Silver Star to Rossland

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of travel and racing. We raced 5 races in 9 days and I loved every minute of it!!! I have learned that as long as I enter the season with a bit more gas in the tank and slightly below my ultimate race fitness, I can improve throughout the season and hold my peak through the bigger races of the year that are in February.

I came out West and to altitude almost 6 weeks ago. After many solid hours of training and racing I am finding my top gear again!  Last week in Silver Star I had my first glimpse of newly gained fitness. I reached the podium in the 10K Skate race. I was 2nd. Although I was a bit off my friend (and Olympic Roomie) Holly Brooks pace, I knew I was tapping back into my race legs.

This past week we (the CXC Team) have been staying with a great family just down the road from the Black Jack Nordic Ski Venue in Rossland, B.C. This week's schedule consisted of three races in a row. We started with a Skate Sprint, then a 5K Skate and finished with a 10K Classic. Time bonuses were awarded for each event culminating with a pursuit style final race. The entire weekend was a blast! I managed to move into the B-Final of the Skate Sprint and finish 9th. The next day was my favorite event the 5K Skate and I was narrowly edged by .1 of a second by my teammate Jessie Diggins for 3rd Place. Today was the 10K Skate and I was able to hold onto my 5th position in the overall! The best news was that my teammate Jessie Diggins moved up from 3rd to take the mini-tour overall victory!!!

Jessie is only 19 and training with the CXC Elite Team year-round. She is a super talent and I look forward to watching her progress throughout her career. While she is on the team, I enjoy her energy and excitement to train with the rest of us. I know my results are improving after spending 6 weeks with her!

I have managed to improve immensely since my first races in West Yellowstone, MT. I am now within a few seconds of winning and I know I still have more in the tank! Our next event is U.S. Nationals in Rumford, ME. Until then I am looking forward to going to Brian's home in the Methow Valley of Washington and enjoying the Holidays with family and friends.

Yellowstone Adventure!!

Photo Toko USA
First Skate Race of the Season in West Yellowstone, MT

Photo Toko USA
First Classic Race of the Season in West Yellowstone, MT

 After the first races were over the CXC Team stayed an extra week out in West Yellowstone, MT to train. This past week has been perfect with great skiing and lots of snow! I had my best training week of the year with lots of hours and quality intensity. The week was capped off by an amazing adventure Brian and I took into Yellowstone National Park. We skied out to the Hot Springs and back which ended up being about
4-1/2 hours of skiing! It was about 50K of skiing!!!

The CXC Team is off again on another road adventure this time to Silver Star, B.C. I love racing in Silver Star and look forward to racing feeling 100%. 

Lots of Training, Lots of Skiing, and Lots of Happy Kids!


Before I left for West Yellowstone and the start of my ski season I had one more stop to make. I went to the Anwatin Middle School (just a few blocks from my house) and helped out with the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation's After school Ski Program. We had a great time using the running shoes, Ski Boots, and skis provided by many generous companies and individuals to help get these kids excited about Cross Country Skiing.

Anwatin Middle School Kids Rollerskiing!

The Second group out and done just before dark!

Now I am in West Yellowstone, MT preparing for the first races of the season. The snow is plentiful and the crowds are growing. I am loving the atmosphere!!! While I am spending many hours training, waxing, and preparing my other equipment for the long winter I also find that I have plenty of spare time. I had an idea about how to use this time to give back to the Community of West Yellowstone, where I have spent so much time for so many years. Brian Gregg and I have been visiting the kids at the West Yellowstone Elementary, Middle, and High School. The kids have been excited to have us and their enthusiasm make Brian and I happy about what we do. 

The after school program after our ski presentation and slide show.



Showing the kids what our skis feel like and how they work.

The West Yellowstone Girl Scout and Brownie Troop.



West Yellowstone After school Girls and our new PINK phones (we drew them!)



As the races start this week we are facing a serious blast of cold air. Stay tuned for some frigid ski stories and hopefully a race that goes off!



30 Years and still Running Strong!!!

Today is my 30th Birthday and I have to say that I don't feel any older. Maybe wiser, but not slower! I am happy to report that on the training and racing front I am still running healthy and strong. Thirty is a big milestone in cross country skiing here in the US. Not many skiers continue to ski at an Elite level into their thirties and especially not women. So I am looking forward to this year where I will be representing a new age class as a Master Skier and continuing to improve!!!

Today for my 30th Birthday I joined my favorite group of Master Skiers, the Vakava Racing Team. The team is comprised of some of the toughest and fastest Master Skiers in the Twin Cities. They train hard and race fast all while holding down full-time jobs and raising families!!! They are all incredible and have great stories to share about their own ski racing careers. I look up to them and they have been awesome training partners since I moved to the Twin Cities.

Last year when I was trying to raise money for traveling to the Olympic Qualifying races, the Vakava stepped up and opened their homes and threw an amazing Birthday Party Fundraiser for me. Over 100 people came and we were able to raise enough money so I could get out west to the first series of races.

Today I got to spend another Birthday with the Vakava Team and other friends. We went for a 4 hour rollerski in Afton, MN.

I'm in Love!

I'm in love with Duluth, MN.

This past week I had the opportunity to join Brian Gregg in Hayward and work with his ITA project at the LCO Boys and Girls Club. I had a wonderful time learning about how his community service project was organized and what his days looked like with the kids. We started the day off with a visit to Mrs. Johnson's 5th Grade Class. I shared my Olympic journey and experiences with the kids and Brian led a great discussion about goal setting.

After the classroom we went next door to the Boys and Girls Club. The kids LOVE Brian. It was awesome to see them light up as he entered the room! I met the kids and played some games before we headed outside for some lava tag and fort building. The weather was perfect and I was exhausted by the end of the day but had a lot of new friends who I look forward to hanging out with in the future.

Brian and I spent a few days in Hayward before we had to head to Duluth, MN for a three day clinic for the CXC team. We had a wonderful time exploring the great terrain Duluth has to offer. Both Brian and I have lived in the mountains before so living in the flatter Midwest always leaves us longing for more climbs.

Duluth did not disappoint! We were able to climb for almost half and hour on rollerskis and run uphill for almost 45 minutes! The biggest hill I can find in the Cities takes about 4 minutes! The scenery is gorgeous and being back on the shore of Lake Superior felt wonderful. We are excited to visit Duluth again soon and considering it as a possible place to live in the future.

On another note, training has been going really well lately. I have been quite busy this year with a lot of different things but it seems as though my body hasn't forgotten how to race. With less then a month before the season starts I am looking forward to getting back on snow and seeing everyone again!

Read for the Record

Yeserday I had the honor of being one of 5 women chosen to read to over 300 children at the World Cultures Magnet School and American Indian Magnet School in St. Paul, for the annual Read for the Record Event. The book was “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats, and since the theme was winter 5 women athletes were chosen to read and share their favorite winter experiences. Joining me were Olympic Silver Medalist and Captain of the Women’s Hockey Team Natalie Darwitz and Whitney Pratt, Carly Facchini, and Erin Layden of the Augsburg Women’s Hockey Team.

 During the four years since it began in 2006, Jumpstart’s Read for the Record has continued to break the world record for the most children reading the same book on the same day with an adult in their life. The program is designed to draw attention to the reading crisis by pointing out nearly half of the children in low-income neighborhoods lag years behind their peers when they start first grade.

The Readers:

Nearly 3 million children have been involved in the reading day efforts so far, and an estimated 2.5 million were expected to join in Thursday. Jumpstart has raised $6.2 million for books and supplies and sponsored nearly 800,000 books for low-income children.

Breaking up into classes we had question and answer time:
                                     

The Book Read Across the Nation:

Thanks to Morgan Bray for contacting me and letting me be a part of such a great cause. Thanks to all the kids who listened to the story and shared their favorite moments from the winter. It won’t be too long until we can enjoy a snowy day ourselves!

Kids Again!

This past weekend has been great! The weather is fantastic and my training has been going great. My training groups are meeting again and the intensity is rising! Winter isn't too far away and I can hardly wait to get back on snow.

Brian has been down spending time with me again and he is always great at planning large group training sessions. This past week we had seven skiers together 5 men and 2 women working on our sprinting! This was the first workout for pure speed I had done so I was a little rusty at first but picked up the pace as the workout progressed.

After the workout the "Big Kids" got together and payed on the awesome playground at French Park where we met earlier in the morning. It's hard to resist the incredible rope cages and slides.

I also had an opportunity to meet with other Minnesotan Olympians at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Minneapolis. It was awesome to meet athletes from different sports and different Olympic Games. We were gathering to start a social network in which all Olympic athletes from Minnesota could gather and share their past experiences and current life stories. Although I am not originally from Minnesota I am honored to be recognized with this group.