A Solid Week of Training

Last week, the Sun Valley Olympic Development Ski Team enjoyed the training company of the Continental Cup U.S. Ski Team. With the addition of these 7 athletes, the intensity and caliber of the workouts were increased ten-fold. It was a great opportunity for my team and I to train with different people and have a solid week of training. I put in a 23-hour week, packed with two over-distance workouts, two intensity workouts, one time-trial and four easy distance workouts focusing on technique. Oh, and I can't forget the intense wiffle-ball tournament we had against the U.S. Ski Team...we crushed them:)

Here are some pictures of our 4-hour run in the Sawtooth Valley yesterday. We hit up 9 lakes on a 20-mile loop. Great run!

The girls making their way up the pass

A brief stop for a picture

A refreshing dip in the lake at the end of the run!

Woo Hoo

Last month, Kate Whitcomb and I had the privilege to spend an afternoon with my YMCA kids. We introduced them to cross-country skiing by showing them a video that demonstrated the different ski techniques and showed what we do for summer training. We were bombarded with tons of great questions. We proceeded to take them outside and play games and have them do a mini strength circuit routine. Here is a brief clip of the ski video I showed then and a clip of all the excitement we had together!

Only in Alaska...

I was in Alaska earlier this month and I was reminded how unique, or some might say crazy, Alaska really is. Here are just a few situations I ran into while I was in there.

ONLY IN ALASKA...

-do you have to wait for a bull moose to get out of your path

-do you go for a run at 10:00pm because it feels like 6:00pm

-do you see “DANGER: BEAR SIGHTED” signs everywhere!

-does a mama moose and her calves run across the street in front of you while you are roller skiing

-do you see huge, white capped mountain in the middle of July

-do you hear the neighbor’s lawn mower roaring at 11:00pm

-are people crazy enough to race up rocky and cliffy croppings

- do people wear shorts and t-shirts when it’s a balmy 50 degrees

I am currently back in Sun Valley, Idaho training with my team and helping at the YMCA summer camp every day. I am having a lot of fun with the kids! Each week is packed with fun "themed" activities. This week's theme is "Campers to the Rescue." In light of that, a couple forest rangers took us on a hike today. Here is a picture of a few kids and I eager to start our hike.

4th of July Tradition

The 4th of July just wouldn't be complete without racing in Seward's Mt. Marathon Race...at least that's what I decided two weeks before the race. As a result, I flew up to Alaska the beginning of the week, enjoyed some time with friends and family and drove down to Seward to race the infamous Mt. Marathon on Friday. Now, for those of you who have no idea what Mt. Marathon is, let me summarize it by saying "its the super bowl of mountain racing." Hundreds of people race up and down this 3,022 foot mountain with an average grade of 45 degrees. The race starts on main street and takes you a half mile to the base of the mountain. From there you climb up a rock face, hang on to tree roots and branches for dear life and continue to scramble up scree. Once you make it to the top, only half the battle is complete...the other half is racing down the mountain and making it to the bottom in one piece. This year there was a 400 foot snow field at the top of the mountain, which made for some restful glissading. Here is a video of the race and some pictures to give you an idea of what the excitement is all about!

RESULTS:

Women:
1. Cedar Bourgeios 52:11
2. Holly Brooks 55:29
3. Nicole De Yong 58:40
4. Aubrey Smith 58:57
5. Denali Foldager 1:01

Men:
1. Trond Flagstad 44:03
2. Sam Hill 45:49
3. Matias Saari 46:42
4. Brad Precosky 46:49
5. Jens Beck 47:04

A racer beginning his trek up the mountain

Headed up the rock face

Watch your step!

Me, rounding the flagpole at the top of the mountain

Trond, making his way down the final stretch to take 1st!!!

Big congratulations to Trond Flagstad, my former UAA ski coach, for winning his first Mt. Marathon title after placing 2nd for the past three years! He recorded the third fasted time in the 81 years of Mt. Marathon history. Way to go!!!! Here is a link to a video:
http://community.adn.com/mini_apps/vmix/player.php?ID=1981081&GENRES=00000182&GID=118

Bend Recap

The Sun Valley ski team enjoyed a great on-snow ski camp the beginning of June in Bend, Oregon. This video and blog is long past due, but I wanted to post in anyway. I hope you enjoy!

Doing What I Love Most!

After 2 months of minimal running due to an achilles injury, I am back to doing what I love most...running in the mountains! This past week, I accomplished four runs without any pain, one of which was 3 1/2 hours! I'm excited to be back on my feet, especially during this summer season of training. I am surrounded by several great trails in the Sun Valley area and after living here for two years, I still don't know half of them.

Here is a clip of my Over-distance run yesterday, up Champion Creek in the Sawtooth Valley with Colin Rodgers. The video doesn't do the scenery I witnessed justice, but I thought I'd post it anyway. You will notice that most of the run, is through burnt trees. There was a forest fire 3 summers ago in the area. Forest fires are fairly common in the late summer and as we experienced last summer, they make training really difficult when they are in your area.

Enjoy!

Field Trip to the Ice Caves!

Last week was the first week of summer camp at the YMCA! Just to give you an idea of the amount of fun we had on our field trip, check out the video. We traveled an hour and a half, by bus, with 20 ten-year-old kids, to visit the Planetarium. On our way back to Sun Valley, we stopped at the infamous ice caves. Check it out! We had a great time!