Life is Good

In the past three weeks I've enjoyed some much needed time off. In previous years, I have found that the best remedy for the after-season blues is to travel some where warm and sunny. This year, I found myself in the surf town of Malpais, located on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica with fellow ITA member, Zack Simons and some other friends. Now, I'm not much of a surfer but I gave it a good try until a shark was spotted on the third day! That was enough to scare me from going out in the waves. Instead, I enjoyed lounging on the beach and watching surfers from the sidelines.

Crystal and I soaking up the sun

My daily routine went a little like this: wake up, go for a little run on the beach, sip some coffee, head to the beach, seek shade by early afternoon, sip on a smoothie, head back to the beach, surf a little, enjoy the sunset, eat dinner, bed time! woa! It's surprising how a day of doing pretty much nothing can make you so tired!

A beautiful sunset!

A few mornings we were awakened to the sound of Howler Monkeys

The last few days of our trip, was spent in the central highlands of Costa Rica. When we arrived to the town of Monteverde, we were greeted with a much different climate, cold and rain. Luckly, I packed a pair of capri's and a raincoat! We enjoyed walking through the Monteverde Cloud Forest and saw several species of animals: monkeys, tarantulas, millipedes, tucans, the almost extinct quetzal, and a few other birds.

To end our trip, we went on a thrill clenching, nerve racking, extreme zipping, canopy tour. Now, there were several canopy tour companies to choose from but we picked the one with the most extreme sounding name, hence the name Extremeo Canopy Tours. This company had 14 zip lines, 1 rappel, and 1 Tarzan swing that took you through and over the canopy! The longest zip line was over 700 meters long and 500 meters high!!! I was a little scared at first, but then I decided not to think about what I was doing and just enjoy the view. To end out tour, they dropped us off a 10 meter high plank with a Tarzan rope attached and sent us flying on the rope. whew! I think that might have taken 10 years off my life.

Ready to go!

This isn't even the long one!

I am back in Sun Valley. It still feels like winter here, but I can tell that spring is just around the corner. With cooler temperatures and even some snowfall, I have been able to get out and ski, both cross-country and back-country. I took my nice, new, flip camera out for a try the other day with ITA member, Kate Whitcomb while we went back-country skiing. It was pretty fun!

Other than enjoying the outdoors, I've had a chance to help in the kids gym at the YMCA. I can't say that I work much... its more correct to say that I play in the kids gym. Kids never cease to get tired of guitar hero, the wii, or dance dance revolution. I have to say that my skills need a lot of improvement! Amongst the video games, we stay busy coloring, playing with play dough, playing board games, and climbing. There never seems to be a dull day at the kids gym. Its fun to be back and be involved with the kids at the YMCA.

For some reason, I am having troubles downloading my videos. Bummer! I will post another blog shortly with my videos.

Stay tuned!

Time for some Spring Fun!

Well, the 2007/2008 racing season has officially come to an end! I spent the last week of February and the first part of March training hard in Sun Valley for Canadian Nationals and U.S. Long-Distance Nationals.

I was really excited for Canadian Nationals, seeing as we were racing at the new 2010 Olympic venue in Whistler! This gave us a chance to check out the trails, see the layout of the venue, and experience some of the typical crazy weather in the Callaghan Valley. We were greeted with a great amount of snow when we arrived and it continued to snow the entire time we were there. After our visit to Callaghan Valley, we have come to learn that the fresh snow fall in the valley is very wet and heavy. This type of weather made the waxing a bit of a challenge. Despite having difficulty with my skis throughout the week, each race got a little better and I managed to be in the top-10 in the sprint race. I was pleased with the result, considering that I was racing against some of the top world cup sprinters in the event.

On the starting line in the Semi-final sprint heat.

After racing in Whistler, we headed to Fairbanks, Alaska for U.S. Long-Distance Nationals. We flew into Anchorage and enjoyed a beautiful, clear view of Mt. McKinley on the drive to Fairbanks. When we arrived in Fairbanks, we were greeted with some frigid temperatures that we hadn’t felt in a while. Temperatures hovered around 0 degrees in the morning but warmed up to a comfortable 20 degrees in the afternoon. Not too bad for Fairbanks! This allowed for much easier waxing than what we experienced in Canada. Our first race was the 15k Pursuit. This means that we classic skied the first 7.5k and then we switched our skis to skate for the last 7.5k. The classic portion went really well for me. I came into the exchange zone with the top group of women. Unfortunately, I ended up loosing a couple places in the skate portion and ended up 5^th. Overall, I was happy with my effort.

Two days later, I skied the 30k classic race. The profile of the course had me a little scared, seeing as it was a VERY difficult course, with 3,000 feet of elevation gain! As I was warming up, I tired not to think about how tired my body felt from the previous 15k race. I went to the starting line feeling pumped and ready to conquer this race. I managed to hold on to a solid 3^rd American position throughout the race, until a big wall hit me on the last 7.5k loop. I felt my tempo slowing and the pop in my legs fading. Eventually, a few of the girls behind me caught me. As they passed me, I kept telling myself to stay with them and keep going. While my mind was saying one thing, my body was doing another. I dropped back, but was able to hold on to 6^th place to the finish. Whew! When I came to the finish line, I could hardly stand or see straight. I knew that I had put in my hardest effort and it felt good to leave everything I had on the trail.

The racing is over and now its time for some spring fun! I traveled back to Anchorage on Monday, where I am currently, and I’ve been spending time with family and friends. We enjoyed a fun day of back-country skiing in Turnagain Pass where there is over 4 feet of snow. We built a huge kicker and even I got persuaded to jump off it! I have to admit, it was pretty fun.

Building the kicker

In a few days, I am headed to Costa Rica for some fun in the sun. The beach is always a nice place to go to reward yourself after a long season of ski racing. I will keep you posted on my adventures!