Category: XCFeeds

divMade it to Ostersund Sweden! Its looking really awesome over here, the skiing is simply outrageous. Everyone around here is so into skiing and it shows even around town. The bus stops have nordic posters plastered all over them and the trail system here at Camp Sodergren is amazing. The trails go right into parts of town and all of the bus routes connect to the trails for local pick ups. The lights flare up on the trails everyday for tons of night skiing. We’ve walked around town a bit and Ostersund is a really cool city. Tons of shops and local activity. This morning the coaches made us an awesome breakfast of swedish pancakes covered in jams, jellies, fruits, and yogurt. Later today we are hoping to hit a flea market in town!/divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEH5yW3gI/AAAAAAAAGOQ/dWHb3G5LAQw/s1600/underthe%2Blights.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEH5yW3gI/AAAAAAAAGOQ/dWHb3G5LAQw/s320/underthe%2Blights.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567931416875294210″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Awesome skiing under the lights!/divdivbr //divdivdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEHWCwcQI/AAAAAAAAGOA/_S2xw4QhJ80/s1600/Housingpicture.JPG”/adivimg style=”text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEHnUmTmI/AAAAAAAAGOI/gXfVsXzp3w0/s320/tower.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567931411918638690″ //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”The biathlon stadium and the water tower/ restaurant./divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEHWCwcQI/AAAAAAAAGOA/_S2xw4QhJ80/s1600/Housingpicture.JPG”img style=”text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEHWCwcQI/AAAAAAAAGOA/_S2xw4QhJ80/s320/Housingpicture.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567931407280402690″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Our rooms right on the ski trails/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEHCxulhI/AAAAAAAAGN4/HpW5roulp-s/s1600/food2.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEHCxulhI/AAAAAAAAGN4/HpW5roulp-s/s320/food2.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567931402108704274″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Jack and Paddy’s favorite breakfast of blueberry soup, yogurt, banana, and granola!/divdiv style=”text-align: center;” /diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEG8MnLOI/AAAAAAAAGNw/6R_esQ8kJK4/s1600/food.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUVEG8MnLOI/AAAAAAAAGNw/6R_esQ8kJK4/s320/food.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567931400342416610″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Lunch on top of the tower with an amazing buffet./divdivbr //divdivFor J1 trip updates, click on the link on the right./divdivbr //divdivThis story was from Cambria and Paddy. Thanks!!!!/divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdivbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdivbr //div/div/div/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-3009531567876698624?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

Results:

http://www.superiortiming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/SuperTour_Classic_Unofficial_Results.pdf

The placing is a bit disappointing for me, but I feel myself coming back into form.  It was great to see my teammate Santi skiing strong and he helped lead me into the finish (caught me from 30 seconds back).  Boards were running great today.  Pretty solid day for the CXC Crew.  Hats off to Stuber for the win and for coach Adam Kates finishing second in the men’s race.

!–StartFragment– p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”font-size:16.0pt”biEASTERN EXPOSURE/i/b/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”Sixty of them make up a minute.span style=”mso-spacerun:yes” /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”Over the course of almost four minutes, a single second doesn’t seem like a significant amount of time.span style=”mso-spacerun:yes” /spanAt the Junior World Championships, a fraction of a second recalls the saying that a “imiss is as good as a mile/ispan style=”font-style:normal””.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanTwo of the young guns from the US Team learned that lesson the hard way yesterday, missing the qualifying cut for the round of 30 by less than a second.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /span/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”Stratton Mountain School Senior, Heather Mooney skied an incredible qualifier, only to miss the cut by a single position.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanShe ended up in 31supst/sup place, missing the cut by a mere fraction of a second.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanSMS PG skier, Skyler Davis suffered a similar fate, missing the hot seat spot by 0.8 seconds.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanIt was agonizing watching his qualifying standing slide from the mid teens, into the twenties and then stall out in the hot seat for about half a dozen racers.span style=”mso-spacerun:yes” /spanSitting in the final, 30supth/sup, span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanqualifying spot “the hot seat” is nerve wracking, especially when a roster of potentially fast Finnish skiers haven’t yet left the start.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanEventually, the axe fell and Davis joined his USA teammates on the sidelines to cheer on the only member of the team, male or female, who made it into the quarterfinals: University of Alaska racer, from Washington state, Erik Bjornsen.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanBjornsen, skied a great qualifier, placing tenth. span style=”mso-spacerun:yes” /spanDespite skiing a great qualifying round, Erik was eliminated in the quarterfinals.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanUnlike many of the races in the USA, including the USA National Championships, the “lucky loser” designation is based on time, not lowest bib number.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanTo the uninitiated, for a few hopeful minutes, it looked like Erik might advance into the semis based on a low bib-lucky loser spot, but when faster heats arrived at the finish, the cards weren’t in his favor. span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanTough break./p p class=”MsoNormal”The depth of the field here in Oteppa is staggeringly deep.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanLess than 14 seconds separated 1supst/sup from 30supth/sup in the qualifying round.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanIn the men’s qualifier, Russia and Norway claimed the first 8 spots.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanFinland, Sweden and Germany peppered racers throughout the top 30 with surprisingly fast results from France, Austria and host nation Estonia.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanThe Czech Republic, Japan and Kazackstan (insert BORAT joke here…) all had single skiers whom made the cut to the quarterfinals.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”After two brilliantly sunny days, the first day of sprints featured ominously dark skies, very high humidity, warmer temperatures but a biting wind.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanThe chill from the high humidity and wind cut right to the bone.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanWaxing was a challenge.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”When the smoke cleared, there were no surprises on the podium for men or women’s events. /p p class=”MsoNormal”Germany, Norway, Norway for the women.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”Russia, Norway, Russia for the men.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”(iThe top six in the final heat for the men ended up:span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /span/ispan style=”font-style:normal”o:p/o:p/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”iRussia, Norway, Russia, Norway, Russia, Norway.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanHmmm…anyone see a pattern here?)o:p/o:p/i/p p class=”MsoNormal”iOTHER ESTONIAN OBSERVATIONS:/i/p p class=”MsoNormal”The entire event is broadcast LIVE on Estonian TV, nationwide.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanIt’s pretty cool to watch the events everywhere you go during the day.span style=”mso-spacerun:yes” /span/p p class=”MsoNormal” All racers are listed by nationality and club.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanThe sole exception is Russia.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanNo club affiliations are associated with the athletes.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanThey are RUSSIAN!!/p p class=”MsoNormal” Slovenia has the best racing suits (especially if you’re racing in Vermont during deer season).span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanTheir distinctive, fluorescent yellow, neon suits make a real fashion statement!/p p class=”MsoNormal” Many of the powerhouse teams may be found skiing at odd hours on the public trailsspan style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanfound throughout Oteppa.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanIt’s not uncommon to run into packs of Norgwegian, Swiss, Swedish or German skiers out on the public trails at the end of the day./p p class=”MsoNormal” XXXL JUMBO-JUMBO-tron screen in the stadium is impressive.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanThe film crews have been doing an amazing job capturing the action and replaying photo finishes in slow motion on a huge viewing screen the size of Rhode Island.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanThe announcing at the events is great with two emcees calling the shots.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”One of the duet patters away in Estonia… (I think?) while the other splits time between the native tongue and English.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”Standard for all Sprint starts is an eerie, Valkerie-ish kind of chant complete with Big-Ben ticking clock sound effect in the background.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanAs soon as the start pistol is fired, piped in massive crowd-cheering sound effects blast forth from the speakers.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanRowdy fan participation is heartily encouraged!/p p class=”MsoNormal”No “B” finals.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanNo low-bib lucky losers.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanIt’s all about time. /p p class=”MsoNormal”Speaking of which… they run the events with incredible precision.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanNo delays, instant results, confirmed with video and all events are precisely on schedule./p p class=”MsoNormal”Although we haven’t encountered any while skiing around the countryside, Wild Boar may be found on virtually every restaurant’s menu.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spaniPork tare tare/ispan style=”font-style:normal” anyone?/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”The ‘second highest … er, place?’ (ihill, mountain or small Alp would be a stretch/ispan style=”font-style:normal”…) in the Oteppa region is topped off with a massive, wooden viewing tower.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanTrust in Estonian architecture and carpentry skill is a must for those willing to ascend the tower.span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /spanOnce you arrive on the top deck, you are afforded a view of miles and miles of trees, right out to the Estonian horizon./span/p p class=”MsoNormal” /pp class=”MsoNormal”o:p/o:p/p p class=”MsoNormal” o:p/o:p/p p class=”MsoNormal” o:p/o:p/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”mso-spacerun: yes” /span/p p class=”MsoNormal” o:p/o:p/p p class=”MsoNormal” o:p/o:p/p !–EndFragment–div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-259149938912724396?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

My eyes are a bit bleary from grading all day, otherwise I’d try to watch some of the WJC/U23 racing action that appears to be available online. As it is, here’s what’s been cooking here over the last week:

• Wrapping up a weekend of racing on both WC circuits before they take this one off: men’s and women’s classic distance races in Otepää, the classic sprints the next day, and the men’s and women’s biathlon mass start races.
• With Marit Björgen continuing her winning ways, I took a look at how to more fairly compare her record with that of Bente Skari and Elena Välbe.
• Another recap of the WC sprint heats and some other various odds and ends that occurred to me.
• In honor of the racing action being focused in the nation of Estonia, I devoted a post to the question of whether Andrus Veerpalu really does race unusually well at big events like the Olympics and World Championships.
• A brief summary of the results for two American biathletes who’ve been skiing well lately.
• I showed a little graphical evidence of something that I’ve mentioned a few times: that the men’s heats in WC sprint races are more likely to become slower as the day goes on than the women’s heats.
• Finally, an attempt to put the races of several of the U23 racers efforts in some more helpful context.

Related posts:

1. <Week In Review: Friday Dec 10th
2. <Week In Review: Friday Dec 17th
3. <Week In Review: Friday Jan 7th

I’ve been swamped with grading this week, so I feel a little bad about not posting anything about World Juniors specifically. I’ll try to put something together over the weekend. But these percent back difference plots are pretty easy to pump out for the U23s, since they tend to have a bit more racing behind them, and hence more data.

If you’ve forgotten what it is I’m plotting here, you can check here for an explanation. The basic idea is to compare someone’s performance (e.g. Musgrave’s) to their past performances against the particular people at that race. This provides for better, more stable, comparisons than simply plucking out a single skier to use as a benchmark.

First up, Andrew Musgrave:

This is mostly as I suspected. Musgrave’s race looks somewhat better than what he was averaging earlier this season. So, not terribly surprising that he had a good race, perhaps, but maybe more notable for how close it actually is to a typical race for him this season. It’ll be interesting to see if he can put a great one together at World Championships and maybe break into the top thirty.

Noah Hoffman commented after his race something to the effect of “Meh.” He should know best:

And wouldn’t you know it, Hoffman knows how well he skied! Imagine that. That looks pretty much average for his season so far, although somewhat better than last year, which is always good.

Of course, I shouldn’t ignore the Canadians, in this case Kevin Sandau:

That looks like a comparatively good race for him this season, but we should note that in Sandau’s case I only have 2-3 other FIS distance races on record for him so far this season, so comparisons for this season are a little thin. It definitely seems like a step forward from last year, though.

Related posts:

1. <USST Preview: Simi Hamilton & Noah Hoffman
2. <USST Preview: Andrew Newell
3. <Gällivare Recap: North Americans

We will be posting updates on this week end races at Michigan Tech. in the Upper Peninsula.   The schedules, coarse maps and results (click on http://www.superiortiming.com/)

 will be available from this site.  http://supertour.mtu.edu/

I’ve mentioned this from time to time in other posts, but one thing I’ve noticed from the sprint heat times that Jan at WorldOfXC.com has been providing me is that the women’s heats are more likely to increase in speed as the day progresses. I’ve said it enough that I should probably provide some evidence:

In blue I’ve shown the median value (and error bars representing the interquartile range, or middle 50%) for each heat. As you can see, the men’s heats tend to remain roughly flat, or slightly slower as the day wears on. The women, on the other hand, see more of a trend toward faster times as we progress through the quarters, semis and finals.

There could be fitness or physiological reasons for this, or it might be related to how competitive each gender’s qualification round happens to be. For instance, it may be that qualifying in the women’s sprints is enough easier (by this I mean that there is a tendency for the men’s field to be somewhat deeper) which allows many of the women to back off somewhat in qualification.

But another possibility I’d like to suggest is that as the men move into the semis and finals, they are less willing to hammer right out of the gate in an attempt to break their competitors. Instead, they’ll tend to play more of a waiting game.

Related posts:

1. <Düsseldorf Sprint Recap
2. <Andrew Newell: Qualifying vs. Heats
3. <Flashback: Kuusamo Sprint

divToday we had the sprint race for juniors in Otepää. It wasn’t an amazing day for Americans, but it wasn’t too bad. Heather was the fastest girl, ending up 31st and only a few tenths of a second out of the heats. Then Amy was 40th, I was 57th, and Kinsey was 58th. For the guys Erik Bjornsen made the heats, qualifying in 10th or 11th and then getting 4th in his quarterfinal. But a guy in front of him got disqualified so he ended up 3rd in his heat but was unable to get lucky loser. Sky was the next American, finishing 35th, only a little bit out of the heats, followed by Tyler Kornfield in 38th and George Cartwright in 49th. We got to stick around and watch all the heats which was awesome! This is by far the coolest place I’ve ever skied, the stadium is absolutely amazing. Here are some pictures:/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULOS1mVJdI/AAAAAAAAGNQ/opLuNMb3eI8/s1600/DSCN0189.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULOS1mVJdI/AAAAAAAAGNQ/opLuNMb3eI8/s400/DSCN0189.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567238912404170194″ //aThey have the big bubble things at the start and finish which makes you feel really fast!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULOSQIb1_I/AAAAAAAAGNI/6IjKYYwjMuA/s1600/DSCN0190.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULOSQIb1_I/AAAAAAAAGNI/6IjKYYwjMuA/s400/DSCN0190.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567238902346668018″ //aAnd a huge screen so you can see the entire sprint race. The building on the left is the wax cabins which are wicked nice and have things to bring in clean air so it doesn’t kill the lungs of the waxers.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNwDSFUtI/AAAAAAAAGNA/v7dUTCOe0TI/s1600/DSCN0193.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNwDSFUtI/AAAAAAAAGNA/v7dUTCOe0TI/s400/DSCN0193.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567238314781922002″ //aThere are three of these tunnels in the stadium which is the secret to its success. You walk through the tunnels to get to the start and finish and wax cabins, but you also ski over them when you lap through the stadium.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNvlto56I/AAAAAAAAGM4/MSnqPnM61V0/s1600/DSCN0194.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNvlto56I/AAAAAAAAGM4/MSnqPnM61V0/s400/DSCN0194.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567238306844436386″ //aHere are the flags, America fourth from the left!!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNvIICN0I/AAAAAAAAGMw/tXefAZ09oyA/s1600/DSCN0195.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNvIICN0I/AAAAAAAAGMw/tXefAZ09oyA/s400/DSCN0195.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567238298902083394″ //aThere were quite a few people in the stands, it will probably be pretty packed the next few days because it’ll be the weekend.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNuyIs0GI/AAAAAAAAGMo/M5Zetj4AiVc/s1600/DSCN0196.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNuyIs0GI/AAAAAAAAGMo/M5Zetj4AiVc/s400/DSCN0196.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567238292999295074″ //aHere is most of the stadium. You start under the big bubbles on the left that say start and go out and take a left up the hill and then go up a hill and down behind the start where the close red markers are. Then you go over one of the tunnel bumps and through the stadium and start up that same hill but stay to the right and loop around the biathlon course. Then, there’s about 200 meters of double poling at the end to get around the biathlon course and then into the lanes. The group of people in front of my camera are the Russian waxers, it was pretty funny to watch them during the heats. There was one Russian boy who used skate skis during all his heats and ended up fifth.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNuZkEPeI/AAAAAAAAGMg/rL2SRMTeu8U/s1600/DSCN0197.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULNuZkEPeI/AAAAAAAAGMg/rL2SRMTeu8U/s400/DSCN0197.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567238286403190242″ //aHere is one of the male heats starting with the screen on the left showing the start.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMd33YJdI/AAAAAAAAGMY/MiG52Mcly0M/s1600/DSCN0199.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMd33YJdI/AAAAAAAAGMY/MiG52Mcly0M/s400/DSCN0199.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567236902967846354″ //aBoys lapping through. It was awesome to watch the heats today, there were a bunch of really fast skiers out there and it was a great learning experience.divAlso, yesterday was a really nice day, it was really cold but the sun was out and it was a blue sky for the first time since we’ve been here. So I took a walk to Elva in the afternoon and took some pictures of the Estonian landscape. From Izzy.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMdcZoj1I/AAAAAAAAGMQ/wyzrvaEqFRg/s1600/DSCN0175.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMdcZoj1I/AAAAAAAAGMQ/wyzrvaEqFRg/s400/DSCN0175.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567236895595335506″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMdGQ8KRI/AAAAAAAAGMI/thTHBqaCJlQ/s1600/DSCN0176.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMdGQ8KRI/AAAAAAAAGMI/thTHBqaCJlQ/s400/DSCN0176.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567236889653291282″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMc1UL0tI/AAAAAAAAGMA/wIcK49Rf5XQ/s1600/DSCN0177.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMc1UL0tI/AAAAAAAAGMA/wIcK49Rf5XQ/s400/DSCN0177.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567236885103497938″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMccZTjHI/AAAAAAAAGL4/HrfCc2wifQw/s1600/DSCN0179.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TULMccZTjHI/AAAAAAAAGL4/HrfCc2wifQw/s400/DSCN0179.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567236878414089330″ //abr //divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-3201565832450706552?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div