Almost everyone got here on time despite the east coast storms coming through. Pete and Hannah were stuck in Newark for an extra 24 hours, and Stella was in the same situation in D.C. but they should be on their way and will arrive tomorrow afternoon to some really amazing skiing! I went out with Logan, Forrest, Peter, Annie, and Marion this morning and we were all really impressed with the trail system, snow conditions, and fast skiers literally right outside our doors (the picture above is the view from all our apartments here.) The guys found a cool trail that goes straight down a huge hill with a really big roller on it.. I probably shouldn’t post any pictures, but I’m going to anyway. Everyone is getting some good sleep right now, and (almost) the whole group will be out together tomorrow morning. Easy skiing on the schedule, lots of hydration, and a chance to walk around downtown Ostersund. The energy level is high here despite the exhaustion of traveling. More tomorrow, its past my bedtime too.
matt![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ey6q-5B1lv0/TUHfw2Z1egI/AAAAAAAAA6g/Ly65nb4o6ZM/s1600/IMG_0495.JPG")
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ey6q-5B1lv0/TUHfwg1RNZI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/ANhrtpnZcWQ/s1600/IMG_0496.JPG")
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ey6q-5B1lv0/TUHfwWO9XKI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/T78Lxad39SQ/s1600/IMG_0498.JPG")
Today’s U23 races in Estonia resulted in victories for some talented young skiers, Russia’s Evgeniy Belov and Finland’s Krista Lahteenmaki. In both cases their wins were fairly convincing, with Belov distancing himself from second place by 16 seconds and Lahteemaki crushed the women’s field by a full minute.
One of the difficulties in gauging performance in situations like these is that it’s hard to know how exceptional a race the winner had. Were these typical efforts for Belov and Lahteenmaki, or were they better (or worse) than usual? One way we can assess that is to look at plots of the differences in percent back between these athletes and the rest of the field, and see how today’s race compares to their past performances against these specific skiers:
![](http://www.statisticalskier.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/belov_pd_diff.png" "belov_pd_diff")
Difference in percent back between Belov and the field.
The blue represents today’s race and the rest of the dots represent times when Belov has raced against some of these people in the past. Notice the short time scale here, as Belov hasn’t faced many of these racers very often prior to this season. In general, today’s race represents what looks like a typical effort for Belov against this field, compared to his other races this season.
How about Lahteenmaki’s race?
![](http://www.statisticalskier.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/lahteenmaki_pd_diff.png" "lahteenmaki_pd_diff")
Difference in percent back between Krista Lahteenmaki and the field.
In contrast to Belov’s race, Lahteenmaki looks like she had a somewhat better race today than she has in the past, against these particular skiers. Prior this season, the difference in percent back between her and skiers in the U23 race were generally between 0 and -15. Today, none were higher than -3 and many were below -15. That suggests to me that this was a somewhat unusually good race for Lahteenmaki, which in turn might suggest that this kind of margin of victory might be difficult for her to replicate. But we won’t find out, I believe, since reports have her leaving U23s for other high level racing in Scandinavia.
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I apologize for the lack of updates lately. To be honest, I could not find any motivation to write about more sub-par performances on the World Cup. It has been hard enough for me to deal with on my own … Continue reading
span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “blockquote type=”cite” style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left; ” Caryn and I flew overnight from JFK to Helsinki, Finland yesterday. After an hour or so in Finland, we caught the Estonian Air, 1/2 hour flight from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia. Both Tallinn and Helsinki are right on the Gulf of Finland. You could see all these straight lines running through the ice that covers the gulf and if you looked really closely, you could see huge transport ships cutting their way through the ice on their way to deliver their goods. The Tallinn airport is a bit bigger than the one in Burlington, Vermont. After some dicey discussions about insurance with the Eurocar agent, it was off to Oteppa, about a three hour drive to the south.br /br /Estonia is about the size of New Hampshire and Vermont combined, with app. a million people inhabiting the country. It’s pretty sparsely populated with miles and miles of flat fields. Few buildings dot the landscape until you arrive in a village or town. Old ruins of stone barns are a common sight, bringing to mind scenes from the film series, BAND OF BROTHERS. Estonia has been the setting for some gnarly encounters with its neighbors over the centuries. Germany, Sweden and Russia have all laid the place to ruin in years past.br /br /The food in Estonia is… interesting. You can get skunked when ordering something that looks like a nice roll, only to discover a hidden wad of SPAM lurking inside, but on the flip side, there are some pretty decent culinary surprises to be had.br /br /Last night, we (Caryn, Tamra Mooney, her mom and I) all went out to a late night dinner after the Opening Ceremonies at the Stadium. Caryn and I were pretty jet lagged from a full day of travel, but we walked over to a local pub and I ordered a ‘chicken with plum’ dish. What a nice surprise! It was awesome. They actually wrap a chicken breast around an honest to goodness plum and bake it. It was great. Caryn ordered fish with ‘no sauce’ which is a guarantee in the USA to get fish slathered in as much sauce as they can find in the kitchen. Here, despite somewhat limited English and our absolute zero command of Estonian, she scored a really nice piece of fish with… surprise…no sauce! br /br /What’s a real mind blower is the cost of food. It is SO cheap. Fully expecting a tab for what would cost $75 at the Shaw’s in Manchester, or double that in Switzerland or Norway, the bill came to a paltry $50.00. Staples are incredibly inexpensive. If you shop around some of the more expensive items (ie. Zucchinis are expensive) you can get out of the market relatively unscathed. br /br /Another “WHAT?” moment came when checking out Norwegian design 100% wool sweaters… $40.00. There is a lady in an EZ-UP tent selling woolen goods at incredibly nice prices. Who knew?br /br /The skiing in the stadium is insane for skiers and spectators alike. I feel like we’re watching “Monster Truck” skiing. Imagine a stadium built with sprint ski racing in mind. Voila! That’s what we’re talking about. Rolls, mini-hills, hairpins, straight-aways… it’s all there, complete with Stadium seating. You can watch the entire race, sitting up in the stadium seats, gnawing on SPAM filled rolls and waving a USA flag. No dark side of the moon moments when skiers go out of view. Stunning. br /br /Big, huge cauldron of flames was lit last night, complete with requisite barrage of fireworks. Very cool watching Alaskan skier, Tyler Kornfield, as flag bearer, lead Team USA into the stadium. The roster for the US Team was a bit light, but given the 1/2 hour to 40 minute drive that the athletes would have to endure + sub zero temperatures, it was a prudent idea for the kids to get their rest and focus on staying healthy, rather than standing around listening to a lip-synching Estonian ‘Rahque und Rollz’ band. br /br /”Lena” and her band were funnier than watching Ashley Simpson on Saturday Night Live. The Estonians didn’t even attempt to hide the fact that they were up on stage, completely faking it. The guitar player was wearing mittens and strumming away while the music coming over the speakers was lead guitar. Hmmm… The drummer was completely out of synch with the sound coming through the PA. Really? On the second cut, when the sound literally e-braked as if someone picked the needle up off the record, the jig was up, but the band gamefully pulled song number 3 out of their lip synching bag and gave it one more try. By then, 90% of all the athletes had peaced out and were back in their vans scurrying off into the night. br /br /Some USA flag waving idiot (that would be me…) held down the fort, so to speak, for rowdy Team USA fans. Given that Caryn, Tamra, her mom and I are pretty much the entire cheering section for the USA, we have our work cut out for us. That doesn’t mean that we’re invisible. The SECOND I pulled my flag (complete with chrome pole…) out of the rental car, the impact was immediate. All kinds of people started giving me thumbs up with phenomenally accented “Go USA!” words of encouragement. It was really cool. When I got into the stadium and started waving it, the press went nuts (they were pretty bored…) and started taking tons of photos of the jackass waving old glory. Glad I was wearing my SMS jacket!br /br /On the way back to the car, Lena crooning away to the fast-disappearing crowd, a snooty member of the Norwegian team mockingly asked, “What country is THAAAT flag from?” He was a bit taken back when I said “Britain, but we kicked their ass out and made up our own country. We’re from across the pond.” It was fun shutting up a holier-than-thou Norgie.br /br /Neighboring, beat-on-the-Estonians-“bully-countries”: Russians, Norwegians, Swedes, all are booked in hotels right around the corner from the venue. Team USA? Not so much. But… being out in the boonies has its benefits. No distractions, very nice roads for running and the food in the compound (gulag?) where they are staying is excellent. All in all, a very nice set up for the team, in sort of Eastern European meets Soviet Era architecture sort of way. Frank Loyd Wright it ain’t, but the borscht can’t be beat!br /br /Did I mention that in general, the command of a local Oteppan’s English is outrageously better than my Estonian? That being said, this ain’t Western Europe Dorothy! You don’t have to travel too far to run into a situation where NO English is spoken, whatsoever. Zero. Add my complete lack of Estonian and you’ve got some pretty funny pantomimes going on. Lots of little drawings and hand waving. It’s just like DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS. If you say it SLOWLY and LOUDLY, they don’t understand you much, much better. That being the case, we still have managed to find the US team’s hotel, our hotel (completely in the dark… and boy does it get dark over here!) shop, drive, eat and sleep. br /br /The sun comes up at around 8:15 ish (notice the ‘ish’). Kind of gloamy. A distinct ground fog covers the area until around 10:00 AM, when there is full light (on sunny days… both days that we’ve been here so far!) and then the sun is tail lights by 4:30 ish. It’s 5:00 PM now and almost completely dark, a la Vermont, on December 21st. br /br /Speaking of VERMONT…br /I’m looking forward to bringing back some VERMONT brand cigarettes for everyone. Yup! Won’t VT Attorney General, Jeffery Amestoy be excited to learn that our little state is being marketed as a cigarette brand in Estonia. Menthol, filtered, filterless… they’ve got ’em all…. and at KILLER prices!!br /br /Other Estonian Observations:br /Haven’t seen a single plane in the sky since we left Tallin, the National Capital, where we flew in from Helsinki, Finland ( 1/2 hour… by the clock… flight over the Gulf of Finland). Guess that there’s not a lot of air traffic between Latvia to the south or Russia to the east (frighteningly close to the east…)br /br /Russia is RIGHT OVER THERE…br /Pretty wild sunset last night. As we were driving south from Tallinn, the sun started setting around 3:00 PM and to the east, the wispy clouds in the sky over Russia turned a deep pink, reddish color. As the evening approached, the same clouds went to a distinctly purple color. All the while, I couldn’t help but think. Wow! If snow fell out of those clouds the flakes would be landing in Russia. Would they be purple?br /br /The Estonian flag actually makes sense. Turquoise, Black and White horizontal stripes, stacked on top of each other. It’s literally the scene you see everywhere around here in winter. Blue sky, Black forest in the distance and white snow fields.br /br /By comparison, Kansas is really mountainous. This is the flattest place I’ve ever seen. The northern part of the country is so flat it boggles the mind. The second highest hill in the Oteppa region is 211 meters above sea level. Not sure how big the largest one is, but I wouldn’t worry about popping your ears or suffering an aneurysm brought on by high altitude.br /br /The only hills we’ve seen are near Oteppa, sight of one of the only alpine ski areas in the country. We visited it this morning. It boasted a t-bar and approximately 150-200′ vertical feet of skiing. The locals were lazing over their umpteenth morning stein of beer and reported that the ‘resort’ wasn’t opening until 11:00ish, so we beat feet to pick up US Team Skiers and drop them off at Nordic trails in Oteppa. They wanted to get their practice ski in on trails adjacent to the actual venue where they will be racing. The logic in doing so was because the trails were being used for today’s events and weren’t open for training until 4:30, aka, “dark-o’clock”. Nah, thanks but no thanks. We’ll ski in daylight thank-you.br /br /Roads were designed with a laser. Straight all the way to the horizon. Two lanes with windblown snow in frozen, rutted tracks. Add 120 kpm semi tractor trailer truck coming the other direction and you’re white knuckling the steering wheel.br /br /Pay or no-pay? Unlike Norway, where all the Nordic trails are free-access, here you can pay to ski on trails maintained by a resort, or ski for free. We chose option “B” today and enjoyed some really nice skiing around the lake upon which Oteppa is located. The trails were very flat (no surprise there…) but stunningly beautiful, winding through forest and meadow, with gorgeous views of the lake. br /br /TEAM USA fared OK today, better yesterday with Jessie Diggins 7th place finish. Noah Hoffman placed 9th for the guys today and Sadie Bjornsen managed to place around 20th place, Caitlin Patterson a few places behind. Big show tomorrow with Skyler, Tyler, Eric and Cartwright in the sprint. Send FAST VIBES over here for the race tomorrow!br /br /Best, Pete/span/span/blockquote/divdiv style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; ” div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “div style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “pre style=”-webkit-user-drag: none; “span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-family:Helvetica;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”white-space: normal;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-family:Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:100%;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size: 13px;”br //span/span/span/span/pre/div/div/divbr //divbr //divbr //divbr //divbr //divbr //div/spanbr //div/span/div/span/div/span/div/spandiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-3015922110115275135?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
It’s always nice to see my countrymen (and women) skiing fast, so it’s been fun to see Lowell Bailey and Laura Spector posting some good results on the IBU World Cup scene over the past several weeks. Let’s just check in and see how these results compare to their past:
![](http://www.statisticalskier.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/bailey_spector.png" "bailey_spector")
These are only “major” races (WC, OWG and WBC) and only Bailey had enough seasons under his belt to warrant a trend line. For Bailey, his improvement is probably as much from a reduced number of bad races as it is from an increased number of good ones. Spector, on the other hand, has simply posted half a dozen races that are as good or better than anything she’s done in the past.
Unsurprisingly, both of these athletes seem to have improved their shooting over last season:
![](http://www.statisticalskier.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/bailey_spector_acc.png" "bailey_spector_acc")
Of course, in Spector’s case, the sample size for her shooting prior to this year is fairly small. Both Bailey and Spector did actually shoot better standing than prone last year (unless I’ve messed something up, which I’m fairly sure I haven’t), which strikes me as fairly unusual. How unusual that is is clearly something I’m going to have to investigate further.
In any case, both Bailey and Spector are clearly seeing a sizable jump in their shooting. Bailey hasn’t shot this well since 2007-2008, which coincidentally was the last time he had a result well below 5% back.
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a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF2Obcs27I/AAAAAAAAGLw/OdbJskLCbQ4/s1600/a024.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/TUF2Obcs27I/AAAAAAAAGLw/OdbJskLCbQ4/s400/a024.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566860604665027506″ //aHere is Heather in Finland with her laundry stuffed up her coat to bring back to the hotel!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF2OFMRl1I/AAAAAAAAGLo/OutoHEkKGt4/s1600/DSCN0091.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/TUF2OFMRl1I/AAAAAAAAGLo/OutoHEkKGt4/s400/DSCN0091.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566860598690551634″ //aWe rode on a huge ferry boat with restaurants and dance floors to go to Estonia, it was awesome!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF2N4kaW1I/AAAAAAAAGLg/BtUEMgK9GZA/s1600/DSCN0121.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/TUF2N4kaW1I/AAAAAAAAGLg/BtUEMgK9GZA/s400/DSCN0121.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566860595302128466″ //aA little island for passport control right outside Helsinki.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF2NeBNuAI/AAAAAAAAGLY/Xa22JGlsdwE/s1600/DSCN0126.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/TUF2NeBNuAI/AAAAAAAAGLY/Xa22JGlsdwE/s400/DSCN0126.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566860588175177730″ //aJessie and Heather are up on top of the boat searching for the Estonian coast!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF2NJEkyvI/AAAAAAAAGLQ/M7gk5N5A13E/s1600/DSCN0088.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/TUF2NJEkyvI/AAAAAAAAGLQ/M7gk5N5A13E/s400/DSCN0088.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566860582552128242″ //aWe were lining up to drive into the massive ferry.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF1FuUfnYI/AAAAAAAAGLI/0C3D1yScNLI/s1600/a030.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/TUF1FuUfnYI/AAAAAAAAGLI/0C3D1yScNLI/s400/a030.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566859355600428418″ //aThis is some Finnish bread that was at every meal when we were in Vierumaki.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF1FGE8sOI/AAAAAAAAGLA/AGxa9XQlzcs/s1600/034.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/TUF1FGE8sOI/AAAAAAAAGLA/AGxa9XQlzcs/s400/034.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566859344797806818″ //aThere were little islands with a few buildings scattered around the ocean on the Finnish coast.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF1EhnZ6RI/AAAAAAAAGK4/A4X38nFeZXw/s1600/a042.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/TUF1EhnZ6RI/AAAAAAAAGK4/A4X38nFeZXw/s400/a042.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566859335010216210″ //aThis is the Helsinki skyline.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF1EQCmr5I/AAAAAAAAGKw/iIPmuWRz9tk/s1600/a074.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/TUF1EQCmr5I/AAAAAAAAGKw/iIPmuWRz9tk/s400/a074.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566859330292461458″ //aTallinn, Estonia in the distance.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUF1D7yrffI/AAAAAAAAGKo/YzqqALRD7HI/s1600/DSCN0131.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/TUF1D7yrffI/AAAAAAAAGKo/YzqqALRD7HI/s400/DSCN0131.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566859324856958450″ //aThis is Africa, Heather got him in a chocolate egg and a little sheet of paper on the inside said that his name is Africa. Amy Glenn helped us translate the Russian.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFzuijGDiI/AAAAAAAAGKg/T3FnhbyuJJk/s1600/DSCN0132.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/TUFzuijGDiI/AAAAAAAAGKg/T3FnhbyuJJk/s400/DSCN0132.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566857857791823394″ //aNoah, Jenny, Heather, and Africa sitting in a coffee shop in Elva, Estonia. Our hotel is about 3km from Elva and about 25km from Otepää.a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFzuNNcDhI/AAAAAAAAGKQ/9vsaUu_bpjw/s1600/DSCN0134.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/TUFzuNNcDhI/AAAAAAAAGKQ/9vsaUu_bpjw/s400/DSCN0134.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566857852063845906″ //aIt’s been really fun to spend time with ex-SMS coach Amy Caldwell.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFztsaDFzI/AAAAAAAAGKI/Q0YGss0KxjE/s1600/DSCN0144.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/TUFztsaDFzI/AAAAAAAAGKI/Q0YGss0KxjE/s400/DSCN0144.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566857843258365746″ //aHeather and Kinsey posing with Africa in Elva. We bought some groceries (mostly chocolate!) and then walked around the town for a little bit.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFztdaisaI/AAAAAAAAGKA/pysrDFU4EgI/s1600/DSCN0147.JPG” style=”text-decoration: none;”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/TUFztdaisaI/AAAAAAAAGKA/pysrDFU4EgI/s400/DSCN0147.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566857839233905058″ /span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color:#FFFFFF;”Heather and Izzy in Elva.br //span/aa onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFyZ5G5YMI/AAAAAAAAGJ4/KyRwBVNGrmc/s1600/DSCN0150.JPG”/adiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFyZ5G5YMI/AAAAAAAAGJ4/KyRwBVNGrmc/s1600/DSCN0150.JPG” style=”text-decoration: none;”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/TUFyZ5G5YMI/AAAAAAAAGJ4/KyRwBVNGrmc/s400/DSCN0150.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566856403558686914″ //aBecca, Sadie, and Reese having a good time.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFyZh2n9CI/AAAAAAAAGJw/WVaxulvY6jI/s1600/DSCN0161.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/TUFyZh2n9CI/AAAAAAAAGJw/WVaxulvY6jI/s400/DSCN0161.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566856397316420642″ //aThis is dining room in our Estonian hotel, the Waide Motell.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFyZFJS1PI/AAAAAAAAGJo/2sgHGOnlib8/s1600/DSCN0173.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/TUFyZFJS1PI/AAAAAAAAGJo/2sgHGOnlib8/s400/DSCN0173.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566856389610099954″ //aHappy campers at dinner time.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFyYx7DoBI/AAAAAAAAGJg/lJAL32J5rsg/s1600/DSCN0162.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFyYx7DoBI/AAAAAAAAGJg/lJAL32J5rsg/s400/DSCN0162.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566856384450109458″ //aWe took ice baths in a makeshift tub the other day, it felt very nice afterwards!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TUFyYeU4ClI/AAAAAAAAGJY/7GegRsVKfhI/s1600/DSCN0164.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/TUFyYeU4ClI/AAAAAAAAGJY/7GegRsVKfhI/s400/DSCN0164.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566856379189693010″ //aWe have a lot of birthdays this week, Ida’s was a couple of days ago, Scott’s is tomorrow, and Caitlin’s is the 30th./divdivbr //divdivEverything is going well here, yesterday was the individual skate race for juniors. Congratulations to Jessie, who killed it with her 7th place! Noah also went really fast today and finished 9th in the 15k individual start for U23s. Yesterday Izzy ended up 70th and Ash ended up 80th. Tomorrow Izzy, Heather, and Sky are all racing in the classic sprint. It should be very fun! Sorry we don’t have any pictures of the venue yet, we’ll try to take some tomorrow, the stadium is awesome!/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-5754707219990874622?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
http://www.kellymcbroom.com/2011/01/success.html
The latest and greatest video from Kelly McBroom! Sends shivers down your spine… and puts this second injury into its own tragic perspective.
Arrived in Orford, Quebec late this evening! Good travel day (one of many to come) and if they all go that smooth we should come out on top! Heading to bed, do some ski testing and pre skiing tomorrow. First race is on Friday, a classic prologue.
Pate
What: Adirondack Paintball Biathlon Series
When: Saturday the 29th
Where: Biathlon Range at Mt. Van Hoevenberg
Time: 12:00pm registration 1:00pm race start
Ages: 8-14
Cost: $5
See you there!
So now what? That is the question I have been getting lately. Starting in 2005 I have been a part of every major championships. Some have gone pretty well for myself others have been disasters but now those days are done. Weird to write.
When I got home last week it was a really odd feeling. All that I have been working for and trying to do has come to an end. I really don’t know where this season went wrong. Training was on pace or ahead of last year, interval times were the same or better as well. I am fit, it just never came together… There are a lot of little things I can point to but who knows… I do know that I had some pretty nasty allergies that I was dealing with in Rumford and was able to fight thru them in the 15k but my 30k still confounds me.
The week after Nationals was one of my hardest as a skier. I have always known that I could never give the Ski Team the choice not to take me and I knew I gave them a good one this time. Still I held out hope that they might take me to World Champs. That my 15k in Rumford would be enough after being the top American guy at the Olympics to get me there. When I got the call and found out that I didn’t make the team it hit me harder than I was expecting. I knew I probably wasn’t going to make it but to hear it was not going to happen was giant kick in the gut. I tried to rally for the classic race in Placid a few days later but one lap into the race I hit a patch of ice on a downhill and fell. From there the race just unravelled. I needed a break then I needed a plan.
It was so nice to finally come home after two months on the road and be able to step away from skiing. Wake up that first morning and have my girls around. To be able to relax and not talk about skiing, play with my daughter, hang out with my wife and just live.
Over the next few days I thought about going to Europe to do some World Loppet’s, the Vasaloppet and the Norwegian Birkebeiner are two that I have always wanted to do. Norwegian Nationals was also a possiblity. In the end I knew that I wanted to win the 50k Championship and those didn’t set me up well for that. I also have wanted to make a run at the American Birkebeiner. So those are the two big dates on my calendar along with some racing here at home that fit well with preparing for those. It is not what I had in mind coming into the season but given my options I am really excited about the possibilities and the process.
I still have my moments of frustration but now that I have a plan and have started to implement it, the freedom I have to train and race has been enjoyable. For years I have envied top runners who get to pick a race and train just for that. Now I have that chance. One week back training I already feel like I am is as good of shape as I ever have. Drives me nuts because I would love to see what I could do against the best in the World but fun because, well, it’s always fun to be in great shape and to be able to use that shape to hopefully make some money is even better.
Next up for me is Pia’s Classic. A 30k classic at Kincaid. After that a few weeks of just training before a tune up 30k before I head south to the Birkie.
I feel so lucky to have been able to put everything I could into ski racing and grateful to all those who have helped make this journey possible.
So now what? That is the question I have been getting lately. Starting in 2005 I have been a part of every major championships. Some have gone pretty well for myself others have been disasters but now those days are done. Weird to write.
When I got home last week it was a really odd feeling. All that I have been working for and trying to do has come to an end. I really don’t know where this season went wrong. Training was on pace or ahead of last year, interval times were the same or better as well. I am fit, it just never came together… There are a lot of little things I can point to but who knows… I do know that I had some pretty nasty allergies that I was dealing with in Rumford and was able to fight thru them in the 15k but my 30k still confounds me.
The week after Nationals was one of my hardest as a skier. I have always known that I could never give the Ski Team the choice not to take me and I knew I gave them a good one this time. Still I held out hope that they might take me to World Champs. That my 15k in Rumford would be enough after being the top American guy at the Olympics to get me there. When I got the call and found out that I didn’t make the team it hit me harder than I was expecting. I knew I probably wasn’t going to make it but to hear it was not going to happen was giant kick in the gut. I tried to rally for the classic race in Placid a few days later but one lap into the race I hit a patch of ice on a downhill and fell. From there the race just unravelled. I needed a break then I needed a plan.
It was so nice to finally come home after two months on the road and be able to step away from skiing. Wake up that first morning and have my girls around. To be able to relax and not talk about skiing, play with my daughter, hang out with my wife and just live.
Over the next few days I thought about going to Europe to do some World Loppet’s, the Vasaloppet and the Norwegian Birkebeiner are two that I have always wanted to do. Norwegian Nationals was also a possiblity. In the end I knew that I wanted to win the 50k Championship and those didn’t set me up well for that. I also have wanted to make a run at the American Birkebeiner. So those are the two big dates on my calendar along with some racing here at home that fit well with preparing for those. It is not what I had in mind coming into the season but given my options I am really excited about the possibilities and the process.
I still have my moments of frustration but now that I have a plan and have started to implement it, the freedom I have to train and race has been enjoyable. For years I have envied top runners who get to pick a race and train just for that. Now I have that chance. One week back training I already feel like I am is as good of shape as I ever have. Drives me nuts because I would love to see what I could do against the best in the World but fun because, well, it’s always fun to be in great shape and to be able to use that shape to hopefully make some money is even better.
Next up for me is Pia’s Classic. A 30k classic at Kincaid. After that a few weeks of just training before a tune up 30k before I head south to the Birkie.
I feel so lucky to have been able to put everything I could into ski racing and grateful to all those who have helped make this journey possible.
So now what? That is the question I have been getting lately. Starting in 2005 I have been a part of every major championships. Some have gone pretty well for myself others have been disasters but now those days are done. Weird to write.
When I got home last week it was a really odd feeling. All that I have been working for and trying to do has come to an end. I really don’t know where this season went wrong. Training was on pace or ahead of last year, interval times were the same or better as well. I am fit, it just never came together… There are a lot of little things I can point to but who knows… I do know that I had some pretty nasty allergies that I was dealing with in Rumford and was able to fight thru them in the 15k but my 30k still confounds me.
The week after Nationals was one of my hardest as a skier. I have always known that I could never give the Ski Team the choice not to take me and I knew I gave them a good one this time. Still I held out hope that they might take me to World Champs. That my 15k in Rumford would be enough after being the top American guy at the Olympics to get me there. When I got the call and found out that I didn’t make the team it hit me harder than I was expecting. I knew I probably wasn’t going to make it but to hear it was not going to happen was giant kick in the gut. I tried to rally for the classic race in Placid a few days later but one lap into the race I hit a patch of ice on a downhill and fell. From there the race just unravelled. I needed a break then I needed a plan.
It was so nice to finally come home after two months on the road and be able to step away from skiing. Wake up that first morning and have my girls around. To be able to relax and not talk about skiing, play with my daughter, hang out with my wife and just live.
Over the next few days I thought about going to Europe to do some World Loppet’s, the Vasaloppet and the Norwegian Birkebeiner are two that I have always wanted to do. Norwegian Nationals was also a possiblity. In the end I knew that I wanted to win the 50k Championship and those didn’t set me up well for that. I also have wanted to make a run at the American Birkebeiner. So those are the two big dates on my calendar along with some racing here at home that fit well with preparing for those. It is not what I had in mind coming into the season but given my options I am really excited about the possibilities and the process.
I still have my moments of frustration but now that I have a plan and have started to implement it, the freedom I have to train and race has been enjoyable. For years I have envied top runners who get to pick a race and train just for that. Now I have that chance. One week back training I already feel like I am is as good of shape as I ever have. Drives me nuts because I would love to see what I could do against the best in the World but fun because, well, it’s always fun to be in great shape and to be able to use that shape to hopefully make some money is even better.
Next up for me is Pia’s Classic. A 30k classic at Kincaid. After that a few weeks of just training before a tune up 30k before I head south to the Birkie.
I feel so lucky to have been able to put everything I could into ski racing and grateful to all those who have helped make this journey possible.
So now what? That is the question I have been getting lately. Starting in 2005 I have been a part of every major championships. Some have gone pretty well for myself others have been disasters but now those days are done. Weird to write.
When I got home last week it was a really odd feeling. All that I have been working for and trying to do has come to an end. I really don’t know where this season went wrong. Training was on pace or ahead of last year, interval times were the same or better as well. I am fit, it just never came together… There are a lot of little things I can point to but who knows… I do know that I had some pretty nasty allergies that I was dealing with in Rumford and was able to fight thru them in the 15k but my 30k still confounds me.
The week after Nationals was one of my hardest as a skier. I have always known that I could never give the Ski Team the choice not to take me and I knew I gave them a good one this time. Still I held out hope that they might take me to World Champs. That my 15k in Rumford would be enough after being the top American guy at the Olympics to get me there. When I got the call and found out that I didn’t make the team it hit me harder than I was expecting. I knew I probably wasn’t going to make it but to hear it was not going to happen was giant kick in the gut. I tried to rally for the classic race in Placid a few days later but one lap into the race I hit a patch of ice on a downhill and fell. From there the race just unravelled. I needed a break then I needed a plan.
It was so nice to finally come home after two months on the road and be able to step away from skiing. Wake up that first morning and have my girls around. To be able to relax and not talk about skiing, play with my daughter, hang out with my wife and just live.
Over the next few days I thought about going to Europe to do some World Loppet’s, the Vasaloppet and the Norwegian Birkebeiner are two that I have always wanted to do. Norwegian Nationals was also a possiblity. In the end I knew that I wanted to win the 50k Championship and those didn’t set me up well for that. I also have wanted to make a run at the American Birkebeiner. So those are the two big dates on my calendar along with some racing here at home that fit well with preparing for those. It is not what I had in mind coming into the season but given my options I am really excited about the possibilities and the process.
I still have my moments of frustration but now that I have a plan and have started to implement it, the freedom I have to train and race has been enjoyable. For years I have envied top runners who get to pick a race and train just for that. Now I have that chance. One week back training I already feel like I am is as good of shape as I ever have. Drives me nuts because I would love to see what I could do against the best in the World but fun because, well, it’s always fun to be in great shape and to be able to use that shape to hopefully make some money is even better.
Next up for me is Pia’s Classic. A 30k classic at Kincaid. After that a few weeks of just training before a tune up 30k before I head south to the Birkie.
I feel so lucky to have been able to put everything I could into ski racing and grateful to all those who have helped make this journey possible.
So now what? That is the question I have been getting lately. Starting in 2005 I have been a part of every major championships. Some have gone pretty well for myself others have been disasters but now those days are done. Weird to write.
When I got home last week it was a really odd feeling. All that I have been working for and trying to do has come to an end. I really don’t know where this season went wrong. Training was on pace or ahead of last year, interval times were the same or better as well. I am fit, it just never came together… There are a lot of little things I can point to but who knows… I do know that I had some pretty nasty allergies that I was dealing with in Rumford and was able to fight thru them in the 15k but my 30k still confounds me.
The week after Nationals was one of my hardest as a skier. I have always known that I could never give the Ski Team the choice not to take me and I knew I gave them a good one this time. Still I held out hope that they might take me to World Champs. That my 15k in Rumford would be enough after being the top American guy at the Olympics to get me there. When I got the call and found out that I didn’t make the team it hit me harder than I was expecting. I knew I probably wasn’t going to make it but to hear it was not going to happen was giant kick in the gut. I tried to rally for the classic race in Placid a few days later but one lap into the race I hit a patch of ice on a downhill and fell. From there the race just unravelled. I needed a break then I needed a plan.
It was so nice to finally come home after two months on the road and be able to step away from skiing. Wake up that first morning and have my girls around. To be able to relax and not talk about skiing, play with my daughter, hang out with my wife and just live.
Over the next few days I thought about going to Europe to do some World Loppet’s, the Vasaloppet and the Norwegian Birkebeiner are two that I have always wanted to do. Norwegian Nationals was also a possiblity. In the end I knew that I wanted to win the 50k Championship and those didn’t set me up well for that. I also have wanted to make a run at the American Birkebeiner. So those are the two big dates on my calendar along with some racing here at home that fit well with preparing for those. It is not what I had in mind coming into the season but given my options I am really excited about the possibilities and the process.
I still have my moments of frustration but now that I have a plan and have started to implement it, the freedom I have to train and race has been enjoyable. For years I have envied top runners who get to pick a race and train just for that. Now I have that chance. One week back training I already feel like I am is as good of shape as I ever have. Drives me nuts because I would love to see what I could do against the best in the World but fun because, well, it’s always fun to be in great shape and to be able to use that shape to hopefully make some money is even better.
Next up for me is Pia’s Classic. A 30k classic at Kincaid. After that a few weeks of just training before a tune up 30k before I head south to the Birkie.
I feel so lucky to have been able to put everything I could into ski racing and grateful to all those who have helped make this journey possible.
It’s great to have a mid-winter break at home! Being in Alaska gives me a chance to sleep in my own bed, hang out with my husband, make sure my friends don’t forget who I am (!) and coach folks that I’ve been working with all spring, summer, and fall. Training for World Champs is priority number one but luckily I have some time leftover to participate in some community events. As an athlete, I’ve received a lot of support from my community and I love the opportunity to give back via sharing my experiences and knowledge. Heck, it always ends up being a lot of fun!
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TT564qdZpjI/AAAAAAAAB0M/6f2onwieS0o/s1600/IMG_0326_2.JPG")
A bunch of these things have an option for Alaska-based folks to participate so please spread the word! Here is the quick list:
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