FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

A collection of live feeds from cross-country ski blogs around the web.

  • NH Mini Camp

     We just got back from two days in the White Mountains. It was a great way to start off our volume week (we do not have classes this week while our alpine team is in Chile).

     We started with a ski up the Kangamagus Highway, skiing up to the top from Lincoln.

     The climb was 15-18 kms (the boys went a bit longer) and was a good warm up for our afternoon ski.

     The boys near the top with the Tri-pyramids in the background.

     Carol gave us a bunch of food that everyone enjoyed on top during our lunch break.

     Even though the forecast had said 0% chance of precipitation, we got a few light showers.

     After lunch, we drove down towards Conway and everyone skied the 25-30 kms back up to the top.

     The J2’s started getting a bit wobbly towards the top :).

     View to the west from the top.

     Jack was happy to finish.

     Today, we all hiked Mt Washington. Scott, Sverre, Liz and the girls went up the Ammonoosuc trail and down the Jewell trail, while Matt and the older boys went up the Jewel trail and then across the southern Presidentials, ending at Crawford Notch.
    The temps were nice and we had bluebird skies, but with the wind on top, it felt like 28!

     Clear and chilly :).

     Heading down…

    A good time was had by all and we returned home/to school in time for dinner.
    Tomorrow is a little easier, then we train with the T2 team Thursday and Friday!

  • Back in the USA.

    Stay tuned this week for a bunch of video and photo updates from our two week training camp in the Sud Tirol region.  We had a great camp with alum Antoine St-Louis, Bend Nordic’s, Ryan St.Clair, and our current team.

    We were able to ski on the Stelvio Glacier three times, completed a 4km uphill roller ski test with the Sud Tirol Regional Team and had a heck of a lot of fun exploring the mountains in the Alto Adige Valley.  We trained with the Sportoberschule‘s (our sister school), Langlauf and Biathlon teams.

    We’re back at school in Vermont and looking forward to having Heidi (USST NTG Camp) rejoin the group for a recovery week with a focus on speed work.

    Check out this unique opportunity to roller ski down the Martell Valley.

  • Ready for the new season

    The pace has already picked up, but I’m ready. This autumn is busier than ever at Nordic Ultratune. Service work is in full swing NOW! It’s a good time to tune up the skis.

    I’ll be flying to Utah to select the new Atomic skis at the Ogden warehouse, and Rossignol skis just down the street, during the first week of October.  Madshus skis come from Seattle, and I work closely with the folks there (Jeremy, Peter and Van) to get the right skis for Ultratune.

    All the new skis require sorting and inspection and testing so that pre-season ski orders can be filled. The new skis are picked and prepped well in advance of the coming season. Fast skis for everyone! But it takes careful work.

    If you’d like to get onto the pick list for a new pair of skate or classic skis, it’s not too late!   Email me right away so that I can get details (height, weight, preferences, etc) needed to pick you a great pair of skis.

    Here’s a profile shot of one of the Rossignol WCS skate skis (on the flex tester). You can see the wedge-shaped profile, which lowers the heel by a few millimeters. Others are using plastic wedges mounted beneath the bindings to achieve the same thing – but Rossignol’s getting it done without adding gadgets and weight.  Rossignol’s new boots have a lowered heel to further increase the effect.  Nice.

    The Nordic Ultratune shop – the windows and doors and walls and merchandise – is almost ready to open for the fall and winter. Officially, the store will resume the normal fall and winter hours on Thursday, September 27th. Shop hours are 11 – 5 on Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun & Mon. I’m often in the shop much longer than that (most of the grinding work is done when the shop is not open).

    Although we don’t get snow in the Methow Valley until November, things are busy enough to require my full time attention well in advance.

    Today its sunny and warm at home, but with smoke from the eastern Washington forest fires (it’s in the news all over, I guess). But I’m already thinking about snow. The picture to the left is the big meadow (Foster’s Field) near my house.

  • Sprint Course Length Effects

    The notion of an athlete preferring distance races of a particular length is pretty familiar, but what about sprinting? The differences between a 0.8km and a 1.8km sprint course may not seem like much compared to the differences between a 15km and 30km race. But (while I’m not a physiology expert) it seems likely to me that you could very well run into much more significant differences in the physiological demands at that smaller scale, in terms of what sorts of things your body needs to be efficient at.

    That’s a long winded introduction to my having run through some simple linear mixed effects models that look at skiers who have a particular tendency to do better (or worse) in sprint races of different lengths. I’m going to start you off with the graph, which is fairly self-explanatory. But be warned, there will be quite a list of caveats…

    The pool I’m drawing on here are folks who’ve done at least 10 major international (WC, OWG, etc.) sprint races. One tricky thing with sprints is what you use as your response variable. I’ve chosen four of the skiers who exhibited the strongest effect in one direction, towards better performance on longer courses. I’m using the final position (not qualification rank) here. In a lot of ways, looking only at qualification speed would be “cleaner”, but I wanted a measure that captured more than just one round of the event; a measure that reflected how well you actually performed in the sprint race as a whole.

    Another big caveat here is that this graph represents all the athlete’s races, so we could be obscuring a confounding variable of changes over time. (I was particularly worried about that with Holly Brooks, but upon checking the raw data, that doesn’t seem to be the case.)

    I’m going to start with Petra Majdic, because it’s a great opening into yet another factor that can be at play here. The effect of performing better on somewhat longer sprint courses for her is probably the weakest of the four. One interesting feature is the rather sharp cutoff at around 1.2km. Since Majdic is (was) one of the fields best sprinters, ever, how can we explain the apparent tendency to perform so much worse over shorter distances? Among many possible options, one things that comes to mind is that shorter courses will tend to make races more unpredictable. Being unlucky, in terms of crashes or stumbles, has a much larger effect. So we might expect less consistency from even the best skiers on shorter courses.

    Holly Brooks is a somewhat dramatic example, particularly since so many of her results never went past qualification, so one could argue that we’re seeing something more directly reflective of her response to race effort length. On the other hand, our data for her are the most limited. Small sample size, and all that. The other two I’m not terribly familiar with.

    On Thursday we’ll look at some folks with trends in the opposite direction…

     

    Related posts:

    1. <New Zealand Continental Cups Sprint
    2. <Sprint Qualification Pacing Analysis
    3. <Quantifying Technique Speed Differences: Sprinting


  • Rollerski and some work on the Ranch

    We’ve been waking up by alternating some short morning jogs and easy yoga.

    On Tuesday we went out for a distance rollerski.  Sweetser started things off with a few body position drills:

    The boys heading up some classic Western terrain – long, steady ups and downs (usually with cows):

    Upon return to the ranch, we earned our keep with some chores – cleaning out the spring culvert, splitting and stacking some firewood, and dealing with some old fence posts and rails.  Welly taking the lead:

    And of course, staying in touch with some homework on the lawn:

    Trip down to Cody tomorrow for some rollerski intensity and to check out the town!

  • Dear Alaska…. REALLY?

    Okay, I grew up in Washington (Seattle specifically) but moved North to Alaska shortly after I graduated from College.  Since that day, I have considered myself closely associated with Alaska if not, purely Alaskan.  Many times this has put me in the position that many Alaskans constantly find themselves in – that is, constantly standing up FOR ALASKA.  I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that the weather blows up here or that I’m crazy for living “so far away from civilization.”  I’ve often responded with things like, “yeah but we can ski 11 months a year” or “yeah, but I LIVE on a ski trail” or “yeah but my friends are awesome and they ski too….” 
    So far, the month of September has slowly but surely taken it’s toll on not only me but all Alaskans.  For the past couple weeks I have almost entirely run out of energy – or steam to defend it.  Instead, I’m looking at the forecast for Park City (where I will go for an altitude camp Oct 1), opting to ride my trainer while watching a run movie, or more often, gritting my teeth and getting out the door.  September in Alaska can traditionally be gorgeous; fall colors, crisp mornings….. but the past couple weeks have simply rained and the wind has blown.  South central Alaska is flooding and high winds the other day clocked over 130 mph which makes for some kind of storm and/or hurricane rating…. 
    This picture basically sums up the last couple of weeks:
     That’s me – getting splashed by the cars, making my own rooster tail on the sidewalk & “enjoying” every minute of the dark, grey, 40 degree weather…..
    Two weeks ago we had our massive windstorm and we lost power for four days.  Luckily we still had water and hot water but no electricity…. I was cooking with the camp stove by candle light!  Novel for the first day or two but after that it was getting a bit old! 
    The other day Rob began to feel sorry for me…. he remembers roller skiing in the rain intimately and as such, he offered to join me on an afternoon training session. I know that he was hoping I’d say no – that he shouldn’t join me but instead I jumped at the occasion.  What person doesn’t want their spouse to have an intimate understanding and compassion for what they’re doing? (I thought this mind lead to him cooking for me, giving me back rubs, etc….)  The first two minutes of the ski were fine until he started “coaching me” and telling me to “not ski like a wuss.”  Well, we were on the connector trail from our house to the Chester Creek trail – and as you can see, it’s covered in leaves and sticks – NOT ideal for “getting out over your skis….”  (Also, take note of all the trees on the side of the trail – those came down in the big wind storm and have been cleared OFF the trail…)  Right after Rob encouraged me to ski more aggressively he literally fell on his face.  After I could see that his injuries weren’t serious, I busted out laughing. His fall couldn’t have been better!  I will say that Rob lasted the entire 2 hours but when we rolled home, he told me that that would be his last roll for a very, very long time.  My thought – mission accomplished.  He got a great reminder of what it’s like to be an elite ski racer in the fall! 
     And… here is my cat, Buggz, the neighborhood hellion who doesn’t even want to go outside (this is very unusual.)
     This is pretty darn typical….
     Boot dryers & multiple pairs of boots and shoes are essential as they never dry out in time for the next session….
    Saturday my training schedule called for a 3 hour OD (over distance) run.  Rob, our friend Max & I ran  on the Johnson Pass trail, just the other side of Turnagain Pass.  Now, Max is from Aspen and he is up spending a few extra days in AK after the International Snow Safety Conference.  Max & Rob had visions of “some epic trips” but instead, he came for the worst weather in recent history.  Our three hour slog turned out to be possibly the wettest run I’ve ever had in my entire life and Max thought that he ran in more water that day alone than the rest of his life combined!  The puddles were literally up to our knees and frequent.  And no, the camera did NOT come along for fear that it would be ruined.  Here are a couple shots from the parking lot afterwards. 
    Three hours in a deluge? No problem 🙂  At least I’m still smiling at the end!!!! 
    The entire town of Hope lost power therefore we couldn’t bum water from our friends, the Christophersons.  Instead, we jerry-rigged a water entrapment system to ensure we had agua for morning coffee! 
    And…. just to give you a visual for the extent of the flooding in AK, here is a youtube video of Lowell Creek in Seward, AK.  This is just a couple blocks away from the finish line of Mt. Marathon: 
    There have, of course, been great parts of September as well. Here are a few other select pictures to spice up the grey shots! 
    Here we are helping out at the Anchorage elementary school running jamborees: 
    Sadie, Rosie & I led warm ups for nearly 1,000 kids kindergarten through 6th grade!
    Some of the APU devo boys were the “rabbits” for the course, making sure that the kids went the right way.  For the actual races themselves they literally wore bunny ears! 
    The running jamborees are a program within Healthy Futures whose goal is to instill active, healthy lifestyles in Alaska’s youth. These girls all have their bibs (everyone gets #1!) and their medals. 
    Cheering on every last kid! 
    Crazy purple carrot grown in none other than the Cresap Family Garden! 
     A wonderful visit from my good college friend Amy, her husband Joe, and the little boy or girl that is hanging out in Amy’s belly! 
    A couple weeks ago we had the privilege of doing an OD in good weather… here are a couple shots of the “other side” in AK 🙂 
     Drink Break! 
    Gotta love a good ridge run! 
     Yep… this counts as gorgeous! 
     Nothing better than a wood stove grilled cheese after a couple hours of running in the mountains! 
     Volunteering with Special Olympics Alaska as one of their honored awards presenters! 
    Last but not least, this day was a special blessing.  Rob and I both have fairly irregular schedules and the mutual days we’ve had off together this summer can be counted on one hand.  Here we are taking advantage of a beautiful day in Prince William Sound helping a buddy check his shrimp pots!  (Thanks Joe!) 
    So, the short story is, we’re hanging in there up here in AK.  I suppose the saying that “what doesn’t kill  you makes you stronger” but geez, it sures takes a lot of energy…. and what I wouldn’t do for some sunshine!  
    The countdown begins – exactly one week until altitude camp in UTAH. Bring it! 
    Cheers, 
    Holly 🙂

  • Family Vacation

    I had a great time with my mom, dad, and sister over the weekend.

    My parents drove in from Aspen and my sister flew from the Bay area. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast outside of Park City. Here are my parents mountain biking:

    The colors on our ride were incredible. We road a trail called Spin Cycle. It rides like a giant half pipe, really fun. Here’s my mom:

    And my dad:

    We also played tennis, ate great food, played cards and Jenga!

    The only training I did was an hour run on Saturday morning. Thanks to my family for a great weekend!

    I’m back to training today, Monday, with two and a half hours of skate roller skiing this morning. This afternoon I have an hour and a half run followed by core.

  • Training 9/24 – 10/28

    Training 9/24 – 9/30: “Volume Week” with 0-2 running races dependent on athlete & team.

    • Tuesday 9/25: 4-6pm at the Range. Continuous skate skiing with focus on technique + strength.
    • Thursday 9/27: 4-6pm at the Range. Continuous classic skiing with focus on technique + strength.
    • Sunday 9/30: 9-11am at Mud Pond. Classic ski with technique and specific strength.

    Training 10/1 – 10/7: “Recovery Week” with Thetford Invitational on Saturday. Notice the shorter training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday!

    • Tuesday 10/2: 4-5:30pm at the Range. Classic ski with technique work + strength.
    • Thursday 10/4: 4-5:30pm at the Range. Skate ski with technique work + strength.
    • Sunday 10/7: 9-11am at Round Church. Classic ski with technique and specific strength. Craftsbury athletes Ida Sargent and Susan Dunklee are hosting a high-school nordic clinic from 1-3pm @ Craftsbury. Details here. Suggested rest day for Comp athletes that are also racing CC Running.

    Training 10/8 – 10/14: “Intensity Week” with Mills River Running Race on Friday.

    • Tuesday 10/9: 4-6pm at the Range. Skate rollerskiing with moderate intensity.
    • Thursday 10/11: 4-6pm at the Range. Classic rollerskiing with moderate intensity.
    • Sunday 10/14: 9-11am at location TBD. Workout will likely be a time-trial of some sort (Bear Trap classic TT, Honey Hollow uphill run TT, or Greystone double-pole TT).

    Training 10/15 – 10/21: “Recovery Week” with NVAC District Champs @ Mississquoi on Saturday.

    • Tuesday 10/16: 4-6pm at the Range. Classic rollerski with “speeds” and strength.
    • Thursday 10/18: 4-6pm at the Range. Skate rollerski with “speeds” and strength. Suggested rest day for Comp Team members racing @ NVAC’s & State Champs.
    • Sunday 10/21: 9-11am at Round Church. Classic easy distance skiing with technique.

    Training 10/22 – 10/28: “Race Week” with State Championships or “Intensity Week”.

    • Tuesday 10/23: 4-6pm at the Range. High-intensity rollerski intervals.
    • Thursday 10/25: 4-6pm at the Range. Easy day for State Champs racers; high-intensity intervals for others.
    • Sunday 10/28: 9-11am at Mud Pond. Classic rollerski. Non-racers = moderate intensity.

  • Big Foot

    The smoke continues to haunt the Valley so we took Highway 20 about 40 miles west this morning.  When we leave Mazama and head up the Pass in to the Mountains there is a good 70 miles before the next town or services.  This area is pretty much all National Forest, National Park or National Recreation Area.  I remember reading Pete Vordenberg’s book growing up and he talked about a crazy friend of his who spent his summers scouring the Pacific Northwest for the elusive Big Foot.  Those guys were training further south in Trout Lake, WA and I wonder if he ever made it North in search of the big hairy guy.
    Ready to Roll

    Almost every long ski we have done this year we have had the good fortune to have vehicle support for dry clothes, spare gear and ride back down the mountain.  Thank you to everyone who has supported our skis over the years.  Today was an early morning and we were self supported.  I brought my bike to set up a shuttle, but we decided to take our chances with hitch hiking from the top.  Many times this has worked quite well, but every so often drivers just think you are an Alien with sticks and drive on by.  The unknown at the end of the ski can lead to some poor recovery.  We made sure to ski with plenty of water, clothes and food to make the wait as comfortable as possible.  Days like today really help make me appreciate the countless times: Scott, Igor, Andy, Mom, Dad, Chad, Alieta and others have run support. The pack wasn’t too heavy though and I think the extra training weight is good for us.  Some day we will race the Norweigian Birkebeiner and be ready to roll.  Plus, I have found that Solomon makes a fantastic ultra light backpack.  The pack is made for running so it is ergonomically designed for activity and adjustable it almost every way imaginable.  I have used it with a CamelBak for most of the summer because it allows me the luxury of drinking without having to stop.

    Caitlin heading up the North Cascades Scenic Highway
    We skied the first kilometer together because we thought we might have seen some strange tracks crossing the road while we were driving.  Our training paces are different but we decided to stick toghether for the first little bit as we both warmed up.
    Big Foot?

     

    Kuzzy often recommended to visualize  ‘skiing like Big Foot’ while working on classic technique.  It works particularly well while tracking him.

     

    Caitlin enjoying a good homemade turkey sandwich and dry clothes after a great ski.

    Sometimes things really work out well and as I reached Rainy Pass I took my skis off as a train of cars approached from the other side and stuck my thumb out.  They all drove right on by.  A bit further down the road a car near one of the trailheads a car did pull off the side of the road.  I walked towards it knowing that once I expained my situation surely I could get a ride back down the mountain.  As I got closer I recognized that the person was my good childhood friend Leah.  She was heading up to run the Maple/Heather Pass loop but offered us to use her car for the shuttle.  Huge thanks to you Leah.  We had to be a bit creative because of the smoke in the Valley, but the day worked out pretty well.  Now it is time for a little strength session indoors.

  • Big Foot

    The smoke continues to haunt the Valley so we took Highway 20 about 40 miles west this morning.  When we leave Mazama and head up the Pass in to the Mountains there is a good 70 miles before the next town or services.  This area is pretty much all National Forest, National Park or National Recreation Area.  I remember reading Pete Vordenberg’s book growing up and he talked about a crazy friend of his who spent his summers scouring the Pacific Northwest for the elusive Big Foot.  Those guys were training further south in Trout Lake, WA and I wonder if he ever made it North in search of the big hairy guy.
    Ready to Roll

    Almost every long ski we have done this year we have had the good fortune to have vehicle support for dry clothes, spare gear and ride back down the mountain.  Thank you to everyone who has supported our skis over the years.  Today was an early morning and we were self supported.  I brought my bike to set up a shuttle, but we decided to take our chances with hitch hiking from the top.  Many times this has worked quite well, but every so often drivers just think you are an Alien with sticks and drive on by.  The unknown at the end of the ski can lead to some poor recovery.  We made sure to ski with plenty of water, clothes and food to make the wait as comfortable as possible.  Days like today really help make me appreciate the countless times: Scott, Igor, Andy, Mom, Dad, Chad, Alieta and others have run support. The pack wasn’t too heavy though and I think the extra training weight is good for us.  Some day we will race the Norweigian Birkebeiner and be ready to roll.  Plus, I have found that Solomon makes a fantastic ultra light backpack.  The pack is made for running so it is ergonomically designed for activity and adjustable it almost every way imaginable.  I have used it with a CamelBak for most of the summer because it allows me the luxury of drinking without having to stop.

    Caitlin heading up the North Cascades Scenic Highway
    We skied the first kilometer together because we thought we might have seen some strange tracks crossing the road while we were driving.  Our training paces are different but we decided to stick toghether for the first little bit as we both warmed up.
    Big Foot?

     

    Kuzzy often recommended to visualize  ‘skiing like Big Foot’ while working on classic technique.  It works particularly well while tracking him.

     

    Caitlin enjoying a good homemade turkey sandwich and dry clothes after a great ski.

    Sometimes things really work out well and as I reached Rainy Pass I took my skis off as a train of cars approached from the other side and stuck my thumb out.  They all drove right on by.  A bit further down the road a car near one of the trailheads a car did pull off the side of the road.  I walked towards it knowing that once I expained my situation surely I could get a ride back down the mountain.  As I got closer I recognized that the person was my good childhood friend Leah.  She was heading up to run the Maple/Heather Pass loop but offered us to use her car for the shuttle.  Huge thanks to you Leah.  We had to be a bit creative because of the smoke in the Valley, but the day worked out pretty well.  Now it is time for a little strength session indoors.

  • Big Foot

    The smoke continues to haunt the Valley so we took Highway 20 about 40 miles west this morning.  When we leave Mazama and head up the Pass in to the Mountains there is a good 70 miles before the next town or services.  This area is pretty much all National Forest, National Park or National Recreation Area.  I remember reading Pete Vordenberg’s book growing up and he talked about a crazy friend of his who spent his summers scouring the Pacific Northwest for the elusive Big Foot.  Those guys were training further south in Trout Lake, WA and I wonder if he ever made it North in search of the big hairy guy.
    Ready to Roll

    Almost every long ski we have done this year we have had the good fortune to have vehicle support for dry clothes, spare gear and ride back down the mountain.  Thank you to everyone who has supported our skis over the years.  Today was an early morning and we were self supported.  I brought my bike to set up a shuttle, but we decided to take our chances with hitch hiking from the top.  Many times this has worked quite well, but every so often drivers just think you are an Alien with sticks and drive on by.  The unknown at the end of the ski can lead to some poor recovery.  We made sure to ski with plenty of water, clothes and food to make the wait as comfortable as possible.  Days like today really help make me appreciate the countless times: Scott, Igor, Andy, Mom, Dad, Chad, Alieta and others have run support. The pack wasn’t too heavy though and I think the extra training weight is good for us.  Some day we will race the Norweigian Birkebeiner and be ready to roll.  Plus, I have found that Solomon makes a fantastic ultra light backpack.  The pack is made for running so it is ergonomically designed for activity and adjustable it almost every way imaginable.  I have used it with a CamelBak for most of the summer because it allows me the luxury of drinking without having to stop.

    Caitlin heading up the North Cascades Scenic Highway
    We skied the first kilometer together because we thought we might have seen some strange tracks crossing the road while we were driving.  Our training paces are different but we decided to stick toghether for the first little bit as we both warmed up.
    Big Foot?

     

    Kuzzy often recommended to visualize  ‘skiing like Big Foot’ while working on classic technique.  It works particularly well while tracking him.

     

    Caitlin enjoying a good homemade turkey sandwich and dry clothes after a great ski.

    Sometimes things really work out well and as I reached Rainy Pass I took my skis off as a train of cars approached from the other side and stuck my thumb out.  They all drove right on by.  A bit further down the road a car near one of the trailheads a car did pull off the side of the road.  I walked towards it knowing that once I expained my situation surely I could get a ride back down the mountain.  As I got closer I recognized that the person was my good childhood friend Leah.  She was heading up to run the Maple/Heather Pass loop but offered us to use her car for the shuttle.  Huge thanks to you Leah.  We had to be a bit creative because of the smoke in the Valley, but the day worked out pretty well.  Now it is time for a little strength session indoors.

  • Big Foot

    The smoke continues to haunt the Valley so we took Highway 20 about 40 miles west this morning.  When we leave Mazama and head up the Pass in to the Mountains there is a good 70 miles before the next town or services.  This area is pretty much all National Forest, National Park or National Recreation Area.  I remember reading Pete Vordenberg’s book growing up and he talked about a crazy friend of his who spent his summers scouring the Pacific Northwest for the elusive Big Foot.  Those guys were training further south in Trout Lake, WA and I wonder if he ever made it North in search of the big hairy guy.
    Ready to Roll

    Almost every long ski we have done this year we have had the good fortune of vehicle support for dry clothes, spare gear and ride back down the mountain.  Thank you to everyone who has supported our skis over the years.  Today was an early morning and we were self supported.  I brought my bike to set up a shuttle, but we decided to take our chances with hitch hiking from the top.  Many times this has worked quite well, but every so often drivers just think you are an Alien with sticks and drive on by.  The unknown at the end of the ski can lead to some poor recovery.  We made sure to ski with plenty of water, clothes and food to make the wait as comfortable as possible.  Days like today really help make me appreciate the countless times: Scott, Igor, Andy, Mom, Dad, Chad, Alieta and others have run support. The pack wasn’t too heavy though and I think the extra training weight is good for us.  Some day we will race the Norweigian Birkebeiner and be ready to roll.  Plus, I have found that Solomon makes a fantastic ultra light backpack.  The pack is made for running so it is ergonomically designed for activity and adjustable it almost every way imaginable.  I have used it with a CamelBak for most of the summer because it allows me the luxury of drinking without having to stop.

    Caitlin heading up the North Cascades Scenic Highway
    We skied the first kilometer together because we thought we might have seen some strange tracks crossing the road while we were driving.
    Big Foot?
    Kuzzy often recommended to visualize  ‘skiing like Big Foot’ while working on classic technique.  It works particularly well while tracking him.

    Caitlin enjoying a good homemade turkey sandwich and dry clothes after a great ski.

    Sometimes things really work out well and as I reached Rainy Pass I took my skis off as a train of cars approached from the other side and stuck my thumb out.  They all drove right on by.  A bit further down the road a car  near one of the trailheads a car did pull off the side of the road.  I walked towards it knowing that once I expained my situation surely I could get a ride back down the mountain.  As I got closer I recognized that the person was my good childhood friend Leah.  She was heading up to run the Maple/Heather Pass loop but offered us to use her car for the shuttle.  Huge thanks to you Leah.  We had to be a bit creative because of the smoke in the Valley, but the day worked out pretty well.  Now it is time for a little strength session indoors.

  • Sawtooth Mountain and Long Lake OD

    We took off for a longer OD on Monday morning up high.  Way up, a loop between 10 and 11k feet.  We chose terrain that was a little bit flatter to avoid the “up and down” effect of mountain climbing workouts.

    Sarah Dominick and Emily Ramsey (MWSC):

    Sam Pratico from Falmouth, who flew out with the Gould Crew:

    Some new shirts came in just before we left!

    Sweetser and Welly check out the map:

    Will and Sarah enjoying lunch with Sawtooth Mountain in the background (dog attempting to enjoy lunch too):

    The crew up top.  Pretty craggy up there:

    John and Brendan (MWSC) taking a water break.  Excellent hydration has been an important theme for the past few days:

    Sadie and Marcello pose for the camera:

    Welly and I took off on a little extra loop for the “big boys:

    And, we returned to another incredible dinner at the ranch.  Sweetser says, “all meat is local!”

  • 7D Ranch, First Day

    We woke up at the 7D Ranch on Sunday morning with the MWSC crew.  Having come in late on Saturday night, waking up was our first real look at the scenery.

    We took a short morning hike up a nearby mountain to get our bearings.  Heading up the trail:

    Will Sweetser and Brendan Cyr from Caribou:

     Building a quick bridge across the Sunlight River:

     Hopping the boundary fence:

    Sadie and Marcello underneath one of the more exposed sections:

    The whole gang up top:

    Sweetser and Ryan Washington (MWSC) Looking out over the 7D Ranch and into the Sunlight Basin:

     One of the themes we’ve been noticing is that people look pretty little compared to everything else out here:

    Marcello and one of the (many) horses:

    So our first morning at altitude wasn’t so bad after all!  In the afternoon we did some light strength on the ranch.  Sadie on some split leg throws:

    Marcello exhibiting some substantial shoulder and core strength:

    Welly Ramsey (MWSC) on some Russian Twists:

    And… this wasn’t part of the circuit, but it wasn’t bad for forearm strength:

  • Fall Update

    It’s been a super busy last couple weeks. My plan with school this year is to take a larger load now in the fall semester, so that I can take an easier load this winter when I will be traveling a lot. That means if I’m not working out there is a pretty good chance you can find me in the library. As I get closer to finishing my degree I get more higher level business classes. Right now I’m taking three business classes and meteorology.

    Training has been going great! I did have a little sickness for a week, but I’m healthy now. My coach believes if your sick for a week you need to take a week to work back into hard training and before you can start giving it a 100% in intervals. I just finished that ease back into it week. I’m really excited for this coming week, I think I will get to do intervals almost everyday. It’s that time of year where we get to push our speed. I put the time in this summer and did lots of easy hours so now I get to put that base to use and test my limits.

    Training this summer on Eagle Glacier, Alaska.

    The weather here in Anchorage has been just nuts. It seems like every other day we have wind advisory alerts. A couple of days they measured wind gusts up over 130 mph. It’s been raining lots too. I’m just glad I’m busy doing other things so it doesn’t bother me much to have this weather now. It makes me feel tough training in it though, sometimes I feel like I could be in the Rocky movie.

    When on the road it is important to be seen. APU just got some bright new rain jackets, just in time.

  • Escape From The Smoke

    The smoke in easter Washington is the worst I have ever seen it.  It is late in the season for forest fires but some lightning strikes almost two weeks ago have been fueld by high temperatures, low humidity and no rain.  The smoke has been clearing enough in the morning to make training possible, but the afternoons have had pretty poor air quality.  Most of the eastern Washington schools have cancelled high school competitions and we have heard rumors about the cancellation of the entire Fall season.

  • Girls Race at Bellows Falls

     Yesterday we took our girls to a race in Bellows Falls. Tim Eno, the BF coach always runs good races and there were 7 girls teams there so it was a fun event.

     After a warm up and a pep talk from Liz, the girls got under way.

     Our girls tend to start slow. This is ok in a field of 60, but might not be so good in a field of 200 (harder to pass).

     Tegan was our lead runner out of the start…in 12th place.

     Mackenzie (who placed 16th) and Kate head out for their second lap.

     Alex had an excellent race and palced 17th.

     Katharine has been getting faster with each race; here she is bringing it home in 2nd.

     Tegan floats in at 5th.

     Kate started conservatively, but kept picking people off and was our 3rd runner, placing 14th.

     Tess hammers home in 20th.

     Ana (our soccer pro) ran well and finished 23rd.

     Pip, below, ran a gutsy race and finished 27th.
    Congratulations to Woodstock for winning the race and to our girls for placing 2nd :).
    After the race, we all went to the Braddish house for a great dinner and movie. 
    THANK YOU GRANT AND JILL!

  • Vacation

    I’m going on vacation with my family. I won’t be posting this weekend.

  • More Travel

    I had an early morning flight out of Boston. I caught a cab at 4:45A.M. (2:45 here in Park City.) There’s nothing better than flying directly over your final destination on your way to a layover!

    My second flight was the short jump from Phoenix back to Salt Lake City. It’s good to be back in Utah! Fall has arrived here in full swing!

  • Training Update

    Our community experienced a very difficult loss this week with the passing of SMS junior Megan Ives.  Meg was an alpine skier, a soccer player, and a dear friend to many.  Our school is small and with the absence of our alpine ski team in Chile, it feels even smaller this week. Needless to say, yesterday was a very subdued day on campus and we spent a lot of time supporting one another.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Meg’s family, friends, and teammates.   Yesterday afternoon all of the students on campus came together as a group to be outside and play a game of capture the flag in the sunshine.   
    Peter Dimitriou goes airborne to escape Tanner and Jack’s tag.  
     Jack making a break for it.  
     Kazia.
     Jack vs. Hamish.
     Mikayla and Kazia.
     Joe & Boylan.
     Mackenzie chases down Drew.
     Joe tries to sneak into enemy territory.
     Hamish on the move.
     Koby with the flag.
     Francesca.
     Finn.
    On Wednesday we teamed up with the snowboarders & freestyle skiers to run through the obstacle course a few times.  We’ll do this again on parents weekend so it was good prep for our all school relay.
     Mackenzie.
     Scott.
     Brandon (minus one shoe!)
     Tess.
     Madison.
     Rakai.
     Nikita & Katharine.
     Pippin.
     Brandon.
     Calvin.
     Ana & Scott.
     Mackenzie.
     Tairoa.  
    Alex demonstrates good burpee form! 
    The winning team!  Jack, Koby, & Brandon.