Log it! The first training camp of the season is over, and now I’m settling back into life in Stratton, VT with my club team. The first camp of the summer is always a little nerve-wracking, because you’re not in the same shape you left the season in, you’ve got lots of tests coming up, and it’s the first time you get together with all your teammates after a spring apart. For those exact same reasons, it’s also pretty exciting. See how confusing that is?

The team, ready to roll. (photo by USSA)

The team, ready to roll. (photo by USSA)

I’m going to go ahead and call the Park City camp a great success. I won’t speak for the whole team, but I felt like I got a lot of good feedback from the testing we did, and a lot of ideas on how to improve in various areas. We got to work on some technique elements and hammer in some ideas, as well as go on some fun workouts!

Erika, Caitlin, Sophie, Me and Ida at the highest point of our workout

Erika, Caitlin, Sophie, Me and Ida at the highest point of our workout

One of my favorite training sessions was a long over-distance session that started with a classic roll up a winding canyon road. At the top, we changed into running shoes and then ran this cool ridge line for another 2 hours. It was one of those foggy days that felt pretty epic.

The trail through the fog

The trail through the fog

As you may have noticed from the onslaught of twitter and instagram posts (sorry about that), we have some new sponsors on board. I’m really happy about this – LL Bean and Craft make some seriously nice training clothing and we got to test it all out during camp.

Ida and I were pretty pumped up on our new Craft and LL Bean gear!

Ida and I were pretty pumped up on our new Craft and LL Bean gear!

As they do every camp, the Adams family generously hosted a fun pizza party featuring their pizza oven, and we got pretty creative using up all the dough and toppings. It’s so nice to visit friends in town! That’s one of the reasons I love Park City…I feel like every time I’m there I get so visit so many great families and it feels like a home away from home.

Erika taking a look through the braided bun I made

Erika taking a look through the braided bun I made

Aside from the testing, we spent some quality COE time, getting our strength and agility on. As usual, I lived for that time after strength was over and I could cool down on the trampolines. Not that lifting wasn’t fun! But I really have a thing for that slightly out-of-control weightless feeling you get from bouncing high on a trampoline.

The boys like the copy the girls :)

The boys like the copy the girls 🙂

Trying to be like a snowboarder

Trying to be like a snowboarder

Balance time!

Balance time!

At the end of camp, we did some seriously hard double poling intervals that left me sore for days. But also left me feeling like I’d really accomplished something. And yeah, the endorphins didn’t hurt either, as long as I’m being honest.

Tired out after hard double-poling intervals (photo from Andy)

Tired out after hard double-poling intervals (photo from Andy)

It's a Sophie selfie! (with Me and Caitlin) photo from Sophie

It’s a Sophie selfie! (with Me and Caitlin) photo from Sophie

Before I go, I have one more fun, cool thing I’d like to share with you. Every summer, I take an online course from Westminster College in Utah, because I want to slowly chip away at a degree and because it feels good to challenge my brain in something other than skiing. This fall, I’ve signed up for a Sociology course that doesn’t begin until the end of August. But I did get to participate in another learning experience this spring.

Physics. Sadly, physics is not my strong point. But you know who’s it is? Peter Bohacek. His work is used by teachers at MIT Technical Institute. That is to say, MIT contacted him and asked if they could use his videos. So, if you were still wondering if he is the real deal, you can stop.

I got to run in one of his videos, and you can check the link out here: http://serc.carleton.edu/dmvideos/videos/hill_runners.html

Basically, it’s your “running up a ramp” problem but in real life! Students have to measure my energy output as I sprint up a grassy incline, and see how that changes as more weight is added to a backpack that I wear. Siri and Rana, two Stillwater High School skiers, also helped with the videos as Rana sprinted up the hill and Siri mountain biked up it.

At the end, for fun, I somersaulted down the hill because I wanted to prove that I could be an excellent human “ball rolling down a ramp” problem. It was a really fun morning shooting the video and seeing the slow motion results afterwards!

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