Glacier Camp 1

I just returned from my first week of on snow training up on Eagle Glacier, about 40 miles outside of Anchorage, and 6000 feet up from the city. We were scheduled to helicopter up last monday, but due to some crazy weather and bad flying conditions, we were postponed until tuesday afternoon. Finally a little hole opened and we were able to zip up to the mountains on one of Alpine Air's helicopters. 

Looking down on Girdwood and the ocean from our house.

For six days I lived the "eat, sleep, train" life up on the glacier with 16 other APU athletes. From the second I was dropped off from the helicopter that first day, I spent the next six days in a sort of awe/daze. It was unbelievable to me that we could jump in a helicopter at sea level, and five minutes later live like we were in the middle of the winter.

the youngest bunch of the team.

The weather was a little funky most the time- rain/hail/snow mixed with super strong winds, which made for some hard core training. I spent the entire week in my rain jacket with exception to one day when the sun came out. When the sun did shine though, it really couldn't have gotten better! There is nothing like skiing in a t-shirt and seeing mountains for miles and miles.

Mountains and more mountains!

 It was actually good it was only sunny one day, because I would get so distracted looking around and snapping pictures constantly that I would forget that I was supposed to be skiing.

Erika and I soaking in some vitamin D

Our two interval days were by far the worst weather- which was a little ironic.  Nicely enough we were thinking about going hard, so we were forgetting about the winds that you would occasionally need to duck down in order to keep yourself from blowing over, or the rain that seemed to soak you to the core within the first five minutes on snow. But at the end of the workout you always came in feeling like one hard core bad-ass! Our coach Erik was constantly reminding us these are the days that make the champions.

Amazing trails- thanks to Casey's bomb grooming!

The 16 athletes and the two coaches lived in this little house perched on the side of the glacier, right on the top of a huge cliff down to Girdwood. Living conditions are great up there.

Eagle Glacier Holiday Inn and Suites

 Plenty of drinking water, plenty of food, plenty of books and movies, and plenty of heat. The house has this sweet drying room set up where you hang your boots and all your clothes right when you walk in the door- and then everywhere else in the house stays dry and warm. 

brilliant drying system in the entry way filled with clothes and boots.

The upstairs has a bunch of bunk rooms that everyone lives in and then this little strength area where we knocked off some dead lift, squats and pull-ups halfway through the week. We spent a lot of time in those bunk rooms- sleeping 10 hours a night and 2 hour naps in the day.

my bunk room- we do make our beds sometimes

Our weight room designed for keeping up on the beach muscles!

One thing you have to get used to is sleeping in the light though. Perched on the top of a glacier in Alaska means it never gets dark at night! 

10 PM on our roof. Too excited about the blue sky to go to bed!

I have never realized how lucky it is to ski during the summer. It is just a nice way to break up all your dryland training and rollerskiing as well as keeping a constant check on your winter skiing technique. Erik spent a lot of time going over technique videos as well as filming out on the snow and reviewing during the day.

Erik working with other new team member, Reese Hanneman during training.

 I have never seen two people work their butts off so hard in my life. The coaches, Erik and Casey, were constantly on the run grooming, hauling gear around the glacier, talking with athletes, and fixing everything so everyone was comfortable. It was amazing to see how hard they worked, and how much fun they had doing it. Super great!

Klister, Klister and more Klister. Everything in this little waxroom is sticky!

Patrick Johnson busting out the kilometers- on average I think he passed me three times a day!

I am back in Anchorage training now for three weeks before I head up to the Glacier again for my last camp of the summer. Looks like I will be participating in the Alaska REG uphill time trial this friday so check for more updates. I have added some photos from the glacier- but more to come! I only took out my camera on the nice days- so don't let it fool you :)

Washington to Alaska Adventure

For the past five days my brother and I have been road tripping from Washington, across Canada, and up into Alaska. I must say, I now have a new appreciation for how far north Alaska is. A three hour flight over the ocean from Seattle to Anchorage just doesn't really define the reality of it.

Beginning of road trip

Sun roof allowing me to keep constant check on my bikes above.

Radar detector, CD's, rear view mirror that you can't see with because my car is so full... set to go!

The first night we didn't get very far, just across the canadian border where we visited one of my good friends in Summerland. I was set on spending the afternoon on Lake Okanogan because I figured it was the last time I was going to feel 90 degree weather like that in a long time!!! 

Lunch of a Road Tripin' CHAMP!

Summerland Sun

The next morning we woke up early and drove hard for 15 hours across B.C. to Fort St. John where we spent the night in a pretty sketchy one star hotel. We were there enough time to cook a bowl of canned chili in the microwave and get in six hours of sleep before we hit the road early again  for the 15 hour section to Whitehorse. From then we spent the next day relaxing in Whitehorse with another college buddy- walking around town and getting a workout in. It was super nice to have the day off after two long days of being cramped in the car.

One rule of thumb- when you see gas.... you get gas! Not many places to stop in the middle of no-where. Here a small gas station right as our gas light went on.

Lots of pretty views

Erik and I hanging out in the sun at Whitehorse

Soon enough we were back in the car for the last section of the trip- the 13 hours from Whitehorse to Anchorage. I was pre-warned about this section, so I had an idea of what was coming- but I didn't really realize the degree of craziness. Right before you cross the border, back into the US there is about a 100 mile section of huge frost heaves that could very possibly swallow your car. I actually couldn't even believe they considered it a road. It was almost as if a river ran down the middle of the road at one point. After the huge ruts and bumps, the next hour was on dirt roads, where they were doing a bunch of road construction. After driving the crazy bumpy pavement- the dirt road actually seemed like a relief.

Sign Post Forest. We actually found a Bjornson Street.

lots of wildlife right beside the road.

The trip was super long, but also very pretty. Lots of wildlife, lots of road construction, lots of RV's, lots of people living in the bush, and lots of open land.  I have to say one of the craziest things we saw during the trip was on the last day, when we were driving through the upper yukon, we passed a large native, walking a baby in a stroller down the side of the highway, with a huge gun wrapped around his back. If I wasn't scared of the man's intentions, I would have stopped and taken a picture- because it was sure a sight to see. I have come to realize there is a reason people are out in the bush- not necessarily a bad reason- just a reason... and its better to not ask.

Glacier we drove by near Anchorage

I have some pictures from the trip- Erik and I decided to randomly take pictures along the way. We were switching driving a lot, and Erik was too lazy to pull out the camera- so we missed some of the super cool sections.... but still some shots to explain the trip.

Lots of Road Construction!

Hanging out waiting for pilot car.

Oh yeah.... we hit a moose twenty miles from Anchorage on the way into town and crushed my car. It was raining hard and the dang thing came out from behind the overpass at a pretty good speed. Luckily neither of us were hurt.... but my car was. 2400 miles of road tripping... and the last twenty minutes "the shit hits the fan".  BIG BUMMER. I guess it makes for a good "You know your in Alaska when....." story. I took my car into the shop and it looks like it is supposed to take three to four weeks to fix. I suppose its back to the "These boots are made for walking".

And its off to my first Glacier camp with APU this weekend!

National Training Group

The past 9 days I have been training and hanging out in Park City, Utah for the National Training Group Camp. Earlier this spring 25 promising top U23 and Junior athletes were named to this group. This is a new addition to the US Ski Teams "Pipeline", and so far it has been super fun and beneficial. 6 girls and 9 boys traveled up, down, or across the US to join the ten days of training with the US Ski Team coaches. It has been tons of fun but super hard work. Many of these athletes I have never gotten a chance to train with during the summer, I just meet head to head with them on the race trails, so it has been fun training along side them. The coaching has been great as well. We have gotten lots of feedback on technique, training, and just simply our goals in the sport.

Me, Sophie and Kate working on Double Pole

It has been great to train along with Andy Newell and Liz Stephen. Just raises the bar a bit during training. Not only have I been training alongside top nordy athletes, but also other big shots. Yesterday I was walking backwards on the treadmill (an activity that seems to have no stress on my knee) while watching Ted Ligety speed squat what looked like three times his body weight. I also got to watch Lindsey Vonn, an incredible alpine skier, bust out various weight training exercises. It's funny how you make out these ski heroes to be these supernatural people- but then you train alongside or with them and they are normal humans. It sure has a way of firing you up!

Me, Sophie Caldwell and Kate Dolan on an OD workout.

The goal for this camp has been to "Improve our STRIKE rate", so it has remained very focused the entire time. Most days we have hit the pavement or the trails at 8:30, training for a couple hours before returning home for some down time, and then heading out again for an afternoon workout. After getting some dinner in, we return to the "Center of Excellence" for a meeting focused on various aspects of being a ski racer. These meetings have included talks from top athletes like Andy Newell, US Ski team nutritionists, Video Review, Relaxation and Visualization, World Cup Video Reviews, and Pipeline talks. 

Working on striding with the coaches.

In the ten days we have hit almost all angles of training. The camp started out with an uphill running time trail and then was followed four days later with a sprint race simulation. I have been struggling with knee issues so I had to replace all the running workouts with swimming. I used to be a racer during my younger years... but the long break has made me realize how hard of work it is. It is a great way to increase your upper body strength for sure! The rest of the workouts have either been distance, speed, strength or interval work. This morning I finally felt the fatigue catching up to me when we did a level three interval workout, 3x14mins around a loop in town. One more strength workout and then a distance workout in the morning before I head home to Washington for a couple of days.

Sophie and I

The weather has greatly improved over the course of the camp. The first couple of days were rainy and cold, so we have gotten overly excited about the sun coming out these past couple of days. Yesterday, on our afternoon off, we decided to lie by the pool for no more than an hour and came home a little more sunburnt than expected. Turns out you get burned, even when its cold out :) I am trying to soak up every last bit of sun and heat before I move up to Alaska next week.

Sophie, me and Alexa resembling tomatoes.

Another update will come as I get everything together for my drive up to AK next week. Until then.... keep the sun shining!

New Wax Supply

Thanks to Rita at Winthrop Mountain Sports for loading me up with some wax for the glacier. On the APU team, we are required to come up with our own waxing supplies for glacier camps and training while we are in Anchorage. With two week long camps of klister skiing every day while we are up on Eagle Glacier, that can add up to quite a bit. Rita was very generous and stocked me up with a nice range of waxes. 

I have lots of warm klisters.... so hope it stays warm up there!

Methow Valley

For the past two weeks I have been home in the Methow Valley training and doing construction work for my dad. It has been nice to spend some time with my parents and get some work in during this short 3 week transition period between training blocks.

I returned home from Alaska for 1 month in hopes of getting in some “real summer” but it sure appears I am in the wrong place. From what I hear Alaska is hogging all the sun. Normally I would be relieved when it rains in the Methow because it is always so warm and dry, but I am not experiencing those same feelings right now. In the past two weeks I think it has been dry maybe one or two days. Roller skiing in the rain gets old after about 1 day! Regardless, I have gotten in some good training and I have enjoyed being in the valley working out with my mom every day.

Next week I will take off for the “National Training Group” Camp in Park City, Utah. I just got an email from the coach today and looks like it will be a fun group of athletes and coaches. The schedule shows lots of rollerskiing, running, strength and a couple of time trials. Unfortunately I have been struggling with knee problems, so my activities will be a bit limited to rollerskiing, swimming, and ski walking. I leave on the 9th, so I will update when it all gets rolling in PC.

Until then.... keep up the sun dance- one of these days summer will decide to make an appearance. 

Training with the team

Yesterday we did a speed workout as a team out on Sand Lake. It was fun to work as a group and really notice the varying speeds throughout the terrain. Below is a video of us just finishing up a speed and then skiing easy up the hill. Kikkan, Katie, Holly, Fitz, Sadie and Taz.

SKI PHOTOS

Here are some photos from recent skis. Powerline Pass, Hill Top and Ship Creek Pass.

Getting some classic technique help from new coach Erik Flora.

top of ship creek pass- amazing views

Hand stand gone wrong. You can't quite tell but that is a steep hill and after a bit of a tumble and a fling over the rock I actually ended on my feet.

On top of the world!

Kate Fitz, Becca Rorabaugh and I.

Ski up powerline pass with the boys.

Exhausted.... 14 days in.

APU Startup Camp

The past month since I finished my racing season has been a whirlwind of events. The original plan was to spend the summer in Bozeman with my sister and train and work there before heading up to AK at the beginning of August to start school and training with APU. I spent three weeks in Bozeman starting a new job, moving into a new house, making new friends and training buddies, setting up a bank account, and finding the best training areas and gyms in town. I figured I was getting myself set up for a great summer. Turns out I was getting a bit ahead of myself. 

After talking to my new coach Erik Flora, we decided it was best I spent the majority of my summer in AK getting to know the team, the new coach, and the new training. May, June, and July are the most important months to do some really valuable training. So, after all was said and done I decided to spontaneously hop on a plane and come up to AK for three weeks of training. After these three weeks I plan to head back down to the lower 48 for about a month of "real summer" before I drive back up to AK at the end of June for good.

Last week was my first week of training with APU, which happened to be their annual "Startup Camp" Let me tell you, it was a true "start-up". Erik, my new coach, is a firm believer of getting back into the training right away. The least amount of fitness lost in this short resting period is the best. What this means is we started with a bang. After taking nearly a month of relaxing and "fun exercise" we got back into the grove of things. The first workout included a 90 second uphill test skate rollerskiing.  I happened to set a record high on my lactate level, and got a warm welcoming back into anaerobic training. 

The rest of the week we spent rollerskiing, crust cruising, snow skiing, swimming, running, strength training and biking. Workouts varied from sprint relays to level four intervals up "Wall Street" (a massive climb that goes up for about 10 minutes) to distance training to just general pain. I found myself hanging on to the group for dear life in several occasions but for the most part enjoyed the new team. The best quote of the week was Erik Flora standing on the top of the interval hill describing our workout as simply as "go like-a-hell". And that is exactly what we did. 

It is a great group of athletes on the APU team that are all doing the same as me- committing themselves to this sport. On the trails these guys are all business, but off the snow it is a fun bunch. Everyone is incredibly nice and helpful which makes it really easy to get along with them all. I am super excited for this new change. 

While skiing for the APU team, I will also be taking full time classes at the school. I signed up for fall courses a couple days ago- so its official! I was lucky enough to receive a full ride for tuition so I am super stoked about that. Back to the books for me.

I spend the next two weeks training here in AK before I head back down to Washington for a few weeks. I will then be attending a "National Elite Group" camp in Park City with the US team coaches for 10 days. Shortly after that I start the long drive up to Alaska- thats an adventure in itself.

Here are some pictures from our crust ski up Glen Alps above Anchorage. The first trip definitely was the best ski of my life. Unbelievable crust,  beautiful sunny day, a bunch of people ripping around. Couldn't ask for better!

Looking up the valley we skied up. 

Fitz and I on top of a massive hill- you can't quite tell that.

View down to Anchorage from above.

Girls team doing intervals.  Becca and I bringing up the rear.

Change of Plans- Alaska Pacific University

I have recently finished the most exciting year of my ski career and what a year it was! Thanks to everyone for the tremendous amount of support you all have contributed that made this possible. Besides traveling and living in Europe for nearly 2 months, I made some leaps and bounds as a ski racer. Starting early November, I was on the road racing constantly throughout the US, Canada and Europe. I am guessing from November 1^st to March 29^th, I slept in my own bed maybe 10 times. But this is not what truly defined my year. The steps that I made as a racer is the best way to describe what seems like a five-month leave of absence from the Methow Valley.

The first couple of months of racing were a bit of a struggle for me leaving me dismayed and with little confidence. Fortunately, I was able to get back on my feet and rebuild my strength throughout January allowing me to start feeling good. When things started rolling again I managed to post some of my best race results ever, and gain an incredible amount of international race experience with top skiers from around the world. The Methow and MOD was a great place for me to start this experience providing me with the coaching and support I needed to see the big picture of what it takes to be a world class racer. Taking my sophomore year of school off to train in the hopes of making the US Olympic ski team was my original idea but after moderating this plan I was able to focus my attention towards getting the experience I could to prepare me for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

While racing in Maine for the final races of the season, I was approached by the ski coach at Alaska Pacific University (APU).  He asked me to consider continuing my undergraduate education at APU while representing its world-class ski team. I was honored by being asked to join a team of world class competitors and after much thought and deliberation with my family and MOD, I have decided to accept this offer and continue to accomplish my dream of being one of the top skiers in the world. APU has one of the top ski development teams in the country and sent three athletes to the 2010 Olympics, one of whom is Kikkan Randall.  APU’s unique class schedule allows skiers to race during the winter and take large class loads during the spring and fall terms to meet their academic requirements.

Team APU crust cruising.

The next few years will be exciting, tough and rewarding for me.  It’s a challenge I look forward to meeting.  I appreciate all the support everyone has provided over the past years and hope you will continue to follow my racing.  It has been great to have so many people behind my goals and aspirations, cheering and helping along the way.

APU selling point ;)

School starts in mid-August and racing begins Mid-November.  I will be heading up to Alaska for good near the end of June to join the team. Stay tuned for more skiing.

Typical day of training with APU.

Season's Review- back to my own blog

I apologize to everyone for how long it has taken to get to this post. The past couple of weeks have seemed to go way too fast with all the decisions and new things that have been going on.

My season ended with the SuperTour Finals which were held in Fort Kent, Maine. In my opinion, there is no better way to describe this area of the US better than "the end of the world". You literally feel off the map when you are there. The town of Fort Kent runs parallel to a river which is the border between Canada and the US, so you are about as far north as you can go in Maine. As frustrating as this is on the 8 hour drive to get there, it was necessary for these races to be located somewhere like this the last couple weeks of March. It actually felt like full on winter during the week of racing when the temperatures were dropping below zero at times.

The week of racing went pretty well for me. The first race was the 8k mass start classic race, held on friday night. I got to practice my newly acquired night racing skills, as the woman didn't start their race until 5:00 PM. I was able to ski near the front of the pack for the majority of the race but ended up fading a bit in the last couple of kilometers. I was having to work extra hard because of some mediocre kick wax, so it started waring on me by the end when the pace picked up. Regardless it was a fun race and I came away feeling satisfied with my 8th place finish for the day.

Saturday was  a 1.4k classic sprint. The race that I was most excited for at this series of races. I felt like my sprinting had been gradually building throughout the season, so I was ready to test it out against the US skiers. In my qualifier round I finished 3rd, 2 seconds out from Ida Sargent, one of my closest competitors in sprinting this year, and 4 seconds out from Kikkan Randall. Kikkan finished 8th in the classic sprint at the Olympics previously this year, so I was feeling pretty good that I had closed some of the time gap since I last competed against her at Nationals in Anchorage. In Alaska she had managed to space herself 13 seconds ahead of me in the 1.4k course.  

Throughout the next three races that completed the elimination rounds I pushed hard and built throughout the day. My quarterfinal heat started with a hard bang and refused to back off until the three of us racing for 1st and 2nd positions crossed the line, posting the fastest quarterfinal heat. We then went on to the tightly packed semi-final heat, that pushed hard throughout the course posting again the fastest semi-final heat. Ida and I crossed the line 1st and 2nd, excited to challenge for the final. In all the sprinting that I have done yet this season, I have failed to be able to stay strong throughout the three elimination heats. The finals I always drop the plow and drag until the finish. So I was determined to change that with this last sprint of the season. I started hard, and tired a bit over the top of the hill where Holly Brooks managed to squeeze past- but still crossed the line in fourth. I did die down a bit, but this was by far the best I had ever held myself together for the finals. So as disappointed as I was to miss the podium, which I was so close, I was happy with my 4th place finish for personal goal oriented reasons. 

Sunday was my race I had been least looking forward to the entire week. A hill climb, the race that you ski up an alpine run. I decided it was best to not preview the course, and just go with the unexpected. I figured the less I knew, the better. The first two kilometers were normal terrain- rolling throughout the trees. We then made a hard left and started the death march up the mountain. I went into this race thinking it was better not to hold back any energy at the beginning, regardless I was going to be in a lot of pain and die as I hit the wall. So that is exactly what I did. As painful as the hill was, the end actually came sooner than I expected. I managed to be passed by three skiers on the way up, but held my top ten overall position until the end. I crossed the finish line in 8th overall for the mini series of races, the same place I had finished on the first day. As fun as it was to try this little climb up the alpine run, it is not my favorite type of race. I am glad we don't have to do many of those as nordic ski racers!

So with the conclusion of the Super Tour races, the season officially came to an end. This season has seemed long, starting racing early in November- but in many ways it felt like a break away season. Even though the first three months were far below where I would have like to ski, because of some mistakes with training early on, I felt like I learned a ton. I was able to make something of the last two and a half months of my season. Racing in Europe really opened my horizon on what is out there. Not only what is out there, but the fact that we can be there. If the US skiers commit to racing at this higher level, we can easily fight for podium positions. I know from the two months that I spent knocking heads on the OPA racing circuit this year, I gained an endless amount of not only experience and skills, but confidence. I am walking away from this season more excited and determined than I ever have, and am confident next year I can be right there.

Thanks to everyone that has made this year possible and offered their support in many various ways. You guys are making it possible- and I truly appreciate it!

Have a great Spring!