First Ski!

Yep! We are officially skiing in Ketchum, Idaho...well, technically we are skiing about 15 miles north of Ketchum. This morning I enjoyed a distance skate ski on well groomed trails with beautiful sunshine and a teamperature of 11 degrees, bbrrrr! There is about 8-10 inches of fresh snow with more to come in the forecast. I am hoping I can put the rollerskis in the closet for good!



We are headed to West Yellowstone in a week to kick off the first races of the season. From there we will travel to Bozeman, Silver Star, Canmore and then up to Anchorage for U.S. Nationals! Cheers!

Cranking the Intensity

The past two weeks have been chalked full of intensity! Racing season is less than three weeks away and it is time to get fast! Last week consisted of a 3x(4x400m) + 4x200m track workout, 6x4min L4 classic rollerski intervals, and a 2x25min L3 mooshoofing interval session.

I gave myself a full day of rest before I jumped into a strength test the following week. I was happy to produce some improved results...indicating that my time in the gym is paying off. The test consisted of a minute of pull-ups, minute rest, minute of sit-ups, minute rest, minute of push-ups, minute rest, minute of box jumps, minute rest, minute of dips, DONE!!!! My arms were flooded with lactic acid when I finished but I set a new record!

The week progressed with another 3x(4x4oom) track workout and some L4 skate intervals. Whew! its been tough couple weeks but its the best way to get faster!

I topped off the week with a trip to the Sawtooths. I enjoyed a few nights at a friends cabin where I put in a couple hours of wood-cutting, took advantage of a "natural' contrast bath with a river and a hot-springs called the "boat box" and went for a great over-distance hike/run in the White Cloud Mountains! We ran into 1 1/2 feet of snow toward the top! We lucked out with a beautiful, sunny day...but definitely a little chilly.

The count down to the first race in West Yellowstone is 17 days! Lets hope for some snow and we'll be in business! This next week will contain some tough workouts but will be a fairly low-volume week. time to bring it on!

Sure Signs of Fall...

Yes, it is hard to believe that October is already coming to a close... snow is in the forecast and day light savings ends next week! While these are sure sings of fall, the close of the cross-country season, the annual fall Idaho Nordic Clinic and hiking in snow-covered Sawtooth Mountains are as well.

The Community School Cross-Country running season came to an end this past week with Districts. Unfortunately, several of the runners were struck with sickness and were not able to run or run to their full potential. Despite our low attendance, we had some great performances from Torin Tucker and Morgan Atikinson, both of whom qualified for state! Congratulations to both of them!

Katie, running her heart out!

Last week, Colin and I had the opportunity to coach a dry-land clinic for the Idaho Nordic Ski Club, based out of Boise, Idaho. Two sessions focusing on technique were offered, one for double pole and the other for skate. Once technique was reviewed and improved, we put it into practice with some speeds and sprint relays. It is always fun to help the Idaho Nordic crew and witness the vast improvements they make. Good job team!

An attentive group of Idaho Nordic skiers

Tristen, demonstrating some good double-pole technique

A close finish for the Pitt brothers

Today, I went for a wonderful over-distance run/hike in the Sawtooth Mountains! My lack of playing in the mountains this summer made me appreciate what I missed out on. The mountain tops are covered in snow!

A snowy hike in the Sawtooth's

A view of Sawtooth Lake

Snow is in the forecast for this week! We will see how much accumulates and whether or not it will be enough to strap the skis on and tromp around. I'll be sure to let you know if such a thing happens.

Lake Placid Wrap-Up

The Lake Placid Camp at the Olympic Training Center concluded Wednesday with the annual Climb to the Castle time trial. Anyone who has done it, knows how grueling and tough this race is! It is a five-mile climb up the Whiteface Mountain toll road and gains a total elevation of 3,500 feet. It is one thing to race up the road in the first place and it is another thing to race up the road in adverse weather conditions. Weather was not on our side on Wendesday and racers toughed out the rain, wind, fog and sleet!

The lead woman's pack, charging up the mountain through the fog!

Wednesday was definitely a mental race! I went into the race excited and ready to put the hurt on. The first two miles of the race started at a comfortable pace with a long train of girls. The pace gradually picked up as the race progressed, slowly breaking up the pack. I positioned myself in the middle of the pack and made an effort to close the gap when girls dropped off. By the third mile, the train broke up and I was with the front pack of five girls. The weather began to change and the fog, wind and rain began to settle in...the tough part of the race was on! I tried to stick with the pack but they slowly pulled away from me. Before I knew it, I was all by myself. Once you get dropped from the pack, it is very difficult to catch up by yourself. I kept my head down and worked as hard as I could against the wind. At one point, the wind was so strong that I was hardly moving! I anticipated the pack of girls behind me to catch me, but I was pleasantly surprised when I crossed the finish line by myself, one minute ahead of anyone else. I finished 6th over-all, two minutes behind the top female. This was a good and encouraging result for me, but I still have a two-minute gap to work on.

I am currently spending the week in Vermont with my boyfriend, and enjoying some rest and recovery after such an intese camp. The fall colors in the east are always amazing and beautiful!

Level 4 bounding intervals up Whiteface.

I am headed back to Kethcum on Thursday. Five inches of snow fell in Kethcum last week, enough to put the skis on and tromp around. I'm sure it has melted by now, but I am looking forward to some snow and maybe some early skiing this season. Until then, I will enjoy the beautiful scenery in the east!

Quick Update

Hello All!

I am currently in Lake Placid, New York for a 12-day training camp at the Olympic Training Center. Coming east for this camp every fall is a yearly tradition. The Sun Valley Team is currently here but will soon be joined by the CXC team, the National Team, and several other top skiers from around the country. It is always a good camp with a high caliber of athletes and a tough week of training. The roller skiing is amazing out here with access to several country roads providing varying terrain. We went for a run in the Adirondak State Park today and enjoyed the beauty of the fall colors around us.

We have some good training ahead of us. I will be sure to update more in the next few days!

The Woes of Roller Skiing

We roller ski day in and day out...we put our skis, boots, poles and helmet
on an walk out the door to do what we do every day, TRAIN! We rarely think about the possible consequences of roller ski safety. For those of you who don't know much about roller skis, they do not have breaks and even the smallest about of debris, such as pebbles, rocks, pine cones and leaves can cause huge problems.

In Sun Valley, it is mandatory for athletes to wear a helmet roller skiing at all times, even on the bike trail. This past summer we've had our fair share of roller ski accidents. Today I topped it off with a hard crash on the pavement. I was 20 seconds into an interval, carrying good speed when a pine cone got lodged into the front wheel of my ski. My entire body catapulted forward, leaving my feet and skis behind. I came down and hit my head hard on the pavement! I immediately felt a sharp, cracking pain in my head. Tears came instantly as the pain seemed almost unbearable. I slowly made my way back to my feet and found a crack in my helmet! Whew! After eventually collecting myself and grasping the pounding headache, I managed to finish my workout with a cool-down.

All I can say is I am really glad I was wearing a helmet! A headache all day long hardly compares to a concussion or even head trauma! It definitely saved my head!

Cross-Country Season is Underway!

It's that time of year again! Students are in school, cross-country runners are racing, and the leaves are beginning to fall!

At the starting line!

This past week The Community School Cross-Country Running Team participated in the first race of the season! The Community School and the Wood River High school organized a fantastic meet, right here in Ketchum. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day.

Zana, pushing it up the last big hill!

The team this year consists of 10 athletes: 6 girls and 4 boys. Unfortunately we had a few sick kids the day of the meet and were only able to race 6 athletes. Despite the few numbers, we went into the race with open minds and decided that this race would help determine where we should set our goals for the rest of the season. The runners did great...but we certainly have some training to do:)

TCS Cross-Country Running Team

I am excited to help with another season of cross-country running! We ended on a great note last year, qualifying both the boys and girls team to state for the first time in school history! We have high standards to meet this year, but with some hard work we can achieve it!