Category: XCFeeds

a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7LSxrugoI/AAAAAAAAFeo/lisCpoeukxw/s1600/IMG_9979.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/TP7LSxrugoI/AAAAAAAAFeo/lisCpoeukxw/s400/IMG_9979.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548095314401854082″ //aOur days start with a pre-breakfast run and stretch.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7KMYUFOSI/AAAAAAAAFeg/f3M3X6ZItMg/s1600/IMG_9980.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/TP7KMYUFOSI/AAAAAAAAFeg/f3M3X6ZItMg/s400/IMG_9980.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548094105000950050″ //aAt 8:30 we head up to the ski center for our morning workout. We usually ski from 9-11. Today was an easy day. We split up into pairs with an older skier helping a younger skier for 25 minutes of technique work. This is a great way to have the older skiers really think about what they are doing and how to help correct technique issues and it is fun for everyone. br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7KAM1z5yI/AAAAAAAAFeY/tZZU9VT45KE/s1600/IMG_9987.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 292px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7KAM1z5yI/AAAAAAAAFeY/tZZU9VT45KE/s400/IMG_9987.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548093895762765602″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7J1OuMWII/AAAAAAAAFeQ/9rPO9hs7CQo/s1600/IMG_9989.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/TP7J1OuMWII/AAAAAAAAFeQ/9rPO9hs7CQo/s400/IMG_9989.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548093707289122946″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7Jo3-W9nI/AAAAAAAAFeI/sydAMGeA7KQ/s1600/IMG_9993.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/TP7Jo3-W9nI/AAAAAAAAFeI/sydAMGeA7KQ/s400/IMG_9993.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548093495024481906″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7JaRe-lTI/AAAAAAAAFeA/ogHzaMK7wM4/s1600/IMG_9995.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/TP7JaRe-lTI/AAAAAAAAFeA/ogHzaMK7wM4/s400/IMG_9995.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548093244174144818″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7JNp4911I/AAAAAAAAFd4/-UCZk2jbowc/s1600/IMG_9996.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/TP7JNp4911I/AAAAAAAAFd4/-UCZk2jbowc/s400/IMG_9996.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548093027387299666″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7JAtYkHVI/AAAAAAAAFdw/XGJliFcgVnU/s1600/IMG_9997.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/TP7JAtYkHVI/AAAAAAAAFdw/XGJliFcgVnU/s400/IMG_9997.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548092804986838354″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7I1WHYrmI/AAAAAAAAFdo/3fq3V4NQzQk/s1600/IMG_9999.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/TP7I1WHYrmI/AAAAAAAAFdo/3fq3V4NQzQk/s400/IMG_9999.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548092609762209378″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7IcfZ_FfI/AAAAAAAAFdg/N-mQfvKrZp0/s1600/IMG_0003.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 256px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7IcfZ_FfI/AAAAAAAAFdg/N-mQfvKrZp0/s400/IMG_0003.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548092182759413234″ //aAfter skiing in pairs, we split into three groups and did some technique drills and worked on transitions. The skiing was great and no one wanted to stop at 10:45.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7IOmEeb5I/AAAAAAAAFdY/SpW34VfiRg4/s1600/IMG_0007.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 343px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7IOmEeb5I/AAAAAAAAFdY/SpW34VfiRg4/s400/IMG_0007.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548091944030072722″ //aSkiing transitions.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7IA3i983I/AAAAAAAAFdQ/waOv40by97s/s1600/IMG_0012.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/TP7IA3i983I/AAAAAAAAFdQ/waOv40by97s/s400/IMG_0012.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548091708203201394″ //aWorking on the herringbone.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7HvqfXVGI/AAAAAAAAFdI/wvgjmDMGF5w/s1600/IMG_0018.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/TP7HvqfXVGI/AAAAAAAAFdI/wvgjmDMGF5w/s400/IMG_0018.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548091412640650338″ //aRachel crests the hill in an excellent forward position.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7HgmhHSnI/AAAAAAAAFdA/5NCYaOgcPrU/s1600/IMG_0021.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 334px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7HgmhHSnI/AAAAAAAAFdA/5NCYaOgcPrU/s400/IMG_0021.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548091153876208242″ //aLife is good.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7HJHGrgzI/AAAAAAAAFc4/waUom6TCKxA/s1600/IMG_0025.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/TP7HJHGrgzI/AAAAAAAAFc4/waUom6TCKxA/s400/IMG_0025.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548090750306845490″ //aHallie shows that she has come to the morning workout well prepared as she eats her snack post workout.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7G77E4bwI/AAAAAAAAFcw/sFp4nsShqUg/s1600/IMG_0026.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/TP7G77E4bwI/AAAAAAAAFcw/sFp4nsShqUg/s400/IMG_0026.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548090523739778818″ //aLunch time chat.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7Gk931cmI/AAAAAAAAFco/waSh4oUVADs/s1600/IMG_0027.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 358px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7Gk931cmI/AAAAAAAAFco/waSh4oUVADs/s400/IMG_0027.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548090129353372258″ //aEarly afternoon consists of study time and nap time. Then we leave to ski again at 2:30. This afternoon we tested skis. We had hammered out alot of kms over the first three days and we wanted to back off before starting some intensity tomorrow.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7Gc8-dCgI/AAAAAAAAFcg/M30_NzbdqiE/s1600/IMG_0028.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/TP7Gc8-dCgI/AAAAAAAAFcg/M30_NzbdqiE/s400/IMG_0028.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548089991673743874″ //aSorry, no pictures of ski testing :)br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7GDGeDA3I/AAAAAAAAFcY/Mg7qLLXGCRg/s1600/IMG_0031.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 257px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7GDGeDA3I/AAAAAAAAFcY/Mg7qLLXGCRg/s400/IMG_0031.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548089547545576306″ //aDinner time.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP7Fxn87-XI/AAAAAAAAFcQ/3FlMKmVuuLE/s1600/IMG_0032.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/TP7Fxn87-XI/AAAAAAAAFcQ/3FlMKmVuuLE/s400/IMG_0032.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548089247295863154″ //aThe boys sit down to dinner. Notice the fresh baked bread and well stocked shelves in the background.br /After dinner we have our team meeting to discuss plans for the next several days, then it’s time for a good sleep.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-7272780268542293886?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

Update: I kind of messed this post up a bit.  It does change the picture somewhat, so see below for edits.

There are several topics in North American XC skiing that are fairly predictable.  One of those is that anytime Andrew Newell posts a blazing fast qualifying time but fails to advance to the finals we’ll see some commentary about how this is a pattern with him.  That happened again this past weekend, as he qualified 3rd, almost 4 seconds ahead of eventual winner Emil Jönsson.  Still, it’s not like the day was a disaster for Newell, as he had what’s for him an essentially average race, landing in 13th.

But since this question comes up over and over, let’s look at some data to see if we can identify just to what extent this is a trend for Newell, and how it compares to other top skiers.

Here’s the graph we’re going to discuss (Edit: This graph is wrong.):

Edit: Here’s the correct version.

These are male sprinters who’ve had at least 15 top 30 finishes since 2003 2006-2007.  I’ve calculated something very simple, the median difference between their qualification rank and their final rank for each top thirty finish.  So, for example, on Saturday Newell qualified 3rd and finished 13th, giving us 3-13 = -10.  Do this for every top thirty race and then take the median.  The error bars are included to give you a sense of the variability at play here.  (They are bootstrapped 90% confidence intervals for the median if your care about that sort of thing; since we’re dealing with medians the placement of the median difference within the error bar may appear strange in some cases.)

The first thing I want to emphasize is how many of these skiers experience only very small differences between their qualification and final ranks.  Nearly everyone’s median difference falls between (-2.5,2.5), which if you think about it isn’t a terribly large change. The previous sentence is mostly still true, but there are many fewer of these kinds of skiers present.

Now, there are certainly some people who are quite variable.  Sami Jauhojaervi, for instance, “typically” ends up about where he qualified, but sometimes does quite a bit better.  Cyril Miranda Josef Wenzl follows a similar pattern.  For many others, the median difference is much less variable.

The more interesting folks are situated at the top and bottom of this graph.  The people at the top tend to qualify near the bottom and then successfully move up quite a ways.  The folks at the bottom tend to do just the opposite.  Marcus Hellner seems to be the master of qualifying slowly and then advancing through the heats quite far.  At the other end, there are only three four skiers who have a worse median difference than Newell.  So yes, Newell has had a tendency to qualify much faster than he’s fared in the heats.  But in an absolute sense, his median difference is only -4.  A truly extreme case would be qualifying in the top 5 and then not advancing past the quarterfinals, which would might yield a difference of -20 places or so, (edit: if you finished last in your quarterfinal).  So if Newell’s median difference is -4, that’s going to have happened to him fairly rarely.

So I’d say that Newell’s tendency to post fast qualifying times and then fail to advance far in the heats is fairly mild in an absolute sense, but that it certainly happens to him quite a bit more than it does to many of his competitors.

Related posts:

1. <A New Sprint Points Method
2. <Comparing Variability In Men’s & Women’s Sprinting
3. <USST Preview: Andrew Newell

a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP2PNBlvitI/AAAAAAAAFcI/Yn3n2dHVnIk/s1600/IMG_9967.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/TP2PNBlvitI/AAAAAAAAFcI/Yn3n2dHVnIk/s400/IMG_9967.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547747769918130898″ //aThis morning we had our first classic ski in a snow storm. The temps were in the high 20’s and with the soft snow, it was a bit harder to get kick than it is with our roller skis. But, a good time was had by all and the skiing is getting better and better. Some of the boys have had a fun time chasing Alex Harvey around and one group had a moose sighting.br /Our internet at the condo is down, but should be going again tomorrow so we’ll try to get more pictures up.br /Everyone is doing well and we plan a bit of an easier day for tomorrow after three straight days with morning runs and 2 solid ski workouts.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP2Oxe-HTwI/AAAAAAAAFcA/u_FcR6u6nMg/s1600/IMG_9968.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 236px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP2Oxe-HTwI/AAAAAAAAFcA/u_FcR6u6nMg/s400/IMG_9968.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547747296768642818″ //aSMILE!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/TP2OYd3I5lI/AAAAAAAAFb4/KU8W2n9Nf6A/s1600/IMG_9972.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/TP2OYd3I5lI/AAAAAAAAFb4/KU8W2n9Nf6A/s400/IMG_9972.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547746866974221906″ //aPoppet works with the younger girls during the afternoon specific strength workout.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-742502175955719927?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

It was a pretty decent day for North America on Saturday with Kikkan Randall’s 2nd place, some solid performances by Chandra Crawford and Dasha Gaiazova (8th and 27th) and a mostly average race for Andrew Newell (13th).

Many thanks to Jan at WorldofXC.com for providing me with some data that I don’t usually have access to, namely the split times for all skiers in each round taken from the live timing site at FIS.  This will allow us to look a little more closely at how each skier did as they progressed through the heats.

First up the women:

This should be fairly self-explanatory.  Each line is a single skier; if the line stops before the Final round, they didn’t advance.  The y axis is the skier’s percent back relative to the best time of the day across all rounds.  That way we can compare times both within and between rounds.  Also, I’ve obviously highlighted the top six skiers.

The lines shooting up very high are likely either skiers who crashed or were dropped and packed it in for the rest of the heat.

One thing that stands out to me is that how Arianna Follis managed to get such a slow heat in the quarters and then another fairly relaxed heat in the semis as well.  Keep in mind that while the differences in percent back here may seem large, the race itself was very short, so the time differences between a “fast” and “slow” heat might be only 5-10 seconds.  It’s been a while since I’ve skied as hard as I can for 3 minutes, so I don’t have a good sense anymore of what sort of difference that amount of time makes in one’s perceived effort.

In any case, Kikkan Randall skied very, very consistent heats.  A great sign, I think, from a fitness perspective.  A lot of the “luck” that crops up in sprinting comes from how the pace of your particular heats play out.  That’s something that’s at least partly out of any single skier’s control, although the ability to get in front and dictate the pace is probably pretty crucial as well.

One wonders whether the blistering times set down by both Fabjan and Falk in the qualification round hurt them later on (similar to Jan’s theory on Petukhov).

On to the men:

Evidently, quite a few more crashes in the quarters with the men.  (I didn’t watch the races.)  Or more skiers getting dropped and letting up?  In any case, their presence compresses the rest of the graph, so let’s zoom in a bit:

Interesting pattern here of slowish quarters, faster semis and then a slower final.  I’d would have guessed that finals would tend to be somewhat slower, since they’re going to be more tactical and athletes may be more cautious.  It would be interesting to see if that’s the case over a large set of races, although I’m sure it’s highly dependent on course length and design.

Petukhov certainly managed to lay down some fast times straight through the semis.  Even though the final’s pace was a bit slower, he may have sunk too much energy early on.  Again, sometimes that’s something you can control, sometimes not.

Modin clearly cracked a bit in the final relative to the times he’d been putting in the whole day.  Still, from what I’ve read, and looking at these times, I’m venture a guess that tactics trumped fitness to some extent in the men’s final.  If you watched the races, and I’m completely wrong, feel free to let me know!

Related posts:

1. <Trends In US Skiing Performance: Sprint
2. <How Well Prepared Are World Cup Rookies? (Part 2b: Sprint)
3. <A New Sprint Points Method

I arrived in Anchorage two weeks ago and was very excited to be home! From what I had heard, there was plenty of snow on the ground and the skiing was great! Well little did I know, I arrived just in time for a record breaking and unprecedented ice storm! As I was driving home from the airport at 2 am I asked my sister, “how can it be 24 degrees and raining?” I was perplexed.

I woke up later that morning and the roads were a complete sheet of ice! School was canceled, cars were in the ditch, people were falling on the ice…it was a mess! I was quite tired from traveling so I didn’t plan on training much that day. I kept hoping the rain would stop and turn to snow…but that did not happen. Unfortunately the next two days was much of the same! I didn’t loose hope, but I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do if I had to put up with the ucky weather the entire time I was home. The conditions outside were much to treacherous to do any activity, even walk! I took advantage of the indoor running track and even did some speed intervals, and I began to take a liking to swimming once again.

The forecast called for “snow likely” on thanksgiving day. I went to bed the night before just praying there would be snow when I woke up…and sure enough, there was!!!! I woke up to a winter wonderland and it continued to snow all day long. It felt more like Christmas to me than thanksgiving. I was sure thankful for the 8-10 inches of snow!

The skiing since then has been wonderful! It has been nice to catch up with friends and family. I am headed to Silver Star on Wednesday to prepare for the races this coming weekend. They will mark my first races of the season! I am feeling excited and ready. I will keep you posted on how they go!

I arrived in Anchorage two weeks ago and was very excited to be home! From what I had heard, there was plenty of snow on the ground and the skiing was great! Well little did I know, I arrived just in time for a record breaking and unprecedented ice storm! As I was driving home from the airport at 2 am I asked my sister, “how can it be 24 degrees and raining?” I was perplexed.

I woke up later that morning and the roads were a complete sheet of ice! School was canceled, cars were in the ditch, people were falling on the ice…it was a mess! I was quite tired from traveling so I didn’t plan on training much that day. I kept hoping the rain would stop and turn to snow…but that did not happen. Unfortunately the next two days was much of the same! I didn’t loose hope, but I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do if I had to put up with the ucky weather the entire time I was home. The conditions outside were much to treacherous to do any activity, even walk! I took advantage of the indoor running track and even did some speed intervals, and I began to take a liking to swimming once again.

The forecast called for “snow likely” on thanksgiving day. I went to bed the night before just praying there would be snow when I woke up…and sure enough, there was!!!! I woke up to a winter wonderland and it continued to snow all day long. It felt more like Christmas to me than thanksgiving. I was sure thankful for the 8-10 inches of snow!

The skiing since then has been wonderful! It has been nice to catch up with friends and family. I am headed to Silver Star on Wednesday to prepare for the races this coming weekend. They will mark my first races of the season! I am feeling excited and ready. I will keep you posted on how they go!

I arrived in Anchorage two weeks ago and was very excited to be home! From what I had heard, there was plenty of snow on the ground and the skiing was great! Well little did I know, I arrived just in time for a record breaking and unprecedented ice storm! As I was driving home from the airport at 2 am I asked my sister, “how can it be 24 degrees and raining?” I was perplexed.

I woke up later that morning and the roads were a complete sheet of ice! School was canceled, cars were in the ditch, people were falling on the ice…it was a mess! I was quite tired from traveling so I didn’t plan on training much that day. I kept hoping the rain would stop and turn to snow…but that did not happen. Unfortunately the next two days was much of the same! I didn’t loose hope, but I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do if I had to put up with the ucky weather the entire time I was home. The conditions outside were much to treacherous to do any activity, even walk! I took advantage of the indoor running track and even did some speed intervals, and I began to take a liking to swimming once again.

The forecast called for “snow likely” on thanksgiving day. I went to bed the night before just praying there would be snow when I woke up…and sure enough, there was!!!! I woke up to a winter wonderland and it continued to snow all day long. It felt more like Christmas to me than thanksgiving. I was sure thankful for the 8-10 inches of snow!

The skiing since then has been wonderful! It has been nice to catch up with friends and family. I am headed to Silver Star on Wednesday to prepare for the races this coming weekend. They will mark my first races of the season! I am feeling excited and ready. I will keep you posted on how they go!

I arrived in Anchorage two weeks ago and was very excited to be home! From what I had heard, there was plenty of snow on the ground and the skiing was great! Well little did I know, I arrived just in time for a record breaking and unprecedented ice storm! As I was driving home from the airport at 2 am I asked my sister, “how can it be 24 degrees and raining?” I was perplexed.

I woke up later that morning and the roads were a complete sheet of ice! School was canceled, cars were in the ditch, people were falling on the ice…it was a mess! I was quite tired from traveling so I didn’t plan on training much that day. I kept hoping the rain would stop and turn to snow…but that did not happen. Unfortunately the next two days was much of the same! I didn’t loose hope, but I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do if I had to put up with the ucky weather the entire time I was home. The conditions outside were much to treacherous to do any activity, even walk! I took advantage of the indoor running track and even did some speed intervals, and I began to take a liking to swimming once again.

The forecast called for “snow likely” on thanksgiving day. I went to bed the night before just praying there would be snow when I woke up…and sure enough, there was!!!! I woke up to a winter wonderland and it continued to snow all day long. It felt more like Christmas to me than thanksgiving. I was sure thankful for the 8-10 inches of snow!

The skiing since then has been wonderful! It has been nice to catch up with friends and family. I am headed to Silver Star on Wednesday to prepare for the races this coming weekend. They will mark my first races of the season! I am feeling excited and ready. I will keep you posted on how they go!

I arrived in Anchorage two weeks ago and was very excited to be home! From what I had heard, there was plenty of snow on the ground and the skiing was great! Well little did I know, I arrived just in time for a record breaking and unprecedented ice storm! As I was driving home from the airport at 2 am I asked my sister, “how can it be 24 degrees and raining?” I was perplexed.

I woke up later that morning and the roads were a complete sheet of ice! School was canceled, cars were in the ditch, people were falling on the ice…it was a mess! I was quite tired from traveling so I didn’t plan on training much that day. I kept hoping the rain would stop and turn to snow…but that did not happen. Unfortunately the next two days was much of the same! I didn’t loose hope, but I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do if I had to put up with the ucky weather the entire time I was home. The conditions outside were much to treacherous to do any activity, even walk! I took advantage of the indoor running track and even did some speed intervals, and I began to take a liking to swimming once again.

The forecast called for “snow likely” on thanksgiving day. I went to bed the night before just praying there would be snow when I woke up…and sure enough, there was!!!! I woke up to a winter wonderland and it continued to snow all day long. It felt more like Christmas to me than thanksgiving. I was sure thankful for the 8-10 inches of snow!

The skiing since then has been wonderful! It has been nice to catch up with friends and family. I am headed to Silver Star on Wednesday to prepare for the races this coming weekend. They will mark my first races of the season! I am feeling excited and ready. I will keep you posted on how they go!

I arrived in Anchorage two weeks ago and was very excited to be home! From what I had heard, there was plenty of snow on the ground and the skiing was great! Well little did I know, I arrived just in time for a record breaking and unprecedented ice storm! As I was driving home from the airport at 2 am I asked my sister, “how can it be 24 degrees and raining?” I was perplexed.

I woke up later that morning and the roads were a complete sheet of ice! School was canceled, cars were in the ditch, people were falling on the ice…it was a mess! I was quite tired from traveling so I didn’t plan on training much that day. I kept hoping the rain would stop and turn to snow…but that did not happen. Unfortunately the next two days was much of the same! I didn’t loose hope, but I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do if I had to put up with the ucky weather the entire time I was home. The conditions outside were much to treacherous to do any activity, even walk! I took advantage of the indoor running track and even did some speed intervals, and I began to take a liking to swimming once again.

The forecast called for “snow likely” on thanksgiving day. I went to bed the night before just praying there would be snow when I woke up…and sure enough, there was!!!! I woke up to a winter wonderland and it continued to snow all day long. It felt more like Christmas to me than thanksgiving. I was sure thankful for the 8-10 inches of snow!

The skiing since then has been wonderful! It has been nice to catch up with friends and family. I am headed to Silver Star on Wednesday to prepare for the races this coming weekend. They will mark my first races of the season! I am feeling excited and ready. I will keep you posted on how they go!