From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
This series comes to FasterSkier from the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Club
A Day in the Life: APUNSC is checking in with Elite Team members of the course of the next few months to get a glimpse into what life looks like for elite athletes as training starts up again during a global pandemic.
APUNSC is also running a fundraiser in which the Elite Team is working towards skiing 1,000 kilometers as a team to raise awareness of road safety and promote healthy lifestyles. Each pledge of $50 = 1 Kilometer skied.
Today we check in with Hailey Swirbul (21), a silver and bronze medalist from the 2018 World Junior Championships and three-time National Champion. Hailey hails from El Jebel, CO and has been a member of the APUNSC elite team for two years. She is working towards a degree in civil engineering from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Where are you right now? What have the restrictions been? Are they now changing?
I am in Anchorage, Alaska. Restrictions have mostly been lifted for Covid here with businesses reopening. People are still required to quarantine upon entering the state, but otherwise, social distancing is still in place.
How did your season end? Were there any race cancellations that affected your season?
My last races were in Oberwiesenthal Germany at U23 World Championships. I had traveled to Quebec for the North American sprint tour where the rest of the races got cancelled for the season (Quebec, Minneapolis, and Canmore).
Hailey Swirbul racing at U23 World Championships.
What is a highlight of the ski season you did have?
My highlight was scoring my first World Cup point in Davos, SUI, and scoring WC points in all types of races- classic & skate, sprint & distance. I also like learning what life on the road is like on the World Cup.
How have you planned around the unexpected end to the season? Did you do anything to “finish” out the season or jump into summer training early?
I kind of let the season end when the world decided to end it. I jumped into my Alaskan spring of backcountry skiing, Nordic skiing, and playing outside. I didn’t stress about training extra just because the season ended but probably trained more than I would have just by being outside so much.
Making do with a shortened season by getting in some good backcountry adventures. (Photo: Courtesy Hailey Swirbul)
What activities are you doing to keep yourself busy outside of training?
I have been very busy with a part time engineering research job, fishing, and cooking new things!
Baking delicious treats in my free time. (Photo: Hailey Swirbul)
What did your workout look like today?
My workout today was a 3-hour skate roller ski OD with my teammate Rosie and a short 50-minute mountain bike ride with the dog in the afternoon.
Enjoying being able to train with teammates. (Photo: Hailey Swirbul)
Do you have any indoor/at home workouts you are doing?
I have reallyyyy been struggling to motivate for at home strength sessions without a good gym set up. But when I’ve got to get it done, I’ve been doing squats holding the dog, dips on the side of the couch, and I’ve found a great pull up bar branch of a tree!
Without knowing what the future has in store, has it been challenging to keep up the motivation to train? Where are you getting that motivation? What motivates you to keep training?
It can be tough to motivate for me to train sometimes, but that lack of motivation mostly stems from my schedule with my new job. Ive always liked the structure of training, and that aspect hasn’t changed for me. I’m treating this year as a normal build up to winter and assuming races will go on as planned.
How are you keeping in touch with friends/family/teammates?
I see teammates at outdoor training sessions, and try to FaceTime my family or friends when I can!
What has been your biggest challenge in relation to Covid-19 and how are you tackling it?
My biggest challenge has been keeping my mental health in a good place and keeping structure in my life. It has been difficult for me to get little things done without a strict deadline or meeting time, etc. so I let those things pile up.
What are your plans from here? What things do you have in store for a summer that will include many restrictions?
I’m going to keep training as normally as possible and get outside as often as I can! I think fishing, camping,100 and hiking are great things to do with my quaran-team! I might not be able to leave the state as I had planned, but AK isn’t a bad place to be stuck 🙂
Enjoying vacations close to home. (Photo: Hailey Swirbul)
Do you have any helpful advice in dealing with the changing times?
It’s okay to not be okay during these crazy times. Be patient with yourself.
David Norris of the U.S. placed 20th overall in the the men’s 50 k skate at the 2019 World Championships. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)
This series comes to FasterSkier from the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Club
A Day in the Life: APUNSC is checking in with Elite Team members of the course of the next few months to get a glimpse into what life looks like for elite athletes as training starts up again during a global pandemic.
Today we check in with David Norris (29), a 2019 World Championship team member who has been competing on the World Cup for the last two season. David hails from Fairbanks, AK and has now been a member of the APUNSC elite team for six years. He has a degree in accounting from Montana State University and completed a Masters of Business Administration from Alaska Pacific University just last week!!!
Where are you right now? What have the restriction been? Are they now changing?
I’m currently in Bozeman. The restrictions here seem pretty standard: wear a mask and social distance; most shops besides grocery stores are closed. Bozeman has been reopening over the past two weeks with dine-in options and non-essential shops returning to business. The trails were always open so I mostly noticed these restrictions when shopping or wishing I could carpool with friends.
How did your season end? Were there any race cancellations that affected your season?
After Holmenkollen I went to Bozeman to meet up with Jessica [Yeaton], visit her parents, and recover before the Canmore World Cups. Basically the same day the World Cups and the rest of the season were cancelled Jessica’s classes switched to online, so we decided to just stay where we were to reduce travel and see what would come of this pandemic.
What is a highlight of the ski season you did have?
Oberstdorf 30km skiathlon and Falun 15km skate mass-start were both major performance highlights for me. More than the result on paper I was encouraged by my ability in these two races to move into the top 15 when the lead pack started to split up. In the end I didn’t finish where I believed I should or could have, but spending time in the top 15 and learning what that takes was inspiring and made me excited for next season.
David Norris skis to 28th in the 30 k skiathlon in Oberstdorf. (Photo: U.S. Ski & Snowboard)
How have you planned around the unexpected end to the season? Did you do anything to “finish” out the season or jump into summer training early?
I got pretty sick at Holmenkollen and was being a good ski racer trying to recover until I heard all the races where cancelled. Then with no races to get healthy for I started rallying the training; I tried to ski a bunch with Jessica and adventure in the mountains. After about two weeks of that I was completely wrecked and had to slow down. Maybe as a result of not having a traditional ending to the season I haven’t really had a traditional start to the new season either.
What activities are you doing to keep yourself busy outside of training?
April was definitely slow… I hardly had any hours at work and I hadn’t started spring classes yet. April consisted of reading a couple books, carving a butter knife from a dead chunk of apple tree in the yard, and baking lots of bread. In May I took my final MBA class and had work hours pick back up- so lately I’m staying more happily occupied.
The baking goods. (Photo: David Norris)
What did your workout look like today?
This morning I did about an hour and a half jog. I had plans for some strides and plyos, but the ole’ calf was bugging me. This afternoon I rode my mountain bike for about 2.5 hours.
Do you have any indoor/at home workouts you are doing?
I’ve been doing some floor core with Jessica and once a week I try to tie some straps to a tree to do TRX type stuff. I am weak right now for sure, but with the time not in the gym I’ve probably done far more cardio.
Without knowing what the future has in store, has it been challenging to keep up motivation to train? Where are you getting that motivation? What motivates you to keep training?
I like to exercise quite a lot, I think I have held high motivation to stay fit right now by doing only the workouts that sound fun. Jessica and I have been following the weather, and often when the weather is at its worst we just crank out some intervals or hammer for a while and call it good. When the weather is good, we spend hours out in the sunshine mountain biking or backcountry skiing. Its actually been a really refreshing approach; however, in June, I’ll follow a lot more structure.
How are you keeping in touch with friends/family/teammates?
Text and Facetime are my go-to for most friends and family.
What has been your biggest challenge in relation to Covid-19 and how are you tackling it?
I like to make plans with goals and pursue them. Since March I’ve canceled a lot of summer plans and have held off from creating new ones. I think I am being forced to learn that patience is not the same as laziness.
What are your plans from here? What things do you have in store for a summer that will include many restrictions?
I am headed to Anchorage in early June to start back into training with the APU boys. I bet with several of my favorite summer races canceled I might time trial the routes. I’m hoping the restrictions don’t make bouncing back to ABQ to visit Jessica too challenging. Other than that my life should be simple- train, work remotely, study, fish, and avoid making too many plans.
Do you have any helpful advice in dealing with the changing times?
Be patient and exercise every day.
Enjoying the mountains around Bozeman. (Photo: David Norris)
Rosie Frankowski (right) racing this winter in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This series comes to FasterSkier from the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Club
A Day in the Life: APUNSC is checking in with Elite Team members of the course of the next few months to get a glimpse into what life looks like for elite athletes as training starts up again during a global pandemic.
Today we check in with Rosie Frankowski (28), a 2018 Olympian, 2019 World Championship team member, and SuperTour podium regular. Rosie hails from Minneapolis and has now been a member of the APUNSC elite team for 6 years. She has a Masters in Public Administration from Northern Michigan University and a Masters of Business Administration from Alaska Pacific University where she is also an adjunct professor.
Where are you right now?
At home in Anchorage, Alaska.
How did your season end? Were there any race cancellations that affected your season?
My ski season didn’t end early because I had already planned to head to South America and Mexico to do a series of running races, trail races, and marathons. I ended my ski season after the Ski Tour 2020 and flew from there to Minneapolis and then directly to Mexico to run a marathon on March 1. Although my ski season didn’t end early, all the running races I had planned after that in Patagonia and Peru were canceled towards the end of March. I, then, had to emergency fly from Mexico City back to Anchorage and give up a multi month trip.
Rosie Frankowski racing at the 2019 World Championships.(Photo:US Ski Team)
What is a highlight of your ski season?
The highlight was doing Period 1 World Cup. Going to a bunch of places I hadn’t been before was a big challenge and I’m proud of myself for tackling it. Also, getting to race in some iconic places like Lillehammer and going to Finland for the first time. That was a good experience for my life and ski career.
I also had a lot of fun doing the Alley Loop race in Crested Butte. It was a low key race, but really fun to be back in the American Nordic ski community. Being part of a citizens event and seeing how much fun everyone has at them was great.
What was it like “moving” or resettling during a pandemic?
That was absolutely crazy. We decided at midnight we were going to fly out of Mexico City at 5 AM the next morning to Anchorage. Luckily my boyfriend’s parents live here so we were able to stay with his mom while we tried to find a place to live and a car.
I was let go of the job I had had for the last four years because I was an event planner and there were no more events. I had to find a new job as well. All of this during a pandemic when you aren’t supposed to be going to peoples’ houses or contacting strangers was crazy and quite stressful.
Maybe by luck we were able to find a place to live and buy a car right before things became very restricted here. Once we had a place to live, we were able to work remotely. It was definitely an added obstacle in the already stressful process of trying to find a place to live. It wasn’t very easy, but it did all work out.
What does a typical day look like now? How have you planned around the unexpected change of plans in your life? Will we see you on the race trails this winter?
My life is similar to what a normal day would look like because we are lucky up here in Alaska and have been able to use the trails. I go out running or skiing in the morning. The biggest difference is not being able to carpool with teammates which as a big fan of car pooling has been killing me. I’ve been getting into some podcast to keep me entertained and luckily gas is really cheap right now.
I train in the morning, come home, eat lunch, work at my job remotely, similar to most Americans right now, and then train again in the evenings. The biggest change has been working remotely and sharing the space in the apartment with other people working remotely. That’s always an interesting challenge.
I will be on the race trails this winter. I hope we are able to have races this winter as usual, fingers crossed. You will see me out there if there are races to be at!
Crust skiing at Hatcher Pass. (Courtesy photo)
What activities are you doing to keep yourself busy outside of training?
That’s been the biggest change for me. I am very social and I love going to breweries or going to listen to music and I planned events for downtown Anchorage in my last job so attending community events is a huge part of what I love about life so the social restrictions have been hard.
We’ve had a lot of outdoor fires so we can stay 6 ft apart and catch up with friends that way.
I attempted to get into yoga which sometimes works and sometimes I just can’t sit still long enough, but it does help to relieve some stress.
Since my trip to South America was cancelled, I’ve been practicing my Spanish and playing ukulele.
I’ve been obsessed with trying to grow cilantro. I have about 12 plants in different parts of my house and really babying them. I take them inside at night so they think it’s night which is a problem in Alaska when it’s so light, plants tend to go to seed quickly.
What did your workout look like today?
I went to Sadie’s house and rollerskied with her around town. We’ve been skiing on snow so we haven’t done much rollerskiing so I’m just easing into that now.
Everything went well and nothing was broken so that’s good!
Do you have any indoor/at home workouts you are doing?
I’ve been doing elements of strength from home. I find some core videos online which is entertaining and sometimes very difficult.
I go to a park across the street to do some lunges and push ups and things so the neighbors probably think I’m crazy, but that’s the gist of getting things done at home right now.
Without knowing what the future has in store, has it been challenging to keep up motivation to train? Where are you getting that motivation? What motivates you to keep training?
I think it has been challenging to keep up motivation to train especially for more ski specific goals. Luckily the spring brings new energy for running and hiking so I’ve been motivated to do that, but I have been struggling to find motivation to get out on rollerskis or even real skis sometimes. I’ve been focusing less on the idea that this is for a specific race and focusing more on the fact that this is me getting to be outside for two hours today, to get sunlight and fresh air. Then taking that day by day so I’m not focused so much on progressing towards a specific goal but on enjoying the outdoors. I’m lucky enough to call that my job and everyone else that has to work from home is spending 8-9 hours inside their home and I get to go outside and call that work.
How are you keeping in touch with friends/family/teammates?
Mostly through FaceTime and Zoom. We had Zoom meetings with the girls team while we weren’t able to train together. Most of my friends and family live in the lower 48 so I generally only get to see them once a year anyhow so that hasn’t been that different. Having fires outside and being able to be 6 feet apart has increased my marshmallow consumption but has also provided a good social outlet.
What has been your biggest challenge in relation to Covid-19 and how are you tackling it?
The biggest challenge has been the uncertainty and stress in not knowing what the future holds. I had planned to be on this trip until early July. I had been planning it for two years and sold my car and moved out of my house, planned to do all these running races and really take a deep breath away from skiing. But I have really fallen back into the pattern of being a ski racer which isn’t bad, but I had really wanted to take that space and gain some perspective and I didn’t get to do that. Emotionally and psychologically it was hard to not feel like I was taking a step backward when I had to come back and not be progressing in my life or athletic endeavors. That’s been something that’s been stressful. I’m still working through it day by day. I have a new job which has been challenging me and hopefully helping me grow. I have been trying to figure out a plan for the upcoming ski season that is different and focusing less on the World Cup and planning more races in the U.S. that I find fun. I have plans for running races in late summer/early fall if they happen so focusing some on the running aspect this summer as well to shift my mind a bit and focus on more than ski only goals.
Running trails in Mexico. (Courtesy photo)
What are your plans from here? What things do you have in store for a summer that will include many restrictions?
Hopefully I will get to do some races. I’m trying to take advantage of the fact that I will be here all summer and might not have camps so doing some adventures that I haven’t been able to do and those that are a little more off the grid with less people around. I am also looking forward to growing a garden because I will be around and foraging for mushrooms and salmon fishing and really taking advantage of the Alaskan lifestyle.
Do you have any helpful advice in dealing with the changing times?
Take it day by day. There are good days and bad days and don’t beat yourself up if you have a few bad days in a row and need to cry it out.
This series comes to FasterSkier from the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Club
A Day in the Life: APUNSC is checking in with Elite Team members of the course of the next few months to get a glimpse into what life looks like for elite athletes as training starts up again during a global pandemic.
Today we check in with Hannah Halvorsen (22), a member of the 2017 bronze medal winning 4×3.3km Junior World Championship Women’s Relay Team and SuperTour sprint podium regular. Hannah hails from Truckee, California and has been a member of the APU Nordic Ski Center since 2017. Hannah was hit by a car in November (read here) causing her to miss the entire race season, but has been diligently working on her rehabilitation and her return to more typical cross country ski training.
Where are you right now?
Truckee, California where I have been for about the last month.
Looking down on Donner Lake and Truckee from Donner pass. (Photo: Hannah Halvorsen)
How have closures or other interruptions due to Covid-19 affected you and your rehab? I know you were planning to be at the Minneapolis World Cup to help showcase the sport and cheer for your teammates and that obviously didn’t happen, but I have to imagine it’s also been tricky getting physical therapy and gym access over the last two months.
That’s exactly it. I’ve been kind of socially quarantined for awhile since I haven’t been on the race circuit and haven’t been with my teammates, but the additional quarantine of gyms being shut down has been challenging. Everything I need to do and can do is gym-related so I was pretty shut down with my rehab. Tschana (U.S. Ski Team strength coach) made a strength plan for me with the things I have at home that is quite impressive. I have a telehealth PT session once a week. I have my computer camera on while I show her my exercises and she helps me that way. It’s crazy how well we’ve been able to make it work, but it’s all pretty strange. Tschana is really good at what she does. I have a very well rounded strength plan with just the few things I have at home and it’s not an easy strength session. The PT has been able to make all my exercises using chairs or stairs. I think it would be really bad if I didn’t have a good PT or strength coach, but they have been so helpful.
Even though you weren’t on the race trails this winter, do you have a highlight from the winter? What have been some of your biggest breakthroughs in rehab this winter?
One of the bigger breakthroughs was being able to walk again. It was so limiting not being able to walk. I had to wait five weeks for surgery due to my brain injury. So I had an extra five weeks when I was on crutches. You really take for granted simple things like going to grab a glass of water. I just last week I started being able to run again for only 10 minutes, but it feels like I’m finally moving forward.
What does a typical day look like now?
I do quite a bit of PT. I do strength a couple of times a week and a lot of walking. I can only run 10 minutes a day so I walk the rest of the time. It’s really pretty here, so it’s nice to be out and now I have started biking. Between that and online school, that takes up most of my day.
Getting out for a bike ride. (Photo: Hannah Halvorsen)
What activities are you doing to keep yourself busy outside of training and rehab?
I’ve been reading and listening to music. I’ve been getting really into puzzles too. I’ve made bread a few times, but I can’t really say it’s a regular hobby. I am on Donner Lake so I hang out on the dock.
What did your workout look like today?
I walked around the lake and picked up trash along the way. I have been working on some thank you notes and then I have strength.
Do you have any indoor/at-home workouts you are doing?
I do lunges with my back leg on a band held between two chairs. I do a lot of neurocognitive training so I have a half a foam roller that I balance on while I play catch or bounce balls.
Working on neurocognitive skills. (Photo: Hannah Halvorsen)
You have been hit with numerous big life changes over the last year, has it been challenging to keep up the motivation to train or rehab? Where are you getting that motivation? What motivates you to keep going?
It’s actually affected me the opposite way. Things had been relatively steady for a couple of years and you almost get too comfortable and stuck in the monotony. Having big changes have made me realize how fortunate I am to travel and train and be with my teammates. The goals I have are things I really care about and are more clear. I really want to get to a point where I can train with my teammates and travel again. That motivates me. I build a bit of motivation from the underdog spirit as well. When you are doing well sometimes it’s hard to not feel like you are just trying not to fail. When something like this happens you get the spirit of just wanting to prove you can get back and sometimes that makes things a little easier.
How are you keeping in touch with friends/family/teammates?
I’ve been keeping in touch quite a bit. We’ve had some zoom meetings with the APU women’s team. I’ve been texting with a lot of friends. In many ways, we have had more spring communication than usual as we often go our separate ways in the spring, but it feels weird not to be with people. I miss that.
Checking in on my grandma from a safe distance. (Photo: Hannah Halvorsen)
What are your plans from here? What does the rehab road look like for you moving forward?
I just got the green light to start double poling on May 1 and by June I should be allowed to stride and in July skate. Those are the big ones, but throughout that time, each week I’m bumping up the amount I can run or do other activities as long as things are still going well. So far things have been smooth!
Excited to get back to racing, skiing, and my teammates! (Photo: Courtesy Hannah Halvorsen)
Do you have any helpful advice in dealing with the changing times?
When things change some people respond by feeling overwhelmed or stressed which becomes negative and some people can respond to change by figuring what they can get out of the change even if it is stressful. I have been trying to figure out what I can do with the extra time and fewer variables. It can make days quite routine, but a lot of things we want to work on don’t happen from one big effort, but from doing it every day and this extra time and routine allows me to work on something every day.
This series comes to FasterSkier from the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Club.
A Day in the Life: APUNSC is checking in with Elite Team members over the course of the next few months to get a glimpse into what life looks like for elite athletes as training starts up again during a global pandemic.
Today we check in with Tyler Kornfield (29), a 2018 Olympian and 3x National Champion who was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. Kornfield has been a part of the APU Nordic Ski Center for 7 years.
Where are you right now?
I am in Anchorage where I have been since the season abruptly ended in March. I feel fortunate to have moved into a spacious home last fall that has made spending more time at home more enjoyable, not to mention it’s very close to the trails!
Enjoying the good ski conditions around Anchorage (Photo: Rosie Brennan)
How did your season end? What races were canceled that you were planning to do?
My season unknowingly ended after the American Birkebeiner in late February. I flew to Utah to train for the World Cups in Quebec, Minneapolis, and Canmore. My training went great and I flew to Quebec City feeling very prepared. Things started changing around the globe very quickly and I remained trying to prepare while also trying to gauge the situation. Ultimately, Quebec City and all the rest of the remaining World Cups were canceled and I flew back to Anchorage.
Despite a turbulent finish to the season, what is a highlight of last season?
My highlight was racing the Oberstdorf World Cup sprint because World Championships is there next season. It was a great opportunity for me to race the course and really ingrain all the things I will need to work on over the course of the summer to be able to compete at the World Championships. It has subsequently kept me more motivated in these challenging times as I have a very clear goal and skills I need to build in mind from my experiences racing on that specific course.
Tyler Kornfield racing in Oberstdorf. (Photo: US Ski Team)
What does a typical day look like now? How have you planned around the shortened race season?
Today was the first day of the training season for me so I have started getting back into a normal training routine. Fortunately, this isn’t impacted too heavily by the restrictions. I am able to get up early and go for a training session, which luckily was a crust ski today. The biggest difference in my day is that I do my part-time engineering job from my house rather than the office. Then I will head out the door for a run this afternoon and then some home strength. Gyms have not opened up so we have been slowly trying to accumulate some at-home gym equipment and get creative with what we can use. Today will be the first day trying to do a whole session so we will see how it goes.
With so much good skiing in Anchorage, I decided to take advantage of spending more time on snow so I skied quite a bit until the trails melted and then took a small break before starting in on a new training season.
Taking advantage of the ski training despite a short race season. (Photo: Rosie Brennan)
There have been many ups and downs both from the shortened season, many life restrictions and the natural change of season, but exercise seemed to be my best coping method.
What activities are you doing to keep yourself busy outside of training?
My girlfriend and I have joined the growing trend of making sourdough bread. We were determined to make our own starter, which took some trials but we’ve now been cranking out some bread. I have also been planning our garden and trying to do some yard work to get outside. Lastly, we have also started making kombucha, although that takes some time so we don’t have a finished product yet…
Learning to make sourdough bread. (Photo: Rosie Brennan)
What did your workout look like today?
I went on a crust ski with a few teammates. We are limited to a group size under 20 as of today and maintaining a 10ft distance from others while exercising. Crust skiing is an easy activity to do this as you can ski anywhere there is snow so we don’t have to follow one another in a long single-file line! We went for a long one as the conditions were good and the sun felt nice.
Do you have any indoor/at home workouts you are doing?
I built a TRX in our garage to keep up on core. I will be trying to do a little core every day and incorporate that into my daily routine.
Homemade TRX in the garage. (Photo: Rosie Brennan)
Has it been challenging to keep up the motivation to train? Where are you getting that motivation? What motivates you to keep training?
It has been challenging. It’s difficult when you don’t know what the race season is going to look like, but I have to go into things thinking my race season will be the same and focus on the goals I have set. I want to race at the World Championships in Oberstdorf and will be using that as motivation to get out the door.
How are you keeping in touch with friends/family/teammates?
We have been doing some zoom meetings with teammates and family about once a week. Spring is normally the time that we are able to let loose a bit and visit with friends outside of training so I have been really missing that aspect of spring.
Figure 6 Staying in touch with family through ski Easter egg hunts. (Photo: Rosie Brennan)
Do you have any helpful advice in dealing with the changing times?
I have tried to minimize my time reading the news and focus on the things that I can control such as social distancing and finding a routine that most closely resembles what life used to look like while being safe.
