Training with the Boys

I have been living and training in Park City, Utah these past two weeks with  the CXC Team. This is our first altitude camp this year and I was psyched to get the opportunity to go UPHILL for more then 4 minutes at a time! There were lots of athletes here from many of the other teams including the US Ski Team. Sun Valley, Maine Winter Sports Center and Team F.A.S.T.

The two weeks were filled with lots of training and lots of intervals. Brian and I came straight here from a 3 day clinic in Chicago so we were ready for some training. I was very pleased with how well my body adapted to the altitude and handled the intensity. I spent most days training with some of the top women in the US (many of whom are headed over to the World Cup in a few weeks) and felt like I was able to benefit from having other women who could challenge me day to day. The camp also included two Time Trials, a 10K Classic and a Skate Sprint. I felt great for both of them and finished 4th in the 10K (3rd American) and 2nd in the Skate Sprint. These results are very promising and I am excited about returning home to Minneapolis to complete my final preparations before the ski season starts!!!

The highlight of my camp however, was training with the boys (my husband too!). I headed out on a 15 mile run in the mountains with some of the top guys in the country and only saw one option...to keep up! Otherwise I would be one lost "city-slicker" running around as cougar bait. I felt great and think the added intensity was a good confidence booster. Today we headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon out of Salt Lake City and climbed 4,500 feet. Again I was able to stay with the boys for most of the workout and feel like my race fitness is well within reach.

One of the many switchbacks!

Trying to follow in stride with the "Big Boys"

 

Running for my life high up in the Uinta Mountains!

I return home to Minneapolis tomorrow and hit the ground with another clinic a few hours after I land. It's a tough schedule but it allows me to keep skiing and racing as fast as I can! I also think the work makes me appreciate the time I am in camp and helps me make the most of it!

Healthy Eating

As athletes we know the value of a healthy lifestyle with nutritious meals. Everyday we focus on getting the vital nutrients that help us reach the height of our potential and prevent us from getting sick. Our diets are filled with a variety of color and a variety of flavors. Thankfully Brian and I live less then a mile from the Minneapolis Farmer's market. We visited the market on our OFF morning gathering lots of fruits and vegetables that would feed us for the following two weeks at home in Minneapolis.

This is what the Farmer's market looks like on a Monday morning. Saturday is the main day for the market and it is packed! Brian and I enjoyed the slower pace of the morning crowd and took our time sampling the delicious offerings.

 We see our neighborhood kids almost everyday, either at the park, or at our front door. While we have been encouraging them to become active we have noticed that they soak up everything we tell them like sponges. So we decided that feeding them Popsicles and gummy bears might not get the entire message across. Of course popsicles and gummy bears are delicious but they weren't very nutritious. So I decided it was time to offer them healthier options with their activities. Brian and I had two huge boxes of apples and oranges that were donated to us after the North Shore In-line and Rollerski Marathon. The kids were psyched to see all the fruit and stopped by just to get a piece of fruit some days!!!

I managed to get a few pounds of ground elk from a supplier that was going out of business and decided to make chili with some of it. Gerry, Javaree and Quinn were thrilled to sit down to a nice chili dinner with Brian and I until I accidentally put too much cayenne pepper in the pot. Despite the cayenne pepper and the tons of beans and veggies with the Elk meat, the boys ate their dinner and laughed and smiled at the dinner table. We were all sweating by the time we finished.

Drummond, WI

I have spent almost two weeks every month in Cable, WI this summer. I have to say that staying at Telemark Lodge is a bit like living in a hotel (well I guess it is a hotel) but with my husband and husky there with me it felt more like a second home. With so much time at the Lodge I got to know the staff and crew he keep the place running and clean pretty well. That's why when I met JD I thought he looked a little out of place.

JD is 12 years old. I often saw him riding his bike on the access road to the lodge. He wore a baggy sweatshirt over his head and didn't really seem like talking. So when I began talking to him last week he looked at me as though he was confused. I introduced myself and asked what he was doing hanging out at Telemark? He had a disappointing look as though he had lost something. "Not much," he said. It was like pulling teeth to get him to talk. I asked if his parents worked there and he said "no". I then changed the subject and asked him if he wanted to pet my husky (named Lahti)? JD's eyes lit up and he suddenly noticed Lahti and asked what kind of dog he was. Lahti was happy to get the attention and began wagging his tail. Suddenly JD started talking!

He told me that he lived down the street and that he biked to the lodge to swim when he was bored. He said he was in the seventh grade at Drummond High School. I asked if he had ever been XC skiing and he said "only a few times, I snowboard." He noticed my shirt and asked if I was in the Olympics. I said yes and I have never seen someone react like JD did. "Really?" "Really Really?" "Wow!" He then asked for my autograph and began asking all kinds of questions about XC Skiing and the Olympics. He then asked me a question that changed his whole life. "Would you come to my school and be my show and tell?" "Sure," I said!
JD was speechless and we called his PE teacher right then. Mrs. Fry was psyched and I had a visit the next day!




On Thursday morning I trained for a few hours and then drove over to the Drummond, WI Highschool to meet JD and Mrs. Fry. Here are some photos from the visit...

Question and Answer Time!

Let's Get Moving!!!

Everyone loved the stretches

Especially Me!

Mrs. Fry, JD, Me and Jacob (These guys had their serious guy smiles on!)

I signed autographs and the kids signed a Drummond T-Shirt for me!

I had such a blast at the Drummond High School and I cannot wait to get back there again this winter. I am also going to be keeping in touch with JD throughout the year and hopefully get him out skiing!!! Thanks Mrs. Fry and your entire Seventh Grade PE Class for letting me come and teach you about being an Olympic Athlete and Goal Setting!!!

Rollerskiing with Friends

Sundays are the usual day of the week that our CXC Team does an Over Distance workout. These workouts are typically anywhere from 2 - 4+ hours long and are usually down at a very slow pace. Today was a three hour skate OD and I rollerskied with some of my closest friends.

 The  roller ski started today in downtown Afton, which has a population of about 50, at 7:30 AM. I met up with 5 women who I have been training with for the last 7 years here in Minneapolis. Jojo, Katherine, Claire, Katie and Carolyn. There were a few of the other usual girls missing but this was a big part of the "core" group.

Today was beautiful but the roller ski was sad because it would be the last group ski we would all get to do with our friend Katherine. Katherine accepted a job in Washington D.C. and will be moving out there at the end of the week. So today a roller ski full of memories and goodbyes. We met up with another group called the Vakava training group and together we formed a mass of roller skiers totaling around 30!

I cannot emphasize how important to my athletic career and my successes this huge group has been!

Katherine...we will all miss you and your awesome jokes!

Street Skiing

By Caitlin Gregg

After a solid two weeks of training in Maquette, MI and Cabel, WI Brian and I returned home for what is going to be our longest time yet (3 weeks). As soon as we returned we began unpacking and getting the house up and running again. Within an hour the neighborhood kids saw Lahti and knew we were home. Ten kids  stopped over to say “hello” and “welcome back”. While visiting on our porch the kids saw all of our Marwe rollerskis and were really excited to try the “Street Skiing” they see Brian and I do everyday.

Brian and I began outfitting the neighborhood kids with our boots, roller skis (street skis) and poles. The kids were psyched. We could barely get them to stop playing as the sun was setting.

I find the learning curve for kids starting out on  rollerskis pretty incredible. By the end of the evening all of the kids where skating and striding without ever skiing before. There were a few crashes but the thrill of cruising around the block was worth it for them.

Back @ NMU

This past week was one of the best training camp weeks I have ever had. The CXC Elite Team spent a week in Marquette, Michigan a place where I spent 5 years of my life and missed. Marquette is where I went to college at Northern Michigan University and graduated over 7 years ago!!! I cannot believe it has been so long. Looking back on those years and visiting the places I went to class and the trails I trained on, I realized how lucky I was to be a  part of the Northern Michigan family.

On this trip I was able to meet up with my College Coach Sten Fjeldheim. He has changed a lot, as have I, but we still had a blast sharing stories and lessons learned during our time together as NCAA Coach and Student-Athlete.

A lot of people ask about what it was like to be an athlete of Sten's at NMU. There are stories of grueling intervals and the notorious weather scenarios we would do them in. There were big consequences for forgetting something at  practice, being late to a meeting and of course not keeping your grades up. Sten was a tough coach but also knew we were at NMU for and education and he made sure that was always first. Despite all the rumors of how tough it was to be an skier at NMU the truth is we, as athletes, made it as tough as we wanted it! And we all knew that the tougher it was the better we would become.

Since Sten has been coaching at NMU there have been countless All-Americans, National Champions and 5 NCAA Champions in Cross Country Skiing. The atmosphere in the ski room is one of pride in all the hard work we, as members of the team, have contributed to the success of the program.

All of the positive energy, and fantastic weather, made every training session in Marquette incredible and I felt awesome! Sten even came to a couple of workouts and was pleased with how my technique has progressed even since this last winter! I am feeling like my old self again and look to make even bigger gains in the next couple of months before the season kicks off! Just like at NMU I am putting in a lot of effort now and look forward to the outcome later this winter!

Although I did not reach my fullest potential as an athlete while I was at NMU, I did earn a degree. Even more importantly I have learned to balance multiple demands and remain well rounded. I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the experiences and lessons I learned while at NMU. I know I would not have the depth of knowledge and success I have had as an athlete or person if I had not gone to NMU. Looking back on the thousands of hours I spent studying and training in the UP I can hardly think think of anything as awesome as the back drop of Lake Superior.

Coaching Weekend

This past weekend I spent three consecutive days coaching ALL DAY! I began by volunteering for the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation's Kid's Adventure Camp. I got up extra early and headed out for my Threshold Ski workout so that I could make it over to the Theodore Wirth Pavilion in time for the first group. This week the camp consisted of approximately 45 campers. The kids were broken up into groups of 5-8 and they would switch from station to station throughout the day. The stations ranged from Mt. Biking to Canoeing, to Orienteering, to capture the flag, to Rollerskiing. each kid spends almost 45 minutes participating in the activity at each station. By the end of the day the kids have trained over 4.5 hours!!! I am sure their parents loved it :) i was in charge of the rollerskiing on Friday. I made a point to remember every kid's name throughout the day. This made the feedback more direct and individual and I think everyone loves when they are remembered and addressed.

On Friday night Brian and I packed up our car and headed down to Rochester, MN where we were to coach a Master's Clinic. We stayed with one of the local XC Skiers in the Rochester community and had a blast learning about their up and  coming club!

Bright and early before 6AM I was awake and heading out the door for my morning training session. When I finished I quickly showered and changed and was off to the first coaching part of the camp. I spent the next few hours on my feet and after a short lunch break I was back at it until 4:30 in the afternoon. The next day was the same!

Despite all of the time on my feet I felt that my energy levels were high and my legs were fresh. I am feeling like every week I am getting in better and better shape! I am excited to report in two weeks about returning to Marquette and spending time at NMU again!