The Team is in Town!

The past two weeks have been a fun filled, packed, grueling, and amazing two weeks of training with the US Ski Team in Anchorage. It has been a few years since the team has made the long trip all the way up to Alaska, so it was so fun to have them back. There is nothing more exciting than sharing your training grounds with your teammates!

Headed into the green hills on one of our afternoon run's.

Headed into the green hills on one of our afternoon run's.

Warm enough to take a dip in a little alpine lake.

Warm enough to take a dip in a little alpine lake.

Some happy little campers.

Some happy little campers.

Team Sodie keeping it bright and safe on the roads.

Team Sodie keeping it bright and safe on the roads.

It was also the first camp that we have had the whole women's team back together (minus our young C-team additions). With Kikkan having her little boy, and some others being injured, we were missing getting the band back together for a while now. Fortunately, everything worked out, and we got to hammer out a variety of training with each other. This included a lot of rollerskiing, a lot of running, some bounding, weight lifting, and some good old quality relaxation. Miraculously enough, somehow, the weather was absolutely perfect for all two weeks. I must say, I have never applied so much sunscreen over the course of two weeks. Twice a day, every day, we were baking! No complaints though, it was amazing!

My coach, Erik Flora, joining me for my final L4 bounding interval of the workout. Thanks to this incredible coach for pouring his heart and sole into our team! Behind every hard working athlete is an exponentially hard working coach! (Matt Whitcomb…

My coach, Erik Flora, joining me for my final L4 bounding interval of the workout. Thanks to this incredible coach for pouring his heart and sole into our team! Behind every hard working athlete is an exponentially hard working coach! (Matt Whitcomb photo)

Enjoying a sunny final long workout in town before we hit the snow. Steep slopes and selfies don't exactly go well together!

Enjoying a sunny final long workout in town before we hit the snow. Steep slopes and selfies don't exactly go well together!

An amazing team of girl's to work hard with. (Matt Whitcomb photo)

An amazing team of girl's to work hard with. (Matt Whitcomb photo)

One of the many views that makes AK training amazing!

One of the many views that makes AK training amazing!

Sharing some snuggles with baby Brecky, Kikkan's little boy.

Sharing some snuggles with baby Brecky, Kikkan's little boy.

The second week of camp, we headed to Girdwood, and loaded up into helicopters, making our trip up to Eagle Glacier, where I have already done one week of training this year. Right from the start, the sun came out, and never left us alone after that. This meant for a ton of smiles, a little bit of sun poisoning for some people, and a freshly bronzed bunch. But.... one of those things that comes with the heat is the soft snow, of course. So I would argue we had one of the more challenging weeks of skiing up on the glacier. With slushy, deep, and soft snow.... we were forced to work extra hard every kilometer we covered. But, everyone did a good job of pacing the week long camp, and nobody walked away in a million pieces. It was impressive. There was still plenty of energy and smiles even as we finished our final 3 hour workout of the camp!

Checking out the blue ice on the side of the glacier as we were flying in. It is crazy to watch the impact of the climate on this glacier over the past 6 years I have been skiing up here!

Checking out the blue ice on the side of the glacier as we were flying in. It is crazy to watch the impact of the climate on this glacier over the past 6 years I have been skiing up here!

Sun, shorts, and smiles! (Jessie Diggs photo)

Sun, shorts, and smiles! (Jessie Diggs photo)

Taking a break from the ski trail one afternoon on our newly crafted "happy trail". Thanks to the boys for spending many hours creating this little 3 minute running loop.

Taking a break from the ski trail one afternoon on our newly crafted "happy trail". Thanks to the boys for spending many hours creating this little 3 minute running loop.

Enjoying some company on the "happy trail" with our amazing Physical Therapist, Zuzana Rodgers. Thanks for keeping us all happy, healthy, and charging hard!

Enjoying some company on the "happy trail" with our amazing Physical Therapist, Zuzana Rodgers. Thanks for keeping us all happy, healthy, and charging hard!

So awesome to have Kikkan back, and full of momma energy! (Caitlin Patterson photo)

So awesome to have Kikkan back, and full of momma energy! (Caitlin Patterson photo)

Blue buddies on a perfect blue sky day!

Blue buddies on a perfect blue sky day!

Taking a little break to fuel up on liquid.. a trick to stay strong through the week. (Zuzana photo)

Taking a little break to fuel up on liquid.. a trick to stay strong through the week. (Zuzana photo)

Ian Torchia en route to set the world record on the "happy trail". Witnessed and started by Lizard Stephen. (Virginia photo).

Ian Torchia en route to set the world record on the "happy trail". Witnessed and started by Lizard Stephen. (Virginia photo).

This year, our foreign guest was from Italy, Virginia de Martin Topranin. Virginia was awesome to have around, and we enjoyed getting to see some of the differences in each other's training routines. I was impressed with her ability to just jump in fearlessly, and excel in our environment. She even spent the first week without her bags and skiing in Kikkan's gear... always with a smile on her face and full of excitement! She even taught us how to make a famous Italian dish, gnochi, one evening. I did a lot of racing around her last winter, so I am looking forward to next winter when I am a little more familiar with her technique and style, and can comfortably jump in behind her in a mass start as if she was a teammate. 

Virginia, teaching us the ropes of "gnochi" making. Potatoes, flour, eggs... and a little Italian touch.

Virginia, teaching us the ropes of "gnochi" making. Potatoes, flour, eggs... and a little Italian touch.

Rosie, Erik and Ian rescuing us with some 9PM gas station dinner mid 4 hour fire traffic jam on the way home. Just a little 1 mile run down the jammed highway. 

Rosie, Erik and Ian rescuing us with some 9PM gas station dinner mid 4 hour fire traffic jam on the way home. Just a little 1 mile run down the jammed highway. 

After two great weeks of hard training, I have 10 days off before heading back onto the glacier again, so I pointed my bags and momentum south and have headed down to Washington to spend some time with my family. I only get about 10 days a year now at home, so I am looking forward to doing some training in my home stomping grounds as well as spending time with my parents. 

Pointing this momentum south!

Pointing this momentum south!

Family First

As i have grown older, I have started to appreciate many of the things that I never took the time to as a kid. One of those things is my incredible family! Everyone is incredibly supportive, caring, and we all enjoy to do many of the same things.  I have one heck of a crazy travel and training schedule as an athlete, so every small break I get, I often jump at the opportunity to spend some time with my amazing family. 

A rare time, we are all together!

A rare time, we are all together!

Spending the day outside together.

Spending the day outside together.

Checking out the Butte and Knick Glacier.

Checking out the Butte and Knick Glacier.

Bjornsen trio-double means business! You can tell there is a small variation in temperature perception.... I think Jo and I have converted to AK weather. The others... not so much.

Bjornsen trio-double means business! You can tell there is a small variation in temperature perception.... I think Jo and I have converted to AK weather. The others... not so much.

I am also lucky in that my two siblings are some of my best friends, and my biggest supporters. I get to spend the majority of my training and racing around my brother, which seriously helps during homesick times throughout the winter, but I don't get to see my sister nearly as much. I have been harassing Kaley and her husband, Tyler, for years now to come visit during the 4th of July, and this year it finally happened! With the three of us siblings together, and our significant others, we got to explore Alaska as if we were young kids all together again. It was so nice to share our "training playground" with them, and introduce them to the world of "the last frontier".

Erik and Jo taking a trip down the river on paddle boards.

Erik and Jo taking a trip down the river on paddle boards.

I even got the opportunity to drag my sister and her husband up the intimidating Mount Marathon. In my mind, hiking this mountain carries a lot of "pride". Because of the challenge, and the fact that there is a race on it on Independence Day... you just feel like you have accomplished something special when you complete it. Kaley and Tyler were champs though, and made it all the way up the halfway point, which meant coming down the most challenging part!

Yipeee, made it to halfway point!

Yipeee, made it to halfway point!

A little sore, a little tired, but she is still stoked!

A little sore, a little tired, but she is still stoked!

"Hey mom, look what I did"!

"Hey mom, look what I did"!

I am back into the normal swing of training for our US Ski Team Camp here in Anchorage, which just started today. It will be great to get the entire team back together, and share this wonderful Alaskan summer with them. We have our annual "foreign guest" this year, Virginia De Martin Topranin, from Italy. I am looking forward to getting to know her better, and learn more about the Italian way of training. We also have the men and women's team together, which is the first time we have done that in Alaska. The second week, we will be headed up to Eagle Glacier for a week on snow together as well. More fun to come!

Training For Value

Summer is the heart and definition of "work". It is the time that we put all our "money in the bank" for the season ahead, building on previous years. We wake up every morning, work as hard as we can all day, and rest to prepare for the next day. It is an easy time to feel like you are working on a "check list". You accomplish your daily goal, only to set out for another daily goal, another weekly goal, and another monthly goal. We measure our "work" by the amount of hours we are training, and the number of workouts we are finishing. With this continued daily "work list", it becomes easy to fall into the mindless effort to check the workout off the list, and forget about the actual "value" I am working towards.

Running in the mountains, and still finding snow!

Running in the mountains, and still finding snow!

Quite the "scenery" with the mountain biking in AK!

Quite the "scenery" with the mountain biking in AK!

For that reason, I have made one overarching goal for this summer, and it revolves around value. Rather than getting my workout done, to know I accomplished my daily volume goal.. I have used this summer to use every workout to accomplish a skill. I finished last season wanting to improve skills such as classic uphill running, uphill skating, sprint finishing speed, efficiency in high speed double pole, etc. All of these skills can only be accomplished through starting every workout working towards more than an hourly goal. 

Mountain Goat buddies.

Mountain Goat buddies.

Taking some time for some wednesday night yoga in the park.

Taking some time for some wednesday night yoga in the park.

So what does that mean? It means that this summer I have learned to manage both my physical as well as my mental fatigue. On speed workouts when I am so focused on adapting to new technique changes while also going at my 100% speed, as well as staying on my feet to avoid road rash… all of these things leave me exhausted by the end of the workout. This has meant that I have learned the importance of rest a little more than before. I have started to learn what "value" actually means. It means putting myself in a place to show up twice a day with a brain fully switched on, muscles rested, and heart that is ready. 

You better have muscles that are ready to keep up with these mountain goats on the climbs!

You better have muscles that are ready to keep up with these mountain goats on the climbs!

Sometimes being "ready" means switching up usual training in order to keep your muscles balanced. (Classic Visions Photo).

Sometimes being "ready" means switching up usual training in order to keep your muscles balanced. (Classic Visions Photo).

Last week I had a "recovery" week, which means that I got to take a week to slow down mentally and physically, and spend a week to "shut down". I always look forward to these weeks, because I know that if I put in a great push of valuable training, I am rewarded for an entire week. I was lucky to be spoiled with some amazing summer weather during that week, so I was able to have a little "vacation" at home, which has been wonderful.

Pretty stoked I can still find snow so close to town despite the serious "summer weather".

Pretty stoked I can still find snow so close to town despite the serious "summer weather".

Recovery week means you can combine your biking and your fishing in one! Erik and Marine headed for the Russian River on a search for the Salmon! 

Recovery week means you can combine your biking and your fishing in one! Erik and Marine headed for the Russian River on a search for the Salmon! 

Working on my balance when the creek decides the best path is down the trail. 

Working on my balance when the creek decides the best path is down the trail. 

Sometimes that means a tumble... (even on your birthday)

Sometimes that means a tumble... (even on your birthday)

Enjoying some time outdoors with the Delta Constructors employees on our "Peak of the Month" challenge.

Enjoying some time outdoors with the Delta Constructors employees on our "Peak of the Month" challenge.

Poster signing at Yoga in the Park. 

Poster signing at Yoga in the Park. 

Recovery Week activities doing some filming with The Alaska Club. (Classic Visions Photo)

Recovery Week activities doing some filming with The Alaska Club. (Classic Visions Photo)

I am now headed into another block of intense training before I get to take my next "vacation" home to the Methow to visit family! During this block of training, the National Team will be coming up to Alaska for two weeks of training, one in town, one on the glacier, which hasn't happened for a few years, so I am really looking forward to it!

Ready, Set, GO!

It is hard to believe it is June 12, and I am already back at it, training for a new season with new goals, and new aspirations. Last season was the toughest, the longest, and the most racing I have ever done in my life, so it took a little longer to mentally and physically recover from. I managed to burry myself in a "different life" this spring, taking my mind away from being a professional athlete. I finished the second semester of my Masters Degree in Business, I planned a team wide spring fundraiser event, and I spent some time catching up with all the important people in my life that I never have time for when I am training and racing. In the meantime, I managed to fit in some spring adventuring as well. Without Jo around to take me into the backcountry, I was forced to stick to my skinny skis this spring. With a dangerous snow pack this spring in Alaska, it was probably for the better.

One of my few days using gravity to my advantage.

One of my few days using gravity to my advantage.

My spring adventure buddy, Pete Kling.

My spring adventure buddy, Pete Kling.

Back to school with some of my teammates, Rosie Frankowski and David Norris. 

Back to school with some of my teammates, Rosie Frankowski and David Norris. 

Skiing in to one of my friends Yurt in the middle of beautiful "no-where".

Skiing in to one of my friends Yurt in the middle of beautiful "no-where".

Scaled skis and camping gear.....

Scaled skis and camping gear.....

It always seems funny to explain to everyone around me that even though I am a winter athlete, I only get three weeks off during a year. Come May 1, I am already in the swing of things, even hitting the pavement with my rollerskis despite the snow still sitting on the mountains around town. Even I had trouble wrapping my brain around this idea when I came to Alaska and started training as an elite athlete. But, that is how it works. May 1 comes around and I have already formulated my new goals for the season, and started chipping away towards the jumps I will work to make through the training season. I was lucky this spring in that I got to spend the majority of my "start up" training on snow up on Hatchers Pass coupled with dryland training in town. 

Helping direct traffic and bikers for Anchorage Bike to School Day. 

Helping direct traffic and bikers for Anchorage Bike to School Day. 

Shortly after "start-up", I headed down to my "neck of the woods" in Bend, Oregon for our first National Team Camp of the season. We spent twelve days skiing at Mt. Bachelor in the morning combined with dryland training in the afternoon down in town. This has always been one of my favorite training camps because it makes the transfer from "snow training" to "dryland training" really nice. Getting used to running, rollerskiing and biking can be a challenge after spending five months sliding on the soft snow. 

Spring Skiing.... sometimes dirty, but great practice! Thanks Mt. Bachelor for some awesome grooming during our camp!

Spring Skiing.... sometimes dirty, but great practice! Thanks Mt. Bachelor for some awesome grooming during our camp!

Taking a day to adventure off the trails up to Broken Top.

Taking a day to adventure off the trails up to Broken Top.

There is some pretty beautiful scenery around Mt. Bachelor! Pictured here, Rosie headed up the mountain.

There is some pretty beautiful scenery around Mt. Bachelor! Pictured here, Rosie headed up the mountain.

Taking a break on top to take it all in! I love the west!

Taking a break on top to take it all in! I love the west!

Back with the Team!

Back with the Team!

I especially enjoyed this years camp, because we had some new young ones that just got named to the US Ski Team. Not only is it new blood, and new energy in the group, but these guys are awesome. They have so much excitement, and are training really well as juniors, which makes me excited to see the change in US Skiing! Not only that, it forces us to step up, and be the leaders, even though it can sometimes feel like we are still the "young ones". It has already been five years since I was part of the "rookie group"!

Enjoying some kilometers with our "rookie", Hannah Halvorsen. 

Enjoying some kilometers with our "rookie", Hannah Halvorsen. 

Fast and Female with some of our new young PNSA stars! So fun to see these girls having fun and doing well! I miss these young days of Pacific Northwest training and racing. 

Fast and Female with some of our new young PNSA stars! So fun to see these girls having fun and doing well! I miss these young days of Pacific Northwest training and racing. 

Passing on some stories, setbacks and lessons I have learned as an elite athlete.

Passing on some stories, setbacks and lessons I have learned as an elite athlete.

Shortly after Bend Camp, I had a quick week in town to unpack, re-pack and gather my life before heading up onto Eagle Glacier for my first glacier camp of the summer. One of the perks of living in Alaska is the easy access to "skiing". Every month of the summer we spend three weeks running, rollerskiing and biking, and then we drive 45 minutes to Girdwood, jump on a ten minute helicopter ride, and arrive in winter for the last week of the month. This allows us to never get too far from our "skiing technique", but also allows us to do a huge week of training every month in the true sport we are competing in. Every summer I do my first week on the Glacier, I am reminded how lucky I am to live in Alaska and have something like this available to me! 

Back in AK, hiking the beaches with Jo. 

Back in AK, hiking the beaches with Jo. 

Amazing scenery! Glaciers, rivers, mountains... all the above!

Amazing scenery! Glaciers, rivers, mountains... all the above!

Celebrating 30 years of Jo.

Celebrating 30 years of Jo.

Practicing for my next career, in Biathlon.

Practicing for my next career, in Biathlon.

I have just arrived home from our first week on Eagle Glacier, and I am pretty excited to get a little "home" time. Even though I am back in the US for the training season, there is not a whole lot of "home". I am constantly zipping in and out, packing and repacking, cramming in life around our training and traveling schedule. I am pretty excited to get a good three weeks in town now, doing some consistent dryland training, and sleeping in my own bed. 

Erik, pretty excited as we head up in our "mountain taxi". Thanks to Alpine Air, we always get delivered and picked up safely to our little "heaven" up in the mountains!

Erik, pretty excited as we head up in our "mountain taxi". Thanks to Alpine Air, we always get delivered and picked up safely to our little "heaven" up in the mountains!

I have been struggling with some angry bone spurs, but luckily I was saved by one of the boys on our team who had an extra big boot for me to wear for the week! Thanks Jack Novak! Sometimes you have to get creative in order to make the training work…

I have been struggling with some angry bone spurs, but luckily I was saved by one of the boys on our team who had an extra big boot for me to wear for the week! Thanks Jack Novak! Sometimes you have to get creative in order to make the training work..!

One of those perfect sunny days where the training can't get any better! Eric Packer photo.

One of those perfect sunny days where the training can't get any better! Eric Packer photo.

Our young APU rookie, Anna Darnell, doing some amazing training this week!

Our young APU rookie, Anna Darnell, doing some amazing training this week!

I am pretty lucky to have an team of woman to train with! It makes the kilometers and hours so much more fun!

I am pretty lucky to have an team of woman to train with! It makes the kilometers and hours so much more fun!

Thanks to everyone for all the cheers this past season, and all the encouragement! I have just transferred over to my new website, and am back on the regular blogging schedule. Check back in every few weeks this summer to follow along.

Is this summer goal possible? Follow along to see....

Is this summer goal possible? Follow along to see....

Tour de Tough Stuff

I am finally able to start functioning and using my brain again after the challenging finish to our 2015-2016 season. The fourth period of this season, the World Cup field finally came to our side of the ocean and competed in eight days of racing over twelve days spanning from eastern Canada to western Canada. Starting on March 1st, we pushed our bodies more than ever before! 

Flyingpoint Photo 
First time to ever wear bib #1. Reese Brown/SIA Nordic photo.
Canada made quite the showcase of events throughout the tour! Ranging from racing in the city, racing beside the St. Lawrence River, racing through city parks, racing in front of parliament buildings, and then finishing by racing on what I consider to be the hardest courses in the world, in Canmore, Alberta. 

The Tours daily events included:
Day 1- Skate city sprint in Gateneau, jump in the bus and travel to Montreal.
Day 2- Montreal distance classic race in the city park, jump in the bus and travel to Quebec City.
The start in Montreal. Reese Brown photo/SIA Nordic

Day 3- Day off, check out Quebec City courses.
Day 4- Skate sprint in Quebec City throughout the Plains of Abraham and in front of the Parliament Building.
Day 5- Distance skate race throughout the Plains of Abraham. Jump in bus and travel to Montreal for early flight to Calgary.
Day 6- Flight to Calgary and drive up to Canmore.
Day 7- Check out Canmore courses.
Day 8- Canmore classic sprint race.
Day 9- Canmore skiathlon distance race. 
Day 10- Day off… try to spend as much time in bed as possible to recover for final push!
Day 11- Canmore distance skate race.
Day 12- Canmore distance classic race.
Day 13- ….. HIT THE WALL!

Thanks to JP for working so hard the whole year, and this whole tour- and most importantly, always showing up with a smile! (Reese Brown photo).
As you can see from this schedule, there was a whole lot of pushing your body, a whole lot of travel, and not very many opportunities for recovering. Thank god for ice baths and our wonderful PT's and massage therapists on tour, Ana, Steph and Meg!

Wax Room "wild". Thanks to this awesome huge team of waxers!
 I have always loved the tour format of racing, in fact it is my favorite kind! When you have so many races in a row, you have endless opportunities to improve on the day before. Whether you are disappointed, or excited; you put all emotions in your pocket and prepare for the next day. Much like the toughest weeks of training in the summer, you fool your brain into feeling no pain and decide that feeling exhausted is the new "good" 
feeling!
Reese Brown/SIA Nordic photo.
Having completed my first Tour de Ski this winter, I thought I was going into the Tour de Canada fully prepared. Little did I know how much of a difference it was going to make to be at the end of the season, and already be in an exhausted place going into it. For that reason, I had to be more "mentally tough" than ever before! I am going to share a few of the "mental battles" I experienced throughout these twelve days, just to give a little feel for this "Canadian Tour de Tough Stuff"

1. Weather- The first part of the tour in the east threw us some incredibly cold conditions with even colder wind blowing off the river. Having sent most of my long underwear home after not using it all winter… we weren't' particularly prepared for this. In Montreal, I froze my legs to the point that I wasn't able to get them to work at the end of the race… a lesson learned the hard way. On the other hand, conditions were unbelievably warm in Canmore! My bikini would have been more useful than my race suit!

Keeping warm on a freezing cold Quebec day. 
Quebec City Sprint on a cold day! (USSA photo)
2. Traveling- Each new stop on the tour had an interesting travel linking it. Whether that meant patiently waiting on a bus that doesn't leave on time, or eating bagged lunches, or checking in 300 people in the airport, each with three pieces of luggage in order to head west… it was always a scene, and required patience! The important thing to remember was that we were all in the "same boat", therefore, relaxing was the best thing you could do.

3. Illness- Staying healthy during tours can often be the biggest battle. Racing day after day, and traveling in between weakens your body. I have had the best success so far by thinking about "fueling". That means eating and drinking more than enough. By day six of the tour, you can sometimes feel hungry all hours of the day. My favorite trick is to always have "night snack" before going to bed. A bowl of cereal, some toast, muffins, etc. Anything to give you a little extra so you don't wake up starving the next morning!

4. Mental Stamina- more so than the Tour de Ski, this tour required mental stamina. Everyone's muscles and bodies were exhausted by day four! It has been a long season of racing hard, so we were all feeling it. The final four days of this tour required true mental stamina. In my mind, it wasn't about the muscles anymore…. but about how willing you were to convince your brain you could keep pushing!
 
battle zone post stage 8... thats what it looks like to give it your all! (Jessie Diggins photo)
Jessie rescuing me after giving it my all for the day! (Flyingpoint photo).
5. Studying- Getting my school work done was a particular challenge during this tour. With so much "focus" on the course, and travel in between…. I just wanted to be able to turn my brain and focus off when I came back to my room to rest. I had to have some serious motivation these past twelve days to keep pushing on with studying during my few breaks from skiing. In a way, I feel like I did a Tour de School as well!

6. Rest and Recovery- resting and recovering in a way gets harder by the day. As your body learns that you are on "go", it can sometimes forgets to turn off. The last few nights of these tour events, I often stop sleeping at night. I feel like I am constantly wired with coffee or energy… because I am working so hard to stay in "fight mode." That is why taking advantage of the rest and recovery early seems to pay off by the end!

Steph and Ana working on us before sprint heats.
7. Course Profile- Many of the course profiles were a bit different than what we are familiar with racing in Europe. Super long sprint races combined with super challenging and high altitude courses in Canmore threw us all for an "exhausted loop". By the time racers were hitting the finals in the sprint races, it was resembling the finish of a 15k race!
A challenging course and a challenging day in Montreal! (Reese Brown/SIA photo).
Sprinting on the worlds hardest classic sprint course. USSA photo.
8. Selfish Sadie- That's what I have to call myself during these tour events. With such a "battle", you have to look out for yourself. When you feel tired, you need to rest (despite feeling bad about it). When you feel hungry, you need to find food. In an odd way, you turn into a machine… where you truly listen to yourself. Unfortunately this sometimes leaves you feeling bad for being anti-social, and glued to your bed!

Just making it to the finish line was one of my greatest achievements so far in this sport. Two tours in one season, a full world cup season, and fighting for every last race…. it was a big battle! I wasn't particularly thrilled with my last race of the tour, but there wasn't a second that I gave up in my brain, and as I lay on the ground for possibly five minutes trying to catch my breath, I was proud! I may have missed the top 10 by five seconds- but I gave it my all! There will always be things you can't control on a certain day, and there will be some "boo-boo's",  but I am proud that I fought full force and made it to the finish!

One of my favorite moments from the tour was racing 10k behind Kalla and trying to learn how to skate like the best. (Reese Brown photo).
With that, I am excited to have finished my first full World Cup Season ranked 14th overall, 14th on the overall distance standings, and 14th on the overall sprint standings. It was a goal of mine to become a more consistent racer, able to fight for a podium any given day. Although I may not have gotten that individual podium yet, I made the consistency step, and I am ready to come back next year prepared to fight for some podiums! In the meantime, number 14 may just be my lucky number for the next eight months!

Thanks to everyone who made this season possible and so wonderful for me! My sponsors, my team, my coaches, my wax tech, my family, and all my wonderful friends sending cheers all winter! You have helped make it an incredible winter!
One of my favorite text messages from Pete after I won the qualifier in Quebec.
I am now on a plane, headed for Vermont to complete the last four Spring Nationals races of the season. This will be a 10k skate, Classic Sprint, Team Relay, and a 30k Classic.

The Casts and Swells of Ski Racing

I just finished a book about lighthouses, storms and ocean waves… so it is hard to not think about the reference when I look back on this last period of racing and think about the casts and swells of waves. These past three weeks I have been on a "Scandinavian Tour." Following a little training period in France three weeks ago, I started my final push of racing in Europe for the season. With lots of travel, lots of racing, and not a whole lot of rest… this was one of the more challenging periods. 
Enjoying the amazing Holmenkollen scene!
Taking some time to get to know some amazing people fighting against the cancer battle.
Jessie and I living out of the sauna... dreaming of my closet at home :)
This season has been longer and more intense than in the past. Having completed my first Tour de Ski, and starting all but four World Cup races this season, I have had to keep my brain "focused to fight" far more than ever before. It is incredible the amount of focus that it takes to race 40 times in four months… and be at your absolute, absolute best! Inevitably, things are going to swing a little bit. I realized pretty quickly this past period that letting your brain sleep for just one second throws you off track pretty quickly. 

Doing some ski testing in Stockholm with my amazing and silly tech, JP. (Erik B photo)
Always a crazy transition to be sprinting on snow in the middle of the streets! Stockholm was a really neat experience!

Back in school means back to the life of going straight from the trail to studying!
With a variety of challenges faced including challenging snow, challenging conditions, challenging skis, and challenging courses- I have had a huge sway and cast of belief in these past three weeks. In the course of three days I can go from feeling on top of the world to missing out on qualifying on a sprint course that would generally be one of my greatest strengths. The second your train goes "off track", it is hard to believe how easy it is to continue on the path of destruction. Your confidence becomes rattled, your belief gets punched in the face, and you start to question everything. With some ups and downs in my racing these past three weeks, it has been so fun to learn how to "ride the casts and swells"... and keep my train going in my own direction. Sometimes I feel like I am learning a new lesson every day on this journey! 


As an athlete, you are judged on your "success" on the daily. You either perform, or you don't. What went wrong and what went right never shows up on a result sheet… and frankly doesn't really matter at the end of the day. Maybe your closest followers will watch a video and see you crashed during a sprint. Or maybe your wax tech will know that your skis weren't perfect that day. And maybe your coach will see that that extra set of intervals that week took the little edge off of you… but the result sheet doesn't show that. Therefore, as an athlete you have to get darn good at finding your own silver lining. You have to absorb the emotions of not only yourself, but all the others around you. As part of a team, some of your teammates are going to be standing on the podium weekend after weekend… some are going to be scoring their very first World Cup points, and some are going to be disappointed beyond belief. Through all these emotions, expectations, pressure, and feelings…. you have to sort out your own path. To me, this has meant finding my sliver lining.

A fun little reminder (Jennie Bender inspired).
Soph and I lost a bowling bet... so we had to wear our racing attire to dinner one night.
So, I am going for it! I am on a plane right now, headed back to the states. With a short five day break in Vermont at one of my friends house, I am going to rest my brain and body a bit and come back for redemption for this Tour de Canada. With eight races in eleven days spanning from Quebec, all the way over to Canmore, Alberta… it is going to take an enormous amount of energy and focus! I couldn't be more excited to have some World Cup racing on our side of the ocean, and to be able to share this unique and amazing experience with friends and family. 

Packing my bag to head back to North America
A lot of luggage, a lot of skis, and a lot of waxing equipment means an expensive trip back overseas!
Here is the schedule of races for anyone that wants to follow. There should be the usual broadcasting on Universal Sports as well as on www.crosscountryski.us

March 1- Gatineau Skate Sprint
March 2- Montreal 13k Classic Mass Start
March 4- Quebec City Skate Sprint
March 5- Quebec City 10K Pursuit Start Skate
March 8- Canmore Classic Sprint
March 9- Canmore 15k Skiathlon
March 11- Canmore 10k Skate
March 12- Canmore 10k Classic Pursuit Start

Let's get this Canadian Tour party started! Welcome to North America World Cup racers!

Resting and Recovering

I think of the TDS as the halfway point. It is the big "mountain in the middle", where you build a lot leading into it, and then you build a lot leading out of it. In order to keep things going strong though, there is a certain amount of rest and recovery that has to happen after eight races in ten days with a lot of travel in between. 

This year my rest and recovery sort of came in two parts. Directly following the Tour de Ski, I headed to Sieser Alm for ten days of high altitude recovery. Following the tour, I picked up a small cold that seemed to hang on for much too long, so I was doing more than my fair share of resting and recovering. In a time when some may find it stressful to miss training, I was taking advantage of the extra rest that I realized my body must have been asking for.

Sun and sleds for Liz's birthday.
Jessie and I resting, in the form of dancing under the sun.
Seiser Alm treats us really well with some delicious food!
Some amazing crust cruising!
I was lucky in that Jo got to take some time off of work and come and visit for a few days. He encouraged me to not only take the physical rest, but also take the mental rest and throw on some "fatter skis" and use gravity to my advantage. On one of those PERFECT Italian sunny days, we skied the Sela Ronda Tour, a big 30+ kilometer tour around a big beautiful chunk of rocks. It starts in Val Gardena, one of the many alpine downhill World Cup stops- and then circles around from there.

Keeping up with Jo on my nordic skis
A funny little bar mid-tour.
Sela Ronda
The big rocks we were circling around.
Believe it or not, this guy is a pretty good nordic skier!

After the 10 days of heaven, I jumped back on the World Cup Tour and headed for Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. Having done not very much training, and no intensity at all, I was feeling a little "intimidated" jumping into the World Cups in Nove Mesto. On saturday, I gathered my head and my mind back together and put together my best ever 10k skate race! It was a good reminder that things don't always need to go perfectly. Often when your body is shutting down, it is in fact smarter than you think…. and it must need the rest!

So fun to have Chelsea on the road with us- here she is on her birthday.
Rosie and I enjoying a little sun before the big snowstorm arrived.
A perfect Czech sunset!
The following day only continued in excitement. I think it is safe to say relay days are many of my teammates favorite races. Unfortunately, we were missing our 8th woman, so we were only able to start one of our relays. With a new team that we hadn't tried yet, Sophie Caldwell lead the race out. She did an incredible job, and proved to the world, and herself, she is not just a sprint racer. From there, things continued in a perfect direction, and we managed to finish second, our best ever relay finish ever! As Jessie crossed the line, we celebrated in our new achievement, but also celebrated in our new belief. Every weekend our team learns to "believe in ourselves" more, and take more chances! The spirit is high, the excitement is high, and the belief is extremely high! Not only are we having tons of fun, but we have learned to push ourselves and not fear chasing those Norwegians. As I watched our boys fight up until the final climb for a medal themselves in the relay, I got goosebumps! I am so excited and lucky to be part of this team we are building now!

Second Place! Nordic Focus photo
Striding and gliding! Nordic Focus photo
Stoked on smiles!! Nordic Focus photo.
From the Czech weekend of World Cup's, I jumped back on the plane and headed for France, my final "training break" of the season. Jo got to take another week off of work, so we headed to a new place, Les Saisies, France. I had never skied here before, and I have only heard wonderful things, so I decided to check it out. We had an amazing week of training and preparing for the final push of the season. Somehow we were lucky enough to have sunshine almost the entire time, which made for some perfect tracks, and amazing views. Les Saisies is just beside Mont Blanc… so the scenery was almost distracting sometimes. I finished the week feeling fully rested, recovered and ready to rally this final period of European racing. It is hard to believe in only three weeks, I will be jumping on a plane back to the US to prepare for the final Tour de Canada!

Good morning Mont Blanc!
Some beautiful tracks.
Jo enjoying some "ski in- ski out" from our cabin.
The Pierra Menta during one of our backcountry adventures.
Some beautiful terrain!

Jo, teaching his little "hot potato" to ski.
Mandy, Robin, and Uncle Jo :)

Dear France. Thank you for bringing winter! Yours truly.
Until then, I am jumping on the airplane, enroute to Oslo, for some of my favorite races of the year! Drammen and Holmenkollen, here we come!

8 Goals, 10 Lessons, in 4 Varieties

I am just finally sitting down to rest, recover, and review one of the more exciting and challenging things of my life, the Tour de Ski. Much like the Tour de France, with an added amount of travel, the goal of this event is to test who is the toughest and fittest over the course of eight races in ten days across four venues throughout Europe. Having participated in this event last year for the first four races, and then dropping out… I must say I didn't really realize what I was getting myself into! The second half of the tour is when things start getting extremely challenging, so I was in for a surprise this year! I am going to share a few little fun facts about this "big battle" I just finished a few days ago.
Mission Accomplished- Top of the final climb. (Zuzana Rogers photo).
8 Goals-
1. This summer I set a goal for myself to complete my first Tour de Ski, and finish in the top 15. 

USSA photo.
2. Attack the skate races of the tour like they were my strength.

Sticking on Jessie like glue in one of the skate races.. Nordic Focus photo
3. Never let the disappointment from one race bleed into the following day's race. Every day is a fresh day.
4. Stay healthy. Traveling sometimes 6 hours between venues directly after your race truly tests your immune system and even patience sometimes… so staying healthy is key!
Packed, and ready to rally to the next venue!
5. Be diligent with my ski testing. Even though I am tired, and the waxing crew is tired, spend the extra ten minutes to really dial my skis, and not just cross my fingers and hope I made the right decision.
6. Fuel enough. Again, ten days of intense efforts means you need to pay attention to eating enough. When you become really rushed to travel to the next venue, or you arrive home and you are dog tired…. you have to remember to fuel well… because it's the only way to survive.
7. Focus on Recovery- Ice bath, massage, morning and afternoon jogs, drinking lots of fluid. In order to keep performing, I had to focus on this all day every day.

Rain suited and ready for a seriously rainy day mid-tour.
8. Stay positive during that final climb. There are only a dozen people on the World Cup Tour that were loving every second of that uphill climb… and I am not one of them. For that reason, it was my goal to stay positive in my head and never give up.

10 Lessons-
1. Pack light. Just as you unpack your bag, you are repacking to travel to the next venue… therefore having a specific "tour bag" that only has the racing necessities is key.

Living out of the tour bag.
2. Always keep your eyes up. Some days you will have amazing races, where you can't stop thinking about them. Other days you will have terrible races, and you can't stop thinking about them. But, during the tour, you have to move on to the next race, because the train keeps moving, and if you jump off, you may just miss out! I struggled with this on day one. I had one of my best sprint races ever, and missed out on making the finals by a photo finish. I had lunged too early, and that was the end of it. I spent that night not sleeping, because I just kept replaying the last fifteen seconds of that semi-final in my head. Full of adrenaline and excitement… I forgot to relax, and waisted too much energy. I realized pretty quickly that wasn't going to fly, and I just needed to look forward.

Not your most impressively timed lunge. (Nordic Focus photo).
Sprinting for the line in the semi's. (Nordic Focus photo)
3. Sleep isn't everything, but rest is. For ten days I had more nerves than maybe ever before. Right away my sleep started to suffer. I spent the first three nights of the tour wide awake in bed.. but never stressed about it. I realized that rest was the key, but that sleep would come when it needs.
4. Be patient with my recovery. While the first three days I may not have realized it, my body started getting tired quickly. Being proactive about body work, ice bathing, jogging in the morning or evening to move your muscles. All of these things become exponentially important as the tour goes on.
5. When in doubt, sit down. I am a person that loves to run around and be active between races. I had to learn this tour that I needed to focus on resting my legs when I wasn't racing. So, I spent more time in bed than normal, and avoided running around as much as possible.
Rosie, Jessie and I doing some cheering on the final day.
6. Challenge and disappointment will strike, so be ready. I had a really challenging two days in Obersdorf, Germany. The first day was a classic sprint that I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately, I took a huge tumble on one of the big downhills and slammed into the boards, scrubbing all my speed and losing a significant amount of time. I jumped back up and raced to the finish line… but falling in a sprint does not allow for qualifying. After some big disappointment, I went home and enjoyed some extra rest. Then, on day two during the 10k classic mass start, I really struggled with my skis, and dug extremely deep to finish! While frustration overtook my brain in that race, I kept reminding myself that every second counted in this tour, and I kept pushing. I crossed the line in a heap of pain and exhaustion… only to fall back in my overall placing on the tour more significantly. In two races that I would have normally looked forward to so much, I wasn't able to reach what I wanted… and that was my first lesson about dealing with disappointment during the tour… just stop thinking about it!
Obersdorf classic skiing with Jess. (Marcel Hilger photo)
pre-tumble photo. (Marcel Hilger photo)
7. Teammates allow you to dare to dream. During this tour, two of my teammates stood on the top of the podium during the week! It was amazing, and beyond exciting. But if there is one thing to learn from seeing that, it is the confirmation that you need to dare yourself to dream. You can't just hope and wait. These two girls took a chance, believed in themselves, and they got there. While Kikkan taught us that early one, these girls are continuing the tradition. As I watch them, I believe in myself, and take my own chances in races. Pushing a little harder than I think is possible!

Soph in Obersdorf winning her first World Cup. (Marcel Hilger photo).
Jess and I pushing each other early on in the tour- using a little teamwork! (Nordic Focus photo).
We are really lucky to have this team! Dagbladet of Norway wrote an article about us:
http://www.dagbladet.no/2016/01/08/sport/idrett/ski/langrenn/tour_de_ski/42661693/
(Dagbladet photo).
8. The staff is everything! The PT's, the Massage Therapists, the Coaches, and the Wax Crew are the people making our world go round. They are constantly working to make sure everything is perfect, finding the wax day after day. By the end, everyone is dog tired, but the staff are everything! Huge thanks to these guys!
JP and Noah making a ski testing plan for the following day. Thanks JP for putting your heart and sole into making the best possible skis for us! We are lucky to have you part of our team!!
9. You can't listen to your body. After about day four, my muscles and brain started screaming "help". Everything become tired, achy, and stiff. But if there is one lesson about the tour that I realized, it is that you can't pay attention to a single feeling. Instead, you just start the race, and imagine you are fresh. This is the best way to ensure that you are giving it your best every day.

Marcel Hilger photo
Mega pain train post race!!
10. Set some goals- I set many little goals for myself during this tour. This summer I set the goal to not only finish, but to finish in the top 15… and I chased that to the end. I also set a goal to be top 10 in a skate race in Toblach. Every day I had a little goal for myself to encourage me to keep pushing in those races that were maybe my weakness, or the races that I knew were going to be a challenge. This allowed me to keep me on my toes, and keep me fighting.

Nordic Focus photo.


4 Varieties-
The cool thing about this tour is that it included all types of cross country skiing for a combined score at the end!
1. Both short and long distance (5 kilometers- 15 kilometers)
2. Both skate and Classic
3. Sprint Racing
4. Skiing up an alpine slope… uphill climbing

Cheering on Erik near the top of the hill climb.
Rosie and I enjoying some ice cream after completing the big battle.
Holy cow, what a fun experience. I can't wait until the next! I feel like I learned a season of lessons, and got a season of experience. I want to say another big thanks to the staff for making this possible for all of us! We are lucky to be able to participate in an event like this, and we are only able to compete because of the help we are given!

The Team behind THE TEAM! (Zuzana photo). 
HUGE THANKS to Zuzana Rodgers and Meg Parker for coming over and helping during this intense time. These woman worked their butts off all day!! 

From here, I have some resting and recovering up in Seiser Alm before jumping back onto the World Cup in 10 days for some relay racing in Nove Mesto!

The Christmas Traverse

For the past three years, I have been spending the Christmas holiday in France with my boyfriend and his family.Since the Tour de Ski starts so closely after the holidays, it doesn't make sense to fly back to the US, and then turn around right away and fly back to Europe. So, in order to stay healthy and best prepared for racing, I have made it a tradition to join my French family instead.

Christmas Fireworks with the Maubets
Enjoying some high mountain adventures on a search for snow.
The first couple years were always hard for me, simply because the French holiday traditions are not quite the same. And when something feels different, it becomes really easy to feel lonely and homesick. But, I have realized that I have started to adjust. I just rock out to my own Christmas tunes when I go training, and have learned to really enjoy the French Food, and the Pére Noël's (Santa Clause's) different traditions. The French still decorate un sapin de noël avec des garlands et des boules. (A Christmas tree with lights and bulbs) The French also still give lots of cadeaux and love. I used to say that being away for Christmas was the hardest part of what I do… which I still agree with, but I have realized I have it pretty darn good! While I may be away from home, I am not away from family. I get to spend a few weeks away from the "focus" of ski racing, and recharge my soul with some boyfriend and family time. Jo's family and friends around Hauteville and Meribel have taken me in as if I am their own. I am incredibly lucky in fact, because I am surrounded by family overseas. While I miss the perfect skiing in the Methow Valley, and being with my parents and sister, I will be back there after ski racing!

Jo and I on Christmas Eve.

Jo's father making the US Ski Team badge look good!
My new skis, ready for chasing Jo in Valdez.
Jo, Diane and the goat on our tropical Christmas hike.
This Christmas break, things felt like a little bit of a traverse. First, we finished out final races in Toblach, Italy… so it was a bit of a long traverse back to France with Marine and Erik (9.5 hours including our minor GPS detour issues). Following that, it was a constant "traverse" to find some snow around Meribel. Unfortunately Europe hasn't really received any snow this year. We have spent all of our time chasing man-made snow around in order to get our training and racing in. So, things continued this way for the Christmas Break. So, I enjoyed some good promenades in the forest hiking and running (taking a break from chasing the snow). Snow was thin, so I took as few 1 kilometer double pole laps as possible. 

A little refuge in the mountains during my ski in Champagny.
Doing some of my training on the alpine slopes. Skiing down with Jo and the kids, and skiing back up afterwards.... creative training.
Having some fun hiking in the mountains.
perfect hiking conditions.
Jo and his amazing Christmas clients.
The new biathlon involving alpine skiing and shooting.
After five days in the "ski instructors palace" in Meribel, I headed on the train, and took a traverse towards Villard de Lans, home of my brother's girlfriend and her family. So, lucky for me, I got to celebrate a second Christmas with them, and enjoy some skiing in Autrans. Autrans is a little town, only twenty minutes from Marine's home, and it has some of the most fun skiing around central Europe. It also happens to have maybe some of the most kilometers at this time to ski on.. maybe 15k? It is impressive, all 15 kilometers are packed with people. It is more people in one place then I have ever seen at a nordic ski area. One thing is for sure, skiing is pretty popular in the Vercors! (The region around Villard de Lans)

A dream ski chasing Marine.
Smiles and sunshine all around!
Autrans traffic controller.
From here, we will take our final traverse back to "ski racing" tomorrow and the start of the famous Tour de Ski. The Tour will be starting in Lenzerheide, Swizerland… about a 6.5 hour traverse from here. I am feeling pretty excited and ready to do this Tour de Ski battle. 8 races in 10 days, in 3 different countries. Fun times to come!

Thanks to all my wonderful French family for making this holiday enjoyable despite it being a brown Christmas. And thanks to all my family back home for blowing many kisses overseas! Now, please send your snow too!!


Tour de Ski…. here we come! 

Rocking Out With Our Socks Out!

Last weekend has already formed into a blur of excitement in my mind. Saturday was the 15k pursuit, where we ski 7.5 kilometers of classic, then switch mid-race into our skate gear, and finish off the race with 7.5 kilometers of skating. Pursuits have never been a huge "favorite" of mine, but on the same token, I LOVE the challenge of them. Because I have always been a stronger classic skier, it becomes a mental battle out there for me as I switch from my stronger suit, to my weaker suit. I can tell you, there are a whole lot of "voices talking in my head" for the second half of the race. I have had some great pursuit races, and I have had some horrible ones.... but I never seem to form a love or hate relationship with the event. Instead, I look at this silly event as mental training. So, saturday's event was another "in-between" feeling. For the first time in my life, I felt like I struggled during the classic leg, and then started to have fun during the skate leg. Why not switch things up every once in a while?
Thanks to my French Technician, JP, for working hard preparing skis for me!
Noah and I making a plan with JP for testing and preparing skis for race day... testing out the yoga bosu balls for attentiveness.
Liz doing an ice-tub for recovery while doing a skype interview at the same time... multi-tasking at its finest!
The second after I finished the pursuit race though, my heart was in a new place. The 4x5 relay. Our women's team has made this event a huge focus over the years. Ever since the girls won their first medal in Gällivare four years ago, we have gotten a little taste of the pie! We know that it is possible, but we know that it isn't any small achievement. Even heading into the 2014 Olympics, we saw ourselves as medal favorites... but the day didn't work out right. During the 2013 World Champs, we came in 4th. During the 2015 World Champs, we came in 4th again. Although we have "just missed" that medal many times, our hearts are all set on this goal, year-around! We talk about it every camp, we focus on it during training, and we all visualize ourselves stepping onto that podium afterwards. It is a HUGE goal and a HUGE focus of our nine person US Women's Team.

The Kikkan Randall new addition- our team cheering socks!
Which is why Sunday became so special! I like to call it "rocking out with our socks out"! It is a tradition on our women's team to not only paint our faces, braid our hair, and get our american spirit on- but we also pull out our "special socks" on relay day. It is a huge honor on that day to "rock the socks", and you know when you put them on, you are representing the team. A team event is unique, because instead of representing the talent of one successful individual, it represents the collective effort of a group. It represents the work ethic, the vibe, and the belief of a collection of people. Sometimes that vibe will be on fire, and sometimes it won't. When you put those socks on though, you are "rocking out with your socks out" for everyone.... so you better dig just a little deeper, honey! That's when the voices in your head get even louder... but you also have company. You have the voice of all your teammates talking to you, coaxing you on, and believing in you.
It takes a team! (Not pictured- Julia Kern, Katharine Ogden, and Caitlin Gregg)
As Sunday worked out, it was a roller-coaster of ups and downs. With icy tracks, and ripping fast downhills.. most of us went from feeling amazing to feeling terrified. At times I surged far too hard to chase down every second towards the teams in front of me... and other times I held on for dear life waiting for a mini- recovery down the hill. Lillehammer is unique in that I see it as one of the hardest courses in the world. There is little to nothing as far as recovery, and it seems you are either going straight uphill, or jetting down a terrifyingly fast downhill. It is brutal! So, throughout the course of the four legs, Rosie, Liz, Jessie and myself all experienced some swings! Some good moments, and some bad. Magically though, we were able to keep fighting when we fell behind, and we were able to chase harder than ever! With the collective effort of the four of us, Jessie had an incredible last leg to cross the line in 3rd. As she let out a cry of joy, we all shared some goosebumps, hugs, and a few tears. Yes, we can do it! Yes, we believe it. And, yes, WE DID IT!

Jessie's cry of joy- Nordic Focus Photo
Screams of excitement- Getty Images, Cornelius Poppe
Joining the podium
Big thanks to US Women's Coach, Matt Whitcomb, for leading this charge!! Marc Rohde photo
Don't you worry, we have our eyes set on more though! We are gunning for the top. Although Norway safely finds themselves there, it doesn't always happen! In Sochi, they were touchable. On Sunday, we didn't all have our perfect 5 kilometers... which is the exciting part. There is more of where that came from. Look out January... we will be ready to "rock out with our socks out" for the Nove Mesto relay!
Our huge hunk of cheese we won for 3rd place.
We have just now arrived in Davos, Switzerland- which is the next stop for the World Cup. There isn't a whole lot of snow here, but there is a 5k manmade loop at the moment, which will do the job. It sure is nice to see some sunshine and mountains around!

If you missed the races from this weekend, here is a video summary:



Thanks to everyone for all the congratulatory emails and cheering! It means the world to all of us! Go Team USA! And if you missed it, check out the men's relay! Those boys are on the hunt, and they are not far behind. So good to see them fighting and believing!
Erik, with his lost and found World Cup Trophy, which we re-awarded to him for having the fastest classic leg of the day!