Training Camp in The Pacific Northwest

The past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun...but incredibly busy too. Brian and I headed out to Washington to compete in the Ski to Ski race and get a chance to ski on snow in Bend, OR.  We stopped by in the Methow Valley so we could work with Scott Johnston and move our second home, the fawn hut.

The very first day we arrived we started training hard. We met up early with Scott for technique and while Brian went to the gym...I got a run in before my race the next day.

The next morning I ran the Sun Mountain 25K trail race. I hadn't run very far yet this year so the 15 miles felt like eternity but on a brighter note, my injured hamstring is almost completely healed. It has taken two years of incredibly patience and diligence to get back to running full speed. The course was challenging but I loved it and felt great while earning my first victory in a trail race this season :)

After the running race I still had more racing to do. This time it was skiing though. Brian and I headed to Bellingham, WA to compete in the Ski to Sea race for our respective relay teams. I had a great race there too and came in 3rd overall with men. I got to meet up with another NMU alumni Kelly Ahern and we tested skis together and got ready for the event the day before!

After the race Brian and I raced back to the Methow Valley so we could attend a friend's wedding later that day. It was fun to be back in the sunshine and all dressed up after racing in the pouring rain and feeling like a drowned rat earlier in the day.

Once back in the Methow it was back to work the next day power washing the Fawn Hut we are soon to call home :) The hut was free because MVSTA no longer felt it was being used on the Rendezvous trail system, all we had to do was move it! After the move we have been busy cleaning and sorting all of the walls getting it ready for the re-build in a few weeks.

Brian and I are once again on the road. This time we are in Bend, OR looking forward to our biggest week of training coming up. I can't wait to start getting into a rhythm before we head back to Minneapolis and visiting with the kids at Run Club again.