Focus Time!!!

Throughout my life I have found it difficult to stay on task and remain focused. I tend to have a lot going on in my head even when there is not much happening around me. Things get really complicated when there is a Lou happening around me. 

I think this trait of mine is both a curse and a blessing. Although I seem to struggle with writing, staying organized and sitting still, I thrive when I have single task and I never seem to get bored or burnt out.

Fast forward to this month and I have found myself flying solo up in Canmore, AB skiing laps on the snow of Frozen Thunder!  Brian and I were both here but when it came time to leave I had an epiphany...what if I stayed and really focused for the next month on training and recovery! No distractions and no other obstacles. Canmore offers the perfect environment for Elite athletes to thrive, there is the 3k of skiing on snow!, the rollerski loops, the running trails, first class fitness facilities as well as countless other high level athletes and ski enthusiast everywhere you look. Talk about staying motivated!!! 

When my plans changed from heading to Europe early I decided that I could use the huge savings in travel costs to invest in other areas. Brian and I have been able to get great food, rental cars, gym passes and massages, all which make a huge difference on our recovery and overall performance. I feel like royalty right now! Living a dream life. I get to ski everyday, do yoga, wake up to snowy beautiful mountains and I can tell that it is making a difference in my preparations.

Before I get too soft though...I still have a very driven attitude and operate with extreme intention while I am working (training). This has never been a challenge for me, it's always the little things that I have to do when I am home or traveling to an event that seem to take away from my most important area. REST! 

In a strange way, as the season quickly approaches, I am finding that I am training my hardest yet feeling my best. I am sure it is any number of the above reasons about just being in Canmore, but I also can't ignore the 10+ hours of sleep I am now getting and the extremely low level of stress!

Brian and I have worked hard throughout the spring, summer and fall to get    to this point where we can solely focus on skiing. We miss our home in Minneapolis, our husky Lahti, our great friends and supporters in the Midwest and of course the kids at the Boys and Girls Club. 

I can honestly say that none of this time "staying focused" would be as special without all of the wonderful memories from this previous training season. My life was full of distractions and I am grateful for that! Now that it is Go Time I am ready and excited!

I had my first victory of the season in a time trial this past Friday. Makes me happy to be feeling good and know that my equipment is dialed :)

Frozen Thunder Distance TT

Friday, November 1, 2013 9:30 AM (GMT-6)

Race info

Sport:	Skiing - cross-country
Start type:	Interval start
Racers:	26
Laps:	4
Timed on:	iPad
Timed with:	Webscorer PRO
Version:	1.6.2

Location:	Canmore, AB
Country:	Canada
Updated:	Fri, November 1, 2013
	11:38 AM (GMT-6)

Race notes

All lap times not 100 % accurate.

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• Race winners »
• 4 laps - Open Women

Place	Bib #	Racer name	Category	Gender	Lap times	Finish time	Difference  % Back
1	26	Caitlin Gregg	Open Women	F	Show	18:30.3	-
2	23	Rosanna Crawford	Open Women	F	Show	18:37.6	+0:07.3
3	27	Katerina Smutna	Open Women	F	Show	18:39.3	+0:09.0
4	25	Chelsea Holmes	Open Women	F	Show	19:00.9	+0:30.6
5	24	Megan Imrie	Open Women	F	Show	19:28.5	+0:58.2
6	17	Chisa Obayashi	Open Women	F	Show	19:32.4	+1:02.1
7	7	Rose Kemp	Open Women	F	Show	19:42.2	+1:11.9
8	9	Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt	Open Women	F	Show	19:59.5	+1:29.2
9	3	Emma Lunder	Open Women	F	Show	20:04.6	+1:34.3
10	21	Zoe Roy	Open Women	F	Show	20:08.4	+1:38.1
11	12	Andrea Dupont	Open Women	F	Show	20:09.2	+1:38.9
12	19	Anne-Marie Comeau	Open Women	F	Show	20:13.9	+1:43.6
13	13	Audrey Vaillancourt	Open Women	F	Show	20:19.3	+1:49.0
14	28	Chandra Crawford	Open Women	F	Show	20:21.5	+1:51.2
15	18	Cendrine Browne	Open Women	F	Show	20:25.2	+1:54.9
16	8	Mary Rose	Open Women	F	Show	20:37.1	+2:06.8
17	20	Alana Thomas	Open Women	F	Show	20:40.1	+2:09.8
18	22	Amanda Ammar	Open Women	F	Show	20:44.6	+2:14.3
19	4	Lauren Brooks	Open Women	F	Show	20:47.8	+2:17.5
20	11	Maya MacIsaac-Jones	Open Women	F	Show	20:58.1	+2:27.8
21	1	Bella Howden	Open Women	F	Show	21:14.4	+2:44.1
22	16	Alannah MacLean	Open Women	F	Show	21:15.2	+2:44.9
23	10	Jenn Jackson	Open Women	F	Show	21:34.9	+3:04.6
24	14	Erin Tribe	Open Women	F	Show	21:39.4	+3:09.1
25	5	Maja Zimmerman	Open Women	F	Show	24:07.3	+5:37.0
-	6	Betsy Mawdsley	Open Women	F	Show	DNF	-

Park City to Canmore

The training season is quickly coming to a close as the first ski races are now only weeks away! In fact, we have a classic sprint and 10K time trial on snow in only a few days. Before the season starts we enter the hardest part of our training year. This year we have been fortunate to be able to travel to both Utah and Canmore to train alongside the US National Team athletes and other top Club athletes. The training has been focusing on high intensity and that is no small feet at almost 8,000 FT! Especially for some of us "flat landers!"

Dakota and Matt get ready for our 3.5 hour OD in the mountains!

It's been great to be out West and get the chance to work with our coach from the Methow Olympic Development Project. We are very fortunate that he understands our need to balance our travel time with plenty of time in Minneapolis, MN to work with our In-the-Arena program.

Working with Scott on our OFF day!

Training has been going great and it has been nice to be with the National Team coaches as we prepare for a very important Olympic qualifying races. I was originally going to be joining a group from Maine for some early season races in Munio Finland, however, I decided to change my plans so I could build into the season a bit more.

After Park City we traveled up to Canmore, AB for the second half of our Fall travels. We are loving being back on snow and the transition was very easy this year after our trip to the Eagle Glacier in August!

Me

 I have been very happy with my Madshus Skis this year! Switching companies is a difficult decision and even more risky in an Olympic Year. So far the decision was a very good one as my skis are much better than any other year and the people within the company are completely behind me and my efforts! Yeah!!!

Our first day at Frozen Thunder

 

As always it has been great to share these days and the journey with Brian. We enjoy thinking about how much diversity we have in our lives between traveling to mountain resort towns and working and living in the inner city. It's a great contrast that we enjoy being able to experience and learn from.

Heading to Park City and Fast and Female!

Our second day in Utah brought almost six inches of snow! Brian and I are totally in love with skiing!!! So we borrowed some rock-skis and kicked around the local golf course for two hours! What a treat for October 4th!

 Welcome to Utah! and SNOW!!! After another busy two weeks back in Minneapolis Brian and I are now on the road for an undetermined amount of time! I LOVE IT. We could be home in a couple of weeks or a couple of months! At first I was a little hesitant about whether or not I was ready for the long road ahead but as soon as I got on the plane my excitement was right back! Before we left the Twin Cities Brian and I put in some of the hardest training of our year. Mine consisted of multiple days of high intensity training back to back. I competed in a 1/2 Marathon (15 minute PR from my previous finish on the same course), a number of 4 minute L-4 efforts, sprints, Rollerski Time Trials (Another 30 Sec. PR!) and Power strength Sessions. The volume of my training was slightly lower but the quality was super high. Despite Training so hard Brian and I decided to give back to the Ski community and offer a Free Clinic to help fund-raise for the National Nordic Foundation (NNF)! We then finished the week by flying to Milwaukee to speak at an event to help fund-raise for the American Birkebeiner Foundation. Brian and I are really finding our stride as a married couple trying to make the Olympics together. We have learned how to function as a fantastic team and support each other through victories and set-backs. It was great to share our story with the audience and I the response was fantastic. We look forward to more speaking engagements together in the future :)

We have been in Park City for about 5 Days and today is our first day off! We put in a solid Volume Block of low intensity so we could adjust to the higher altitude (6,000 ft). Yesterday I had L-3 intervals in the morning and an 1.5 run in the evening. Between the two workouts I volunteered to be an ambassador for the Fast and Female Champ Camp held at the USST Center of Excellence. I had an absolute blast and enjoyed every minute of inspiring the next generation of female athletes! I was particularly proud of my 'Green Team" girls who all showed me their clap push-ups! Awesome :)

Kimberly Derrick (Bronze Medal 2010 Winter Olympics in Short Track Speed Skating!) Here is a fellow Northern Michigan University Alumni and Olympian. It was great to hear her speak about the importance of getting her degree while also being able to train for the sport she loves! I couldn't agree with her more and I love the fact that we both called NMU home!

The Green Team rotated from station to station learning about different elements of each sport. Here we learned about the importance of leg strength and quickness for Alpine Racing.

Hanging out with an Olympian :)

Here the girls learn about the sport of Biathlon. They completed an obstacle course and then tried to get a shoe in a bucket (sort of like hitting a target!) If they missed I made them do push-ups! Soon they decided push-ups weren't enough and they started doing clap push-ups! Love it!

The most popular station was the trampoline and foam pit. The girls got to do a series of tricks and then finish with a move before landing in the soft foam pit! I was stoked about the cool socks everyone had!

Sophie showing how it's done! Toe touching while the other girls cheered her on!

The one aspect of the afternoon that stuck out to me the most was how exhausted the other Ambassadors were after the 4 hour event. Most of the other Ambassadors had the day off from training too! I realized that ironically this was a typical day for Brian and I! We usually put in a big effort in the morning, spend the middle of the day through afternoon at run club and then train again in the later evening. Feeling like I could handle the load so well made me feel very good about the amount of energy and enthusiasm Brian and I put into everyday we work at the Boys and Girls Club and how that has become just another part of our lives! I had a blast meeting new kids and motivating them to be their best but I do miss our Run Club Crew quite a bit. Brian and I have already started planning for our next series of workouts and races for the kids when we get home!

A Fantastic Two Weeks

The past two weeks have been fantastic and very busy! Brian and I finished the weekend of our 5K with the kids tired but very satisfied. Once Tuesday rolled around again it was back to business with seriously hard training again. I started the week with bounding intervals and power strength, followed that with two big distance workout on Wednesday and on Thursday it was another interval session, this time on rollerskis. After my morning session on Thursday I was off for Lake Placid New York!!!

Lake Placid was going to be a short but packed trip for me. I arrived to my cabin for the weekend late on Thursday night and by Friday morning I was up early and at the Olympic Training Center for our first workout! Below are a number of photos ranging from My trip back East to our Sale Event at Hoigaards Ski Shop! We have been getting a lot done and as the season approaches it feels good start focusing on just training, racing and recovering.

I know I have said this a million times but...training, traveling and sharing the experience of trying to make an Olympic Team with your husband has been the best time of my life! Although we can be tired, dirty, hungry, busy, stressed, etc... all at the same time, we wouldn't trade this life for anything different! Even if we were millionaires we would live in our same home, on our same block, work with kids in the neighborhood and get them out exercising and of course XC Ski everyday we could!

The Large Group of USST and other Club Athletes after our Classic OD!

Sophie Caldwell, myself, Ida Sargent and Erika Flowers after the Climb to the Castle.

Getting a quick photo with Liz (the Hill Climb Champ!) while she is being interviewed for Fasterskier!

I had a great result this year at Climb to the Castle. I was second to Liz Stephens and was happy that I could stay with here for two miles! My energy was good despite my long travel and busy schedule before I left! I look forward to more Climbing events in the future.

Two coaches who have had a Major impact on my career as a skier and my life as a person.
Brian Fish and Jason Cork. Thanks you two!

My Sweet ITA T-shirt signed by many of the kids at the Boys and Girls Club with my 2nd place medal.

Staying an extra day is totally worth it when you get to summit a mountain! On top of Mt. Marcy :)

Ready for the Trail Loppet 1/2 Marathon or Arm Wrestling???

Brian and I with a future star Isaac Nightengale!

Another Podium! This one for running (very far!!!) I am also psyched to be sharing it with two amazing women!
Josie Nelson and Nicole Cueno!!!

Brian and I participated in the local City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation's Trail Loppet 1/2 Marathon! We both ran really well and slept VERY hard that night. It's great to have such an active and supportive ski and outdoor community to be a part of year round. The best part about the event was that I could run home after the race (1/2 Mile) and take a shower before the awards!!! Yes!

Our "gift" to Hoigaard's Ski Shop! An Autographed Madshus poster of Brian and I!
 We had a very successful Tent Sale Weekend :)

The weekend was also filled with time at the Hoigaard's Big Tent Sale. Hoigaard's is a local Ski Shop that is sponsoring Brian and myself this year! We were busy helping people get fit for Skis, boots and poles when we weren't out training. We love this kind of work and you could tell the staff had fun with us there!

Heart of the City 5km Race

Glacier Time! My first trip to the Eagle Glacier

Brian and I had a fantastic time training and testing our new Madshus Skis, boots, poles and bindings on the Eagle Glacier. It was my first time there and I could not believe how incredible the entire trip was. We trained hard, we skied for hours and we learned great info about our new equipment. I am very grateful for the opportunity to travel all the way to Alaska and ski on snow in the summer!

Brian and I have been back in Minnesota for a little over two weeks now. We filled our time with tasks around the house as we recovered from our large volume of training the previous month. Our work at the club also resumed and we hit the ground running, literally, as we gained momentum leading up to the Heart of the City 5K. I had the opportunity to go on live TV and do a feature on our work at the Jerry Gamble Boys and Girls Club and our training with the kids and our own training for the 2014 Olympics.

A little tv time on the Sunday morning news about Brian and my In The Arena project and our summer Run Club goal event the Heart of the City 5km race.

Getting ready for the RACE!
Leading up to the race we tried to gain excitement by decorating our "ITA Team Shirts." We wrote inspirational messages and had everyone at the club sign them for good luck!

One of the last practices before the race!
Despite some hot weather here in Minneapolis interest is still high for Run Club. With the new school year started there are even more new faces at the club! New kids mean new members of Run Club and more miles run! We are now at over 100 kids and over 500 miles!!!

Heart of the City 5K participants!
Saturday morning was one of the busiest mornings I have had before a competition ever! Usually when racing I have the luxury of focusing on my own needs and preparing how I need to. Bring 6 kids into that equation and all your time is spent making sure they are registered, shoe laces tied, porta-potties visited and at the start on-time. Brian and I warmed up by walking to the start with the kids! That was a first for both of us and made us forever impressed with competitors who have kids with them!

Isaiah after the race! Tired and Happy!

All the kids finished the 5K with a smile and enjoyed every moment of the day. After the race we all headed to Grand Slam and played for another 3 hours with bumper cars, lazer tag and mini-golf. The most important part of the trip was the concept of accomplishment, finishing the goal race, and enjoying the reward afterwards, a trip to Grand Slam. Every single kid said they wanted to run the next year and we hope they are back at practice to share their experiences with the other kids!