FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

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

  • Whiteface Mtn Repeats





    This Saturday it is time do the first Annual Whiteface Repeat Event.

    So far there are 3 Olympians and 1 other so inclined individuals signed up. It is an an unofficial unsanctioned event.

    Sometimes one has to go out and do something a little unconventional, maybe it will not make sense to others. It might seem unreasonable or even downright ridiculous to other’s.
    Yet one can derive great satisfaction from setting a goal. The tougher and harder to accomplish the better. One can also get confidence and realize that they can accomplish the “Impossible”
    So go out there and have fun.
    Be Like Zatopek and just do it. Why Because that’s what you do!!!
    Here is an excerpt from a fellow cult member.
    Emil Zatopek was immortalized by what he did at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, winning the gold medal in the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres, and marathon – yet between 1948 and 1958 he also set 20 world records, at 10 different distances. They didn’t call Zatopek the Human Locomotive for nothing. The great Czech runner was inspired by Paavo Nurmi, the man they called the Flying Finn – who in the three Olympic Games from 1920 to 1928 won nine gold and three silver medals. Nurmi was the first distance runner to base his training on repeat 400 metres, with a stopwatch in hand. When Zatopek read Nurmi would run one hour of repeat 400 metres, Zatopek decided he would run two hours of repeat 400 metres. Athletics Weekly gave seemingly unlimited space to the exploits of Zatopek during the 1950s, and in March 1955 carried an extensive feature, having observed his training in Prague for weeks. Included was a sample of Zatopek’s weekly training from that February – when he ran 420 repetitions of 400 meters, thus covering 168kms.
    Monday 7th: am 40 x 400 metres, twice (!) Tuesday 8th: am 50 x 400 metres; pm 40 x 400 metres. Wednesday 9th: am 50 x 400 metres; pm 40 x 400 metres. Thursday 10th: am 40 x 400 metres, twice (!) Friday 11th: am 40 x 400 metres, twice (!) Saturday 12th: am 30 x 400 metres; pm. One hour jogging, and exercises. Sunday 13th: am Two hours jogging and exercises.

    I know, I know, you did that while you were 12, and since you read Zatopek did 400’s – you did 800’s!!!

  • Busy week!

    So I’ve been recovering from my second thumb surgery since my last update. It seems to be going alright. They did end up fusing my thumb joint (the cartilage was just too damaged, and too much of the bone was missing for another try at repairing the joint). So now I have a metal-enforced thumb… Watch out thumb war world.
    This upcoming week I go to Mayo on Tuesday for a special-specialized MRI test with a special radiologist with a special procedure (for my legs). Then on Wednesday I go back to meet with the vascular surgeon, and hopefully this will be when I get some answer. Friday I head to the cities to get the stitches pulled out of my thumb!

  • Testing… and pond creatures

    Pepa welcomed us all back to Craftsbury with a rigorous and comprehensive testing schedule. Yesterday we had a step test on the SkiErg, and today we had a 5k; later in the week we’ll have a 1k, and next weekend, a running test on the track. I can’t say that this schedule made me super enthusiastic about coming back from “vacation” but it has turned out to not be so bad (yet).

    After my test this morning I went out in the woods to find a vernal pool. I attended a training session about a statewide vernal pool mapping program and was excited to see that one of the potential vernal pools found via infrared orthophotos was on the Outdoor Center’s land. So I took off with the GPS to try to find it (warning, the rest of this is going to be kind of nerdy).

    Vernal pools fill up in the springtime, and all sorts of amphibians (like frogs and salamanders) migrate to them, mate, and lay there eggs there. The eggs incubate and hatch and then the tadpoles and larvae spend a few weeks in the pond before emerging. The pools are good habitat for these guys for a couple of reasons: they don’t have fish, so there’s less predation, and there’s a lot of yummy, nutrient-rich organic matter that has built up. By the time the heat of summer rolls around, the pools dry up.

    Ironically, the large pool was right next to the intersection of Race Loop, Upper Bailey Hazen, and Biathlon. Even just since getting back to Craftsbury I have walked by this thing a whole bunch of times without noticing it. But there it was in all of its ephemeral glory:

    DSC03089

    I found some wood frog tadpoles and fairy shrimp in the pond which was pretty cool. But what I really want to talk about is something that isn’t specific to vernal pools. I found some totally awesome caddisflies! Caddisflies look a little bit like small moths when they are adults, but in their larval form they live in water and build awesome houses for themselves. They carry the houses on their backs. I’m not making this up. The houses (I would call them “cases” if I were more professional) are made out of small rocks, pieces of wood, vegetation, decomposing leaves, or whatever blends in with the bottom of the pond, and they make new houses as they grow and leave the old ones behind. I’ve seen plenty of caddisflies in my day but these ones had HUGE houses! There is evidence that some caddisfly species change their case-making techniques and materials based on perceived predator risk, so perhaps that has something to do with this, I’m not sure, or perhaps it has to do with the fact that all the other caddisflies I’ve seen came from streams with relatively fast-moving water. In any case, here’s an empty house that I fished out of the pool:

    DSC03093

    The houses are held together with something akin to the watery version of a spider’s silk. It turns out that people are researching using this silk as a “wet band-aid” to use instead of stitches during surgery. Pretty cool.

    OK, nerd session over, and I’m getting ready for the boys to make fun of this whole blog post and making a joke about Home Alone.

  • Time to put the watch back on

    I put my watch on at the beginning of the week. I now have wear it constantly. I even sleep with it. I take my morning heart rate to monitor my recovery/health, record my distance and interval training and make sure that my naps are just the right length. I have enjoyed the month of April, taking more time to ‘recover’ than ever before. It has served it’s purpose, I feel great.
    The first CXC Team Vertical Limit training camp of the 2010-2011 this season has begun. We got right after it with a VO2 Max Test on the treadmill on Day 1, Friday. (This is a running test on the treadmill where the speed increases every minute until you can’t go any faster. I made it to 10mph at a 9% grade.)
    Saturday we rode the RASTA (Rhinelander Area Ski Trail Association) bike race. This was a big move for me as my biking skills have plenty of room for improvement. The trails were covered with a dusting of fresh snow and overall it was slick and muddy. I felt great though and had a really good race. It is great to be back at work.
    Some of the hills I had to get off my bike and run
    The Cook Brothers battling it out
    Great skier representation in the race: Bryan Cook, Me, Garrott Kuzzy, Karl Nygren… plus others like Steve Pribyl, Adam Swank, Chris Cook, Kenny Statz, Matt Zak…

  • Racing again

    Normally I try to stay far away from running races but since I do a lot of running on my own here in France, I thought I should do some races to find more people to run with. So I looked online and found some road races.
    Last Thursday I found a 10km race in Toulouse with 1000 participants. I found it on Thursday evening and since the registration closed at midnight so I signed up. I told my host mom about it afterward and she asked if I had a medical certificate. I remembered seeing something about this when I was registering. I showed Michele my health insurance card figuring that would more than suffice. But apparently I needed a letter from my doctor dated within the past year that said I was healthy enough to do a race. I definitely didn’t have this and I also haven’t been to a doctor for a physical within the year so getting one was going to be a problem. Michele said I should have told her about it sooner and she could have brought me to a doctor in France (free healthcare for all!) to get a certificate. If only I was organized to make any decision or plans in advance. But with a little creativity and imagination (especially since I didn’t know what a real certificate looked like) I was able to create a “certificat medical.” So Saturday morning I brought my certificate to the race office and at first they said it wouldn’t work so I showed them my insurance card which they visibly didn’t care about and then emptied my wallet of just about every other card like my USSA card, Scuba certification card, First Aid/CPR certification cards, Swix VIP card which has skiers on it and anything else that I thought showed I was a healthy and active person. The race officials were very confused and just gave me my number probably to get rid of me. So I soon found myself lined up for the race with the other 999 or so people! It was quite the language immersion as I stood cramped in the start area enveloped in many different French conversations happening simultaneous. I was so surprised and shocked that I didn’t realize when the gun when off and I was being pushed forward. But then my competitiveness kicked in and I started going for it. The course was pretty flat and had a lot of really long straights but it was exciting to be running in a race with that many other people. I went out a little hard trying to stay with a woman wearing the annoying running underwear like cross country runners weart so I ended up blowing up like a champ with a kilometer to go. I got passed by two more women during this time but still ended up 6th overall for women. I was pretty pleased with myself until I saw I was basically seven minutes behind the winner but it turns out she was the French National Champion in the 10000meters so then I didn’t feel as bad. After the race there was the best spread of croissants, chocolate croissants, pastries, tarts, sweet breads, cakes, chocolate, coffee, and fruit. It was tough to leave that to go cool down. And then the race had some very interesting prizes. I left with a big (close to 2 feet) plastic but chrome painted trophy cup filled with a sleeveless cutoff t-shirt, foot cream, two of the same orange buffs, and a bouquet of flowers which I brought home to my host mom and she loved.
    This weekend there was another race in a little town about 10 kilometers from Toulouse. So I printed another medical certificate, got directions on Google maps, and headed out early Saturday morning for the race. My directions worked perfectly and I was feeling pretty proud of myself when I arrived in the town with plenty of time to spare. Then I saw a big poster for the race posted on a telephone pole with Dimanche or Sunday written in big letters across the top. But since I was out I decided to go for a bike ride and ended up having a great long ride and getting lost on all these little roads since I didn’t have any sort if map. It was great because it was pretty cool and nobody was out since the French don’t wake up until late on the weekend and then they have to “cherche le pain” a phrase that I haven’t understood but means to look for or search for the bread. It’s probably the easiest search ever since there are at least 3 bakeries on the block. My host mom says she has to “cherche le pain” every day but she always goes to the same bakery that is around the corner from our house and usually gets the same kind of bread. But anyway, on Sunday I returned to the little town of Mons which was probably smaller than Craftsbury but was very busy with all the runners. This race was 9km and I showed up late at for the start which was on a very narrow street so I started way in the back and had to use a lot of elbows to get up to where I wanted to be. This course actually had some good sized hills though which my host mom had warned me about many times even though I tried to explain that I liked hills (she didn’t understand). I ran most of the race with a group of early middle aged men including the hairiest man I have ever seen in my life but the good news was that I never bonked and passed some people at then end! But I did get outsprinted by a guy to the line. He was kind of just running it in and I tried to do the sneak attack from behind but then he started sprinting too and it was over for me. The post race food spread wasn’t quite as good though there was some excellent chocolate and coffee. But the prizes were interesting and awesome again. I won another fake looking trophy cup that is bigger and uglier than the last. The trophies are really hilarious and I want to bring them home but they are attached to a big granite base which is actually heavy. Then I won a basket filled with regional products like wine, pate, pickled palms, foie gras, and other things like that and a pearl necklace which I can’t imagine is real pearls but it’s from a local jeweler and is in a very nice box so I’m a little confused but I guess nothing is new there. So yeah now I’m looking for my next race and it has actually been lots of fun (never thought I would say that about running). So if ski racing thing doesn’t work out maybe I’ll move to France to do citizen running races. The prizes are definitely a lot better!

  • Photo

    img src=”http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l25ei1POgW1qzt3xbo1_r1_400.jpg”/br/br/

  • Nordic Skiers Face Real Life SPEED situation. (CLICK HERE)

  • “Bomb scare on my bus, – Kinda scary.’ Yeah, I’m actually getting pretty scared – Lots of guns.”

    “pBomb scare on my bus, – Kinda scary.’/p

    pYeah, I’m actually getting pretty scared – Lots of guns./p”br/br/ – em  Text Messages from Bates College Skier Megan McClelland to fellow skier Ingirid Knowles after being in the midst of a bomb- scare on a bus./em

  • SKI PHOTOS

    div style=”text-align: center;”Here are some photos from recent skis. Powerline Pass, Hill Top and Ship Creek Pass.br //divdivbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YXrJrISgI/AAAAAAAAAT4/AtOSI6EBdKc/s1600/tech+coaching.jpg”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 320px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YXrJrISgI/AAAAAAAAAT4/AtOSI6EBdKc/s320/tech+coaching.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469084827586677250″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Getting some classic technique help from new coach Erik Flora./divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YWlOLsOQI/AAAAAAAAATw/JQmkKkL2_UY/s1600/IMG_3638.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 234px; height: 320px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YWlOLsOQI/AAAAAAAAATw/JQmkKkL2_UY/s320/IMG_3638.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469083626206148866″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”top of ship creek pass- amazing views/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YT7bqbz9I/AAAAAAAAATo/j55GjPxViU0/s1600/IMG_3629.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YT7bqbz9I/AAAAAAAAATo/j55GjPxViU0/s320/IMG_3629.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469080709246996434″ //abr /div style=”text-align: center;”Hand stand gone wrong. You can’t quite tell but that is a steep hill and after a bit of a tumble and a fling over the rock I actually ended on my feet./divbr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YS16sGdAI/AAAAAAAAATY/AAA8djuRAcc/s1600/IMG_3617.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YS16sGdAI/AAAAAAAAATY/AAA8djuRAcc/s320/IMG_3617.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469079514984641538″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”On top of the world!/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YSCvIv3bI/AAAAAAAAATQ/IvMbRAjILg8/s1600/IMG_3616.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/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YSCvIv3bI/AAAAAAAAATQ/IvMbRAjILg8/s320/IMG_3616.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469078635710242226″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Kate Fitz, Becca Rorabaugh and I.br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YRkZ4LevI/AAAAAAAAATI/Si-lJsS_HdY/s1600/DSC05898.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 190px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YRkZ4LevI/AAAAAAAAATI/Si-lJsS_HdY/s320/DSC05898.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469078114607528690″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Ski up powerline pass with the boys./divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YaxBgRTFI/AAAAAAAAAUA/o9J4Ix_ShRg/s1600/IMG_3614.JPG”img src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YaxBgRTFI/AAAAAAAAAUA/o9J4Ix_ShRg/s320/IMG_3614.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469088227007745106″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //a/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”Exhausted…. 14 days in./divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YTWkKLl4I/AAAAAAAAATg/fddMxjhbcwI/s1600/IMG_3622.JPG”img src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-YTWkKLl4I/AAAAAAAAATg/fddMxjhbcwI/s320/IMG_3622.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469080075872475010″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //abr //divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2018521813175454198-2921624502172799351?l=sadiebjornsen.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Crust Skiing Devil’s Pass and Resurrection Pass from Summit Creek

    For years I’ve wanted to crust ski up Summit Creek, which is just west of Summit Lake in the Kenai Mountains. My hope was that once I got up there, I could make some cool loops with Resurrection Pass and Devil’s Pass. Two years ago, Tim, Tim, Benji and I tried going up Summit Creek, […]

  • corduroy in May

    It was a lovely morning for skate skiing again today at Alta, Utah. When we arrived at 8a, the temp was 19F, the sun was bright, there was no wind and we had fresh corduroy.
    There is at least a four foot base on the Alta transfer tow, so snow will be around for a while. The tow is at 8,500 feet, but is only 40 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City.
    Alta kids walking to school, their book bags in their sled. They go to a charter school in the Goldminer’s Daughter Lodge. How many kids in the lower 48 get to pull a sled to school in May?
    If you get tired of corduroy, crust cruising options abound. There are a few ruts to watch out for, as Aaron Phillips found.
    We skated for 1.5 hours, then Aaron had to head home to pack for a trip to the desert with his wife and dog. This afternoon they will be in 80 degree temps in the San Rafael Swell of Utah, 3 hours south of SLC.

  • corduroy in May

    It was a lovely morning for skate skiing again today at Alta, Utah. When we arrived at 8a, the temp was 19F, the sun was bright, there was no wind and we had fresh corduroy.
    There is at least a four foot base on the Alta transfer tow, so snow will be around for a while. The tow is at 8,500 feet, but is only 40 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City.
    Alta kids walking to school, their book bags in their sled. They go to a charter school in the Goldminer’s Daughter Lodge. How many kids in the lower 48 get to pull a sled to school in May?
    If you get tired of corduroy, crust cruising options abound. There are a few ruts to watch out for, as Aaron Phillips found.
    We skated for 1.5 hours, then Aaron had to head home to pack for a trip to the desert with his wife and dog. This afternoon they will be in 80 degree temps in the San Rafael Swell of Utah, 3 hours south of SLC.

  • Bike race in Afghanistan

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S-yELqVjMYI/AAAAAAAACxc/KmWwrBhNu70/s1600/IMG_4012.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/S-yELqVjMYI/AAAAAAAACxc/KmWwrBhNu70/s400/IMG_4012.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470892983226413442″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S-yDY28ydFI/AAAAAAAACxU/ki2FycZ0k8U/s1600/IMG_4020.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S-yDY28ydFI/AAAAAAAACxU/ki2FycZ0k8U/s400/IMG_4020.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470892110438888530″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S-yATQNFfEI/AAAAAAAACxM/PZgrXcqH7Rg/s1600/IMG_4006.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/S-yATQNFfEI/AAAAAAAACxM/PZgrXcqH7Rg/s400/IMG_4006.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470888715604032578″ //abr /Last wednesday the SMS bike team traveled over to Afghanistan. Well, not really, but back in the day Parker Tyler (now at Utah) saw the ribbons of hot pavement swerving through a barren, dry, dirt hillside lined with 50 gallon drums and proclaimed that she must be in Afghanistan. The location is actually the parking lot behind Louden International Speedway in NH. divbr //divdivThe race was a 1 mile crit course finishing up a 1 minute long hill into a headwind. The different groups raced between 8-12 laps. The highlight was definitely having Heather Mooney and Cam Mcdermott win the 12 pack of coke prems. Skyler hung tough in the boys A getting dropped from the lead group of 10 and then catching back up and finishing 9th. Bridger and Austin got cut off early mainly due the fast sprints out of all the corners. Since our winters are so intense, our team has slightly different goals. We generally just ride and really do not get in any speed or fast training, so after a few laps the surges can take a toll./divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S-yFhiNC38I/AAAAAAAACxs/F0b6e9u5THc/s1600/IMG_4028.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 270px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S-yFhiNC38I/AAAAAAAACxs/F0b6e9u5THc/s400/IMG_4028.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470894458512007106″ //abr //divdivHeather was tough in the girls A, leading most of race as no one would pull through and help her chase down the leader. She ended top 10 in the middle of the lead group. Gage won her second race in the B’s with Cam in 2nd, hot on her heels. Walker miscalculated the coke prem lap and went too early, paying the price and getting shuffled back a bit. But it was great see some aggressive riding and it was a good workout. Alpiner Zach Cansella jammed his chain and bent a link. He had to take a pit lap and tough it out in the big ring only, but he finished right behind the lead group./divdivbr //divdivNext up, the finals around Newfound lake in NH./diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S-yGacWgovI/AAAAAAAACx0/KyNPjy826j4/s1600/IMG_4035.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/S-yGacWgovI/AAAAAAAACx0/KyNPjy826j4/s400/IMG_4035.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470895436193637106″ //aa onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S-yFFOqKHrI/AAAAAAAACxk/2ZzE6beIs1I/s1600/IMG_4004.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/S-yFFOqKHrI/AAAAAAAACxk/2ZzE6beIs1I/s400/IMG_4004.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470893972229070514″ //adiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-5363389331165813894?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • “Other racers are this big, compared to the…

    img src=”http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l223x8RrBE1qzt3xbo1_r1_400.jpg”/br/br/p“Other racers are this big, compared to the Sausage…” (via RH)/p

  • Since his departure from the USST, Torin Koos will be…

    img src=”http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l223s5BJz21qzt3xbo1_500.jpg”/br/br/pSince his departure from the USST, Torin Koos will be moonlighting as security to the President of the USA in an effort to fund his ski racing./p

  • Hobbit Feet.  The flattest in the Nordic Ski World.  A JK patch…

    img src=”http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l223puLrWI1qzt3xbo1_500.jpg”/br/br/pHobbit Feet.  The flattest in the Nordic Ski World.  A JK patch to the first person with the correct guess who’s these are.  (email johnnyklister@gmail.com)/p

  • Flat Stanley Does Biathlon

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_k1DHbqzFvCE/S-RlIgKkwFI/AAAAAAAAA-E/G0J0OpHXx7A/s1600/IMG_1227.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/_k1DHbqzFvCE/S-RlIgKkwFI/AAAAAAAAA-E/G0J0OpHXx7A/s400/IMG_1227.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468607044282269778″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”iFlat Stanley blowing in the cool spring wind up on Whiteface Mtn./i/divbr /divOne of my spring projects: Billinsport Elementary in Paulsboro, NJ did a unit on the Winter Olympics and are using

  • Telemark Lodge: Is it lost forever?

  • APU Startup Camp

    div style=”text-align: center;”br //divdivThe past month since I finished my racing season has been a whirlwind of events. The original plan was to spend the summer in Bozeman with my sister and train and work there before heading up to AK at the beginning of August to start school and training with APU. I spent three weeks in Bozeman starting a new job, moving into a new house, making new friends and training buddies, setting up a bank account, and finding the best training areas and gyms in town. I figured I was getting myself set up for a great summer. Turns out I was getting a bit ahead of myself. /divdivbr //divdivAfter talking to my new coach Erik Flora, we decided it was best I spent the majority of my summer in AK getting to know the team, the new coach, and the new training. May, June, and July are the most important months to do some really valuable training. So, after all was said and done I decided to spontaneously hop on a plane and come up to AK for three weeks of training. After these three weeks I plan to head back down to the lower 48 for about a month of “real summer” before I drive back up to AK at the end of June for good./divdivbr //divdivLast week was my first week of training with APU, which happened to be their annual “Startup Camp” Let me tell you, it was a true “start-up”. Erik, my new coach, is a firm believer of getting back into the training right away. The least amount of fitness lost in this short resting period is the best. What this means is we started with a bang. After taking nearly a month of relaxing and “fun exercise” we got back into the grove of things. The first workout included a 90 second uphill test skate rollerskiing.  I happened to set a record high on my lactate level, and got a warm welcoming back into anaerobic training. /divdivbr //divdivThe rest of the week we spent rollerskiing, crust cruising, snow skiing, swimming, running, strength training and biking. Workouts varied from sprint relays to level four intervals up “Wall Street” (a massive climb that goes up for about 10 minutes) to distance training to just general pain. I found myself hanging on to the group for dear life in several occasions but for the most part enjoyed the new team. The best quote of the week was Erik Flora standing on the top of the interval hill describing our workout as simply as “go like-a-hell”. And that is exactly what we did. /divdivbr //divdivIt is a great group of athletes on the APU team that are all doing the same as me- committing themselves to this sport. On the trails these guys are all business, but off the snow it is a fun bunch. Everyone is incredibly nice and helpful which makes it really easy to get along with them all. I am super excited for this new change. /divdivbr //divdivWhile skiing for the APU team, I will also be taking full time classes at the school. I signed up for fall courses a couple days ago- so its official! I was lucky enough to receive a full ride for tuition so I am super stoked about that. Back to the books for me./divdivbr //divdivI spend the next two weeks training here in AK before I head back down to Washington for a few weeks. I will then be attending a “National Elite Group” camp in Park City with the US team coaches for 10 days. Shortly after that I start the long drive up to Alaska- thats an adventure in itself./divdivbr //divdivHere are some pictures from our crust ski up Glen Alps above Anchorage. The first trip definitely was the best ski of my life. Unbelievable crust,  beautiful sunny day, a bunch of people ripping around. Couldn’t ask for better!/divdivbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-Nsbgm5oTI/AAAAAAAAASo/Czbdp5Z9RRM/s1600/DSC05892.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-Nsbgm5oTI/AAAAAAAAASo/Czbdp5Z9RRM/s320/DSC05892.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468333592423276850″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Looking up the valley we skied up. /spanbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-Nt-GuEysI/AAAAAAAAASw/4uENGGGD_nY/s1600/IMG_3596.JPG”img src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-Nt-GuEysI/AAAAAAAAASw/4uENGGGD_nY/s320/IMG_3596.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468335286281095874″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold; “Fitz and I on top of a massive hill- you can’t quite tell that./spanbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”br //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal; “a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-Nu-guc3MI/AAAAAAAAAS4/EK12AsQlwo4/s1600/IMG_3599.JPG”img src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-Nu-guc3MI/AAAAAAAAAS4/EK12AsQlwo4/s320/IMG_3599.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468336392773622978″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; ” //a/span/span/divdiv style=”text-align: left;”br //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-NwJlYd6YI/AAAAAAAAATA/2MdsqOZrJW8/s1600/IMG_3606.JPG”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-NwJlYd6YI/AAAAAAAAATA/2MdsqOZrJW8/s320/IMG_3606.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468337682513783170″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //adiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”View down to Anchorage from above./span/divdivbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”object width=”320″ height=”266″ class=”BLOG_video_class” id=”BLOG_video-860384e8beb35c35″ classid=”clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000″ codebase=”http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0″param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/get_player”param name=”bgcolor” value=”#FFFFFF”param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true”param name=”flashvars” value=”flvurl=http%3A%2F%2Fv1.nonxt6.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D860384e8beb35c35%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1294796618%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3D80A80FC2C45A764BE1B22377A26698DFDC13FB02.A3134D7675DB3240BB484663558F6BB68302CA7%26key%3Dck1amp;iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D860384e8beb35c35%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DJ-hWXLcvhy67VVAq9MSQxi7h-JUamp;autoplay=0amp;ps=blogger”embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/get_player” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash”width=”320″ height=”266″ bgcolor=”#FFFFFF”flashvars=”flvurl=http%3A%2F%2Fv1.nonxt6.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D860384e8beb35c35%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1294796618%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3D80A80FC2C45A764BE1B22377A26698DFDC13FB02.A3134D7675DB3240BB484663558F6BB68302CA7%26key%3Dck1iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D860384e8beb35c35%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DJ-hWXLcvhy67VVAq9MSQxi7h-JUautoplay=0ps=blogger”allowFullScreen=”true” //objectbr //divdiv style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold; “Girls team doing intervals.  Becca and I bringing up the rear./spanbr //divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2018521813175454198-5160161954328746569?l=sadiebjornsen.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Change of Plans- Alaska Pacific University

    div style=”text-align: left;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”I have recently finished the most exciting year of my ski career and what a year it was! Thanks to everyone for the tremendous amount of support you all have contributed that made this possible. Besides traveling and living in Europe for nearly 2 months, I made some leaps and bounds as a ski racer. Starting early November, I was on the road racing constantly throughout the US, Canada and Europe. I am guessing from November 1/spansupspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”st/span/supspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;” to March 29/spansupspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”th/span/supspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”, I slept in my own bed maybe 10 times. But this is not what truly defined my year. The steps that I made as a racer is the best way to describe what seems like a five-month leave of absence from the Methow Valley./spanbr //divdiv style=”text-align: left;”br //div p class=”MsoNormal”spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”The first couple of months of racing were a bit of a struggle for me leaving me dismayed and with little confidence. Fortunately, I was able to get back on my feet and rebuild my strength throughout January allowing me to start feeling good. When things started rolling again I managed to post some of my best race results ever, and gain an incredible amount of international race experience with top skiers from around the world. The Methow and MOD was a great place for me to start this experience providing me with the coaching and support I needed to see the big picture of what it takes to be a world class racer. Taking my sophomore year of school off to train in the hopes of making the US Olympic ski team was my original idea but after moderating this plan I was able to focus my attention towards getting the experience I could to prepare me for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi./span/span/pp class=”MsoNormal”br //p p class=”MsoNormal”spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”While racing in Maine for the final races of the season, I was approached by the ski coach at Alaska Pacific University (APU)./spanspan style=”mso-spacerun: yes”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”  /span/spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”He asked me to consider continuing my undergraduate education at APU while representing its world-class ski team. I was honored by being asked to join a team of world class competitors and after much thought and deliberation with my family and MOD, I have decided to accept this offer and continue to accomplish my dream of being one of the top skiers in the world. APU has one of the top ski development teams in the country and sent three athletes to the 2010 Olympics, one of whom is Kikkan Randall./spanspan style=”mso-spacerun: yes”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”  /span/spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”APU’s unique class schedule allows skiers to race during the winter and take large class loads during the spring and fall terms to meet their academic requirements./span/span/pp class=”MsoNormal”br //pa onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-NfTezQKNI/AAAAAAAAASQ/FWYBUD15Ono/s1600/APU+1.jpg”img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-NfTezQKNI/AAAAAAAAASQ/FWYBUD15Ono/s320/APU+1.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468319160848099538″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //ap class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Team APU crust cruising./span/pp class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/p p class=”MsoNormal”spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”The next few years will be exciting, tough and rewarding for me./spanspan style=”mso-spacerun: yes”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”  /span/spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”It’s a challenge I look forward to meeting./spanspan style=”mso-spacerun:yes”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”  /span/spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”I appreciate all the support everyone has provided over the past years and hope you will continue to follow my racing./spanspan style=”mso-spacerun:yes”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”  /span/spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”It has been great to have so many people behind my goals and aspirations, cheering and helping along the way./span/span/pp class=”MsoNormal”br //pa onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-NgK9oO7fI/AAAAAAAAASY/R2QRX2Vl00A/s1600/APU+2.jpg”img src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-NgK9oO7fI/AAAAAAAAASY/R2QRX2Vl00A/s320/APU+2.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468320114016185842″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; ” //ap class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”APU selling point ;)/span/pp class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”br //span/p p class=”MsoNormal”spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”School starts in mid-August and racing begins Mid-November. /spanspan style=”mso-spacerun: yes”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;” /span/spanspan class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-size:medium;”I will be heading up to Alaska for good near the end of June to join the team. Stay tuned for more skiing./span/span/pp class=”MsoNormal”br //pa onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-Ng1fM-6WI/AAAAAAAAASg/jaaeLJbo0m8/s1600/APU+3.jpg”img src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l4L_01UOs1s/S-Ng1fM-6WI/AAAAAAAAASg/jaaeLJbo0m8/s320/APU+3.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468320844583201122″ style=”display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px; ” //ap class=”MsoNormal” style=”text-align: center;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: bold;”Typical day of training with APU./span/p !–EndFragment–div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2018521813175454198-6662690901828174463?l=sadiebjornsen.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div