A commenter noted a few other classic specialists in my post on Erling Jevne the other day. So how did they fare against Jevne?
It’s generally important to note here that my data stops in 1992, and several of these folks were active before then. In Kirvesniemi’s case, way before. Jevne and Sture Sirvetsen were probably the most consistently evenly matched, though Jevne seemed to have the edge for all but the earlier years. Kirvesniemi was pretty evenly matched against Jevne until around 1996, and then didn’t fare so well at all until his “miraculous resurgence”. Gandler was definitely up and down. He had a handful of strong seasons against Jevne, but wasn’t very consistent.
Mid-Atlantic alumni Audrey Mangan swung by practice on a recent trip back home to visit her family. As you know her brother and current Dartmouth skier Steve has been helping out this year so she stopped in to see what all the hype was about and also to get the inside scoop on the USSA National J2 Camp which R.N.R skier Gavin Hess took part in.
Mid-Atlantic alumni Audrey Mangan swung by practice on a recent trip back home to visit her family. As you know her brother and current Dartmouth skier Steve has been helping out this year so she stopped in to see what all the hype was about and also to get the inside scoop on the USSA National J2 Camp which R.N.R skier Gavin Hess took part in.
Mid-Atlantic alumni Audrey Mangan swung by practice on a recent trip back home to visit her family. As you know her brother and current Dartmouth skier Steve has been helping out this year so she stopped in to see what all the hype was about and also to get the inside scoop on the USSA National J2 Camp which R.N.R skier Gavin Hess took part in.
Mid-Atlantic alumni Audrey Mangan swung by practice on a recent trip back home to visit her family. As you know her brother and current Dartmouth skier Steve has been helping out this year so she stopped in to see what all the hype was about and also to get the inside scoop on the USSA National J2 Camp which R.N.R skier Gavin Hess took part in.
Mid-Atlantic alumni Audrey Mangan swung by practice on a recent trip back home to visit her family. As you know her brother and current Dartmouth skier Steve has been helping out this year so she stopped in to see what all the hype was about and also to get the inside scoop on the USSA National J2 Camp which R.N.R skier Gavin Hess took part in.
The August glacier camp was the latest camp our team has ever attempted. At some point during the “summer” the glacier transitions from melting away under the sunshine and/or rain (ablation) and begins the annual accumulation process of collecting snow and refilling crevasses. The blue ice temporarily disappears and once again, the surface of the glacier is covered in a fresh, white blanket.
That said, if you have no expectations about the weather, you cannot be disappointed. The typical first move on Eagle is to climb out of bed and pull the blanket covering the window tacked to the wall away and see what you’re in for that day…. “Is it blue bird and sports bra or is it ice-pellet shrapnel and windbreakers?” This camp was the later…. Because I knew the forecast going into it, I thought this was necessary:
Casey and Erik enjoying a rare moment of relaxation with espresso in the afternoon.
The bergschrund that forms every year at the top of the glacier, near the facility.
While the “pure enjoyment” part of me wishes that we had sunshine everyday, or even for ONE DAY, I know that we gained MORE by skiing in challenging conditions…… by doing intervals when it was 32 degrees and snowing…. (Poor Pete iced so bad he fell on his face and broke his ski).
When the going gets tough there are two options: you can give up and create excuses or you can work with and overcome the situation. You can tough it out. No, the skiing may not be pretty… you may not be proud of it but maybe you’re even the fastest one out there that day? Who knows….
Erik Flora, our coach is famous for all kinds of lines and points. He emphasizes and re-emphasizes things with new found enthusiasm all the time. One of his favorite talking points on the glacier is to speak favorably about the “difficult weather.” He makes the point that Eagle features conditions that are similar to the last three championship cycles. He has a good point:
1) In Oslo/2011 we raced World Championships in front of tens of thousands of spectators in pea-soup fog; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
2) At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver we raced in our fair share of either rain or slush up above our boots; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
3) In the 2009 Liberec (Czech Republic) World Championships they raced in poor conditions and wild grooming; Luckily our grooming is mostly awesome these days thanks to our new Pisten Bully! However, there was one day that the wind drifts were so bad that all twenty of us completed our training session “tailing” the Pisten Bully so we could ski in the tracks before they “blew in” with fresh snow!
Here are a couple of pictures of the blue ice/fresh snow glacier on our single “sun-break”
This camp, due to the low snow, the skiers enjoyed a daily commute on the Pisten Bully down to skiing. One of my teammates likened it to riding the school bus to school; our skis and poles were our books, our workouts our assignments, and our post-training granola bar our “sack lunch.”
Another sweet picture of Casey and the new PB. Thanks so much to all the supporters who chipped in!!!
This is the post-training traffic jam in the glacier kitchen that is LUNCH!
One of the many products of the “traffic jam”
Some of you may wonder what we do all day, everyday during our glacier training camps. The schedule is surprisingly jam-packed and I rarely find myself with much extra time. Here is what the general schedule looks like:
6:30am – wake up/breakfast/dress/last minute ski changes & adjustments
7:45am – “pre-game meeting” Description of workout, technique examples, daily training volume assignments, waxing recommendations.
8am – Board Pisten Bully to “commute to training”
8:30-11am – train & ride PB back to facility
11am-noon – Lunch #1
Noon – 3pm – Afternoon chores, pm ski prep (klister!) & technique review from the morning session, dinner prep – some athletes are able to nap. (This is where my sleep envy comes in…. ) + Lunch #2
3:15 – 4pm: Afternoon “pre-game meeting” , PB transport, etc.
4-6:30pm – Afternoon training, ride PB home
Post-afternoon ski core or strength routine.
7pm – Dinner
Dinner clean
Training talk
10pm – lights out/quiet time….. get ready to wake up and do it all again the next day.
Erik graciously goes over technique with anyone who wants it for hours and hours….
Matt Gelso putting peanut butter on his burger? Hum… can’t knock it until I try it and well, I didn’t try it.
Was this really necessary?
Okay, this was HILARIOUS. Right before we left, Eric and Reese made a deal: Reese could smash a rotten tomato in Erik’s face and Erik would earn $5. An amount, which he pointed out would otherwise take him 30 minutes to earn at his $10/hr job. This situation goes to show that we’re not a rich sport, but what we lack in dollars, we make up for in passion!
The Sun Valley crew missed the tomato incident but luckily Reese caught it on film….
Speaking of Reese, check out his latest video account of our final glacier camp of the year (including the tomato incident) here:
Hiking off the glacier on the first beautiful day…
It was great having Sun Valley (SVSEF) join us for this camp. Top l-r: Mike Sinnott, Matt Gelso, Chelsea Holmes. Bottom l-r: Morgan Arritola & Colin Rodgers.
Of course the APU crew needed a team shot too. (The rest of our folks flew down… ) Fitz, me, Erik BJ, Pat PJ, Reese and E-Flora
Gelso sports his plastic bag “diper-slide” for Gus’s Crack, the infamous steep pitch of heather which is often easier to slide on your butt than try to hike…
In the car we found this waiting! Not necessarily standard fair but it sure tasted good at the moment!
And then there was JUNEAU……
After this structured, ski-only schedule it was time to get out of the Anchorage Bowl and see some new territory. I realized that between summer school, glacier skiing, and intensive training I haven’t left South Central Alaska since May. While I enjoy being home, the redundancy of my days, (especially when it’s bad weather) starts to get to me and I need a change of pace. So, a couple of weeks ago I booked a mileage ticket to visit my good friend Sarah Schoen in Juneau. While I have lived in Alaska for six years now there are still many, many parts that I hadn’t seen and I was curious to explore the South East.
Now, I know that the weather in the South East is unpredictable at ANY time of the year but after spending almost a week there I am AMAZED at how much it rained. In many ways, it made ol’ANC look like dry Arizona in comparison. I resorted to borrowing Sarah’s “Rain Moo-moo” which was actually a rubber Helly Hansen rain jacket that went down to my mid-shin. On Friday night we attended Juneau’s First Friday event, an art opening where all the downtown galleries and shops have open houses to display local artist’s pieces. At least half of everyone in attendance were wearing Xtratufs, (brown rubber boots) even at the wine tasting event: Rubber in Juneau is a Nordic Skier’s Spandex, a surfer’s board shorts or a Seattleite’s favorite coffee mug.
Check out this AWESOME fence!
Despite the dismal weather (I experienced THREE whole hours of visibility during my six day stay) I had a great time visiting with Sarah and she was as always, a wonderful, gracious host.
Sarah picked and pickled “fiddle heads” which I’ve always wanted to try. They are young fern sprouts and an Alaskan delicacy.
Here I am with the Mendenhall glacier in the background during our 3 hours of clear weather!
My visit to Juneau also gave me a chance to catch up with my friend Abby Lowell (McCallister). Abby and I raced for PNSA, Pacific Northwest together. In fact, we raced the J2 relay together back in the day. In this picture Abby is actually 8.5 months pregnant. Up until last week she had been running an average of 35 miles/week while pregnant! Abby is actually the editor for the Juneau Empire and blogged about the experience. Perhaps the most interesting blog title is called, “No, it does not bounce all over the place.” Check out Abby’s blog about running pregnant HERE.
It’s funny what people do in order to adapt to bad weather. Juneau folks definitely have the creative bug….. Theme parties are big: one night there was a fried chicken party at a bar. Sarah also told me about a theme party her parents attended in Juneau when they were young where everyone showed up in their swim suits with a lawn chair…… the heat was turned up and they sipped on Margaritas; all the while it was pissing rain and perpetually 50 degrees outside. Instead of either of these options we chose to pick blueberries in a downpour:
The LOOT!
Now it’s time to head back to ANC to get back to work. I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me with fall classes, a 2.5 week visit from my brother, a three-week block of power training and then it’s off to Park City for a two-week altitude/sunshine training camp. Two months of preparation left and it’s off to Europe for race season! It’s going to happen quickly!! Tighten your seat belts!
My Labor-Day ski from the end-of-the-road to Sarah’s office in Auke Bay…
Also, if you’re looking for something to do (!) check out this recent “Pro-Workout” I did with Faster Skier the other day here:
The August glacier camp was the latest camp our team has ever attempted. At some point during the “summer” the glacier transitions from melting away under the sunshine and/or rain (ablation) and begins the annual accumulation process of collecting snow and refilling crevasses. The blue ice temporarily disappears and once again, the surface of the glacier is covered in a fresh, white blanket.
That said, if you have no expectations about the weather, you cannot be disappointed. The typical first move on Eagle is to climb out of bed and pull the blanket covering the window tacked to the wall away and see what you’re in for that day…. “Is it blue bird and sports bra or is it ice-pellet shrapnel and windbreakers?” This camp was the later…. Because I knew the forecast going into it, I thought this was necessary:
Casey and Erik enjoying a rare moment of relaxation with espresso in the afternoon.
The bergschrund that forms every year at the top of the glacier, near the facility.
While the “pure enjoyment” part of me wishes that we had sunshine everyday, or even for ONE DAY, I know that we gained MORE by skiing in challenging conditions…… by doing intervals when it was 32 degrees and snowing…. (Poor Pete iced so bad he fell on his face and broke his ski).
When the going gets tough there are two options: you can give up and create excuses or you can work with and overcome the situation. You can tough it out. No, the skiing may not be pretty… you may not be proud of it but maybe you’re even the fastest one out there that day? Who knows….
Erik Flora, our coach is famous for all kinds of lines and points. He emphasizes and re-emphasizes things with new found enthusiasm all the time. One of his favorite talking points on the glacier is to speak favorably about the “difficult weather.” He makes the point that Eagle features conditions that are similar to the last three championship cycles. He has a good point:
1) In Oslo/2011 we raced World Championships in front of tens of thousands of spectators in pea-soup fog; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
2) At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver we raced in our fair share of either rain or slush up above our boots; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
3) In the 2009 Liberec (Czech Republic) World Championships they raced in poor conditions and wild grooming; Luckily our grooming is mostly awesome these days thanks to our new Pisten Bully! However, there was one day that the wind drifts were so bad that all twenty of us completed our training session “tailing” the Pisten Bully so we could ski in the tracks before they “blew in” with fresh snow!
Here are a couple of pictures of the blue ice/fresh snow glacier on our single “sun-break”
This camp, due to the low snow, the skiers enjoyed a daily commute on the Pisten Bully down to skiing. One of my teammates likened it to riding the school bus to school; our skis and poles were our books, our workouts our assignments, and our post-training granola bar our “sack lunch.”
Another sweet picture of Casey and the new PB. Thanks so much to all the supporters who chipped in!!!
This is the post-training traffic jam in the glacier kitchen that is LUNCH!
One of the many products of the “traffic jam”
Some of you may wonder what we do all day, everyday during our glacier training camps. The schedule is surprisingly jam-packed and I rarely find myself with much extra time. Here is what the general schedule looks like:
6:30am – wake up/breakfast/dress/last minute ski changes & adjustments
7:45am – “pre-game meeting” Description of workout, technique examples, daily training volume assignments, waxing recommendations.
8am – Board Pisten Bully to “commute to training”
8:30-11am – train & ride PB back to facility
11am-noon – Lunch #1
Noon – 3pm – Afternoon chores, pm ski prep (klister!) & technique review from the morning session, dinner prep – some athletes are able to nap. (This is where my sleep envy comes in…. ) + Lunch #2
3:15 – 4pm: Afternoon “pre-game meeting” , PB transport, etc.
4-6:30pm – Afternoon training, ride PB home
Post-afternoon ski core or strength routine.
7pm – Dinner
Dinner clean
Training talk
10pm – lights out/quiet time….. get ready to wake up and do it all again the next day.
Erik graciously goes over technique with anyone who wants it for hours and hours….
Matt Gelso putting peanut butter on his burger? Hum… can’t knock it until I try it and well, I didn’t try it.
Was this really necessary?
Okay, this was HILARIOUS. Right before we left, Eric and Reese made a deal: Reese could smash a rotten tomato in Erik’s face and Erik would earn $5. An amount, which he pointed out would otherwise take him 30 minutes to earn at his $10/hr job. This situation goes to show that we’re not a rich sport, but what we lack in dollars, we make up for in passion!
The Sun Valley crew missed the tomato incident but luckily Reese caught it on film….
Speaking of Reese, check out his latest video account of our final glacier camp of the year (including the tomato incident) here:
Hiking off the glacier on the first beautiful day…
It was great having Sun Valley (SVSEF) join us for this camp. Top l-r: Mike Sinnott, Matt Gelso, Chelsea Holmes. Bottom l-r: Morgan Arritola & Colin Rodgers.
Of course the APU crew needed a team shot too. (The rest of our folks flew down… ) Fitz, me, Erik BJ, Pat PJ, Reese and E-Flora
Gelso sports his plastic bag “diper-slide” for Gus’s Crack, the infamous steep pitch of heather which is often easier to slide on your butt than try to hike…
In the car we found this waiting! Not necessarily standard fair but it sure tasted good at the moment!
And then there was JUNEAU……
After this structured, ski-only schedule it was time to get out of the Anchorage Bowl and see some new territory. I realized that between summer school, glacier skiing, and intensive training I haven’t left South Central Alaska since May. While I enjoy being home, the redundancy of my days, (especially when it’s bad weather) starts to get to me and I need a change of pace. So, a couple of weeks ago I booked a mileage ticket to visit my good friend Sarah Schoen in Juneau. While I have lived in Alaska for six years now there are still many, many parts that I hadn’t seen and I was curious to explore the South East.
Now, I know that the weather in the South East is unpredictable at ANY time of the year but after spending almost a week there I am AMAZED at how much it rained. In many ways, it made ol’ANC look like dry Arizona in comparison. I resorted to borrowing Sarah’s “Rain Moo-moo” which was actually a rubber Helly Hansen rain jacket that went down to my mid-shin. On Friday night we attended Juneau’s First Friday event, an art opening where all the downtown galleries and shops have open houses to display local artist’s pieces. At least half of everyone in attendance were wearing Xtratufs, (brown rubber boots) even at the wine tasting event: Rubber in Juneau is a Nordic Skier’s Spandex, a surfer’s board shorts or a Seattleite’s favorite coffee mug.
Check out this AWESOME fence!
Despite the dismal weather (I experienced THREE whole hours of visibility during my six day stay) I had a great time visiting with Sarah and she was as always, a wonderful, gracious host.
Sarah picked and pickled “fiddle heads” which I’ve always wanted to try. They are young fern sprouts and an Alaskan delicacy.
Here I am with the Mendenhall glacier in the background during our 3 hours of clear weather!
My visit to Juneau also gave me a chance to catch up with my friend Abby Lowell (McCallister). Abby and I raced for PNSA, Pacific Northwest together. In fact, we raced the J2 relay together back in the day. In this picture Abby is actually 8.5 months pregnant. Up until last week she had been running an average of 35 miles/week while pregnant! Abby is actually the editor for the Juneau Empire and blogged about the experience. Perhaps the most interesting blog title is called, “No, it does not bounce all over the place.” Check out Abby’s blog about running pregnant HERE.
It’s funny what people do in order to adapt to bad weather. Juneau folks definitely have the creative bug….. Theme parties are big: one night there was a fried chicken party at a bar. Sarah also told me about a theme party her parents attended in Juneau when they were young where everyone showed up in their swim suits with a lawn chair…… the heat was turned up and they sipped on Margaritas; all the while it was pissing rain and perpetually 50 degrees outside. Instead of either of these options we chose to pick blueberries in a downpour:
The LOOT!
Now it’s time to head back to ANC to get back to work. I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me with fall classes, a 2.5 week visit from my brother, a three-week block of power training and then it’s off to Park City for a two-week altitude/sunshine training camp. Two months of preparation left and it’s off to Europe for race season! It’s going to happen quickly!! Tighten your seat belts!
My Labor-Day ski from the end-of-the-road to Sarah’s office in Auke Bay…
Also, if you’re looking for something to do (!) check out this recent “Pro-Workout” I did with Faster Skier the other day here:
The August glacier camp was the latest camp our team has ever attempted. At some point during the “summer” the glacier transitions from melting away under the sunshine and/or rain (ablation) and begins the annual accumulation process of collecting snow and refilling crevasses. The blue ice temporarily disappears and once again, the surface of the glacier is covered in a fresh, white blanket.
That said, if you have no expectations about the weather, you cannot be disappointed. The typical first move on Eagle is to climb out of bed and pull the blanket covering the window tacked to the wall away and see what you’re in for that day…. “Is it blue bird and sports bra or is it ice-pellet shrapnel and windbreakers?” This camp was the later…. Because I knew the forecast going into it, I thought this was necessary:
Casey and Erik enjoying a rare moment of relaxation with espresso in the afternoon.
The bergschrund that forms every year at the top of the glacier, near the facility.
While the “pure enjoyment” part of me wishes that we had sunshine everyday, or even for ONE DAY, I know that we gained MORE by skiing in challenging conditions…… by doing intervals when it was 32 degrees and snowing…. (Poor Pete iced so bad he fell on his face and broke his ski).
When the going gets tough there are two options: you can give up and create excuses or you can work with and overcome the situation. You can tough it out. No, the skiing may not be pretty… you may not be proud of it but maybe you’re even the fastest one out there that day? Who knows….
Erik Flora, our coach is famous for all kinds of lines and points. He emphasizes and re-emphasizes things with new found enthusiasm all the time. One of his favorite talking points on the glacier is to speak favorably about the “difficult weather.” He makes the point that Eagle features conditions that are similar to the last three championship cycles. He has a good point:
1) In Oslo/2011 we raced World Championships in front of tens of thousands of spectators in pea-soup fog; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
2) At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver we raced in our fair share of either rain or slush up above our boots; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
3) In the 2009 Liberec (Czech Republic) World Championships they raced in poor conditions and wild grooming; Luckily our grooming is mostly awesome these days thanks to our new Pisten Bully! However, there was one day that the wind drifts were so bad that all twenty of us completed our training session “tailing” the Pisten Bully so we could ski in the tracks before they “blew in” with fresh snow!
Here are a couple of pictures of the blue ice/fresh snow glacier on our single “sun-break”
This camp, due to the low snow, the skiers enjoyed a daily commute on the Pisten Bully down to skiing. One of my teammates likened it to riding the school bus to school; our skis and poles were our books, our workouts our assignments, and our post-training granola bar our “sack lunch.”
Another sweet picture of Casey and the new PB. Thanks so much to all the supporters who chipped in!!!
This is the post-training traffic jam in the glacier kitchen that is LUNCH!
One of the many products of the “traffic jam”
Some of you may wonder what we do all day, everyday during our glacier training camps. The schedule is surprisingly jam-packed and I rarely find myself with much extra time. Here is what the general schedule looks like:
6:30am – wake up/breakfast/dress/last minute ski changes & adjustments
7:45am – “pre-game meeting” Description of workout, technique examples, daily training volume assignments, waxing recommendations.
8am – Board Pisten Bully to “commute to training”
8:30-11am – train & ride PB back to facility
11am-noon – Lunch #1
Noon – 3pm – Afternoon chores, pm ski prep (klister!) & technique review from the morning session, dinner prep – some athletes are able to nap. (This is where my sleep envy comes in…. ) + Lunch #2
3:15 – 4pm: Afternoon “pre-game meeting” , PB transport, etc.
4-6:30pm – Afternoon training, ride PB home
Post-afternoon ski core or strength routine.
7pm – Dinner
Dinner clean
Training talk
10pm – lights out/quiet time….. get ready to wake up and do it all again the next day.
Erik graciously goes over technique with anyone who wants it for hours and hours….
Matt Gelso putting peanut butter on his burger? Hum… can’t knock it until I try it and well, I didn’t try it.
Was this really necessary?
Okay, this was HILARIOUS. Right before we left, Eric and Reese made a deal: Reese could smash a rotten tomato in Erik’s face and Erik would earn $5. An amount, which he pointed out would otherwise take him 30 minutes to earn at his $10/hr job. This situation goes to show that we’re not a rich sport, but what we lack in dollars, we make up for in passion!
The Sun Valley crew missed the tomato incident but luckily Reese caught it on film….
Speaking of Reese, check out his latest video account of our final glacier camp of the year (including the tomato incident) here:
Hiking off the glacier on the first beautiful day…
It was great having Sun Valley (SVSEF) join us for this camp. Top l-r: Mike Sinnott, Matt Gelso, Chelsea Holmes. Bottom l-r: Morgan Arritola & Colin Rodgers.
Of course the APU crew needed a team shot too. (The rest of our folks flew down… ) Fitz, me, Erik BJ, Pat PJ, Reese and E-Flora
Gelso sports his plastic bag “diper-slide” for Gus’s Crack, the infamous steep pitch of heather which is often easier to slide on your butt than try to hike…
In the car we found this waiting! Not necessarily standard fair but it sure tasted good at the moment!
And then there was JUNEAU……
After this structured, ski-only schedule it was time to get out of the Anchorage Bowl and see some new territory. I realized that between summer school, glacier skiing, and intensive training I haven’t left South Central Alaska since May. While I enjoy being home, the redundancy of my days, (especially when it’s bad weather) starts to get to me and I need a change of pace. So, a couple of weeks ago I booked a mileage ticket to visit my good friend Sarah Schoen in Juneau. While I have lived in Alaska for six years now there are still many, many parts that I hadn’t seen and I was curious to explore the South East.
Now, I know that the weather in the South East is unpredictable at ANY time of the year but after spending almost a week there I am AMAZED at how much it rained. In many ways, it made ol’ANC look like dry Arizona in comparison. I resorted to borrowing Sarah’s “Rain Moo-moo” which was actually a rubber Helly Hansen rain jacket that went down to my mid-shin. On Friday night we attended Juneau’s First Friday event, an art opening where all the downtown galleries and shops have open houses to display local artist’s pieces. At least half of everyone in attendance were wearing Xtratufs, (brown rubber boots) even at the wine tasting event: Rubber in Juneau is a Nordic Skier’s Spandex, a surfer’s board shorts or a Seattleite’s favorite coffee mug.
Check out this AWESOME fence!
Despite the dismal weather (I experienced THREE whole hours of visibility during my six day stay) I had a great time visiting with Sarah and she was as always, a wonderful, gracious host.
Sarah picked and pickled “fiddle heads” which I’ve always wanted to try. They are young fern sprouts and an Alaskan delicacy.
Here I am with the Mendenhall glacier in the background during our 3 hours of clear weather!
My visit to Juneau also gave me a chance to catch up with my friend Abby Lowell (McCallister). Abby and I raced for PNSA, Pacific Northwest together. In fact, we raced the J2 relay together back in the day. In this picture Abby is actually 8.5 months pregnant. Up until last week she had been running an average of 35 miles/week while pregnant! Abby is actually the editor for the Juneau Empire and blogged about the experience. Perhaps the most interesting blog title is called, “No, it does not bounce all over the place.” Check out Abby’s blog about running pregnant HERE.
It’s funny what people do in order to adapt to bad weather. Juneau folks definitely have the creative bug….. Theme parties are big: one night there was a fried chicken party at a bar. Sarah also told me about a theme party her parents attended in Juneau when they were young where everyone showed up in their swim suits with a lawn chair…… the heat was turned up and they sipped on Margaritas; all the while it was pissing rain and perpetually 50 degrees outside. Instead of either of these options we chose to pick blueberries in a downpour:
The LOOT!
Now it’s time to head back to ANC to get back to work. I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me with fall classes, a 2.5 week visit from my brother, a three-week block of power training and then it’s off to Park City for a two-week altitude/sunshine training camp. Two months of preparation left and it’s off to Europe for race season! It’s going to happen quickly!! Tighten your seat belts!
My Labor-Day ski from the end-of-the-road to Sarah’s office in Auke Bay…
Also, if you’re looking for something to do (!) check out this recent “Pro-Workout” I did with Faster Skier the other day here:
The August glacier camp was the latest camp our team has ever attempted. At some point during the “summer” the glacier transitions from melting away under the sunshine and/or rain (ablation) and begins the annual accumulation process of collecting snow and refilling crevasses. The blue ice temporarily disappears and once again, the surface of the glacier is covered in a fresh, white blanket.
That said, if you have no expectations about the weather, you cannot be disappointed. The typical first move on Eagle is to climb out of bed and pull the blanket covering the window tacked to the wall away and see what you’re in for that day…. “Is it blue bird and sports bra or is it ice-pellet shrapnel and windbreakers?” This camp was the later…. Because I knew the forecast going into it, I thought this was necessary:
Casey and Erik enjoying a rare moment of relaxation with espresso in the afternoon.
The bergschrund that forms every year at the top of the glacier, near the facility.
While the “pure enjoyment” part of me wishes that we had sunshine everyday, or even for ONE DAY, I know that we gained MORE by skiing in challenging conditions…… by doing intervals when it was 32 degrees and snowing…. (Poor Pete iced so bad he fell on his face and broke his ski).
When the going gets tough there are two options: you can give up and create excuses or you can work with and overcome the situation. You can tough it out. No, the skiing may not be pretty… you may not be proud of it but maybe you’re even the fastest one out there that day? Who knows….
Erik Flora, our coach is famous for all kinds of lines and points. He emphasizes and re-emphasizes things with new found enthusiasm all the time. One of his favorite talking points on the glacier is to speak favorably about the “difficult weather.” He makes the point that Eagle features conditions that are similar to the last three championship cycles. He has a good point:
1) In Oslo/2011 we raced World Championships in front of tens of thousands of spectators in pea-soup fog; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
2) At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver we raced in our fair share of either rain or slush up above our boots; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
3) In the 2009 Liberec (Czech Republic) World Championships they raced in poor conditions and wild grooming; Luckily our grooming is mostly awesome these days thanks to our new Pisten Bully! However, there was one day that the wind drifts were so bad that all twenty of us completed our training session “tailing” the Pisten Bully so we could ski in the tracks before they “blew in” with fresh snow!
Here are a couple of pictures of the blue ice/fresh snow glacier on our single “sun-break”
This camp, due to the low snow, the skiers enjoyed a daily commute on the Pisten Bully down to skiing. One of my teammates likened it to riding the school bus to school; our skis and poles were our books, our workouts our assignments, and our post-training granola bar our “sack lunch.”
Another sweet picture of Casey and the new PB. Thanks so much to all the supporters who chipped in!!!
This is the post-training traffic jam in the glacier kitchen that is LUNCH!
One of the many products of the “traffic jam”
Some of you may wonder what we do all day, everyday during our glacier training camps. The schedule is surprisingly jam-packed and I rarely find myself with much extra time. Here is what the general schedule looks like:
6:30am – wake up/breakfast/dress/last minute ski changes & adjustments
7:45am – “pre-game meeting” Description of workout, technique examples, daily training volume assignments, waxing recommendations.
8am – Board Pisten Bully to “commute to training”
8:30-11am – train & ride PB back to facility
11am-noon – Lunch #1
Noon – 3pm – Afternoon chores, pm ski prep (klister!) & technique review from the morning session, dinner prep – some athletes are able to nap. (This is where my sleep envy comes in…. ) + Lunch #2
3:15 – 4pm: Afternoon “pre-game meeting” , PB transport, etc.
4-6:30pm – Afternoon training, ride PB home
Post-afternoon ski core or strength routine.
7pm – Dinner
Dinner clean
Training talk
10pm – lights out/quiet time….. get ready to wake up and do it all again the next day.
Erik graciously goes over technique with anyone who wants it for hours and hours….
Matt Gelso putting peanut butter on his burger? Hum… can’t knock it until I try it and well, I didn’t try it.
Was this really necessary?
Okay, this was HILARIOUS. Right before we left, Eric and Reese made a deal: Reese could smash a rotten tomato in Erik’s face and Erik would earn $5. An amount, which he pointed out would otherwise take him 30 minutes to earn at his $10/hr job. This situation goes to show that we’re not a rich sport, but what we lack in dollars, we make up for in passion!
The Sun Valley crew missed the tomato incident but luckily Reese caught it on film….
Speaking of Reese, check out his latest video account of our final glacier camp of the year (including the tomato incident) here:
Hiking off the glacier on the first beautiful day…
It was great having Sun Valley (SVSEF) join us for this camp. Top l-r: Mike Sinnott, Matt Gelso, Chelsea Holmes. Bottom l-r: Morgan Arritola & Colin Rodgers.
Of course the APU crew needed a team shot too. (The rest of our folks flew down… ) Fitz, me, Erik BJ, Pat PJ, Reese and E-Flora
Gelso sports his plastic bag “diper-slide” for Gus’s Crack, the infamous steep pitch of heather which is often easier to slide on your butt than try to hike…
In the car we found this waiting! Not necessarily standard fair but it sure tasted good at the moment!
And then there was JUNEAU……
After this structured, ski-only schedule it was time to get out of the Anchorage Bowl and see some new territory. I realized that between summer school, glacier skiing, and intensive training I haven’t left South Central Alaska since May. While I enjoy being home, the redundancy of my days, (especially when it’s bad weather) starts to get to me and I need a change of pace. So, a couple of weeks ago I booked a mileage ticket to visit my good friend Sarah Schoen in Juneau. While I have lived in Alaska for six years now there are still many, many parts that I hadn’t seen and I was curious to explore the South East.
Now, I know that the weather in the South East is unpredictable at ANY time of the year but after spending almost a week there I am AMAZED at how much it rained. In many ways, it made ol’ANC look like dry Arizona in comparison. I resorted to borrowing Sarah’s “Rain Moo-moo” which was actually a rubber Helly Hansen rain jacket that went down to my mid-shin. On Friday night we attended Juneau’s First Friday event, an art opening where all the downtown galleries and shops have open houses to display local artist’s pieces. At least half of everyone in attendance were wearing Xtratufs, (brown rubber boots) even at the wine tasting event: Rubber in Juneau is a Nordic Skier’s Spandex, a surfer’s board shorts or a Seattleite’s favorite coffee mug.
Check out this AWESOME fence!
Despite the dismal weather (I experienced THREE whole hours of visibility during my six day stay) I had a great time visiting with Sarah and she was as always, a wonderful, gracious host.
Sarah picked and pickled “fiddle heads” which I’ve always wanted to try. They are young fern sprouts and an Alaskan delicacy.
Here I am with the Mendenhall glacier in the background during our 3 hours of clear weather!
My visit to Juneau also gave me a chance to catch up with my friend Abby Lowell (McCallister). Abby and I raced for PNSA, Pacific Northwest together. In fact, we raced the J2 relay together back in the day. In this picture Abby is actually 8.5 months pregnant. Up until last week she had been running an average of 35 miles/week while pregnant! Abby is actually the editor for the Juneau Empire and blogged about the experience. Perhaps the most interesting blog title is called, “No, it does not bounce all over the place.” Check out Abby’s blog about running pregnant HERE.
It’s funny what people do in order to adapt to bad weather. Juneau folks definitely have the creative bug….. Theme parties are big: one night there was a fried chicken party at a bar. Sarah also told me about a theme party her parents attended in Juneau when they were young where everyone showed up in their swim suits with a lawn chair…… the heat was turned up and they sipped on Margaritas; all the while it was pissing rain and perpetually 50 degrees outside. Instead of either of these options we chose to pick blueberries in a downpour:
The LOOT!
Now it’s time to head back to ANC to get back to work. I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me with fall classes, a 2.5 week visit from my brother, a three-week block of power training and then it’s off to Park City for a two-week altitude/sunshine training camp. Two months of preparation left and it’s off to Europe for race season! It’s going to happen quickly!! Tighten your seat belts!
My Labor-Day ski from the end-of-the-road to Sarah’s office in Auke Bay…
Also, if you’re looking for something to do (!) check out this recent “Pro-Workout” I did with Faster Skier the other day here:
The August glacier camp was the latest camp our team has ever attempted. At some point during the “summer” the glacier transitions from melting away under the sunshine and/or rain (ablation) and begins the annual accumulation process of collecting snow and refilling crevasses. The blue ice temporarily disappears and once again, the surface of the glacier is covered in a fresh, white blanket.
That said, if you have no expectations about the weather, you cannot be disappointed. The typical first move on Eagle is to climb out of bed and pull the blanket covering the window tacked to the wall away and see what you’re in for that day…. “Is it blue bird and sports bra or is it ice-pellet shrapnel and windbreakers?” This camp was the later…. Because I knew the forecast going into it, I thought this was necessary:
Casey and Erik enjoying a rare moment of relaxation with espresso in the afternoon.
The bergschrund that forms every year at the top of the glacier, near the facility.
While the “pure enjoyment” part of me wishes that we had sunshine everyday, or even for ONE DAY, I know that we gained MORE by skiing in challenging conditions…… by doing intervals when it was 32 degrees and snowing…. (Poor Pete iced so bad he fell on his face and broke his ski).
When the going gets tough there are two options: you can give up and create excuses or you can work with and overcome the situation. You can tough it out. No, the skiing may not be pretty… you may not be proud of it but maybe you’re even the fastest one out there that day? Who knows….
Erik Flora, our coach is famous for all kinds of lines and points. He emphasizes and re-emphasizes things with new found enthusiasm all the time. One of his favorite talking points on the glacier is to speak favorably about the “difficult weather.” He makes the point that Eagle features conditions that are similar to the last three championship cycles. He has a good point:
1) In Oslo/2011 we raced World Championships in front of tens of thousands of spectators in pea-soup fog; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
2) At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver we raced in our fair share of either rain or slush up above our boots; Conditions often found on Eagle Glacier.
3) In the 2009 Liberec (Czech Republic) World Championships they raced in poor conditions and wild grooming; Luckily our grooming is mostly awesome these days thanks to our new Pisten Bully! However, there was one day that the wind drifts were so bad that all twenty of us completed our training session “tailing” the Pisten Bully so we could ski in the tracks before they “blew in” with fresh snow!
Here are a couple of pictures of the blue ice/fresh snow glacier on our single “sun-break”
This camp, due to the low snow, the skiers enjoyed a daily commute on the Pisten Bully down to skiing. One of my teammates likened it to riding the school bus to school; our skis and poles were our books, our workouts our assignments, and our post-training granola bar our “sack lunch.”
Another sweet picture of Casey and the new PB. Thanks so much to all the supporters who chipped in!!!
This is the post-training traffic jam in the glacier kitchen that is LUNCH!
One of the many products of the “traffic jam”
Some of you may wonder what we do all day, everyday during our glacier training camps. The schedule is surprisingly jam-packed and I rarely find myself with much extra time. Here is what the general schedule looks like:
6:30am – wake up/breakfast/dress/last minute ski changes & adjustments
7:45am – “pre-game meeting” Description of workout, technique examples, daily training volume assignments, waxing recommendations.
8am – Board Pisten Bully to “commute to training”
8:30-11am – train & ride PB back to facility
11am-noon – Lunch #1
Noon – 3pm – Afternoon chores, pm ski prep (klister!) & technique review from the morning session, dinner prep – some athletes are able to nap. (This is where my sleep envy comes in…. ) + Lunch #2
3:15 – 4pm: Afternoon “pre-game meeting” , PB transport, etc.
4-6:30pm – Afternoon training, ride PB home
Post-afternoon ski core or strength routine.
7pm – Dinner
Dinner clean
Training talk
10pm – lights out/quiet time….. get ready to wake up and do it all again the next day.
Erik graciously goes over technique with anyone who wants it for hours and hours….
Matt Gelso putting peanut butter on his burger? Hum… can’t knock it until I try it and well, I didn’t try it.
Was this really necessary?
Okay, this was HILARIOUS. Right before we left, Eric and Reese made a deal: Reese could smash a rotten tomato in Erik’s face and Erik would earn $5. An amount, which he pointed out would otherwise take him 30 minutes to earn at his $10/hr job. This situation goes to show that we’re not a rich sport, but what we lack in dollars, we make up for in passion!
The Sun Valley crew missed the tomato incident but luckily Reese caught it on film….
Speaking of Reese, check out his latest video account of our final glacier camp of the year (including the tomato incident) here:
Hiking off the glacier on the first beautiful day…
It was great having Sun Valley (SVSEF) join us for this camp. Top l-r: Mike Sinnott, Matt Gelso, Chelsea Holmes. Bottom l-r: Morgan Arritola & Colin Rodgers.
Of course the APU crew needed a team shot too. (The rest of our folks flew down… ) Fitz, me, Erik BJ, Pat PJ, Reese and E-Flora
Gelso sports his plastic bag “diper-slide” for Gus’s Crack, the infamous steep pitch of heather which is often easier to slide on your butt than try to hike…
In the car we found this waiting! Not necessarily standard fair but it sure tasted good at the moment!
And then there was JUNEAU……
After this structured, ski-only schedule it was time to get out of the Anchorage Bowl and see some new territory. I realized that between summer school, glacier skiing, and intensive training I haven’t left South Central Alaska since May. While I enjoy being home, the redundancy of my days, (especially when it’s bad weather) starts to get to me and I need a change of pace. So, a couple of weeks ago I booked a mileage ticket to visit my good friend Sarah Schoen in Juneau. While I have lived in Alaska for six years now there are still many, many parts that I hadn’t seen and I was curious to explore the South East.
Now, I know that the weather in the South East is unpredictable at ANY time of the year but after spending almost a week there I am AMAZED at how much it rained. In many ways, it made ol’ANC look like dry Arizona in comparison. I resorted to borrowing Sarah’s “Rain Moo-moo” which was actually a rubber Helly Hansen rain jacket that went down to my mid-shin. On Friday night we attended Juneau’s First Friday event, an art opening where all the downtown galleries and shops have open houses to display local artist’s pieces. At least half of everyone in attendance were wearing Xtratufs, (brown rubber boots) even at the wine tasting event: Rubber in Juneau is a Nordic Skier’s Spandex, a surfer’s board shorts or a Seattleite’s favorite coffee mug.
Check out this AWESOME fence!
Despite the dismal weather (I experienced THREE whole hours of visibility during my six day stay) I had a great time visiting with Sarah and she was as always, a wonderful, gracious host.
Sarah picked and pickled “fiddle heads” which I’ve always wanted to try. They are young fern sprouts and an Alaskan delicacy.
Here I am with the Mendenhall glacier in the background during our 3 hours of clear weather!
My visit to Juneau also gave me a chance to catch up with my friend Abby Lowell (McCallister). Abby and I raced for PNSA, Pacific Northwest together. In fact, we raced the J2 relay together back in the day. In this picture Abby is actually 8.5 months pregnant. Up until last week she had been running an average of 35 miles/week while pregnant! Abby is actually the editor for the Juneau Empire and blogged about the experience. Perhaps the most interesting blog title is called, “No, it does not bounce all over the place.” Check out Abby’s blog about running pregnant HERE.
It’s funny what people do in order to adapt to bad weather. Juneau folks definitely have the creative bug….. Theme parties are big: one night there was a fried chicken party at a bar. Sarah also told me about a theme party her parents attended in Juneau when they were young where everyone showed up in their swim suits with a lawn chair…… the heat was turned up and they sipped on Margaritas; all the while it was pissing rain and perpetually 50 degrees outside. Instead of either of these options we chose to pick blueberries in a downpour:
The LOOT!
Now it’s time to head back to ANC to get back to work. I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me with fall classes, a 2.5 week visit from my brother, a three-week block of power training and then it’s off to Park City for a two-week altitude/sunshine training camp. Two months of preparation left and it’s off to Europe for race season! It’s going to happen quickly!! Tighten your seat belts!
My Labor-Day ski from the end-of-the-road to Sarah’s office in Auke Bay…
Also, if you’re looking for something to do (!) check out this recent “Pro-Workout” I did with Faster Skier the other day here:
The team traveled to Bellows Falls, VT this afternoon to compete in the first cross country running race of the fall and came home with both the girls and boys race winners – Calvin Swomley & Issy Pelletier – along with a many other fast times and great performances for the afternoon. We’re guests of the league, so we don’t officially score or factor into team results (we keep our own times!), but it’s great to hop in a race and get a solid running workout in for the week. Our 3 PG boys (Charlie, Nick & Corky) are too old to race in the high school league and Mollie and Anika are avoiding running for now as they rehab some injuries, so that group of five, plus Matt, biked from South Londonderry to Bellows Falls High School (30 mile ride) while Sverre and Liz drove the runners over. Pictures and results below! Click on any picture to make it bigger. (Above, Sverre talks strategy with the boys before the race.)
Issy, Kate, Mackenzie, and Tess made up our team of four girls today!
Boys race is off! From left with white tops and blue shorts are Gino & Mac side by side, Tyler, Hamish, Calvin and Paddy.
Less than a mile into the race Calvin establishes himself at the front of the pack with Jacob Ellis (Brattleboro), Paddy, and Jordan Fields (Woodstock) in tow. Paddy Tyler (above) & Hamish (below) are not too far behind. Hamish is smiling because his knee isn’t bothering him! Gino is too fast for the camera!
Mac strides it out on a downhill. Back in the field, about halfway through the race, Calvin goes stride for stride for the lead.
Jordan Fields, a member of the New England Junior National team last winter, is a step ahead of Paddy. Tyler cruises through the flats.
Hamish starts chipping away at the race and passes a few runners.
Gino looking strong. Calvin breaks the race open on the final lap through the woods.
Paddy drops Jordan and pulls even with Jacob Ellis…who we found out is the Vermont State Champion at 800 meters! Back into the field to catch the finish (sorry for not catching the rest of the crew in the woods!) – Calvin stretches out his lead.
Coming around with 100 meters to go until the finish Calvin (out front) has some ground on Paddy and Jacob (Brattleboro) who sprinted it out down to the wire! Jacob was able to pull away with a few yards left to sandwich between Calvin and Paddy.
Hamish passed Tyler during the second lap and brings it home for a 10th place finish.
Tyler takes 12th place.
Gino right on Tyler’s heels in 13th.
Mac sprints in to take 25th place.
Meanwhile, the ladies warm up for their race with some strides.
Paddy and Gino wish the girls luck for their race! Post-race boys team photo.
Girls are off! Issy (foreground) and Kate (background, just rounding the turn) took off at the gun and never looked back.
Kate – smiling! Tess strides through the trails behind Bellow Falls HS. I missed Mackenzie here – sorry!
The biking crew pulls in halfway into the girls race.
Anika and Mollie are all smiles!
Back to the race – Issy pulls away for her eventual win…
(Missed Kate – sorry!) Mackenzie speeds up in the second half of the race and picks up several places to move into the top ten.
Tess rounds the corner with less than a mile left.
Issy heads for the finish as Calvin and Corky cheer her on.
Kate solidly in second place!
Mackenzie brings it home in 6th place.
Tess puts all our girls in the top ten with a 10th place finish.
Below are some great pictures from Issy’s dad, Herve Pelletier – thanks!
Mac.
Mackenzie. Kate. Issy leading Kate at the start.
Tess.
On the way home, Charlie snapped the rest of these pictures from the van. Route 11 was in better shape than it was last week, but still has some areas with visible flood damage, including the heartbreaking shot of the home that was swept into the river below. We’re very lucky to have not felt much of the hurricane’s impact up on the mountain.
The Cutthroat is an 11-something mile trail race which begins at Rainy Pass, ascends to Cutthroat Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail, and then descends down to the Cutthroat trailhead. It’s a gorgeous run, with early-morning views of the high Cascades as you attain the pass at the halfway point. I’ve raced the Cutthroat off and on since its inception when I was in high school, and it has become a great mid-dryland season training marker for fitness progress. Last year when I raced it I had mono but didn’t yet know it, so I don’t hold that time in high regard. The year before however was a good effort to beat this time around, and two Saturdays ago I was ready to display my improvements.
Because the Cutthroat this year fell on the same day as the Cascades Crest 100-miler which Alison was racing we spent most of the day Friday getting her ready to go, and I completely spaced it on picking up my race packet and bib. I of course didn’t realize this until I was riding up the pass with Scott at 7am. I then had to operate on the hopeful assumption that my local status would provide some small pull for me with MVSTA, such that I could get a replacement bib in time for the start. This turned out to be the case, as Mike Pruett (Events Director of MVSTA) brought with him to the start the unclaimed bibs, and after some chiding I was numbered-up and ready to run. I put in a small warmup but focused on staying pretty low-intensity, as the start shoots right into a climb and I wanted to be fresh for the effort. I wasn’t sure who all would show up in the front ranks; Soloman Woras for sure: a local around the same age as the Greggs and myself who went on after high school to compete as a professional road, then cyclocross racer. Sol is a lean motor on two legs and I knew it’d be all I could do to hang on to him. We expected to also see Marcell Macarthur, a regional favorite who usually breaks the pack on this race with his shattering downhill efforts. And then there’re always several team runners from Seattle who jam their way into the lead group. My goal was to be top-5 to the pass; I have very mediocre ability to run downhill fast so I must rely on a strong climbing time to keep myself in the running for the lead.
From the gun Sol and I got into the front. The pace was quite a bit slower out of the start than last year, when Koos and Marcell decided to sprint the first mile. This year, seeing as how no one was interested in taking the lead (one guy even asked where the trail began, so we knew we had some advantages), Sol and I moved quickly forward. Once we hit the trail at the end of the parking-lot start, we picked it up. Then Sol REALLY picked it up, and I hung on him as we shattered the pack open and built a ~30sec gap on the rest of the field. From there it was our race to lose. Sol kept up a solid pace the entire five miles of the climb and I fought to keep the gap small, which I was able to do until just before the pass when he opened his lead to about 40 sec.
The Cutthroat is an 11-something mile trail race which begins at Rainy Pass, ascends to Cutthroat Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail, and then descends down to the Cutthroat trailhead. It’s a gorgeous run, with early-morning views of the high Cascades as you attain the pass at the halfway point. I’ve raced the Cutthroat off and on since its inception when I was in high school, and it has become a great mid-dryland season training marker for fitness progress. Last year when I raced it I had mono but didn’t yet know it, so I don’t hold that time in high regard. The year before however was a good effort to beat this time around, and two Saturdays ago I was ready to display my improvements.
Because the Cutthroat this year fell on the same day as the Cascades Crest 100-miler which Alison was racing we spent most of the day Friday getting her ready to go, and I completely spaced it on picking up my race packet and bib. I of course didn’t realize this until I was riding up the pass with Scott at 7am. I then had to operate on the hopeful assumption that my local status would provide some small pull for me with MVSTA, such that I could get a replacement bib in time for the start. This turned out to be the case, as Mike Pruett (Events Director of MVSTA) brought with him to the start the unclaimed bibs, and after some chiding I was numbered-up and ready to run. I put in a small warmup but focused on staying pretty low-intensity, as the start shoots right into a climb and I wanted to be fresh for the effort. I wasn’t sure who all would show up in the front ranks; Soloman Woras for sure: a local around the same age as the Greggs and myself who went on after high school to compete as a professional road, then cyclocross racer. Sol is a lean motor on two legs and I knew it’d be all I could do to hang on to him. We expected to also see Marcell Macarthur, a regional favorite who usually breaks the pack on this race with his shattering downhill efforts. And then there’re always several team runners from Seattle who jam their way into the lead group. My goal was to be top-5 to the pass; I have very mediocre ability to run downhill fast so I must rely on a strong climbing time to keep myself in the running for the lead.
From the gun Sol and I got into the front. The pace was quite a bit slower out of the start than last year, when Koos and Marcell decided to sprint the first mile. This year, seeing as how no one was interested in taking the lead (one guy even asked where the trail began, so we knew we had some advantages), Sol and I moved quickly forward. Once we hit the trail at the end of the parking-lot start, we picked it up. Then Sol REALLY picked it up, and I hung on him as we shattered the pack open and built a ~30sec gap on the rest of the field. From there it was our race to lose. Sol kept up a solid pace the entire five miles of the climb and I fought to keep the gap small, which I was able to do until just before the pass when he opened his lead to about 40 sec.
The Cutthroat is an 11-something mile trail race which begins at Rainy Pass, ascends to Cutthroat Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail, and then descends down to the Cutthroat trailhead. It’s a gorgeous run, with early-morning views of the high Cascades as you attain the pass at the halfway point. I’ve raced the Cutthroat off and on since its inception when I was in high school, and it has become a great mid-dryland season training marker for fitness progress. Last year when I raced it I had mono but didn’t yet know it, so I don’t hold that time in high regard. The year before however was a good effort to beat this time around, and two Saturdays ago I was ready to display my improvements.
Because the Cutthroat this year fell on the same day as the Cascades Crest 100-miler which Alison was racing we spent most of the day Friday getting her ready to go, and I completely spaced it on picking up my race packet and bib. I of course didn’t realize this until I was riding up the pass with Scott at 7am. I then had to operate on the hopeful assumption that my local status would provide some small pull for me with MVSTA, such that I could get a replacement bib in time for the start. This turned out to be the case, as Mike Pruett (Events Director of MVSTA) brought with him to the start the unclaimed bibs, and after some chiding I was numbered-up and ready to run. I put in a small warmup but focused on staying pretty low-intensity, as the start shoots right into a climb and I wanted to be fresh for the effort. I wasn’t sure who all would show up in the front ranks; Soloman Woras for sure: a local around the same age as the Greggs and myself who went on after high school to compete as a professional road, then cyclocross racer. Sol is a lean motor on two legs and I knew it’d be all I could do to hang on to him. We expected to also see Marcell Macarthur, a regional favorite who usually breaks the pack on this race with his shattering downhill efforts. And then there’re always several team runners from Seattle who jam their way into the lead group. My goal was to be top-5 to the pass; I have very mediocre ability to run downhill fast so I must rely on a strong climbing time to keep myself in the running for the lead.
From the gun Sol and I got into the front. The pace was quite a bit slower out of the start than last year, when Koos and Marcell decided to sprint the first mile. This year, seeing as how no one was interested in taking the lead (one guy even asked where the trail began, so we knew we had some advantages), Sol and I moved quickly forward. Once we hit the trail at the end of the parking-lot start, we picked it up. Then Sol REALLY picked it up, and I hung on him as we shattered the pack open and built a ~30sec gap on the rest of the field. From there it was our race to lose. Sol kept up a solid pace the entire five miles of the climb and I fought to keep the gap small, which I was able to do until just before the pass when he opened his lead to about 40 sec.
I am now back in Park city, as we have finished our summer grand prix competitions. As I look back on the competitions I have to say, I am happy with everything even though some of my results were not the best.
I was really happy with the progression of my jumping as I started to jump at a much higher level. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reproduce those jumps in all my competitions, but at least I know that I am capable of jumping at that level and feel like I can continue to get better.
On the cross country side, I am very happy with the level of skiing. I learned quite a bit about tactics in the racing which will continue to help me earn better results in the future.
As I move forward, I will have plenty to work on and continue to improve. Our team will have national competitions in Chicago at the end of the month, followed by a quick in Lake Placid to finish of the summer and prepare for winter.
I am now back in Park city, as we have finished our summer grand prix competitions. As I look back on the competitions I have to say, I am happy with everything even though some of my results were not the best.
I was really happy with the progression of my jumping as I started to jump at a much higher level. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reproduce those jumps in all my competitions, but at least I know that I am capable of jumping at that level and feel like I can continue to get better.
On the cross country side, I am very happy with the level of skiing. I learned quite a bit about tactics in the racing which will continue to help me earn better results in the future.
As I move forward, I will have plenty to work on and continue to improve. Our team will have national competitions in Chicago at the end of the month, followed by a quick in Lake Placid to finish of the summer and prepare for winter.
I am now back in Park city, as we have finished our summer grand prix competitions. As I look back on the competitions I have to say, I am happy with everything even though some of my results were not the best.
I was really happy with the progression of my jumping as I started to jump at a much higher level. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reproduce those jumps in all my competitions, but at least I know that I am capable of jumping at that level and feel like I can continue to get better.
On the cross country side, I am very happy with the level of skiing. I learned quite a bit about tactics in the racing which will continue to help me earn better results in the future.
As I move forward, I will have plenty to work on and continue to improve. Our team will have national competitions in Chicago at the end of the month, followed by a quick in Lake Placid to finish of the summer and prepare for winter.
I am now back in Park city, as we have finished our summer grand prix competitions. As I look back on the competitions I have to say, I am happy with everything even though some of my results were not the best.
I was really happy with the progression of my jumping as I started to jump at a much higher level. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reproduce those jumps in all my competitions, but at least I know that I am capable of jumping at that level and feel like I can continue to get better.
On the cross country side, I am very happy with the level of skiing. I learned quite a bit about tactics in the racing which will continue to help me earn better results in the future.
As I move forward, I will have plenty to work on and continue to improve. Our team will have national competitions in Chicago at the end of the month, followed by a quick in Lake Placid to finish of the summer and prepare for winter.
I am now back in Park city, as we have finished our summer grand prix competitions. As I look back on the competitions I have to say, I am happy with everything even though some of my results were not the best.
I was really happy with the progression of my jumping as I started to jump at a much higher level. Unfortunately, I couldn’t reproduce those jumps in all my competitions, but at least I know that I am capable of jumping at that level and feel like I can continue to get better.
On the cross country side, I am very happy with the level of skiing. I learned quite a bit about tactics in the racing which will continue to help me earn better results in the future.
As I move forward, I will have plenty to work on and continue to improve. Our team will have national competitions in Chicago at the end of the month, followed by a quick in Lake Placid to finish of the summer and prepare for winter.
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Issy, Kate, Mackenzie, and Tess made up our team of four girls today! ![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fqxaFAQxiL0/Tma3aY50fSI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/xb_54drlO8c/s1600/IMG_5173.JPG")
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Back to the race – Issy pulls away for her eventual win… 
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