I want to go because I love cross-country skiing, I have worked hard, and I enjoy the opportunity of testing myself.

With the Olympic hype in full swing, it is easy to lose sight of this, forgetting why it is a goal in the first place. The simple act of racing somehow seems to take on much more significance, and the daily joy of being fit and healthy seems to get swallowed up by this single goal. This has been hard for me. I want to be competitive with the best skiers in the world someday, and being named to an Olympic team would certainly be a step in that direction. At the same time, I want to be ready to be there. With the last distance race of the US National Championships concluded, it's hard to say what my future holds. I can see that I've come a long way, but I also have a long path ahead of me. Most of the time this journey is inspiring and fulfilling to me, but there are also the days when I feel lost and defeated. Failing to achieve a goal or meet predetermined markers of progress has been tremendously difficult and emotional. I have always worked as hard as I know possible in hopes that I could remove luck and hope from the equation, but the world just doesn't really work that way, and at times this is a brutal reality check.

With all these worlds behind me and nothing any more certain now than when I first began this post, I somehow feel much more calm. I am reminded to come back to how much I love cross-country skiing, how lucky I am to have the support of so many great people, and how fortunate I am to have had countless incredible experiences as a ski racer.

A Long Overdue Update

2009-07-10T21:05:00.005-08:00

With my second glacier camp of the summer just a day away, I realized that the last time I updated this blog was right about the same time (prior to the first camp on Eagle Glacier). I guess that means that some time has passed, time that has been occupied primarily with training, resting, and more training...

The first glacier camp was a huge success, despite some challenges. After one skate session, we experienced some technical difficulties with our grooming equipment, making creating a wide, firm trail for skate skiing pretty much impossible. Normally with clear nights, the snow is firm in the mornings and skating is fabulous, but with the ash from Mt. Redoubt volcano covering the glacier, the snow wouldn't get firm, and the snow cat- which could have scraped the layer of ash off our trail- was out of order. So... the camp continued and we classic skied. Yep! We classic skied every day, twice a day for six days. In the end, I classic skied for 20+ hours that week, and it did wonders for my technique. With skating being my stronger suit, it was definitely a really beneficial camp for me. Sometimes there's nothing better than doing something over and over again to really ingrain it in your brain (and in this case also muscles).

With a short rest period after the camp, we jumped back into everyday training back in Anchorage. I've been noticing good progress so far this summer. My body is feeling good, I am recovering well, and I can tell that I am handling the training loads well. Perhaps it was a little too good to be true with everything appearing just perfect, because last week I got a nasty cold that put me out of commission for six solid days. The most I could do was drag myself out of bed in the morning for a pathetically slow, short run/rollerski and then climb right back into bed when I got home. I feel as though I slept for six days straight and exercised for maybe 4 hours total during that time. I was under the weather for July 4th, but I still headed up to Talkeetna to see my family and enjoy some time at home. It was fun to swim, packraft, and canoe in our lake; walk the dog; and join some of the family on a packrafting adventure down Willow Creek (which, due to my cold, I ended up bailing from and resorted to sleeping on the beach instead).

With a week of illness behind me, I am two days into training again and so happy to be back. One day off, let alone, six reminds me just how much I love what I do! Despite the aches and pains of training, the heat wave that we're currently experiencing, the smoke from the fires that has put a haze over Anchorage... I couldn't be more thankful to be running, rollerskiing, off of sudafed and out of bed!

Thanks for tuning in. Check back in a week for an update from the glacier...

Eagle Glacier

2009-06-12T14:13:00.007-08:00

It's that time of year again... It's summer in Alaska, and as an APU skier that means glacier season! Every summer since 2001 (minus one), I've trained on the Eagle Glacier at APU's Thomas Training Center. Most of the time I go up there three times a summer for a week at a time. Not only is the glacier a place for consistent, focused training on snow during the summer- a rarity in itself for most skiers- it's also located in one of the most beautiful places in Alaska.

The Thomas Training Center is situated on a ridge above the Eagle Glacier and overlooks the small town of Girdwood, Alaska below. It's a five minute helicopter ride or strenuous 3+ hour hike up to the facility. Our food, gear and supplies are flown in by helicopter, and our mode of arrival (and departure) varies from camp-to-camp due to weather.

APU coaches and staff work tremendously hard all summer to prepare and maintain the glacier facility. Safety is their number one concern, and they take many precautions to insure the safety of everyone who trains on the glacier and travels to and from the facility. Every day a previously designed, wanded and probed loop is groomed by piston bully, making for some of the highest quality summer skiing available anywhere in the world.

In between twice daily sessions, athletes recover in the Thomas training center, spending time eating, stretching, sleeping, and watching video from prior sessions (to work on technique). As seen above and below, the views from the facility are breathtaking. Often the first thing you wake up to when you roll over in bed and glance out the window are mountains as far as the eye can see...

This year marks my eighth season training on Eagle, as I've been going since the summer after my freshman year in high school. I've attended camps with many different athletes and several different coaches/staff members (as seen from prior camp photos below).

2006 Summer (perhaps?)

2007 Summer

2008 Summer

While many of the camps have blended together in my mind- in fact I have no idea exactly how many weeks of my life I've spent up there- one thing's for sure, the Eagle Glacier is a world class training facility. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to ski right out my "backdoor."

So today marks summer glacier season #8. After a morning rollerski, we're headed up to Eagle this afternoon/evening. I'm looking forward to (among other things): the feeling of snow beneath my skis; the second-home-familiarity of the training center bunk rooms; sticky klister fingers jammed into ski gloves every day; making desserts large enough to feed two dozen hungry athletes; the incredible, wonderful feeling of satisfaction that can only come from the fatigue of training a lot (sometimes long, sometimes hard, sometimes both); and, last but not least, the beautiful summer evenings that can only be experienced on Eagle Glacier.

Bend Wrap-up

2009-05-27T09:46:00.004-08:00

The Bend, Oregon portion of the May 2009 US Ski Team Camp is coming to a close as we pack our bags and the team vans for a four hour drive to the coast. I skied at Mt. Bachelor eight days, with one recovery day off snow (also our golf day, pictured below) during the middle portion of the camp. Of all those sessions, only one day did we encounter less-than-perfect weather. Mt. Bachelor surely didn't disappoint and neither did Bend, with both proving to be great places to train this time of year. I look forward to training here again in the future!

Below are a few shot from the ten days I've spent here... Thanks to Chris Grover and Jason Adams for providing the pictures. I was too preoccupied skiing, golfing, and enjoying the surroundings to get many good photos of my own.

Last Thursday we spent the afternoon golfing. The team (pictured above) dressed for the occasion standing in front of one of the lava tubes on one of the courses.

Prior to golfing we checked out the lava tubes.

On Sunday we crust skied back to the bowl below Broken Top Mountain. Lots of other skiers training here in Bend joined us for this 3 hour adventure.

The approach (pictured above) involved skiing down the trails from the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Area, through the forest, across a lake, and up a steep hill, before we made it out onto the flat open expanse in the foreground of Broken Top. It was a beautiful day.

So that's the news from Bend. My trip is almost over now, with just a few more workouts with the team before heading back to Alaska. It's been great spending time in a new place. Thanks to all the people who have made this camp possible, generously inviting us to BBQs, arranging for the great skiing/grooming, etc., etc.

Golfing?!?

2009-05-21T20:40:00.004-08:00

Yep, you read correctly! Today we went golfing at "one of the best courses on the West Coast." It was our recovery day, so after a easy morning run, breakfast, a walk around downtown Bend and a trip to Whole Foods Market, followed by lunch, we all piled into the cars and went...golfing! A local Bend skier (and golfer) went out of his way to get us a free round of golf and rentals at the beautiful Prong Horn Club outside of Bend. We started at 3pm and played "best ball" for 9 holes, finishing just after 6pm. It was a warm, sunny day out on the green and a very nice course for me to try my hand at my first few swings. I was in a group with Koos, Whitcomb, and Kuzzy and really appreciated the coaching and encouragement from each of them. I'm happy to report that there was significant improvement- although that's perhaps to be expected when you've never swung a golf club. I had no problem making contact with the ball; sending it in the right direction to a specific distance was another story. My shots were pretty haphazard, but it made for some good laughs...I think there might have been a few instances of beginners lucky, and I avoided losing my ball to the pond, but there's still plenty of room for improvement next time!

After a long afternoon we were warmly welcomed to a BBQ/potluck hosted by one of the ski clubs in town. It was great to put faces to the numerous Bend-skier names I've heard, but never met. Vordenberg gave slide show full of artist and motivating ski photos, and we enjoyed some wonderful food. These experiences are the reason the Bend ski community has made a lasting impression. It's great to see so many people up skiing at Mt. Bachelor, and it's inspiring to see so many people involved and loving skiing. Thanks to Bend for being such a good host!

More to come...(and maybe even some golf photos!)

More good training at Mt. Bachelor

2009-05-20T11:00:00.004-08:00

US Ski Team ladies jump for joy at the prospect of another Mt. Bachelor ski day.

(Photo credit: Pete Vordenberg)

Today was day #3 skiing at Mt. Bachelor, and like the first day, it was absolutely beautiful weather. The rainy/snowy, windy, foggy weather we skied through yesterday made me appreciate the perfect conditions today that much more. We arrived to firm trails dusted in a light layer of new snow and were joined by many other racers and local skiers out enjoying the great late spring training. It feels good to be logging kilometers on snow, seeing friends from around the country, and interacting with my US teammates and coaches. There's nothing better than on-snow skiing year-round... Next stop (next week), the Oregon Coast, followed by a brief Salt Lake visit, and a little over a week after arriving home, I head up to the glacier with my APU team for even more time on the snow!

Bend Camp

2009-05-18T12:06:00.003-08:00

Yesterday I arrived in Bend, Oregon for my first US Ski Team camp of the new season. Mt. Bachelor still has quite a bit of snow, so we're skiing every morning up high and dryland training in Bend in the afternoon. Today was my first day back on snow in a few weeks, and my first time classic skiing since Distance Nationals in Fairbanks, and it was a great day to get back at it! We arrived to blue skies, sunshine and firm tracks that quickly broke down into great soft klister skiing. In addition to my other US teammates, there was a large XC Oregon contingent and numerous other racers from around the country out on the trails at Bachelor today.

So I've been back into training in Anchorage with APU, my club team, since April 27th, and I feel as though I've already made some good gains since then, but it's always fun to travel to a new place for a while. It's my first time in Bend, and so far I'm quite impressed with the quality of "summer" skiing and the great weather up at Mt. Bachelor. Stay tuned for more updates, and, hopefully, some pictures to come!

A New Beginning

2009-04-27T07:56:00.003-08:00

Yesterday I typed the last entry in my 2008-2009 training log...

(Photo credit: Heather Thamm)

And today is the commencement of a new training year.

A year in life of a skier is 13 "months," each of which is composed of 4 weeks. During each of these "periods," as well as longer blocks of specified time, we concentrate on certain types of training while also paying attention to overall fitness and the larger picture. Sometimes our training is more volume (or time) specific, meaning we're working on distance workouts and longer sessions. Other times the training is intensity-focused, and we do more harder efforts than normal to work on speed and race pace work.

Yesterday was the last day of the last week of the 13th month of my training year, and today, April 27, 2009 is the first day of the first week of the first month of the 2009-2010 season!

The last four week "month" of every training year is basically our only down time of the season. After the last race of the season, which for me was US Distance Nationals in Fairbanks, my team, and all the other skiers I know, take a break from structured training. I listen to my body and my mind and am as active (or inactive) as I like. Some years I need some time to recover, both mentally and physically. Other years all I want to do is keep training hard. No matter what, I always give myself a little break, and I do activities that I will have less time to do come "normal" training.

This spring I took one week pretty much off (with a few short runs here and there). After that I went on a short vacation to Southern Utah where I camped and experienced the beauty of the desert on foot. I visited my grandparents in St. George, Utah and saw as much of Snow Canyon State Park and Zion National Park as I could. I finished the trip with a stop in Seattle to catch up my best childhood friend.

Camping in Zion National Park

Hiking in Snow Canyon State Park.

Now normal training has resumed, and I am happy to be back to business. I like the cyclical nature of my life as an athlete. I love the gratification of a season completed, but I also relish the opportunity to start fresh with a new season ahead. 2008-2009 is now in the past, and 2009-2010 is here!

APU Women ski at Hatcher Pass, Alaska.

(Photo credit: Heather Thamm)

Spring

2009-04-16T15:14:00.003-08:00

From tele skiing in Eagle River...

To hiking in Snow Canyon, UT...

Spring is a good time to unwind.

US Nationals 15km Pursuit

2009-03-28T14:47:00.003-08:00

Yesterday was the 15km pursuit here at US Distance Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska. We race at night again, this time with women starting at 5pm in a mass start format- meaning we all go at the shot of the starter's gun. We raced two laps of a 3.75km classic loop before switching to our skate skis in a "transition" area and heading out on a different 3.75km skate loop, which we skied twice.

(Photo credit: Lance and Danny Parrish- as seen on Fasterskier.com)

After a winter of odd weather patterns, Alaska has continued to surprise us. This week athletes have had to deal with delays in air traffic due to the eruption of Mount Redoubt. A few of our APU University Team athletes had their flight from Anchorage delayed because of the continued volcanic eruption. They were planning on racing yesterday, but their flight came in too late and they were unable to make their start. Other athletes racing here arrived later than expected because they were rerouted and many had their ski bags temporarily lost in transit. On top of that the local weather threw us another curve ball. We woke up yesterday morning to newly falling snow- a rarity for Fairbanks, especially this time of year. Usually it snows in October or November making for decent season of skiing, since the frozen ground keeps the snow preserved until it melts in the spring. Fairbanks isn't know for lots of snow, but for cold, well "refrigerated" snow.

Despite the minor surprises, the pursuit went well. Once again, I had solid skis- good kick and glide, and for the first time I had a decent transition from my classic to skate gear. Just as both the classic and skate legs of the race are timed, so is the transition that takes place between. In the past I've had some disastrous transitions, accidentally kicking a ski out of the transition box, grabbing the wrong pole, etc., etc. Yesterday I had the 5th fastest transition time- a rank better even than my overall finish. I went in calm and collected with a very well-thought out plan, and finally I was able to pull it off without giving up any extra time to my competitors.

The race itself was another solid performance. I got off to a slow start in the classic section, struggling somewhat to find my rhythm. I got stuck behind people, boxed out and was generally a little frustrated. I skied relaxed, but not as fast as I wish I had, so when it came time to skate, I put the hammer down. I felt really strong in the second portion, dropping a few of the women who I had skied with in the classic and passing a few of the people ahead of me for a final place of 7th overall and 6th American. Even with 15km of trails out there, I still feel that with a little more time I could have finished even higher. At this point in my career, longer is better. People ahead of me were dying, and I was just coming into better form as the race progressed.

With the pursuit completed, we have one more race to go. Tomorrow is a brutal 30km classic race. The course is going to be incredibly hard, with lots of steep, challenging climbs, and I'm getting mentally prepared to suffer! With 24 hours left in my season, I have mixed emotions. I'm finally feeling pretty good and really enjoying racing. I'm also really excited for the spring and for some adventures.

Skiers in the shadow of Denali at the 2009 Oosik Classic Race in Talkeetna, Alaska (my backyard).

(Photo credit: Arthur Mannix)

Yesterday my dad sent me this great photo from the Oosik classic race, which makes me excited for an April filled with outdoor excursions. I'll be sad to be done racing, but at the same time really happy to get out into my backyard for some crust skiing and backcountry adventures.

Stay tuned for my last race update... less than 24 hours left in the 2008-2009 race season! Man, time flies when you're having fun...

US Nationals 5km Classic

2009-03-25T15:36:00.010-08:00

Yesterday was the US Nationals 5km classic, a race that had originally been scheduled for Short Distance Nationals in Anchorage but was reinstated here at Distance Nationals after cold weather forced its cancellation in January. At my 6:18pm start time yesterday it certainly wasn't warm, despite the evening sun. A biting wind whipped through the stadium, chilling the athletes waiting in the start pen. Nonetheless the race was held and the organizers did an incredible job. Volunteers covered athletes with blankets at the start and finish lines, had hot tea and sports drink ready post-race, and designed a challenging race course.

A volunteer helps cover me in a blanket as I wait for my start.

(Published in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, photo: Sam Harrel)

I was pleased with my performance, placing 7th overall in a tough women's field. First place overall went to Swede Kristina Strandberg who won by a convincing 30+ seconds. From second place on the race was tight. This was reiterated over and over again to me throughout the race. The intermediate split times showed that 5 seconds separated the top five. In the end, I was 20 seconds out of 2nd, 5 seconds out of fifth, and 2 seconds out of sixth, and the field was stacked similarly behind me as well. Since the National title goes to an American, my US teammate Morgan Smyth took the win for her first ever gold at a National Championships (Strandberg being Swedish could not win the National title). Another notable result was my APU teammate Becca Rorabaugh, a Fairbanks native, who took third overall and was the second American. On the men's side, APU teammate James Southam won the National title and overall, beating a tough field including many successful Canadian World Cup racers. APU teammate Brent Knight also raced well, finishing as the third American and fifth overall.

It was a good start to a challenging week of racing. I was happy that my body responded to the hard effort well and felt decent throughout the race- something I've struggled with this season. It is evident that I'm finally finding my racing form, and although it's a little late, it feels good to end the season on a high note. With one race down, I have two more long ones to go, and I am feeling confident that I can log some solid performances.

Midway through the US Nationals 5km classic at Birch Hill, Fairbanks, Alaska.

(Photo credit: Lance Parrish, borrowed from Fasterskier.com)

This evening is the freestyle team sprint, which I'll be sitting out. My teammates have patiently waited all day and are just leaving for the venue as I write this. After a short ski this morning to shake out my legs, I returned to our hotel for lunch and a shower before going on a marathon grocery shopping trip. Two cart-loads later, a teammate and I have filled all our different suite fridges with food. I have two pots of beef stew on the stove and cornbread in the oven for my hungry teammates and coaches who likely won't get back from the venue until 9pm or so.

So I'm off for an afternoon run before I head out to the venue to cheer on my teammates in the final heats at 7pm and 7:30pm. The sun is out, and I hear the temperature at Birch Hill is warmer than yesterday and perfect for evening racing.

Stay tuned for more racing updates... tomorrow's race prep and Friday is the 15km pursuit. Can't wait!

Race Time!

2009-03-24T13:09:00.005-08:00

Today is race day... but it doesn't feel like it. Normally I get up early, hurry through breakfast, pack my bags full of extra clothes, make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and run out the door. I get to the race venue full of butterflies and waste no time getting out on the course to warm-up. I pick up my bib, select my race skis and test the race wax they've put on. Then I check back in with my coach and tech, and they make any necessary changes to the wax on my race boards. Meanwhile I hop on my warm-up skis and continue my warm-up. Everything is very systematic. It's lined out in detail the night before at the team meeting, and it works perfectly nearly every time.

I'll be going through this process today, but it'll all begin when I leave our hotel at 4:30pm rather than the typical 7am or 8am. The first race of the continuation of US Short Distance Nationals/US Distance Nationals is schedule to begin at 6pm tonight, slightly different than normal. It's just fine with me, but makes for a weird day. I skied this morning to wake up my body and shake out my legs, came home and had a snack, took a nap, and ate a late lunch. Meanwhile the temperature at Birch Hill, our race venue, is gradually climbing- good news for my more recently cold-sensitive lungs. It was 17F at last report. Now I'm in relaxation mode until it's time to fire up the body...

On another note, there's been some good racing to be had lately. Here are a few random race shots for some inspiration...

On Saturday my hometown of Talkeenta hosted the Oosik Classic Ski Race. It started and finished on the village airstrip in downtown Talkeetna (as seen above). My dad worked tirelessly organizing this fun, end-of-the-season event, and it was a huge success. Unfortunately I always seem to be attending a conflicting race series and haven't been able to do the Oosik in Talkeetna, but racing in my hometown is on my list, so I'll be there for it someday! (Photo credit: Arthur Mannix)

Two weeks ago I was in Canada racing at their National Championships in Duntroon, Ontario. I sat out the sprint in preparation for the 30km skate and had some time to take some photos of the rounds. Above, US teammate Morgan Smyth starts her quarterfinal. Below, US teammate Laura Valaas and APU teammate Katie Ronsse begin their heat.

Stay tuned for more racing updates from the last race series of the season here in Fairbanks. I'm pumped to race, but also really excited for some fun outside this spring after the season concludes.

The final countdown...

2009-03-22T13:46:00.002-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posts... since the last few days in Canada life has been in high gear. I raced the 30km skate at Canadian Nationals on March 15, left Duntroon, Ontario at 6:25am on March 16, drove to Detroit, flew home via Chicago and had just enough time to unwind, do my laundry, and ski a few times before I hit the road again. With Canadian Nationals and US Distance Nationals only separated by a week and with all the travel involved in flying from Eastern Canada and driving to Fairbanks, I felt like I was barely home. I can hardly complain, however, because things are going well.

It felt good to be in Canada and to be racing again. I like getting into the schedule of racing and with these two Championships back-to-back, I certainly have and have had some solid competitions. Each race in Canada proved to be a little better for me, like my body was waking up from the slumber of my mid-winter break from racing. The 30km proved to be my best event at that series, as well as one of the best this winter. I skied hard the entire way, led my pack most of the time and was able to "break" several of the women racing around me by keeping the hammer down and the pace high for the entire race. Regrettably I got off to a slow start, likely a result of that aforementioned period of non-racing earlier in the season. My body is a little slower to activate when it comes to jumping into racing mode, so I inadvertently put myself in the position to chase the leaders for the entire race. It would have been nice to be in the pack working with them, because it would have been a good challenge. Rather than dwell on it, I'll use this experience when planning my strategy for my next 30km, which, in fact, is coming up exactly one week from today!

So I ended up a solid 5th in the 30km. I was happy with my result and fired up for more racing. Now I've relocated to Fairbanks and am beginning preparations for the last races of the season. Since US Short Distance Nationals (held in January in Anchorage) were partially cancelled due to cold, two of the events usually held then have been rescheduled for early in the week of Distance Nationals. The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, March 24- 5km classic*

Wednesday, March 25- team sprint skate

Friday, March 27- 15km pursuit*

Sunday, March 29- 30km classic*

*events where I'll be racing

Today was our first day up at Birch Hill, the site of our final races. The temperature is gradually increasing, with the forecast showing a warming trend as the week goes on. Today the temperature was in the teens with blue sky and sun. The trails are in great condition and the volunteers already appear to be hard at work in preparation for the races. I'm looking forward to some good racing. My body appears to be firing again, and I can wait to test myself. The 3okm classic a week from today will be my first time skiing a 30km in the classic technique, a pretty significant milestone in my racing career!

More to come from Fairbanks...

30km Skate

2009-03-14T14:20:00.003-08:00

Tomorrow's the 30km skate race- the last race of the Canadian National Championship- and I have a feeling it's going to be a good one! This week I have learned a lot, posted some mediocre results, and am really ready for a race of the more outstanding nature. Long distance races are what I love most, and tomorrow I get a chance to put everything out there for some 90 minutes. After a short cold spell, accompanied by some rain and then some snow, it looks like spring again around here. Today it was 48F at the venue during our race prep workout at 1pm, and the snow was quickly transforming to slush. The forecast for tomorrow is once again for super warm temperatures, and I see a need for serious sunscreen in my future!

Yesterday I took some pictures during the classic sprint where my APU teammates took first and third. I'll post those, along with any other photos I get a chance to take, when I get to a faster internet connection. I sat out the sprint in preparation for the 30km, but all the women on my team qualified for the heats (making the top 30), and both our men raced well, one making the rounds as well.

Hopefully in 24 hours I'll have completed a fast 30km and will have an exciting race report to post. My fingers are crossed for fast skis and a fresh, peppy body... stay tuned!

One race down, two more coming up fast... PLUS weird weather and fun on the road!

2009-03-10T15:21:00.005-08:00

Canadian Nationals continues to be somewhat unpredictable, but a good time nonetheless! When we arrived on Thursday it looked like the sun and warm weather might melt the snow away before the first race even got underway. Since then we've experienced downpours of rain, high winds, and fog, as well as colder weather and fresh new snow, and all these weather variations continue to frequent our forecast. On Sunday my teammates raced the team sprint, despite flooding in the stadium and start postponement. I had anticipated racing, but sat out due to a head cold and sore throat that latched on following our two days of travel. No points are awarded for that race, since it's a team event, and it seemed best to get over the worst of the symptoms before the distance races.

Monday was the 5km skate race. The course was changed from a hilly, rolling one to a super fast course that felt like it was over before it even started. It was decidedly a cleaning-out-the-cobwebs race. My body was pretty shocked when I demanded it go fast, especially for a short 5km, which right now feels like a sprint. It would have been nice to use the team sprint as a warm-up for the rest of the week, but instead the 5km served this purpose. Considering the course profile- only two hills to speak of, the first and only major one being in the first 500 meters- it was a decent race for me. My body finally started getting into the racing groove by 4km, and then there was the second, and final hill, and 200 meters later, the finish line! Finish times were in the realm of 15 minutes, a short effort for the long distance skier that I am.

So tomorrow is the 10km classic. The course is supposed to be the one we were scheduled to do for the 5km free (hilly with technical downhills), plus we get to do it twice! My head cold is still hanging on, but I think it shouldn't impact my performance much. The biggest frustration is that it's hard to sleep at night. Being horizontal doesn't do great things for my sinuses- and I don't feel super good in the morning. But after going hard on Monday, I'm really looking forward to a longer, more challenging race. Each race on the schedule for me is progressively longer, so good things are on the horizon. If nothing else, this is a great warm-up for US Distance Nationals in Fairbanks later this month. Plus, with the tricky conditions, I'm getting to test/race on skis I haven't had the opportunity to use this winter.

So the trip has been fun so far. The team has had some great experiences, from dining in Detroit and getting slightly lost driving up here to skiing in 60F one day and 40F and pouring rain the next. We're a pretty flexible, fun group, and we have incredible, hardworking coaches! In fact, my skis in the 5km freestyle yesterday were likely some of the fastest skis I have ever raced on in my life! Mostly it's just fun being on the road again. I love this lifestyle and really appreciate the hard work of the people that make this possible- the race organizers and hosts, my coaches, and my family, supporters, and sponsors.

Thanks for your interest. I'll do my best to keep frequent updates coming!

Back to racing... and spring has sprung!

2009-03-06T17:11:00.003-09:00

So I'm jumping back into racing after a mid-winter training break. I left Alaska on Wednesday bound for the Canadian National Championships in Duntroon, Ontario. I've never raced this far east in Canada and also have never flown into Detroit on a ski trip. (We drove from Detroit to Duntroon, rather than flying into Toronto, since the ticket was really expensive flying into Ontario).

We left temps in the 20s F in Alaska and found mud, puddles, and lots of melting snow/slush here in Ontario. The course is deteriorating fast, but the organizers are hard at work and have backup plans ready in case our snow melts before we get to race on it. Considering it was 60F at the top of the course today, and with 2.5 inches of rain in the forecast, it is a distinct possibility that backup plans might be utilized. It's also quite likely that we'll be racing in t-shirts! Spring is coming here fast.

The Championship kicks off on Sunday, March 8th with a freestyle team sprint, followed by a 5km freestyle race the next day. On Wednesday we race 10km classic. Friday is the classic sprint, although I'll sit that one out to prepare for the 30km freestyle race on Sunday, March 15th. Then I'm back to Anchorage for a week before the season finale, US Distance Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska at the end of March.

I'm glad to be back to racing! I'll try to post consistent updates, but without internet at the house we're renting, it's a little more challenging.

Weekend Recap

2009-03-01T16:13:00.010-09:00

Justyna Kowalczyk winning the 3okm freestyle event on Saturday at the World Championships.

(Photo credit: fasterskier.com)

Yesterday was the last women's event at World Championships in Liberec, CZE, the 30km freestyle race. At this time in my career it is likely my favorite event- skating has historically been my stronger technique and longer distances are my forte. World Champs was a goal of mine this season, one which I, sadly, did not achieve. While I've moved passed that disappointment and am looking forward, being absent from that 30km was still a little agonizing. I woke up early Saturday morning, checking the FIS website to see how the race had played out. Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland won (shown above), ending the championships with an impressive two golds and one bronze medal. The photo above really made an impression on me. I was fortunate enough to get to race with (or against, I supposed) Kowalczyk in the World Cups in Whistler, and her grit and determination is inspiring. She comes from a small ski nation, not one of the Nordic "powerhouses" and is pretty much a one person team, yet she's become a force. I'll undoubtedly be watching the race in its entirety online on universalsports.com, and you should too if you want to know exactly how it played out (note: for the first time this season you can watch all world cup races for free at that website).

On Saturday I logged a hard effort of my own, though it was thousands of miles from Czech. Normally it almost wouldn't be worth noting, but considering how few races I've done in the past few weeks, it felt like a big deal. It was a low-key APU team time trial at the Hillside Trails in Anchorage...mass start of both men and women on a two lap course (5km/lap for a total of 10km). It was a hard course, pretty much either up or down (as the trails are built into the hill right next to our mini local alpine area). Because of the number and length of the climbs relative to the amount of moderate/flat sections it would have barely been a legal course by International Ski Federation (FIS) standards. Meaning, it was basically a good hard course, a definite indicator of fitness. To make things just a little more challenging, it snowed all day Saturday, and we didn't start until 4pm, so we had a good six inches of fresh powder to plow through (and it continued to come down as we raced).

As is the case with almost any endeavor, when you don't do something frequently you get rusty. Whether it's just that you think you're rusty or you actually are, there can be some nervousness involved when you jump back in. Well, I was admittedly a little jittery. Racing becomes automatic when you do it every week, back-to-back days, weekend after weekend. Since it's just what you do, you just do it. But I had all day on Saturday to think about our little, insignificant time trial, and I realized how nice it is when racing is just so normal that you don't even think about being nervous. Nonetheless, 4PM finally came around, and feelingly slightly like a dog let off a chain, I went!

The good news is, the nerves were for nothing. Pushing the "reset" button was a good idea after all. My body felt good at race pace for the first time in months, and on a few of the long climbs I had glimpses of the amazing effortless floating feeling that I get when I race well. More than anything being out there was a great confidence booster. I'd decided just the night before to race at the upcoming Canadian National Championships in Ontario (coming up in less than two weeks), and this time trial indicated that getting on that plane will be a good decision.

Teammate Kate Fitzgerald on a snowy ski...no it wasn't the day of the time trial (the trail pictured here is way too "groomed" for it to have been our TT course, but it was just as snowy on Saturday).

By this morning the snow had stopped, and Anchorage was covered in a beautiful coat of powder. Sunday is my overdistance day (OD)- a long distance ski, measured in time rather than kilometers. It's also probably my favorite day of the week to train because, no matter the time of year, the mornings are always quiet and sleepy. In the summer the roads are less crowded, making rollerskiing and biking much more peaceful, and in the winter, the trails are often vacant. This morning I didn't see a soul until nearly 1.5 hours into my 2.5 hour ski. Kincaid Park was empty and still, the sun was rising, the snow crystals were glimmering in the early rays of light, and the trees were laden with snow.

For the second time this weekend I broke trail through newly fallen snow- this time on my overdistance ski this morning at Kincaid Park.

This long ski was the cap of a nearly perfect weekend (perhaps a nearly perfect week, in fact). I skied almost every trail at Kincaid during my OD and none of them twice. These kinds of workouts make me feel so lucky to have such incredible training opportunities where I live, and on top of that, I get to enjoy incredible views while I ski the endless kilometers of ski trails in our vast parks. I took the Coastal Trail for a portion of my ski this morning, enjoying the gorgeous scenery of Turnagain Arm, the mud flats and sea ice right next to the trail, and Fire Island in the distance (photo above taken from the Coastal Trail).

Setbacks and Success

2009-02-27T20:52:00.004-09:00

Tomorrow is a team time trial- not a big deal, but a good chance to test myself. Except for the 30km skate race last weekend, I haven't really logged many race efforts lately. Training has been going well. The trend is good, and it will be nice to go time trial and see how my body has responded to this "reset" period.

Yesterday, while sitting in my car waiting for practice to start, I noticed a quote printed on one of my reusable grocery bags from the store Lululemon Athletica. It's covered in all kinds of great little wisdoms, but one seemed particularly relevant...

"Life is full of setbacks. Success is determined by how you handle setbacks."

This season has been a little abnormal, but the setbacks have made me appreciate ski racing that much more. With time, patience, and continued belief in myself, success will come.

Even in an individual sport, it's teammates who inspire...

2009-02-25T18:05:00.017-09:00

Earlier this week my teammate on the US Ski Team and Alaska Pacific University Elite Team, Kikkan Randall, became the first American women to win a World Championship or Olympic medal. She claimed silver in the 1.3km freestyle sprint in Liberec, CZE, and in doing so, accomplished what we've all believed to be possible for a long time.

Kikkan (left) receiving the first World Championship medal ever by an American women.

(photo credit: fasterskier.com)

Ever since I woke up early Tuesday morning, rolling out of bed to turn on my computer in anticipation of the results, I haven't been able to get this momentous accomplishment off my mind. Before I knew Kikkan, she inspired me as one of the local legends in Alaskan sport. Then I joined the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center team, and Kikkan took me under wing. Since then we've grown as friends- traveling together for racing and leisure, living together when she first purchased a house, and overcoming huge obstacles in our pursuit of the sport of cross-country skiing.

The dream Kikkan realized this week was not only an incredible turning point in her life, but in the history of American cross-country skiing. I am sure I am not alone in saying that her medal has been a huge inspiration to me, helping me see that even in this decidedly individual sport, teammates can inspire you to believe in yourself and your own dreams in ways you never imagined. In light of this incredible event, I've put together a photo essay of sorts, having come to understand even more the inspirational power of team (and teammates).

Like Kikkan, I've dreamt of success in sport for as long as I can remember, looking to heroes in sport from the time I began skiing. And even then, I was active because of the camaraderie, the interaction with my friends, and the support of my teammates.

Talkeetna Elementary School cross-country runners, inspired by the fun of it and each other.

From Elementary cross-country running to junior nordic skiing, it was about the fun team, the inspiration that comes from sharing an exciting and competitive experience with others...

Denali Junior Nordic "Snowmads"

(photo credit: Arthur Mannix)

From these recreational programs designed to instill passion for activity and sport, I moved on to more competition-minded programs and came to realize the power in numbers. There's nothing more inspiring that a group of driven training partners who share a common passion and desire for success...

The APU team out on force at a sprint time trial at Hatcher Pass, Alaska.

(Photo credit: Karen Mannix)

US Ski Team girls out on a long run in Park City, UT.

These teammates are the ones who push you to be better during every workout, every day of the year. They're training partners and friends, a continuous source of external inspiration.

US Ski Team girls during a rollerski workout in Park City, UT.

(photo credit: Pete Vordenberg)

APU teammates going head-to-head in a sprint time trial, Hatcher Pass, AK.

(photo credit: Karen Mannix)

At times these teammates are also your competitors, making you work and hurt as you push toward your goals. These same teammates are also the people you have fun with. They're the ones you share experiences with...

Off the trails (for instance, on the playground)...

On the trails, whether you're training or playing on skis...

In between sessions... and on Halloween!

You get to know these teammates, bond with these people in so many ways, and from these interactions your dreams become shared.

US Ski Team dinner on the lawn at a training camp in Park City, UT.

You adventure together...

(photo credit: Jeff Ellis)

Train hard together...

(photo credit: Pete Vordenberg)

Compete together...

Succeed together...

Support each other in victory...

And celebrate your successes together...

Cross-country skiing is an individual sport, but goals cannot be accomplished without the support of teammates. Teams are our lifeline, and whether we see it our not, we cannot get there without them. From the time we are small our "teams" inspire with group fun and games. As we grow older teams become a source of inspiration thru our shared experiences, common bond, and mutual dreams.

Kikkan's accomplishment is close to my heart because I feel like I am a small part of her success. She has lead the way, and I hope to follow....Congratulations Kikkan!

A busy weekend- racing, baking, recovery...

2009-02-23T13:15:00.008-09:00

Sunday was the last race in the local Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking Anchorage Cup, the Sven Johansson freestyle race at Kincaid Park here in Anchorage. The event features a 2.5km fun youth race and 10 km and 30km races. The 3okm is known as the "tour of Kincaid," as the course basically covers all of the trails within the park without repeating anything. It was my first shot at racing in nearly a month, since the World Cup, and I had no idea what to expect because my body has been a little "under" lately.

APU women in blue (Kate Arduser, Tazlina Mannix, Katie Ronsse).

Photo credit: Barry Johnson

But I couldn't have dreamt of a nicer day to get out and go long. At our noon start time it was about 20F, blue sky, and sunny. The course was perfectly groomed, and the turnout was great. The race organizers convinced me to start in the elite men's wave, rather than the elite women's, which went out after the second men's wave. The other ladies on my team joined me, as did a few other local women, and we had a great time mixing it up with the men! For such a long race it helps to ski in a pack, because people around you- especially teammates- help you along. Racers take turns leading and drafting, because so much more energy goes into skiing solo or leading a group.

I skied with two of my APU teammates the entire race (as seen in the above photo). We all have decided strengths, and we took turning leading when we were feeling good. For instance, it was noticeable that one of us had much faster skis on the downhills, making her a good person to jump in behind and draft. I felt particularly good on the climbs and would try to take the lead and charge on the hills. In the end, we all fought it out for the win. Having misread the small print on the map, I thought we had one climb to go before the finish, when all the sudden we were spit onto a shortcut and were nearly at the finish. I knew I hadn't started my final surge soon enough, being a distance skier I need to begin my final sprint in advance of many of my competitors. I put the hammer down as soon as I realized my mistake and managed to get a gap, but on the slight downhill grade towards the finish one of my teammates began creeping up, and she managed to get me by .6 seconds at the line.

In all honesty, it was anyone's race. The three of us worked hard and worked together all 30km. More importantly for me, it was good, both mentally and physically, to get back in the "game" again. This effort indicated that I'm climbing out of the rut I've been stuck in. I'm not out yet, but some training time has been exactly what I've needed!

After a wonderful afternoon on the trails, I came home and immersed myself in a little bread baking. I'd promised a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread to some good friends, grandparents of sorts, who I've missed seeing lately. After a brief visit last weekend, I was inspired to bring them a loaf of my favorite sweet corn raisin bread- a yeast-risen cornmeal loaf with plump raisins and a hint of honey. For the sake of experimentation, I made the larger loaf (shown above) with approximately 75% white whole wheat flour in place of the white flour, in an attempt to make a more hearty breakfast bread. The smaller, more golden loaf (shown below at right) was made solely of white flour and cornmeal. My afternoon of baking was enjoyable and rewarding as always (as was the nap between risings).

Today a loaf was delivered as promised to my Anchorage grandparents, and from what I hear, even toasted for a late breakfast. Apparently they enjoyed it just as much as I do every morning, which made my day!

I treated myself to a massage this morning, something I've done less of during racing season, despite the important role it plays in the recovery process. It felt good to make time for this. Even now, just a few hours later, my body is evidently quite appreciative. Today, a rest day, will be concluded with a nap and an easy run in the sunshine this afternoon... and then I'm back into another week of training!

Racing is now on the horizon, so I should have actual race and travel updates for you one of these weeks...

Another rest day, another update

2009-02-17T13:06:00.005-09:00

By rest day number 2, I had run out of things I really wanted to do with myself... Bread had already been made, house cleaned, errands run. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of things for me to do, but instead I made muffins...

While I generally love training, I do look forward to rest days because they can be unscheduled and unstructured. Like many people relish the weekend, I like a day off once in a while. Usually I plan something with friends, do errands, clean my house and prepare for the week ahead, and I always make my bread for the week. But I find it curious that most often my rest days are never as exciting as I expect they will be. I tell myself I like the down time, like the lack of structure and the break from routine, but usually my day ends feeling incomplete. Why? Because in the back of my mind I'm yearning to go for a ski, a hike in the mountains, a short run or at least a little spin on the bike inside. The truth is, rest days are the hardest part of the week for me because I really do like the routine of waking early, getting out of the house for AM practice, coming home to stretch, eat, take a nap, and then heading out again for another session. My day is full, and it is active. The rest time between sessions is usually pretty much all I need to do whatever else it is that needs doing. I've come to realize that no matter how much I look forward to full rest days, they're just never going to be as glorious as I imagine. I'm lucky that skiing is what I do...

So on my second non-training day, instead of doing paperwork and errands, I did the next closest thing to skiing. I worked on skis and prepped them for the week. Skis love a little love, in the form of wax, and so, in anticipation of skiing, I put a few coats on a few pairs...

My fast Fischer fleet

My wax box, complete with Swix kick and glide wax, tools, apron, iron, etc...

Some quality time spent with the ski bench.

I haven't been skiing on most of my race skis in training lately, because I've been worried about rocks on the trails. With pretty good conditions right now and freshly groomed trails, I decided to pull out a few race pairs to train on.

The training experience feels that much better when you're on well prepared, fast skis. Warm temps and fast skis enable me to cover much more ground each session than I otherwise would. That's important, because a fast training pace teaches the body (muscles, heart, lungs) to tolerate fast skiing, preparing a skier that much more for racing. Plus, by skiing fast, the movement patterns often are much more similar to those at race pace, again teaching the body (this time especially the muscles) how to sustain itself at that speed. It's important to ingrain the feelings associated with fast skiing, good technique, power, speed, and agility. So if you want to ski well at race pace, it's important to simulate those feelings (technique, power, etc.) as best you can in training at any speed.

So I'm looking forward to getting back to the trails, on the freshly waxed skis and logging some fast distance skiing. Stay tuned...

Rest days... and baking

2009-02-15T10:10:00.020-09:00

Most people work 9am- 5pm jobs five days/week, but as my friends, family, and neighbors can attest, my "work" schedule is nothing of the sort. I train roughly twice/day, 6 (but occasionally 5 or 7) days/week, 13 "skier months"/year (1 month=4 weeks), for a total of 52 weeks/year. Like I said, that is an approximation. That doesn't take into account the atypical weeks, such as the huge training blocks on the glacier in the summer, the "recovery weeks" post-glacier block, or the occasional rest period, such as the one I find myself in presently.

Since I returned home from the World Cups, I entered a training period while the majority of the ski world is in racing mode. I've had some stuff to figure out. My body wasn't responding well to training or racing, so it was back to the drawing board. I've also been experiencing some breathing trouble, cold/exercise induced asthma and/or vocal cord dysfunction, after the cold racing in January, which has persisted and continued to impede training. Nonetheless, this weekend marked the end of three solid weeks of training in Anchorage, as well as some asthma "field testing" to figure out how to alleviate my breathing problems. Having made good gains in this short period, now it's time for a little rest.

My life is ordinarily very scheduled, so it's weird not to be racing right now. Equally as infrequent are "rest" periods like this. Right now I'm in both situations- not racing and resting-and to top that off, the weather in Anchorage at the moment is a little odd as well. While I've been home it has gone from no snow (Chinook), to snow and good skiing, to really cold, to really, really warm (currently in the high 30sF). The skiing was excellent yesterday, but it's feeling dangerously warm, and the wind is picking up, an ominous sign of the continuation of the vicious cycle of good skiing, bad skiing conditions.

So for two days I'm in a period of recovery, designed to let me rest up, absorb the training of the past three weeks, and get energized for the next period. Down time is good, but it's also a little strange. It leaves me time to do errands, clean my house, take care of chores (like taxes and bills), and go to a movie with friends, but what I look forward to the most is some uninterrupted baking time. (I know it's not ski-related, but it's the other thing I really like to do.) This is what I've been up to...

Valentine's Day cake, part of the dinner I made for my brother.

Check out the reci pe...it's one of the best easy chocolate cakes I've found.

Today I baked bread...almost all day! I can easily spend an entire day baking bread, starting the biga and soaker a day or two before, and then baking for at least a whole morning. Today it was overcast and grey, which made it a easy for me to spend time in the kitchen experimenting with recipes from Peter Reinhart's book Whole Grain Breads. Someday I'd like to make all the breads in his book, but for now I've found a few I really like and am continually adapting them, incorporating new ingredients. A link to the recipe I modeled this bread from can be found here. If your looking for the best 100% whole wheat sandwich bread and, like me, have some down time to make use of, I'd recommend this. The only problem is that you're likely to resist going back to store-bought bread. This weekly endeavor is a goal of mine outside of skiing... while at home I don't purchase bread. I wish I took note of when this began, but it's been at least a year now.

Next on my outside-skiing-goal-list... take better photographs of my creations. I'm continually inspired by some of the food blogs I read, and so much of what makes them great are the beautiful photographs. After I'm done skiing I'd really like to go to culinary school, and I think it would be good to document a little of what I've done, despite the amateur nature of my projects. So here's to a little well-earned rest! I'll be keeping you posted on the skiing front, as well as the baking front...

Breakthroughs

2009-02-09T20:12:00.005-09:00

Sometimes when the big goals elude us, it's hard to see the breakthroughs. But these little improvements occur daily, and they're significant, because they're getting us closer to that far off dream. A few times a week I've had some great training sessions. They pop up seemingly out of nowhere. Today, in fact, was one of those days, although you couldn't have convinced me of that from the start.

It was cold, minus 4F. It was just me and my coach, Erik, out for a classic distance ski. The snow was bizarre. I had prepared my skis for what I thought would be great kick- a good hard binder in my kick zone covered with some cold kick wax- and although everything pointed to a winning combination, it wasn't. The snow was oddly greasy (uncommon for cold temperatures), yet it was draggy and slow too. Good kick was hard to find, and the glide was also far from superb. In the first 20 minutes or so I felt tired and lethargic. My muscles were cold, and I was working hard to ski technically well with less than optimal skis. For distance, we were skiing hard, and I just wasn't feeling it.

I won't say that my body was in it's best form today. In fact, it was far from it, but at some point in the ski it came around. But that wasn't the magical part (although it was part of the equation, as my body often warms up throughout the workout). The breakthrough was in the form of a new "feeling" I got for my classic striding. When Erik and I ski together we always work on technique. We always ski at a good pace, which I like. We always have a good time- laugh, joke, occasionally race, and talk- and then we stop and discuss technique.

To be a really good coach you have to be an incredible communicator, as well as observer and interpreter. Coaching, in my opinion, is one of the most difficult occupations out there. You work with an athlete on so many levels, and let me tell you, we are complex beings. My coach is the most approachable, intuitive, communicative person I know, as exemplified today. Not only did he specifically prescribe this workout to my needs, and within the bigger picture of this week, month, year, etc., he came out with specific technique goals, which brings me to my next point... Erik is an athlete (formerly an elite racer), and while some will argue this is not necessary, I can't imagine an effective coach who didn't ski. The beauty of Erik's coaching is that he knows well how it feels to be an athlete, what it feels like to train, to be fatigued, to be race-ready. He also knows the feel of different techniques, and although technique is evolving, he is moving along with it.

The key part of this began yesterday when Erik jumped into a local race unofficially. He said he just wanted to go hard, but it also turns out he wanted to test some technique ideas and get a feel for thoughts he'd been mulling over. As always, he had also been watching tons of video of world cup racers, and so during the race he "played" with these ideas himself.

So today Erik came to training and somehow that experience played a role in the transformation of my classic technique. Sometime during the course of our workout this morning, he taught me how to feel something I never have. This session was not much different than many others lately. We skied, stopped and talked technique, I tried something new in my skiing, and we bounced ideas around. What was different was that I came away with a new take on classic striding, something I've done more times than I can count.

That was a breakthrough that left me energized for the rest of the day, but it also made me realize that little breakthroughs happen everyday, even when I'm too tired or sore or frustrated to take notice. This last stint home has honestly been a roller coaster ride- back into training, feeling good, feeling terrible, up and down. It is better being home figuring out what my body needs for training than thousands of miles away, prepping to race, anxious that my form is just not there, but being home has been hard in a different way. It took an occurrence such as the one today to realize that sometimes it's important to put the big picture in the back of my mind. Periodically it can be more beneficial to focus on the daily steps forward, wherever they many be found... in the subtle refinements of classic striding or even in a beautifully baked loaf of homemade bread.

There's No Place Like Home

2009-01-30T13:48:00.009-09:00

It snowed here in Anchorage...finally! Yesterday I ran for an hour in the swirling, blowing snow, and it was hard to contain my joy. It was no longer a challenge finding a good footing on the formerly icy back roads, and the rocks and debris that has littered the ski trails since our January Chinook brought rain was being covered in a fresh blanket of white.

On the 29th and again today my teammates raced in France, and I was here in Anchorage. They raced well, two cracking the top ten in both the 10km skate and the 15km pursuit. I was happy to learn of their successes, but it stung a little to be reading about it from home. However, as I reminisced about my trips to Europe, my races there, and the many good times I've shared with those teammates, I was never more certain that my decision to be home this time around was a good one.

I can feel that I'm back on track. My mind is clear, and my training is going well. I've trained twice each day since I came home, have stretched, taken daily naps, gotten 9 + hours of sleep every night, and have baked bread (my second favorite thing, next to skiing).

This morning I woke up to clear skies, sub-zero temperatures AND perfect classic tracks. The trails were almost completely vacant, and I only had one near miss with a ornery moose. This afternoon I expect much of the same- perfect grooming and lovely weather- as I head out for my second workout. Tomorrow is my day off and should be perfect for a little celebration. Yep, it's Super Bowl Sunday, but while much of the country will have their eyes on the game, I'll be skiing with over 1,000 other ladies at the Alaska Ski For Women, the largest women-only ski event in the U.S. My mom and I are doing it again as a "mother-daughter team," and just like last year, we'll be dressed in costume.

So here's to more snow in the forecast, a great weekend (whether you're skiing in costume with 1,000+ other women or watching football), and homemade bread! Thanks for tuning in...

Pushing the "Reset" Button

2009-01-24T17:25:00.010-09:00

Sometimes the best option in life is to stop what you're doing and start over. It's refreshing beginning with a clean slate, putting past expectations, goals, and disappointments aside. But as I recently discovered, starting all over again can also be incredibly difficult, especially when it means letting go of your plans and drastically changing course.

I am a ski racer, which means that the winter months should- and most often are- packed full of skiing, whether it is traveling to a venue, prepping for a race, training or competing. From mid November thru March I am 100% ski racer. This season, however, will not look like the rest. It started as most have, on the SuperTour circuit in the western United States and Canada. I came home for Christmas and then competed at a less than normal U.S. National Championships. I was named to the U.S. World Cup team competing in Whistler, B.C. Canada and also to the U.S. Under-23 World Championships team, both teams I hoped to make. After a cold Nationals I flew to Vancouver, B.C. and drove to Whistler to prepare for the World Cups, which is when my life began to change.

Since last spring I have experience sporadic rough periods of training and racing. My immune system seems prone to illness and my body has gone in and out of feeling good during training. I have trained a lot, certainly not too much, but I have taxed my body nonetheless. The fact is, you can't expect to be a world-class ski racer if you don't train hard, and this inevitably promises both good times and bad. In hindsight, this period was especially hard, and it will likely be the account that down the road I tell others, similar to the numerous stories that have been told to me over the last few weeks.

The World Cup in Whistler was a continuation of this frustrating trend, just as several of the SuperTour races had been. I didn't ski like myself. My body wasn't firing the way it should, and I finally came to the conclusion that it was time to press the "reset" button. It wasn't time to give up, give in or quit ski racing. No, it was time to take a deep breath, sit down with my coach to reflect, release, and make a new plan. In brief, that is what I did...

After the races were over in Whistler, I decided it was best to make a change. Rather than getting on a plane to France for U-23s, I made the tough choice to go back to the drawing board. I was not in the position to meet my goals in France, and it was unlikely I was going to make serious gains while I was there either, so I let go of my dream of a medal at Under-23 World Championships and with the blessing of all my coaches, booked a flight home. In Anchorage I could sleep in my own bed, train twice a day, and prepare myself to meet a new set of goals.

In the interest of mixing things up, I chose to stayed in Whistler an extra two days with my Dad and my fun-loving relatives who had come to cheer me on. In the time between letting go of my former race plans and beginning anew, I took the opportunity to rent some alpine skis and spend a day skiing the slopes of Whistler and Blackcomb with my family- a refreshing change of scenery and company!

Now I am back in Anchorage with a clear mind, a new "road map" back to my old racing self, and renewed sense of purpose. I have let go of the frustrations that came from not meeting my expectations and have embraced the challenges of elite sport. I have pressed the reset button. Stay tuned...

US Nationals, The Cold Weather Conundrum

2009-01-08T09:10:00.004-09:00

This week has been a US Championships like no other I can remember, and according to the Anchorage Daily News it has also been a pretty abnormal beginning of the new year. The ADN article, Cold Wreaks Havoc, in today's paper cited data from the National Weather Service, reporting that Anchorage is experiencing the "deepest cold wave in a decade." In some parts of the city we've experienced ten consecutive days of "double-digit negative temperatures," and yesterday was said to be the coldest day of the winter thus far. But this isn't news to the 300+ ski racers in Anchorage this week for US Nationals. Every day we've gone out to Kincaid Park in hopes that the mercury will rise and a race might go on as scheduled.

The volunteers have worked tirelessly in the cold, and it is evident that if the weather had cooperated this would have been a flawlessly executed championship week. The website is perfect, the banners are all in place, the courses are marked, and the stadium is set up. Months and months of planning went into this event, and it's a shame that the temperature has put such a damper on the week.

As for me, I knew it was cold when I began experiencing cold-induced asthma symptoms for the first time in my life. I've skied in the cold for as long as I can remember and raced in low temperatures a fair amount, but this week my lungs decided they'd had enough. In a pre-race intensity workout a few days prior to the first race, the freestyle race, which was shortened to a 5km, I developed a lump in my throat. By the end of the workout I was wheezing, coughing, and knew something wasn't right. Then on Monday, when the temperature was just warm enough for us to race (somewhere between zero and minus four Fahrenheit), I felt it again in my warm-up. I raced the 5km freestyle, had a hard time doing so, and have had a bad cough and tightness in my throat since then.

The symptoms are subsiding slowly, but yesterday I went to see an asthma and allergy doctor. Unfortunately it's hard to test for cold-induced asthma without doing a field test in cold conditions. I had the routine asthma tests done, which proved I didn't have normal, everyday asthma, but now it's time to work on getting a cold-weather test done when I'm skiing hard. The reason this is so critical is to determine whether I need to use asthma medication in these specific conditions. If the tests indicate I do, I first need to have a doctor's report and the test data on file with the US Anti-Doping Agency, USADA. The medications are banned substances for athletes without a special waver (a TUE form), but they can alleviate asthma symptoms and are approved for use by athletes with documented asthma. What I experienced this week was frustrating, and it would be nice to know for sure the status of my lungs when it comes to functioning properly at cold temperatures. The good news is that I will likely be racing in warmer temperatures for the next little while at least, if not the remainder of the season. I've had no problems in moderate temperatures, so I have no reason to believe this will flare up again. So I'll pursue a cold temperate, ski-specific field test and continue to take extra good care of my lungs.

Today is the last day of the championship week, and the classic sprint race has been moved to today (after being canceled the last three times it was scheduled to be held). It's an important race for World Cup and World Championship team selection for sprinters, which I am not, so I will be sitting this one out letting my lungs mend further. I hope to get out to watch the races and to log some time on skis. For the past two days I've done hard workouts on the treadmill at the gym near my house. Thanks to The Alaska Club for a great sponsorship and a warm place to exercise.

So I'll continue to keep you updated. Until then, stay warm!

January in Alaska

2009-01-03T16:17:00.003-09:00

So today was the first race of the 2009 US National Championships, except it didn't happen! I wasn't planning on racing the sprint, because I'm more of a distance specialist, but for all the sprinters it was a bit of a letdown. The temperature has to be above -4F for an organizer to legally put on a race (according to the International Ski Federation guidelines), and during the warmest part of the day today it might have hovered around that temperature. Otherwise, most of the city was in the negative double digits all day. Right after 1pm they called off the race and rescheduled it for tomorrow. Knowing it was going to be a cold training session for me, I had a leisurely morning, arriving at Kincaid Park just as all the racers were leaving. Most had warmed-up assuming the race would go on as scheduled at 11:30AM and then proceeded to cool-down after it was postponed to 1PM. Then before the 1PM start time many were well into their second warm-up of the day when the race was called off. So most of my teammates warmed-up and cool-down twice and didn't race once today... but at least they were prepared!

I had a great easy ski around the beautiful trails, taking care to go easy so as to be gentle on my lungs. The cold air can really damage them which could really mess up my week of racing, so I've been careful to dress really warm and cover my face when outside. Besides the occasionally cold limb, digit or exposed patch of flesh, it was wonderful out on the trails. They were surprisingly vacant for a championship week. The sun was low on the horizon, illuminating the frost-encrusted trees, and the sky was a tie-dye of pink, orange, and yellow. Alaska may be cold this time of year, but it's also beautiful...

Up and Running...

2009-01-01T20:12:00.003-09:00

Welcome to my newly designed site. It's been cold in Anchorage for the last week or so, and I've spent some of my inside time working on this website. As you can see I began working on this early this past fall, but lost steam. So one of my New Year's resolutions is to keep you updated on a regular basis without the hassle of long, infrequent emails.

I'm preparing for US Nationals. This year (and next) they're being held at Kincaid Park here in Anchorage, just a fifteen minute drive from where I live. I'm feeling pretty spoiled to be skiing on my home courses and sleeping in my own bed at night. I can't feel too pampered though, because Alaska is showing everyone how cold it can be up here in the middle of winter! We're only managing to ski once a day because noon is just about the only time it is sort of warm enough to ski. Yesterday that was -10F and today it was a balmy -6F! It has to be warmer than -4F to hold races (according to the International Ski Federation rules), so my fingers are crossed for a warming trend.

So the 2009 US National Championships begin in just two days. Here's the schedule:

January 3rd, classic sprint

January 5th, 10km freestyle women, 15km freestyle men

January 7th, 5km classic, 10km classic men

January 8th, freestyle team sprint

*I will be racing on the 5th, 7th, and 8th and will skip the classic sprint to focus on the distance races, which are my strength.

Until then I'm testing skis, getting lots of sleep, and baking bread and cookies to bring to my coaches.

Tune in soon for updates!

2008-09-11T16:59:00.004-08:00

Hello Ski Fans! I have launched a blog to share my experiences as a cross-country ski racer. This seems like the best way to stay in touch with those of you who are interested in my pursuits. I'm intending to use this site as a place to post updates no matter where ski racing takes me, and while I'm sure much of it will be ski related, I'm sure I will often diverge from this subject. Don't be surprised to find recipes and cooking/baking related posts, as culinary adventures are a frequent occurence in my kitchen. Thanks for following my journey...more to come!