Check this out...

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

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...

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!

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...

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!

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

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!