Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Breaking the Silence......!

Many of you have probably noticed, I've taken a sabbatical from my blog. Apparently that sabbatical and resulting silence was more needed than I previously thought. I've laid in bed countless nights composing posts in my head but unfortunately, they never exist on the screen in the morning. What have I been up too? Here are some quick Q&A's just to get something out into virtual life. I have to start somewhere, right?

Sanding in style - with full protection!


What have you been up too the past 2 months: 


Training - (in AK!) public outreach projects in AK & helping build a multi-generation cabin in Hope, AK. I've been on a handful of fun, small adventures with my Husband and it's nice to feel pseudo-normal again. I've enjoyed drinking coffee and reading the paper edition of the morning newspaper at my own kitchen table!


Most people are downright confused about your move to not do full time World Cup anymore..... 

Contrary to confusion I am NOT retiring. I'm pumped on a new goal - FIS World Loppet Marathons. This will have me racing 40, 50 & 70 kilometer ski marathons all over the World. No North American (to my knowledge) has really ever taken this on as a goal and I'm really excited!

What's the best thing I ate today? 

I LOVE blueberry season. And I'm totally smitten over CLIF Mojo Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt Bars....

Everyone wants to know - am I doing Mt. Marathon?

Why, yes actually.... it's a little race on July 4th in Seward, AK. People tend to think of it as the "Olympics of Alaska."  The hype is in full swing with only 10 days to go until race time. Check out this crazy YouTube from the race a couple of years ago:


You 
mentioned Adventures? What kind of adventures have you been on? 

Long distance adventures in Alaska are one of the ways I gained the fitness I did.... It's my favorite part of living here and I had two really sweet trips this spring. Rob was on BOTH of them too so that was fab. The first was a beach bike ride on our FATBACKS from Captain Cook State Park to the end of the Homer Spit with our good friends Katie and Justin. We were on our snow bikes which also work great for the beach. We ran our tires at approximately 12 PSI....... The second was a traverse of Chugach State Park with Rob. We started up Bird Ridge and just kept going until we descended on the Pioneer Peak trail out near Palmer. That trip connected some of our favorite trails in the park with a ton of back country and a whole heck of a lot of vert!  We hiked 50 hours in four days to bag that one. You do the math!


Biking in x-tra tuff boats on the beach! 

And Outreach? 

Last week I hosted 26 APU Juniors for a day of training camp in Hope during their annual "Death Camp."  The athletes (U16) roller skied up to 23 miles and then did a 4k foot hike. They also learned they aren't allowed to walk pass the pull up bar without hitting it up.

I also did a presentation for the United Way Emerging Leaders Group on behalf of Healthy Futures - an awesome program that I'm involved with. I talked about my role of giving back to my community as an athlete and educated them about HF and other projects I'm involved in in AK. Last week I also had a preliminary meeting with folks from the Chugach National Forrest and the Teen Media Institute about doing a multi-media project about recreational opportunities in the Chugach. Anything to get people excited about spending time outdoors - and then protecting them b/c they love them! Every week has been just that busy with fun projects.... I'm a lucky person :)

Post-ski, boot strip.... 

The Juniors hitting up part of the HOPE gym :) 

Friends at the Chugach also hooked me up with this awesome poster that I've been wanting a copy of for a while now! Thanks Sara!


Will you participate in the annual, upcoming Alaskan Women's Training Camp? 

Heck yes!  It starts right after Mt. Marathon so I should be good and rested :) We will spend the first week in town and the second week up on Eagle Glacier. I can't wait to see my friends, teammates, and special surprise International Guests!



 My Solstice Tweet? 

Beach Bike ride yesterday with Rob Robert Whitney was awesome until..... we went to bed and the bugs came out. Of course we took a tarp instead of a tent to go lighter (?!) .... woke up every 15 minutes in a pile of sweat & deet. I "slept" with my head net on until at 4am I decided that enough was enough. We started our AK Solstice off by riding away from the bugs, on the beach, in the rain at 4:30am. Lucky for us it was plenty light out!

 Best article I've read lately? 

A friend shared this article about Beyonce with me a while ago and I passed it along to my USST teammates. USST Women's Coach Matt Whitcomb recently asked me for the link and I re-read it tonight. It's one of the best pieces I think I've ever read. Truly, it's worth the 6 minutes that it takes to read.


Other than that, life is good.  I'll leave you with this thought: Make this your mission today and everyday. It's certainly mine! (Bummer sticker compliments of Annie and Dennis Ronsse's Van) 

Cheers, 
Holly :) 

PS. Did you know that Devil's Club are actually edible? Check it out on my friend Heidi's awesome cooking blog here: