FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

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

  • Super Tour Win!

    I finally had my first Super Tour win today in the Aspen Owl Creek Chase! It was a tough race with a lot of climbing in the first 13k of the race. I felt good the entire way and was able to finish strong and out sprint Kristina Trygstad to the finish.br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3h6yGK-qXI/AAAAAAAAAkU/dHpzv87E7ww/s1600-h/winter+09.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3h6yGK-qXI/AAAAAAAAAkU/dHpzv87E7ww/s320/winter+09.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438231551118584178″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”My first time on the top of the podium!br /br //spandiv style=”text-align: left;”I am headed back to Sun Valley this evening and I am looking forward to getting in a good week of training before I head out again!br /Cheers! Happy Valentine’s Day!br /br /span style=”font-style: italic;”/span/div/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5903545846797966075-5289164049960652083?l=in-the-arena-nicole.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Starting Off on the Right Foot

    One race down, and I couldn’t have asked for a much better start. One penalty, 45th place, qualified for the pursuit and top American! I’d say that’s a pretty successful way to start off the Olympics. While I feel there are things I could improve in the race, I am happy with the outcome, and excited to race the pursuit on Tuesday. I haven’t done a pursuit at this level before, so it should be an interesting and fun experience.br /br /The highlight of yesterday’s race has to be the crowd. When I started, there was an uproar of cheering from the crowd. My first thought was, “Did some German just shoot clean or something?” but then I realized, no, the cheering was for ME! Being used to pretending other people’s cheers are actually for you (a necessary tool when cheering in Europe happens mostly for Europeans), it was amazing to have all the cheers really be for me. I almost smiled, and had to re-focus myself back into race mode as I left the stadium. It was an amazing experience, one I will never forget. I think it’s finally hit me…I am at the Olympics!!!div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5588342252406387658-712995837222763018?l=sarastudebaker.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Seven Olympic Nordic Skiing Questions

  • The 2010 Olympic Theme Song:

    “Rain drops keep falling on my head, . . .”  We woke up to partly sunny skies this morning, but the clouds moved in quickly and we’ve been getting some serious Pacific Coast rain all day.  Fortunately, there are at least two meters (we are in Canada, eh?) of snow on the ground at the venue, so we’re not going to lose much.  Race organizers actually spread salt on the biathlon course today, which made the snow a lot more firm and fast.  It’s very likely that they’ll do the same for our race on Monday.

    I’ve been dreaming of the Olympics ever since I was old enough to eat my Cheerios.  My parents bought their first television so we could watch the 1988 Games in Calgary at home.  It’s hard to believe I’m on the doorstep of my first Olympic competition.  My folks get into Vancouver tomorrow and will make their way up to Whistler for my race on Monday, the 15km Skate.  Stay tuned live on NBC from 3 – 4pm Central Time to watch the competition live.  Check out your local listings here – click TV listings.

    I enjoyed dinner tonight with Todd Lodwick, a US Nordic Combined skier in his 5th Olympics.  Todd’s first Olympics was in Lillehammer in 1994 and was an inspiration for me to start ski racing.  Keep an eye out for our Nordic counterparts, Todd, Billy Demong, and Johnny Spillane in the Nordic Combined on Sunday.  I can only hope to be an inspiration for younger skiers like these guys have been for me.

    A special shout out to Grace and Mrs. Pomeroy’s entire 1st Grade class in Winona, Minnesota and to Garrett in Mrs. Houston’s class and all of Meadowbrook.  Do what you love and have fun with it!

  • Aspen with pictures

    I’ve been in Aspen for about a week now, and it has been great. We’ve been treated to some sunny days, some fresh snow and have been enjoying some great host housing (thanks Ruthie and Al!). I took a few pictures on Thursday when we previewed the course for today’s Owl Creek Chase, but once the snow started on Friday I put the camera away.

    Mikey, Evelyn, KristinaLooking down on Aspen from the shoulder of Buttermilk

  • Aspen with pictures

    I’ve been in Aspen for about a week now, and it has been great. We’ve been treated to some sunny days, some fresh snow and have been enjoying some great host housing (thanks Ruthie and Al!). I took a few pictures on Thursday when we previewed the course for today’s Owl Creek Chase, but once the snow started on Friday I put the camera away.

    Mikey, Evelyn, KristinaLooking down on Aspen from the shoulder of Buttermilk

  • “Watching endurance sports as produced by NBC is like really, really bad sex.”

    “Watching endurance sports as produced by NBC is like really, really bad sex.”br/br/ – em Cosmo Catalano/em

  • When did Bill Koch make the team and why does he refuse to be…

    img src=”http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxsy3zo7Xu1qzt3xbo1_500.jpg”/br/br/pWhen did Bill Koch make the team and why does he refuse to be photographed in color? (from the highly suspect Fasterskier banner.)/p

  • When did Bill Koch make the team and why does he refuse to be…

    img src=”http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxsy3zo7Xu1qzt3xbo1_500.jpg”/br/br/pWhen did Bill Koch make the team and why does he refuse to be photographed in color? (from the highly suspect Fasterskier banner.)/p

  • “Imagine diving naked into a swimming pool of awesomeness. And then winning the lottery. That’s…”

    “Imagine diving naked into a swimming pool of awesomeness. And then winning the lottery. That’s what it was like.”br/br/ – em Simi Hamilton on the Opening ceremonies./em

  • Enormous bear attacks athletes in opening ceremonies.

    img src=”http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxsx3tb7W01qzt3xbo1_500.jpg”/br/br/pEnormous bear attacks athletes in opening ceremonies./p

  • opening ceremonies, the venue, drug testing, and last but not least, my wonderful husband!

    Hey Everyone,br /br /Here is the “mondo-post” that I’ve been wanting to write for a while. I have my new camera…… and finally have a couple of extra minutes. I’ve delayed training this am because theoretically I wanted to sleep in. (I say “theoretically” because I was woken up this morning by random drug testing) We returned from opening ceremonies last night at 1am. Getting down and back to and from Vancouver took forever. That said, I don’t regret my decision to go to the opening ceremonies at all. (Some folks opted to stay behind and watch on tv) This being my first Olympics, I was really looking forward to marching!br /br /div class=”separator” style=”clear: both; text-align: center;”

  • Aspen

    I arrived in Aspen on Tuesday and I’ve been enjoying my stay here, thanks to my teammate Simi’s mom, Ruthie, who is letting us stay at their house. My first day here, Evelyn Dong and I skied up to the Bells along an access road that is groomed for skiing in the winter. The views were absolutely amazing!br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cm5AETgHI/AAAAAAAAAjs/ruU9B_uTaMQ/s1600-h/winter+09+009.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cm5AETgHI/AAAAAAAAAjs/ruU9B_uTaMQ/s320/winter+09+009.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437857835785617522″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”Evelyn and I enjoying some Colorado sun and the great viewsbr //span/divbr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cmyec94JI/AAAAAAAAAjk/3sFSIWCL18o/s1600-h/winter+09+010.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cmyec94JI/AAAAAAAAAjk/3sFSIWCL18o/s320/winter+09+010.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437857723683037330″ border=”0″ //aToday I raced a 5k classic Super Tour and finished 2nd. It was a solid race despite the shallow racing field. I am hoping for even more tomorrow in the 21k Owl Creek Chase race. Racing at 9,000+ feet is definitely challenging. I will keep you posted on how it goes….br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cnAzfVuXI/AAAAAAAAAj0/SdI3ALZ8-00/s1600-h/winter+09+013.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cnAzfVuXI/AAAAAAAAAj0/SdI3ALZ8-00/s320/winter+09+013.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437857969848301938″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”Me, Kristina, and Evelyn waiting for the award ceremonybr /br //span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cnLbEsGkI/AAAAAAAAAj8/TJtZJGhwRzE/s1600-h/winter+09+014.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cnLbEsGkI/AAAAAAAAAj8/TJtZJGhwRzE/s320/winter+09+014.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437858152272632386″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”Evelyn 3rd, Kristina 1st, Nicole 2ndbr /br //span/divdiv style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cnLzyNB0I/AAAAAAAAAkE/PNjUV840vkc/s1600-h/winter+09+015.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S3cnLzyNB0I/AAAAAAAAAkE/PNjUV840vkc/s320/winter+09+015.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437858158905984834″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”Men’s podium…teammate Mikey Sinnott in 5thbr //span/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5903545846797966075-2275704766926209071?l=in-the-arena-nicole.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • SMS Nordic 2010-02-13 07:50:00

    TOP SECRET TRAINING VIDEObr /object width=”320″ height=”266″ class=”BLOG_video_class” id=”BLOG_video-91b5bb4d05795172″ 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.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv17.nonxt6.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D91b5bb4d05795172%26itag%3D5%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26app%3Dblogger%26et%3Dplay%26el%3DEMBEDDED%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1273319935%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3D3B9AED41B93FC8DF5391F0634008A8A9218B412F.438B9F45C272A65FD75EBF9708EE9E0639E43ADD%26key%3Dck1amp;thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D91b5bb4d05795172%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3DIi-Sm3mFk1lF6OvWaUcq8jhAah0amp;messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Denamp;nogvlm=1″param name=”bgcolor” value=”#FFFFFF”embed width=”320″ height=”266″ src=”http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fv17.nonxt6.googlevideo.com%2Fvideoplayback%3Fid%3D91b5bb4d05795172%26itag%3D5%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26app%3Dblogger%26et%3Dplay%26el%3DEMBEDDED%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1273319935%26sparams%3Did%252Citag%252Cip%252Cipbits%252Cexpire%26signature%3D3B9AED41B93FC8DF5391F0634008A8A9218B412F.438B9F45C272A65FD75EBF9708EE9E0639E43ADD%26key%3Dck1amp;thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D91b5bb4d05795172%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3DIi-Sm3mFk1lF6OvWaUcq8jhAah0amp;messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Denamp;nogvlm=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash”/embed/objectdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-2747713439023958156?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Pink and Red Meets Again

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bPnnYI6EI/AAAAAAAACX4/8iHy2Hn6Hjk/s1600-h/IMG_2833.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/S3bPnnYI6EI/AAAAAAAACX4/8iHy2Hn6Hjk/s400/IMG_2833.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437761879588530242″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bPeg5VfTI/AAAAAAAACXw/t_J8xFO3ApU/s1600-h/IMG_2836.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/S3bPeg5VfTI/AAAAAAAACXw/t_J8xFO3ApU/s400/IMG_2836.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437761723229895986″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bPWjVUJ3I/AAAAAAAACXo/mICSgc8XKsA/s1600-h/IMG_2859.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/S3bPWjVUJ3I/AAAAAAAACXo/mICSgc8XKsA/s400/IMG_2859.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437761586445166450″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bOviUv3uI/AAAAAAAACXg/tfTy_p1Wpo4/s1600-h/IMG_2878.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/S3bOviUv3uI/AAAAAAAACXg/tfTy_p1Wpo4/s400/IMG_2878.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437760916159454946″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bNa427BxI/AAAAAAAACXY/XmfDPinXQQ4/s1600-h/IMG_2883.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/S3bNa427BxI/AAAAAAAACXY/XmfDPinXQQ4/s400/IMG_2883.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437759461919491858″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bMryq_mjI/AAAAAAAACXQ/-PB8sv-oIv0/s1600-h/IMG_2885.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/S3bMryq_mjI/AAAAAAAACXQ/-PB8sv-oIv0/s400/IMG_2885.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437758652804995634″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bL-XWGr6I/AAAAAAAACXI/9QnEnxbS5GU/s1600-h/IMG_2886.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/S3bL-XWGr6I/AAAAAAAACXI/9QnEnxbS5GU/s400/IMG_2886.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437757872375508898″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bLDJ3WCbI/AAAAAAAACXA/yUucKQUpbC4/s1600-h/IMG_2896.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/S3bLDJ3WCbI/AAAAAAAACXA/yUucKQUpbC4/s400/IMG_2896.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437756855144548786″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bJ6VQ-ugI/AAAAAAAACW4/WhFGH3drJyc/s1600-h/IMG_2900.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/S3bJ6VQ-ugI/AAAAAAAACW4/WhFGH3drJyc/s400/IMG_2900.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437755604074412546″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bI1qyhU3I/AAAAAAAACWw/HOOXPCZLnc4/s1600-h/IMG_2910.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/S3bI1qyhU3I/AAAAAAAACWw/HOOXPCZLnc4/s400/IMG_2910.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437754424441262962″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bHq6SOW6I/AAAAAAAACWo/42Jol-8uoVg/s1600-h/IMG_2916.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/S3bHq6SOW6I/AAAAAAAACWo/42Jol-8uoVg/s400/IMG_2916.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437753140110580642″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bF0gfuoRI/AAAAAAAACWg/kON5u13Kmcc/s1600-h/IMG_2926.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/S3bF0gfuoRI/AAAAAAAACWg/kON5u13Kmcc/s400/IMG_2926.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437751105963335954″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bEqYzF0EI/AAAAAAAACWY/WxXn3BBZ7Qw/s1600-h/IMG_2928.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/S3bEqYzF0EI/AAAAAAAACWY/WxXn3BBZ7Qw/s400/IMG_2928.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437749832586743874″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bDe9Tm2uI/AAAAAAAACWQ/eqOgyI4QB-E/s1600-h/IMG_2931.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/S3bDe9Tm2uI/AAAAAAAACWQ/eqOgyI4QB-E/s400/IMG_2931.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437748536716745442″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3bCRE6YvCI/AAAAAAAACWI/-Z7umc969X4/s1600-h/IMG_2932.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/S3bCRE6YvCI/AAAAAAAACWI/-Z7umc969X4/s400/IMG_2932.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437747198728649762″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3am2LahszI/AAAAAAAACWA/O9UTDEPRwEQ/s1600-h/IMG_2948.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/S3am2LahszI/AAAAAAAACWA/O9UTDEPRwEQ/s400/IMG_2948.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437717049803649842″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S3ajw7tSumI/AAAAAAAACV4/SPyfYVEfOtI/s1600-h/IMG_2949.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/S3ajw7tSumI/AAAAAAAACV4/SPyfYVEfOtI/s400/IMG_2949.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437713661153163874″ //adiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-2934216333194496931?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • Here Comes the Pre-Birkie!

  • SECURITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Hey Folks…this is Rob(holly’s husband). nbsp;She asked me to put up a quick blog….I just talked to her, she was in the motorcade traveling from Whistler to Vancouver for the opening ceremonies. Get this…..the motorcade of buses full of US athletes had armed vehicles ahead of them, armed vehicles behind them, and even a helicopter above them…all the way to Vancouver!! nbsp;How’s that for security!?br /br /Here is a great link (in Dutch, nonetheless) to watch live streaming of the opening ceremonies (thanks for Frank in Boulder for locating this):br /br /span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color: #444444; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;”br /

  • Check those skis, kids.

  • Check those skis, kids.

  • Opening Ceremonies!

    Sort of.  I actually decided to stay in Whistler tonight in order to give the other athletes a little TV time at the Opening Ceremonies down in Vancouver.  I wouldn’t want to take all the attention away from everyone else!

    It’s been another busy day around here with excitement buzzing.  Although it’s still overcast, the sun tried it’s best to come out this morning.  That made for an enjoyable workout.  I spent the morning testing my skis on the classic sprint course with coach Matt Whitcomb.  We tested a couple pairs of my Salomon classic skis and they were some of the best skis I’ve been on, with both plenty of grip and fast glide.  It’s exciting to have that much confidence in my skis and service technicians going into the Games.

    Whistler Olympic Park - Cross Country Ski venue

    Whistler Olympic Park – Cross Country Ski venue

    I felt much safer on my bus ride today, being in the good hands of Bob the bus driver–a Packer fan from LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

    Now, in honor of the Opening Ceremonies tonight, here are a few shots of the Cross Country team, decked out in our 1930’s Ralph Lauren ceremonies gear.

    Southam, Kuzzy, Koos

    Southam, Kuzzy, Koos

    Usain Bolt? Nope, that's Torin Koos.

    Usain Bolt? Nope, that's Torin Koos.

    US Cross Country Team

    US Cross Country Team

    Compton and Brooks

    Compton and Brooks

    Liz Stephen and Kikkan Randall, showing off their Green Laces.  Stay tuned & enjoy the ceremonies!