Alrighty! It’s officially been an internal temperature struggle-fest for me out here the past week, as it’s been really humid and pretty hot too. And we’ve had some massive downpours! But it’s been fun too, since I don’t mind getting wet, as long as I can start the workout with dry shoes.
The Eastern REG camp wrapped up a week of great training with some group skits. Most of them were funny because they either made fun of the coaches, or were just a little inappropriate, like the “broga – yoga for bros” skit. It was a good time. A couple people got the start of a haircut onstage as part of their skit…and Simi and I finished Saxton’s haircut later.
The J2 boys
The J2 girls skit
Simi and I cutting Ben’s hair
Totally unrelated to the skits, Skylar also got a haircut. I guess the heat is making all the guys think twice about the flowing locks…and I’ve felt a little tempted to cut my hair off as well at times.
Mid-haircut. Don’t worry, he didn’t leave it like that.
Wow, it probably looks like all we did at camp is work on skits and cut hair. But we also had some awesome group workouts including some all-out double pole intervals! This workout is a staple of REG camps and it’s cool because everyone starts together, so the juniors have a chance to jump in behind older skiers and match their tempo for as long as possible, while they push the T2 team athletes to stay on their toes.
The boys interval train
Soph and I leading the girls group
Thanks to the Finn Sisu store in Minnesota, I have a new pair of Marwe Rollerskis! I wore through my old pair but Soph and I just got new ones that are smooth and perfect for training.
And…I got to see some friends! Maddy Wendt and her boyfriend Andrew are hiking the entire AT trail and stopped by for the night. I was on the Stillwater High School ski team with Maddy but since she went to college out east I haven’t seen her in a long time. It was great to catch up! It also put things in perspective for me in a BIG way…when we dropped them off to go hike in the humidity and rain and proceeded to do bounding intervals, I was thinking “wow, I’m soaked and muddy and tired but at least I have a BED tonight!” Totally impressive that these guys are hiking along and in good spirits even in such rainy weather.
Maddy and Andrew on day 101 of their trip!
The other night we met with Marina Knight, the head of the T2 foundation which is our club team’s title sponsor. T2’s mission is “to help America’s elite skiers reach their dreams, and to fuel the grassroots growth of the sport through organized events and programs, which give back to the youth community”. And they’re doing a great job! We’re psyched to have them supporting us.
Gus, Andy, Annie, Erik, Marina, Jessie, Sophie, Simi, Erika, Sverre (Skylar not pictured)
In a slightly less glamorous photo, check out the mud on our legs after a run over Styles and Peru peaks!
Yuck
It was really hard for me to tell, but if I had to guess I’d say I was covered in 30% mud, 20% sweat, 5% blood (I fell) and 45% rain and stream water. I also happened to run straight into a branch and nearly impaled myself, ripping my favorite tank top. My ponytail somehow turned into one massive dreadlock that took 15 minutes to untangle with about half a bottle of conditioner. But it’s all ok because today was Eric’s birthday and we spent the afternoon cooking up a delicious meal of risotto, salad, homemade bread and carrot cake. We’ve had a lot of birthdays this week since Austin Cobb and Ben Saxton also got a little older at the start of the week, but Eric got the best deal since we moved into the super nice house today and had a real kitchen to work with.
Erika spelled his name in walnuts across the top. 🙂
And, last but not least…Happy Birthday, America! I hope you’re having a great 4th of July (and Happy belated Canada Day to the other half of my family). Eric and Ben may have possibly ordered some pretty sweet getups for the day.
Our own Uncle Sam
