FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

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

  • Devon in the News: Kershaw Returns to Sudbury for Unique Community Bike Ride and Olympic Fundraising Luncheon

    One of Canada’s most accomplished ski racers, three-time World Cup medallist, Devon
    Kershaw will be returning to his native Sudbury, Ontario for two important reasons on Tuesday, July 28.

  • Rollerskiing is Not Safe

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/rietler-slalom-780490.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;” src=”http://www.webskis.com/uploaded_images/rietler-slalom-780199.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” //abr /Life is not safe. We go through it making decisions and taking risks. As we gain wisdom we calculate the consequences of taking the risks. With differing levels of skill and judgment we carry out our decisions.br /br /Rollerskiing is not safe. From the point of view of avoiding serious accidents, sitting on the couch is safe. But for me, sitting on the couch is not an acceptable way to go through life.br /br / I admit that I am a risk taker. I paddle whitewater in a kayak. I ski downhill fast. I XC ski at 6:45 in the morning at Mt Bachelor when it is not quite light yet. I ride my bike to work in traffic every day, even in the winter (I have very nifty studded snow tires for the bike). Two years ago my wife and I quit our jobs (after 30 years), sold our house, got in the VW and headed west. We were told that was pretty risky. Maybe so, but we calculated the value of taking the risk, had confidence in our skills and went for it.br / br /What does this have to do with rollerskiing, you may ask. Well, it has to do with developing skills, calculating risk and using judgment. Our own brains are probably the single most important tools when it comes to safety on rollerskis. We decide when and where to rollerski. We decide whether or not to wear a helmet, gloves and bright colored clothing. We decide which side of the road to roll on (this addressed in an earlier post). We decide whether or not to carry water. Experience teaches us lessons and not just our own experience. We learn from others who are more skilled or possess more wisdom. I know that I, even at my advanced age, continue to learn and even gain skills. I would like to share a few ideas here and hope that they are of value to others or prompt thought and discussion.br /br /LOCATIONbr /I always choose a place to rollerski that has a VERY LOW amount of traffic. I am lucky to have 3 or 4 different roads that fit that description. They are either out of town in rural Central Oregon, or in very quiet neighborhoods after the dinner hour, or housing developments that put in their roads just before the economy tanked. My first sessions of the season are usually in big, flat, smooth, empty parking lots. I also, when I’m on roads, take into consideration the angle of the sun and visibility of the motorized road users. br /br /SKILLSbr /Rollerskiing is, in my opinion, way harder than snow skiing. Good skills are critical to safety and success. Here are a few drills that I like to use to start my season and some I use to start each rollerski session.br /br /DOUBLE POLING: I put on my boots, helmet, gloves and snap down the lever on the NNN bindings. After putting on the pole straps I simply keep my feet about hip width apart, bend my knees with my weight on the whole foot and push myself forward with the poles. I do maybe 5 -7 minutes of gentle double poling on the flat before taking any strides or skating. br /br /STEP TURNS: Here I start as in double poling, gain a small amount of speed and from a balanced position, begin to step turn in a circle. I shift my weight onto a foot that is flat and lift the other foot, moving it laterally away from the weighted foot. I then transfer my weight onto the foot that just moved and with my center of mass now over the “new” foot I lift the first foot and bring it parallel with the other rollerski. Repeat this move while moving very slowly and come full circle to be facing in the same direction as when you started. Push off with the poles a couple times and initiate a step turn circle in the opposite direction. This drill can be done as long as needed until you can make smooth, balanced step turns in a full circle. When all this feels good, I then begin the figure 8s. I do one full circle to the left and then go right away into a full circle to the right. br /br /SNOWPLOW: This is not actually a snowplow move that you could do on snow skis. On snow, the skis will slip sideways at an angle to the direction of travel. On roller skis this won’t happen (although I once encountered unexpected ice on the road and did a real snow plow and stayed upright, Yikes!!). Get the feel by standing still and placing the skis wider than your hips. I am 5’10” and for me that is about 3 feet. The skis should be parallel to each other. Now lower the hips by bending the knees. Keep the weight on the whole foot and press against the bottom of your feet. The skis will be slightly on edge and you will be pushing as if you were trying to spread them sideways. The friction between the wheels and the pavement will prevent this, and will cause the skis to slow down. When you get the feel of the position while standing, try it while moving slowly on the flat. Gradually increase the speed of the trials until you can do the “snowplow” while moving down hill. If the skis want to come together closer you have too much “toe-in” and need to have the skis more parallel. I use this technique to descend hills that feel too steep to roll free on. You should never be afraid to take off the rollerskis and walk down a hill that you feel is too steep. Here the brain is the safety measure.br / br /NO POLES: As the rolleskier gains in confidence and skill in executing the drills mentioned, try them without poles. On skate skis or classic skis start moving forward and then execute the drills. Keep the hands in front, away from the body and above the waist. Keep the weight on the whole foot, knees bent, head up, eyes forward (the classic athletic position). All this is done on flat terrain. You should develop a smooth, quiet up and down motion. Bend knees and go slightly down to start the lateral step. As you transfer weight to the new foot, do so by rising up with the hips high and over the foot. br /br /ONE FOOT: Start skating or striding and try to glide along on one foot for as long as possible. It is pretty hard on rollerskis with narrow wheels, way harder than on snow skis. I start doing this drill with poles to help with balance. After a few sessions and improving balance, I try it without poles. All this really helps your brain and muscles to tune into balance. For me, this is one of the most valuable outcomes of rollerskiing, the improved balance. br /br /CURB HOPPING: This should only be tried after you have a pretty good sense of the balance on rollerskis and have a quiet venue with a smooth sidewalk that is about 8 inches above the surface of the pavement. If you have any concern about falling, it is probably a good idea to not only wear a helmet and gloves, but also elbow and knee pads. While standing on rollerskis start first from a stopped and balanced position parallel and close to the curb. Lift the foot closest to the curb and step up onto the curb/sidewalk. Now set the other foot back down on the pavement and repeat stepping up onto one foot and then back down onto the pavement. Turn around and try it on the other side. Then do the same drill, but this time set the first foot up and far enough onto the curb so that the second foot can be brought up to the sidewalk parallel to the first. Do this on both sides. When all this feels pretty good, begin from the same position, push with the poles to begin moving and carefully step up onto the curb and continue to glide. Go along a few meters and then step down to the pavement. Repeat the drill 4 times, turn around go back in the other direction. This is not only a balance drill, but it can also be a safety move in some circumstances. br /br /NO POLES AGAIN: Now that this is all beginning to feel more natural it is a great time to start to ski without poles. With my poles on and straps fastened on my wrists, I simply place my hands up in front of my chin and tuck my poles under my arms in a sort of high tuck position. Some people like to remove the poles and hold them in front as if carrying a tray with your favorite beverage. You could also slip the poles across the small of your back and reach around with your arms so they are in the crook of the elbow. Using a smooth, slight up and down motion, rollerski along concentrating on complete weight transfer. The terrain for this is flat or a gentle up hill. Not only is it good for balance, it is also good for specific leg strength. As you get comfortable with this, try going up slightly steeper hills.br / br /SLALOM: For this drill you will need some “gates” . These can be orange plastic cones, plastic water buckets, or anything that is visible, and will move if hit by a rollerskier. 7 – 8 gates are enough. Start on a flat, smooth surface and mark a starting point. This can be a couple of jackets. Set the gates out in a pattern where they are in a straight line and about 15 feet apart. Now ski out of the starting gate and go around one side of the first gate. Do a step turn just beyond the gate and get set up for the next gate. Once past that continue on until you get past the last gate. As your turning improves you can off-set the gates to increase the radius of the turn. You can also go through the course, make a big sweeping 180 turn and go back through to the start. Again, adding a degree of difficulty, you could look for a quiet parking lot with a slight incline and run these courses uphill. When in a group running uphill for time is pretty fun. An added challenge is to run the course downhill after you have mastered the uphill direction.br / br /That’s enough for now. These are just a few drills that you can use to improve your balance and agility on rollerskis. The development of balance and agility not only improves your workouts, they also increase your level of safety. Ski with a partner or two. Its more fun and safer. On the road stay in single file and double pole while being passed by motorized road users. br /br /Have a good one,br /br /Bertdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6589659500745667109-5675866823639039715?l=www.webskis.com%2Fwebskisblog.html’ alt=” //div

  • The Minnesota Zoo

    pspan style=”font-size:85%;” I caught the school bus with about 30 kids on Monday for the long ride to the Minnesota Zoo. I really like going to the zoo especially to watch the bears. This trip I found a bond with a new animal, Giraffes. /span/p p align=”center”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_M9ps8F85nS0/Smnp5pbvh-I/AAAAAAAAAQ8/IhRA6tBVQYI/s1600-h/zoo+068.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_M9ps8F85nS0/Smnp5pbvh-I/AAAAAAAAAQ8/IhRA6tBVQYI/s400/zoo+068.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362074007945316322″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-size:85%;” Giraffe’s have 18 inch purple tongues/span/p p align=”center”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M9ps8F85nS0/Smnp6ZsvUGI/AAAAAAAAARM/F8vyOxW-pRU/s1600-h/zoo+065.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_M9ps8F85nS0/Smnp6ZsvUGI/AAAAAAAAARM/F8vyOxW-pRU/s400/zoo+065.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362074020901507170″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-size:85%;” Larry and Connor feeding the Giraffes.br / Thanks Corey for hooking us up with the Giraffe feeding. /span/p p align=”center”span style=”font-size:85%;”img src=”http://www.xcskilife.com/images/zoo%20048.JPG” width=”550″ height=”413″ /br / Jaden and Jazzy working on their knot tying skills/span/p p align=”center”span style=”font-size:85%;”img src=”http://www.xcskilife.com/images/zoo%20052.JPG” width=”550″ height=”733″ /br / Darien, Connor, Kayliegh, and Larry./span/p p align=”left”span style=”font-size:85%;”Our first stop at the zoo, my favorite exhibit Russia’s Grizzly Coast. Unfortunately the long drive meant that we missed the bears morning activity so they were napping. We did make several trips back to the exhibit and were able to catch Sadie, the biggest bear, swimming in the afternoon. Last year all three bears were playing tag when we visited, check out the

  • Double Pole Pics

    Ian warming up

    Ian warming up

    Heather hammering to a new womans record

    Heather heading to a new woman's record

    hard at work?

    hard at work?

    Stephan on the steepest section of the climb

    Stefan on the steepest section of the climb

  • “This is how a ski camp should be measured.”

    “This is how a ski camp should be measured.”br/br/ – em Husaby./em

  • 55 jumpers in a minute.

    object width=”400″ height=”336″param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/dL8Wg_uItkArel=0egm=0showinfo=0fs=1″/paramparam name=”wmode” value=”transparent”/paramparam name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”/paramembed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/dL8Wg_uItkArel=0egm=0showinfo=0fs=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”400″ height=”336″ allowFullScreen=”true” wmode=”transparent”/embed/objectbr/br/55 jumpers in a minute.

  • New Paltz Day 1

    divp class=”MsoNormal”I arrived in New Paltz yesterday with Adam and Amy. We made the journey east to attend a camp being put on by Nick Mancuso. Other coaches at the camp include myself, Janiceb span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”font-weight: normal; “Sabila , Art Stegan, and Jon Stern. I was a little hesitant as I got off 87 and was instantly stuck in the New Paltz traffic but to my surprise as soon as we turned off the main drag we were smack-dab in the middle of the picturesque st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Hudson/st1:placename st1:placetype st=”on”Valley/st1:placetype/st1:place. The Mancuso’s have a sweet set up right on the banks of the river and it provides an excellent base camp! /span/b/pp class=”MsoNormal”b/b/pp class=”MsoNormal”o:p/o:p/pp class=”MsoNormal”After arriving and a short camp meeting it was time to get down to business. We broke the athletes up in to small groups and focused on technique. We utilized the coaches and set up three separate stations with each station focusing on specific technique V1, V2, and Alt. We were also able to have a coach drive around to each group and video the athletes. Things were off to a great start!!/pp class=”MsoNormal”o:p/o:p/pp class=”MsoNormal”When we had finished the ski we jumped in to the cars and headed up the road a mile or so and swapped our boots for the sneakers and started out on our run/hike/rock scramble/bad ass workout!!!!! We ran from the cars up to Mohonk Mnt House!/p/divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://www.mohonk.com/images/photogallery/Familyinboat.jpg” style=”text-decoration: none;”img style=”cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 563px; height: 375px;” src=”http://www.mohonk.com/images/photogallery/Familyinboat.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”” //a/divdiva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://www.mohonk.com/images/photogallery/Familyinboat.jpg” style=”text-decoration: none;”/abr /p class=”MsoNormal”This place is for strait up balers!!! With rooms in the $300-600 range!! But we were able to take advantage of the great views and the rock scramble they have set up to make our way up to the fire tower! It was an epic adventure and the entire way up all I could think about was how awesome NY really is!! This state has is all and though I often find myself bitching about lack of snow, the size of the state and the fact it takes 5 hours to drive to a local race this state is truly amazing and impresses me more and more with all it has to offer. I wish I had my camera but the threatening skies forced me to leave it at the car. I will link in some photos from the Mnt Houses website but they don’t even do the place justice! Not to mention that during the winter there are over 50k of groomed trails at this joint!!!!!!!! I gotta make a trip out here when the white stuff is flying!/p p class=”MsoNormal”o:p /o:p/p p class=”MsoNormal”That’s it for now I gotta get out of Starbuck and back to the ranch to wake the kids up!!! More to come from New Paltz…img src=”http://www.mohonk.com/images/photogallery/rocscramble.jpg” style=”cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 563px; height: 375px;” border=”0″ alt=”” //pp class=”MsoNormal”br //pp class=”MsoNormal”*Images from the Mohonk Mnt House Website!! Check it out at www.mohonk.com/pp class=”MsoNormal”br //pp class=”MsoNormal”br //p/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2153137138194667387-6140488164852038009?l=rochesternordicracing.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • BOOYAH!

    The smoke blew out of town overnight so we got today’s first flight of the Miller Hill Double Pole Test off.  The result?

    12 of 13 PRs (only one of which was a first-timer, and the non-PR individual was only 2 seconds (.7%) off their PR after spending 3 of the last 7 weeks on the beach in the Virgin Islands without rollerskis).

    New records for men and women (4:11 and 6:06, respectively).

    An overall awesome job.  Upper body/double pole power and aerobic capacity have been major foci for us this summer, so we’re very pleased to see that the work has paid off.

    1 more flight this evening if the winds remain favorable.

  • Your Brain on Skiing

  • Lakes in Calderas

    Two days and two pretty excellent workouts. Thursday we (Marshall, Lars, Kristina, Taylor and I) went for a little roller ski up into Newbury Crater. We were all a bit blown away by the quality of the pavement (worn in chip seal that was more than fine for classic skiing) and the quality of the ski. I think we got close to 3000’ of up in 17 or 18 miles of skiing (map my ride thinks less vertical than my Suunto, but gives us credit for almost 6 miles of sustained 6%). The bulk of the climbing happened from about mile 6 to 13 and was a lot of grinding double pole kick. Except for Lars who out-toughed us all and decided to rest his legs. It was rather nice to find a new 2.5 hour ski here in Central Oregon. I will be back.

  • Dog Days

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/SmeusHM65KI/AAAAAAAAARE/ZZP-Lq_fDKE/s1600-h/V1_moves.gif”img style=”margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 115px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_T8lplfcx_Ro/SmeusHM65KI/AAAAAAAAARE/ZZP-Lq_fDKE/s400/V1_moves.gif” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361445954278581410″ border=”0″ //aIt’s late July, the hottest dog days of summer. As far from ski season as you can get in the northern hemisphere.br /br /It’s also a relatively quiet time at Ultratune. A few batches of team skis are rolling in, and a few odd pairs of skis for forward-looking skiers. Some minor updates in the shop, mostly in preparation for the

  • Moosilauke Camp

    Each summer we go up to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge for a 3 day camp in the White Mountains. It is a great place to hike and a nice way for the team to have some quality time together.br /We started off with a bang on Monday afternoon by doing the Moosilauke Hill climb. Dartmouth college has used the hill climb as an endurance test over the years so we decided to get our feet wet and give it a try. Everyone gave a good effort and learned a lot about pacing themselves in a race with no rest. The coaches were happy with the results and are confident that everyone can improve a bunch with more intensity training that will come in the fall. br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmevGF7HpAI/AAAAAAAAAbk/vFkK_kVuiYY/s1600-h/100_3085.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmevGF7HpAI/AAAAAAAAAbk/vFkK_kVuiYY/s320/100_3085.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361446400612082690″ //abr /Here are the times: Doug 42:39, Austin 43:24, Cobby 43:46, Walker 50:35, Rachel 53:58, Izzy 54:21, Heather 56:21, Hallie 57:22, Cambria 57:23, Megan 59:28, Issy P 59:28, Alyssa 68:15.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmeugozvKDI/AAAAAAAAAbc/F0LuUOM-ySg/s1600-h/100_3091.JPG”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmeugozvKDI/AAAAAAAAAbc/F0LuUOM-ySg/s320/100_3091.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361445757141329970″ //abr /After the hill run, we hiked to the South Peak and then down the Snapper trail. The braver kids took a very refreshing plunge in the stream and we had a great dinner followed by traditional team games and a discussion of team goals for the year (which include top tens at Olympics, U23’s, World Jrs and the Scando Cup). Obviously that includes alums. br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmeuEK8Wq4I/AAAAAAAAAbU/FZuBi1BfISk/s1600-h/100_3082.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmeuEK8Wq4I/AAAAAAAAAbU/FZuBi1BfISk/s320/100_3082.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361445268088073090″ //abr /Tuesday brought cloudy skies, but the rain held off and we had an excellent roll/run combi workout. The boys and 2 older girls skied the 20 kms up the Kancamagus (the last 6 kms are 10% grade), then ran over to Waterville Valley on the Greely Ponds trail. The younger girls did a 25 km ski to Waterville and then ran to the Kanc (coaches exchanged van keys when the groups crossed on the hike). In the late afternoon we jogged, did some hip mobility and played a game of ultimate frisbee strength ( team that gets scored on does push-ups, sit ups etc). After another great dinner we talked training and more about goals before we headed off to bed.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmetnsrIRpI/AAAAAAAAAbM/_np8Y4jZdrA/s1600-h/100_3107.JPG”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmetnsrIRpI/AAAAAAAAAbM/_np8Y4jZdrA/s320/100_3107.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361444778926425746″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmetFpsJShI/AAAAAAAAAbE/Pj0quK2ejc8/s1600-h/100_3114.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmetFpsJShI/AAAAAAAAAbE/Pj0quK2ejc8/s320/100_3114.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361444194009827858″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmesRjpUUaI/AAAAAAAAAa8/3jzRQW3LzII/s1600-h/100_3111.JPG”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmesRjpUUaI/AAAAAAAAAa8/3jzRQW3LzII/s320/100_3111.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361443299034157474″ //abr /Today we ended with the classic Franconia Ridge hike (up Falling Waters, across the ridge and down Bridal Path). The weather forecast was dismal, but we only had to deal with a little cloud walking (no rain). It was a very good way to end the camp. We all went together and a couple of the stronger kids carried rocks up. br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmerpYwyjhI/AAAAAAAAAa0/Xl2r9wPnA2w/s1600-h/100_3124.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmerpYwyjhI/AAAAAAAAAa0/Xl2r9wPnA2w/s320/100_3124.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361442608917941778″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmerIsrK91I/AAAAAAAAAas/g2AHZIV0hMk/s1600-h/100_3135.JPG”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmerIsrK91I/AAAAAAAAAas/g2AHZIV0hMk/s320/100_3135.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361442047327401810″ //abr /After a couple of easier days at home, we will get together for 4 workouts this weekend and then have a well deserved easy week.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Smeqb_3uzVI/AAAAAAAAAak/4Nhj8-ezm9U/s1600-h/100_3142.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Smeqb_3uzVI/AAAAAAAAAak/4Nhj8-ezm9U/s320/100_3142.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361441279386242386″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Smep-FGyIDI/AAAAAAAAAac/drI_tGQUlzY/s1600-h/100_3141.JPG”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Smep-FGyIDI/AAAAAAAAAac/drI_tGQUlzY/s320/100_3141.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361440765395476530″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmepPZOl9EI/AAAAAAAAAaU/zivA9mDzndQ/s1600-h/100_3168.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmepPZOl9EI/AAAAAAAAAaU/zivA9mDzndQ/s320/100_3168.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361439963343090754″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmeoLAeJviI/AAAAAAAAAaM/m1E2l4XWuOU/s1600-h/100_3170.JPG”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmeoLAeJviI/AAAAAAAAAaM/m1E2l4XWuOU/s320/100_3170.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361438788466359842″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmenuTDs8fI/AAAAAAAAAaE/H84rE_FjoqE/s1600-h/100_3157.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmenuTDs8fI/AAAAAAAAAaE/H84rE_FjoqE/s320/100_3157.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361438295239487986″ //abr /As always, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmenMaIUyEI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/TqyKaQf_mzI/s1600-h/100_3158.JPG”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/SmenMaIUyEI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/TqyKaQf_mzI/s320/100_3158.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361437713022371906″ //adiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-3993967584200187359?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’//div

  • L3 Intervals and the Towers of Power!

    Today has already been a big day. Things started when Josh Carlson from

  • Camp = Number 2

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNnqwtynI/AAAAAAAAAtU/0Zc-O77s5DU/s1600-h/IMG_1202.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 272px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNnqwtynI/AAAAAAAAAtU/0Zc-O77s5DU/s400/IMG_1202.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361339225296718450″ border=”0″ //aResults for App Gap Challenge — July 3, 2009br /Boys:br /David Sinclair 31:32 GMVSbr /Eli Enman 32:35 Rossignol/Sleepy Hollowbr /Jurgen Uhl 33:10 UVM/Germanybr /Noah Brautigam 33:31 GMVS/Middleburybr /John McGlenn 34:04 GMVS/MSUbr /Paco DeFrancis 34:50 Ford Sayrebr /Andrew Nesbitt 36:28 Gouldbr /Hans Halvorsen 38:26 GMVSbr /Jared Supple 38:47 MMUbr /Morgan Holland 40:21 St. Paulsbr /Devlin Shea 44:08 GMVSbr /Ben King 46:06 Mansfieldbr /Sam Rossier 50:34 Tunbridgebr /br /Girls:br /Heidi Halvorsen 29:16 GMVSbr /Hannah Smith 30:02 CSUbr /Emily Stitt 30:33 GMVS/Mansfieldbr /Emily Atwood 31:49 Maine Coast Nordicbr /Rachel Hall 33:02 SMSbr /Kristin Halvorsen 33:27 GMVSbr /Kaitlin Fitzgerald 33:52 GMVSbr /Camille Burbidge Izquierdo 34:05 Quebecbr /Genna Primeau 34:26 North Countrybr /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNnK4lBNI/AAAAAAAAAtM/TvRh_KBsiRY/s1600-h/IMG_1200.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNnK4lBNI/AAAAAAAAAtM/TvRh_KBsiRY/s400/IMG_1200.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361339216739763410″ border=”0″ //aRossier with the eye of the Tiger.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNnOw4CMI/AAAAAAAAAtE/Ei24rgGBeOY/s1600-h/IMG_1199.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 312px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNnOw4CMI/AAAAAAAAAtE/Ei24rgGBeOY/s400/IMG_1199.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361339217781196994″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNm54xcfI/AAAAAAAAAs8/CURnhlieC6c/s1600-h/IMG_1198.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNm54xcfI/AAAAAAAAAs8/CURnhlieC6c/s400/IMG_1198.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361339212177175026″ border=”0″ //aEnman and Uhl refueling.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNmkQgF-I/AAAAAAAAAs0/QH-kb1k-W18/s1600-h/IMG_1197.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNmkQgF-I/AAAAAAAAAs0/QH-kb1k-W18/s400/IMG_1197.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361339206371121122″ border=”0″ //aGMVS athletes comparing times to past years….br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNTS172hI/AAAAAAAAAss/e1yrVbfj-v8/s1600-h/IMG_1192.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNTS172hI/AAAAAAAAAss/e1yrVbfj-v8/s400/IMG_1192.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338875278776850″ border=”0″ //aSinclair and McGlenn atop the Gap. Years of hard work…br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNS5sLsuI/AAAAAAAAAsk/hpmcTULBUmo/s1600-h/IMG_1191.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNS5sLsuI/AAAAAAAAAsk/hpmcTULBUmo/s400/IMG_1191.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338868526985954″ border=”0″ //aCan we go SWIMMING???!!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNSiGkndI/AAAAAAAAAsc/akIB3KqL28c/s1600-h/IMG_1190.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNSiGkndI/AAAAAAAAAsc/akIB3KqL28c/s400/IMG_1190.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338862195219922″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNSaKn-iI/AAAAAAAAAsU/pi70W3PLnGA/s1600-h/IMG_1189.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNSaKn-iI/AAAAAAAAAsU/pi70W3PLnGA/s400/IMG_1189.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338860064733730″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNSEFrhGI/AAAAAAAAAsM/VTgxwFOcqPg/s1600-h/IMG_1179.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdNSEFrhGI/AAAAAAAAAsM/VTgxwFOcqPg/s400/IMG_1179.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338854138414178″ border=”0″ //aStriding.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM-_ZZmnI/AAAAAAAAAsE/4Or1c39ha3k/s1600-h/IMG_1178.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 260px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM-_ZZmnI/AAAAAAAAAsE/4Or1c39ha3k/s400/IMG_1178.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338526461434482″ border=”0″ //aHans Halvorsen working the finish.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM-vA6WhI/AAAAAAAAAr8/4mCOwWLgpOQ/s1600-h/IMG_1176.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 241px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM-vA6WhI/AAAAAAAAAr8/4mCOwWLgpOQ/s400/IMG_1176.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338522063755794″ border=”0″ //aMorgan Holland bringing it home.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM-RwC6iI/AAAAAAAAAr0/_sQPZviaxEE/s1600-h/IMG_1175.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM-RwC6iI/AAAAAAAAAr0/_sQPZviaxEE/s400/IMG_1175.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338514208385570″ border=”0″ //aUhl showing his NCAA form.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM-A6Cd8I/AAAAAAAAArs/Ie6YzvZ0ThA/s1600-h/IMG_1174.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM-A6Cd8I/AAAAAAAAArs/Ie6YzvZ0ThA/s400/IMG_1174.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338509686896578″ border=”0″ //aNoah Brautigam and John McGlenn coming home.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM9yrIlLI/AAAAAAAAArk/znNgwAROPHE/s1600-h/IMG_1173.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 319px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdM9yrIlLI/AAAAAAAAArk/znNgwAROPHE/s400/IMG_1173.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338505866286258″ border=”0″ //aThanks for coming Eli.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMkBoV3uI/AAAAAAAAArc/GnfWm7YLhN4/s1600-h/IMG_1172.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 281px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMkBoV3uI/AAAAAAAAArc/GnfWm7YLhN4/s400/IMG_1172.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338063204507362″ border=”0″ //aSinclair showing winning form after 30 minutes of all out effort!!br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMjwpYCcI/AAAAAAAAArU/lQTIF-65lpY/s1600-h/IMG_1171.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMjwpYCcI/AAAAAAAAArU/lQTIF-65lpY/s400/IMG_1171.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338058645440962″ border=”0″ //aKristin working through painful shin cramps.br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMjim2eiI/AAAAAAAAArE/FGwzT-H8lPQ/s1600-h/IMG_1170.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 254px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMjim2eiI/AAAAAAAAArE/FGwzT-H8lPQ/s400/IMG_1170.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338054876756514″ border=”0″ //aPaco DeFrancis — Most improved on the year.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMjZ4_TtI/AAAAAAAAAq8/cvFiXkPF9kk/s1600-h/IMG_1169.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 254px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMjZ4_TtI/AAAAAAAAAq8/cvFiXkPF9kk/s400/IMG_1169.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361338052536913618″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMJXvVzEI/AAAAAAAAAq0/8DioF1bVrGY/s1600-h/IMG_1168.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 361px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMJXvVzEI/AAAAAAAAAq0/8DioF1bVrGY/s400/IMG_1168.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337605282974786″ border=”0″ //aKaitlin Fitzgerald showing how much she wants it.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMJZ75wkI/AAAAAAAAAqs/KnEptRgrbqA/s1600-h/IMG_1167.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 243px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMJZ75wkI/AAAAAAAAAqs/KnEptRgrbqA/s400/IMG_1167.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337605872534082″ border=”0″ //aMiss Camille all the way from Quebec.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMJDuKtpI/AAAAAAAAAqk/9LG2B5JkfmM/s1600-h/IMG_1166.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 262px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMJDuKtpI/AAAAAAAAAqk/9LG2B5JkfmM/s400/IMG_1166.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337599909344914″ border=”0″ //aGenna Primeau, my little swimmer friend.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMIlBfBpI/AAAAAAAAAqc/8oCLyfiXjV0/s1600-h/IMG_1165.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 238px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMIlBfBpI/AAAAAAAAAqc/8oCLyfiXjV0/s400/IMG_1165.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337591668868754″ border=”0″ //aEmily Atwood getting it done. Strong.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMIU50toI/AAAAAAAAAqU/188kkZZOuKo/s1600-h/IMG_1163.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdMIU50toI/AAAAAAAAAqU/188kkZZOuKo/s400/IMG_1163.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337587341768322″ border=”0″ //aHoly Heidi Halvorsen. Working it to the top to set a course record!!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLwcDkVqI/AAAAAAAAAqM/-9g8DgL3aDA/s1600-h/IMG_1162.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 372px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLwcDkVqI/AAAAAAAAAqM/-9g8DgL3aDA/s400/IMG_1162.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337176944826018″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLwNnouQI/AAAAAAAAAqE/HRl_-NiOIYY/s1600-h/IMG_1156.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 336px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLwNnouQI/AAAAAAAAAqE/HRl_-NiOIYY/s400/IMG_1156.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337173069576450″ border=”0″ //aHannah Smith is working hard–Look out!!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLwJAUoeI/AAAAAAAAAp8/jdgumf-IYuU/s1600-h/IMG_1146.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 338px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLwJAUoeI/AAAAAAAAAp8/jdgumf-IYuU/s400/IMG_1146.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337171830940130″ border=”0″ //aKaitlin coming into the transition.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLv9oU8fI/AAAAAAAAAp0/eWzan7_ETQU/s1600-h/IMG_1145.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 373px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLv9oU8fI/AAAAAAAAAp0/eWzan7_ETQU/s400/IMG_1145.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337168777507314″ border=”0″ //aAtwood.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLvlrqtBI/AAAAAAAAAps/tI97XTK0psc/s1600-h/IMG_1144.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLvlrqtBI/AAAAAAAAAps/tI97XTK0psc/s400/IMG_1144.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361337162349065234″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLdyfTm4I/AAAAAAAAApk/FFe0qt7c6Cw/s1600-h/IMG_1143.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLdyfTm4I/AAAAAAAAApk/FFe0qt7c6Cw/s400/IMG_1143.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336856549235586″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLXsJ6i8I/AAAAAAAAApc/0tXKzxqbQ9c/s1600-h/IMG_1142.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 233px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLXsJ6i8I/AAAAAAAAApc/0tXKzxqbQ9c/s400/IMG_1142.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336751769684930″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLXDlWSeI/AAAAAAAAApU/lPx9vl6PDBA/s1600-h/IMG_1141.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 390px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLXDlWSeI/AAAAAAAAApU/lPx9vl6PDBA/s400/IMG_1141.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336740878895586″ border=”0″ //a10% grade. No wimps here!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLXPA1gUI/AAAAAAAAApM/A4d2Dv9X4L8/s1600-h/IMG_1140.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 241px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLXPA1gUI/AAAAAAAAApM/A4d2Dv9X4L8/s400/IMG_1140.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336743946977602″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLW45BlGI/AAAAAAAAApE/wKZlx2yt8v0/s1600-h/IMG_1139.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLW45BlGI/AAAAAAAAApE/wKZlx2yt8v0/s400/IMG_1139.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336738008634466″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLWvPOsqI/AAAAAAAAAo8/5gIK3kPTDzg/s1600-h/IMG_1138.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 378px; height: 400px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLWvPOsqI/AAAAAAAAAo8/5gIK3kPTDzg/s400/IMG_1138.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336735417414306″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGz5yFEI/AAAAAAAAAo0/S10CAWEub28/s1600-h/IMG_1137.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGz5yFEI/AAAAAAAAAo0/S10CAWEub28/s400/IMG_1137.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336461791728706″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGzsmAQI/AAAAAAAAAos/tZcpdH9tKqw/s1600-h/IMG_1136.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGzsmAQI/AAAAAAAAAos/tZcpdH9tKqw/s400/IMG_1136.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336461736411394″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGlXaPNI/AAAAAAAAAok/YbwqsGHygJM/s1600-h/IMG_1135.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGlXaPNI/AAAAAAAAAok/YbwqsGHygJM/s400/IMG_1135.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336457889463506″ border=”0″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGaEc0RI/AAAAAAAAAoc/-iRmCqhDyT0/s1600-h/IMG_1134.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGaEc0RI/AAAAAAAAAoc/-iRmCqhDyT0/s400/IMG_1134.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336454857150738″ border=”0″ //aCoach Weston waiting for the first skiers to arrive.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGXnSaXI/AAAAAAAAAoU/bFeAuwBIJLs/s1600-h/IMG_1133.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/SmdLGXnSaXI/AAAAAAAAAoU/bFeAuwBIJLs/s400/IMG_1133.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361336454197963122″ border=”0″ //adiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1847564486460994594-2836641939881033820?l=gmvsxc.blogspot.com’//div

  • Rain rain go away

    Truth be told, my lawn really needed the rain, but as I drove towards Afton this evening and my radio was saying “severe weather going through span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_0″span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_0″Woodbury/span/span and Afton right now” I was not thinking of my lawn. Tonight was the first set of 5k time trials for the summer (we do them three times each summer). The time trial consists of a 5k skate, a bit of recovery, and then a 5k classic. Tonight I got to the time trial location on span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_1″span class=”blsp-spelling-error” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_1″Nybeck/span/span road 45 minutes early hoping to get a little extra skiing in, but this is what I saw rolling in:br /pimg id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361121782811046226″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/SmaH22YPsVI/AAAAAAAAAE0/vwW3gs-mRiY/s320/P1030076.JPG” border=”0″ /Instead of skiing in I got to sit in my car and watch the clouds roll through and dump quite an impressive amount of rain. span class=”blsp-spelling-corrected” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_2″Fortunately/span by the time that we were supposed to start it had pretty much passed, and we were left with just a drizzle./pimg id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361146206048992786″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/SmaeEeB7vhI/AAAAAAAAAE8/mrXD2ownirE/s320/P1030078.JPG” border=”0″ /By the time we finished our warm up the rain had stopped and the sun had come out. It actually got pretty hot! (or at least muggy). The time trail went well. My arms could span class=”blsp-spelling-corrected” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_3″definitely/span feel the 2:45 classic ski from Sunday, but I was still able to post a personal best time in the skate race (the classic was a bit slow for me). Dave should send out results in a day or two.br /pMore span class=”blsp-spelling-corrected” id=”SPELLING_ERROR_4″pictures/span:/pimg id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361147471378561474″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/SmafOHwAucI/AAAAAAAAAFE/WNSXI1JTStY/s320/P1030080.JPG” border=”0″ / img id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361147638215338610″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/SmafX1Q_6nI/AAAAAAAAAFM/nJStRTVgM6g/s320/P1030082.JPG” border=”0″ / img id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361147770558450914″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/SmaffiSDjOI/AAAAAAAAAFU/uD2LRnVQ2Ss/s320/P1030083.JPG” border=”0″ / img id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361147916349760242″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/SmafoBZaYvI/AAAAAAAAAFc/mIzuODz1w1E/s320/P1030085.JPG” border=”0″ / img id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361148071479184882″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/SmafxDTJjfI/AAAAAAAAAFk/WNDqAALxfyk/s320/P1030087.JPG” border=”0″ /It was Cheryl’s birthday, and that meant treats! But don’t try to steal any of her brownie – she will cut you! img id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361148220305605554″ style=”DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center” alt=”” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/Smaf5tuIg7I/AAAAAAAAAFs/Fn7rA_A-7xI/s320/P1030088.JPG” border=”0″ /div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1572647974447867713-2093495822419888522?l=vakavaraceteam.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • The Alaska Birkie – A New Bike Race

    Last fall I wrote that, as much as I enjoy cyclocross, I would like to see more interesting ‘cross race courses.  The go-around-in-circles format is just not my thing.
    So I was excited to learn about a new bike race here in Anchorage, the Great Alaska Birkebeiner Mountain Bike race.  The race starts in Chugiak […]

  • A Great New Training Option Out There.

  • If you act now, his conjoined twin will also train you….

    img src=”http://15.media.tumblr.com/COiZNt422q6nurxyWD3uX15so1_500.jpg”/br/br/If you act now, his conjoined twin will also train you. (Antidepressants cost extra, though.)

  • I seem to remember a conversation about this guy on the Team FSX site back in 2006.

    Not sure I’m going to sign up just yet.

  • The Wait IS the Hardest Part…

    Tom Petty and his crew had it right when they sang those lines. Given that we train nearly every day one might think we would enjoy the odd rest day, yet when those days do come it is often a struggle and a test of patience to keep from going out the door to do SOMETHING.br /br /We just finished our base volume period for the summer, culminating last week in five days training in Trout Lake, WA at a Pacific Northwest Regional Camp. Our volume had been accumulating up until the camp and in that five day period we racked up another 22 hours, which put the week’s total for me near 30, my biggest week of training ever. It was a very successful week with lots of low intensity rollerskiing on the immaculately-paved logging roads around Mt. Adams and finishing with a seven-hour hike up that same mountain to its summit near 12,500ft.br /br /Anyways, back to the waiting. Yesterday, today and probably tomorrow are coach-mandated rest days. Nothing resembling training should take place as we allow our bodies to recover from the immense stresses we placed on it over the past few weeks, acknowledging that the true benefits of training only come about AFTER the training has taken place, when the body adapts to the strains through recovery.br /br /But it’s sunny and beautiful out, and my 2-9er mountain bike leans seductively against the garage, begging me to take it out for a long summer ride in the mountains. Patience, young grasshopper. Patience.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2910103639238326543-1141806940314919422?l=methowolympicdevelopment.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div