This first week of training camp in Park City has flown by! The first few days were filled with testing at the Center of Excellence (COE) for the US Ski Team. We did our usual tests on the treadmill; VO2 max, sub-max tests to test our our efficiency and technique gains, strength testing, mobility testing, yadda yadda yadda. It’s taken the whole week for me to adjust to living at such high altitude since our condo is at 8,000 ft, and for a while we were all getting the crazy “altitude dreams”! But now I’ve started to settle in and it’s nice to train up high to learn some things about pacing, like we do every fall.
Kikkan and I have some varying opinions on how to dress for fall weather! (photo from Ida S.)
Speaking of things we do every fall…you know what time of year this is? National Nordic Foundation (NNF) fundraising time, that’s what! We are doing the annual Drive for 25, which asks members of the ski community to donate $25 or more to the NNF. This money goes straight to funding their projects which include lowering trip costs for juniors going to international races (like World Juniors and U23s, which I competed in last year). They also help pay for transport, lodging and waxing costs in Europe, which add up to a lot! This link takes you to my fundraising page, where I’m asking you to pitch in any amount of money if you love watching World Cups at 4am. If you love hearing that US skiers are on the podium in Europe. If you think it’s cool that we are starting to become competitive as a nation in ski racing…please help support it! https://support.nationalnordicfoundation.org/fundraise?fcid=353704
My fundraising page: https://support.nationalnordicfoundation.org/fundraise?fcid=353704
We did some 10km level 3 intervals on the roller ski track at Soldiers Hollow, which was fun because we could play around with pacing and strategy and learn something from comparing the two 10km intervals that we did. We did some nice easy runs and some sprint training. And we’ve hung out together as a team!
Working on my sprint starts! (photo by Pat)
Anne H and I working on cornering at speed (photo by Pat)
Simi, Ben, Matt, Grover and Patty getting intense during team game night!
The huge group, including athletes from the USST, SMST2, APU, Craftsbury, Sun Valley and the NEG camp did a long classic roller ski up a canyon. It was fun to meet the NEG athletes and ski with them, and the scenery was amazing.
Rolling uphill for a couple hours (photo by Fish)
Unfortunately, early in the week Sophie tripped and landed on her left elbow and broke it. She got surgery 24 hours later, and with a screw and a pin in it it should be healed in 6 weeks. This is obviously not ideal and painful, but if anyone can get through two elbow injuries in a summer and come out swinging, it’s Sophie! Nothing can bring that girl down! We are supporting her and she has the best attitude, and she is being really smart about training through it and getting on top of PT. Send her your best bone-healing thoughts!
Mary, Me, Sophie and Anne, who found a second “sponge bob arm protector” to hike with in solidarity. (photo from Soph)
Coach Whitcomb tying Sophie’s shoes. We’re taking care of her, don’t worry!
Yesterday we finished off our first week of training with a nice long run. I ran with a smaller group and although the going was slow with the snow, hail and 8,000ft of altitude, we kept trucking along! People peeled off to go meet cars at the bottom of the mountain or go on ahead. Annie Hart and I finished the run together, and it was a 4 hour 15 minute effort. WHOO!
Annie P. showing Mary our running route across the mountains.
It needs to be noted that Annie cut her finger in a food processor the night before, got 3 stitches at the ER and still came out for the over-distance workout. Such a trooper. The other challenging part of the run was that we were never quite sure how close we were to the houses, because you could see them across the valley but the trail wound all the way around. So we told stories and bad jokes and time passed by, and we finished without any more injuries to add to the tally.
Aaaaaaaaaand…..Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, everyone! Since I’m now the only resident Canadian on the team, it’s my job to say it! We celebrated last night with the SMST2 team. Every year we have a big Canadian Thanksgiving party, since it’s our last chance to have a holiday together as a team before we split up and half of us head to Europe for the winter. I haven’t had a US Thanksgiving with my family in years, so it’s nice to have this one as a team!
Those SMST2 girls know how to bake pies in style! And after running for 4 hours…it’s a welcome treat.
Simi, Annie P, Me and Mary enjoying the unreal sunset! (photo by Patty)
