October at Altitude!

The countdown has truly begun.... in just a short 29 days I will be headed on another 30-hour travel to Europe to kick off the 2012-2013 ski season. With less than a month to go, nerves and excitement are starting to brew in my belly and the anticipation is high.  

I find our sport to be qualitative to a fault.  It's usually this time of year when I start to wonder, am I fit? Have I prepared well enough? What page of the results will I be on for the first race of the season?  Unlike running, biking, or baseball we have comparatively few ways to measure our progress or improvements.  We don't measure wattage, we don't keep stats, and skiing isn't as simple as running a repeatable track workout. We can repeat intervals on roller skis but weather and temperature change the speed of the pavement up to 20%.  We can do a running test or a strength test but realistically, just because you can do more pull ups than 6 months ago doesn't guarantee that you're double pole is going to improve.  

Physiological testing at the USSA headquarters in Park City, Utah is just one of the reasons why US Ski Team members make an annual trip here to train come October.  The weather is generally beautiful, we can use the facilities at the Center of Excellence & we can "test" with the sports science department. On top of all this, we can take advantage of the opportunity to live & train at altitude.  In fact, as I type this, I am sitting at our condo in Deer Valley @ almost 9,000 feet! For those unfamiliar with altitude training it is basically a natural way of increasing your red blood cells & hemoglobin - both of which are responsible for carrying & delivering oxygen throughout your body.  All said and done I will have been here for a full 18 days which should be enough time to spike my hemoglobin. I took a test upon landing and will take another one just before departure to track the change. 

In addition to the hemoglobin tests I was scheduled to do a series of "max effort" tests on the ski treadmill to measure my Vo2max among other things.  Unfortunately, I'm suffering from a bit of an intercostal muscle pull and at this point, have been unable to test or use my left arm to it's full capacity.  Some of you may remember seeing this from a post I wrote in May: 

I was hoping to repeat this test (and see improvement!) but the priority is on fully healing my muscle so that I can do on-snow intervals in Alaska before departing for my first race in Munio, Finland!  One of the advantages of being near the COE is that we have in-house trainers & physical therapists.  I am seeing them daily and think that I should be 100% healed in no time! 

Aside from using the COE and testing, my trip to Utah has given me a much-needed change of scenery, pace, and WEATHER.  While the weather at home in Alaska had been quite "challenging" the weather in Utah has been gorgeous. It's motivating to get out the door and in fact, sometimes you have to keep an eye on your watch because it's tempting to stay outside all day! 

Last week I got to do something I've been wanting to do for a while now and that is climb Timpanogos, an 11,700 foot peak just an hours drive from Park City.  Lucky for me I got to climb it with a huge group of friends as it was part of my dear friend, Katie Ronsse's pre-wedding activities! 

The bride on the way to the summit! 

Our entire crew - all with either AK or skiing connections! Left to right: Katie, Me, Paige, Corky, Justin, Mandy, Julia & Shannon 

With my old training partner, Katie, at the summit!  (This is true Holly & Katie style - both with huge smiles and Katie doing the splits!) 

Another thing I've been able to take advantage of here in Utah is the FOOD.  I love ethnic food, particularly Mexican food.  There is plenty to be had here - you can see by the site of this salsa bar.... last week I also went to a farmer's market and just about died of happiness as there were fresh local fruits and veggies for REALLY affordable prices!

Post-training tamales! 

Skiing from Salt Lake City up Emigration.  We gained a couple thousand feet!

My coaches - Erik w/APU & Matt with USST

The boys train headed up the pass

Gorgeous Utah fall colors. 
(Special thanks to my husband, Rob Whitney for taking some awesome pictures!) 

Another huge highlight of the past week and a half was attending Katie and Justin's wedding.  Rob was able to join me for the wedding and a small respite from the Alaskan rain.  He was "happy as a clam" biking 8 hours a day on the extensive Park City mountain bike trails!

Katie with her father, Dennis - also the wedding officiant

The day after the wedding we were able to do one of the nicest road rides in Utah up highway 92 towards American Fork. The aspens were incredible and we had fun hanging out with Morgan and Chris! 

Biking with my hubby! 

Biking with Sadie! 

I have another four days here in Utah and its action packed with training sessions, physical therapy appointments, meetings with our new team sports psychologist & travel agent, getting outfitted with gear for the new season & an National Nordic Foundation fundraising meet & greet. (More on that and the Drive for 25 later!) 

In the meantime, for all you folks up in Alaska - we're having a fun(d) run for Mary this upcoming Sunday!  I hope to see some of you there! Please help spread the word: 

That's it for now from Utah! Smiles & thanks for reading, 

Holly :) 

Saturday Morning Surprise!

 Yep.... woke up to snow!  Saturday, September 29th!  Some folks went skiing to round out the "ski every month" challenge.  Lauren and I went to run up the South Fork of the Eagle River.  Turns out running single track in fresh snow is a bit challenging.  Thanks to my Salomon Spikecross running shoes that kept me on my feet!  (Most of the time)

Running up the Hanging Glacier Valley 

Beautiful snow and the first blue sky and snow we've had in a long, long time! 

 The snow was melting at the end of the 3 hours.... snow outside, a car full of roller skis and a thermos of hot coffee at the end of the run!

Salomon spikecross - these are great for wet, slippery conditions! 

I'm off to Park City tonight for my much awaiting altitude camp, testing with the USST, and my good friend's wedding! If the weather improves here in AK, you can thank me for leaving :) 

More soon/Cheers, 

Holly 

Dear Alaska.... REALLY?

Okay, I grew up in Washington (Seattle specifically) but moved North to Alaska shortly after I graduated from College.  Since that day, I have considered myself closely associated with Alaska if not, purely Alaskan.  Many times this has put me in the position that many Alaskans constantly find themselves in - that is, constantly standing up FOR ALASKA.  I can't tell you how many times people have told me that the weather blows up here or that I'm crazy for living "so far away from civilization."  I've often responded with things like, "yeah but we can ski 11 months a year" or "yeah, but I LIVE on a ski trail" or "yeah but my friends are awesome and they ski too...." 

So far, the month of September has slowly but surely taken it's toll on not only me but all Alaskans.  For the past couple weeks I have almost entirely run out of energy - or steam to defend it.  Instead, I'm looking at the forecast for Park City (where I will go for an altitude camp Oct 1), opting to ride my trainer while watching a run movie, or more often, gritting my teeth and getting out the door.  September in Alaska can traditionally be gorgeous; fall colors, crisp mornings..... but the past couple weeks have simply rained and the wind has blown.  South central Alaska is flooding and high winds the other day clocked over 130 mph which makes for some kind of storm and/or hurricane rating.... 

This picture basically sums up the last couple of weeks:

 That's me - getting splashed by the cars, making my own rooster tail on the sidewalk & "enjoying" every minute of the dark, grey, 40 degree weather.....

Two weeks ago we had our massive windstorm and we lost power for four days.  Luckily we still had water and hot water but no electricity.... I was cooking with the camp stove by candle light!  Novel for the first day or two but after that it was getting a bit old! 

The other day Rob began to feel sorry for me.... he remembers roller skiing in the rain intimately and as such, he offered to join me on an afternoon training session. I know that he was hoping I'd say no - that he shouldn't join me but instead I jumped at the occasion.  What person doesn't want their spouse to have an intimate understanding and compassion for what they're doing? (I thought this mind lead to him cooking for me, giving me back rubs, etc....)  The first two minutes of the ski were fine until he started "coaching me" and telling me to "not ski like a wuss."  Well, we were on the connector trail from our house to the Chester Creek trail - and as you can see, it's covered in leaves and sticks - NOT ideal for "getting out over your skis...."  (Also, take note of all the trees on the side of the trail - those came down in the big wind storm and have been cleared OFF the trail...)  Right after Rob encouraged me to ski more aggressively he literally fell on his face.  After I could see that his injuries weren't serious, I busted out laughing. His fall couldn't have been better!  I will say that Rob lasted the entire 2 hours but when we rolled home, he told me that that would be his last roll for a very, very long time.  My thought - mission accomplished.  He got a great reminder of what it's like to be an elite ski racer in the fall! 

 And... here is my cat, Buggz, the neighborhood hellion who doesn't even want to go outside (this is very unusual.)

 This is pretty darn typical....

 Boot dryers & multiple pairs of boots and shoes are essential as they never dry out in time for the next session....

Saturday my training schedule called for a 3 hour OD (over distance) run.  Rob, our friend Max & I ran  on the Johnson Pass trail, just the other side of Turnagain Pass.  Now, Max is from Aspen and he is up spending a few extra days in AK after the International Snow Safety Conference.  Max & Rob had visions of "some epic trips" but instead, he came for the worst weather in recent history.  Our three hour slog turned out to be possibly the wettest run I've ever had in my entire life and Max thought that he ran in more water that day alone than the rest of his life combined!  The puddles were literally up to our knees and frequent.  And no, the camera did NOT come along for fear that it would be ruined.  Here are a couple shots from the parking lot afterwards. 

Three hours in a deluge? No problem :)  At least I'm still smiling at the end!!!! 

The entire town of Hope lost power therefore we couldn't bum water from our friends, the Christophersons.  Instead, we jerry-rigged a water entrapment system to ensure we had agua for morning coffee! 

And.... just to give you a visual for the extent of the flooding in AK, here is a youtube video of Lowell Creek in Seward, AK.  This is just a couple blocks away from the finish line of Mt. Marathon: 

There have, of course, been great parts of September as well. Here are a few other select pictures to spice up the grey shots! 

Here we are helping out at the Anchorage elementary school running jamborees: 

Sadie, Rosie & I led warm ups for nearly 1,000 kids kindergarten through 6th grade!

Some of the APU devo boys were the "rabbits" for the course, making sure that the kids went the right way.  For the actual races themselves they literally wore bunny ears! 

The running jamborees are a program within Healthy Futures whose goal is to instill active, healthy lifestyles in Alaska's youth. These girls all have their bibs (everyone gets #1!) and their medals. 

Cheering on every last kid! 

Crazy purple carrot grown in none other than the Cresap Family Garden! 

 A wonderful visit from my good college friend Amy, her husband Joe, and the little boy or girl that is hanging out in Amy's belly! 

A couple weeks ago we had the privilege of doing an OD in good weather... here are a couple shots of the "other side" in AK :) 

 Drink Break! 

Gotta love a good ridge run! 

 Yep... this counts as gorgeous! 

 Nothing better than a wood stove grilled cheese after a couple hours of running in the mountains! 

 Volunteering with Special Olympics Alaska as one of their honored awards presenters! 

Last but not least, this day was a special blessing.  Rob and I both have fairly irregular schedules and the mutual days we've had off together this summer can be counted on one hand.  Here we are taking advantage of a beautiful day in Prince William Sound helping a buddy check his shrimp pots!  (Thanks Joe!) 

So, the short story is, we're hanging in there up here in AK.  I suppose the saying that "what doesn't kill  you makes you stronger" but geez, it sures takes a lot of energy.... and what I wouldn't do for some sunshine!  

The countdown begins - exactly one week until altitude camp in UTAH. Bring it! 

Cheers, 

Holly :)

September on XC SKI Girl!

Hey ya'll! We're halfway through September but all this stuff still applies!  If you want to check out my training notes for this month (or just this period of the year) go to my monthly guest post on XC Ski Girl's blog here: 

http://xcskigirl04.blogspot.com

I know that some of the pictures look awesome and our girl's ridge run was fantastic.  There have been some other great workouts and a day or two of sunshine but otherwise the weather the past couple weeks in AK have been "trying" at best.  Between a four day power outage at my house (cooking on a camp stove) and flood level rain I'm certainly looking forward to our altitude block coming up in Park City. 

More soon.... 

Holly :) 

Come to First Tracks!

Calling all Alaska High School skiers! Check this out - First Tracks Ski Camp is the last weekend of October in Fairbanks! This will be the second annual camp and trust me, last year was AWESOME. Fairbanks weather in October is really nice and last year, we skied ALL the trails on just a couple inches of snow. The entire APU ski team will be training there and this is your chance to train with us, chase us around, or dare I say, beat us in intervals :) Aside from training there is lots of other fun stuff including in the camp like a dance, schwag, good lectures and yummy food! Camp is the weekend before high school skiing officially starts - this is a great way to get a jump on the season! 

 Hope to see you in Fairbanks! 

Holly :) 

Tunneling in Torsby + Seattle

I wrote this article for NNF, the National Nordic Foundation regarding our training camp in Sweden.  NNF funded a large aspect of the trip, therefore making it possible for me to attend. I'm super thankful to them and to everyone that has donated to the organization!  I'll leave this article text heavy and picture shy since I've already shared most of the best pics in my previous blog. Or, there are some awesome ones posted on the NNF Facebook and/or USSA Nordic. You should LIKE both of these pages if you haven't already done so. 

Looking into the "eye" of the tunnel, down my ski.....  

Two weeks of brown cheese, tunnel skiing, fish paste, and Scandinavian countryside have come to an end.  I think that all parties, Americans, Swedes (and our lone Canadian) alike would agree that our joint training camp was a great success.  When I initially heard about the trip I had decided to stay home and save my money for winter competitions. But, when NNF and other donations stepped in to fund the camp I jumped on board and boy, I am sure glad I did! 

Our trip had three distinct parts to it. The first was the “North American” acclimatization camp where we got used to the respective time change (10 hours from Alaska!) and tested skis with Salomon techs in the Torsby Tunnel. Next came the dry land portion where we met up with the Swedes and trained in Salen, the start of the Vasaloppet, and finally, a return to Torsby for more tunnel time and a bit of cross training outside of the refrigerated loop.

Joint training session number one featured pouring rain and three hours in a nearby bog.  We were initially handed a topographical map with some light arrows penciled into the tiny contour lines.   Both the fog and mud were so think that maps didn’t seem to matter but luckily, we stuck together as one big group.

In Salen my favorite workout was a skate sprint time trial where we skied a prologue, TWO quarterfinals, a semifinal, and a final. After the prologue we were ranked in brackets. With each “race” the fastest skier would move up a bracket and the slowest skier would move down a bracket.  This was a great way to perform some really tough intervals and work on race tactics. We all had a blast despite our comparatively slow skate roller skis! 

Other workouts included specific strength on classic rollers; mostly single sticking and double polling up a Swedish Pass.  We also did a threshold plus 5x10 minute workout, point to point over rolling uphill terrain. We had a great core routine, went on some distance skis, and a second bog-run hike too.  In Salen we had Fica (Swedish for night snack) and watched the Olympics in our mountain-side cottages, I took a high speed crash into a pile of gravel spread across the road, we threw away our trashed “Bog Socks” that were beyond return, and we enjoyed an American BBQ meal our last night. After four solid days of training (almost five hours per day) we had an entire day of rest that was used for travel from Salen to our next destination two hours away, Torsby. 

Once in Torsby, we hit the tunnel hard, skiing four to five hours the first day on the 1.2k loop.  Loops took between 5-6 minutes each and we would alternate directions each time, ensuring a wider variety of terrain!  That means we averaged between 40-60 loops in the tunnel that day alone!

The tunnel interestingly enough, had a different effect on everyone. Some loved it and would exit the tunnel exclaiming, “That was great! I love skiing and love the tunnel!”  Others hated it and would avoid it at all costs, even if it meant doing a group workout alone on roller skis outside of the tunnel. (Both of these examples are Swedes, FYI)  I will admit, it was tough to go into a humid, winter, recycled air environment on a beautiful sunny day.  The tunnel was mostly underground and featured barely audible music and no windows whatsoever. My personal favorite was to complete 2/3 of the workout in the tunnel and finish the last 30-60 minutes outside the tunnel, either running or roller skiing.  The Torsby Sports center was awesome for this in that they had a 3k-paved roller ski loop literally crossing OVER the ski tunnel and running trails directly adjacent. The training options were awesome and I really appreciated the opportunity to “go to winter” and then leave when it was time.  (General aside, the tunnel wax of choice for us seemed to be a klister layer of violet covered by Swix VR60)  In addition to tunnel skiing in Torsby we had a great threshold plus 45-minute pace workout on the ski trails. We ran roughly three loops of the 2,5k ski trail which featured some really hard terrain and big hills. Afterwards, we ran down to the lake to jump in and cool off!

By the end of the second four-day training period everyone was still in good spirits but tired and ready for some rest. Apparently the 9-day camp was much longer than a typical Swedish National Team camp and by the last couple of sessions, there were more North Americans still standing (all six of us, healthy & ready to train) than Swedes!  After our last session we packed the van and drove to Oslo where we celebrated our last night in summer Scandinavia together with a nice dinner near the Oslo Harbor, complete with fresh muscles!

Here are a couple of additional thoughts I’ve had in reflection of my trip thus far:

Gained confidence – we’re on the right track

Some of us have already addressed this in blogs but it’s worth mentioning again.  It was great to see that the Swedish National team girls weren’t that different than we are.  There is no secret to their training; in fact, it’s not that much different than ours. I believe their current success lies in their tradition of success or simply the belief that they KNOW they can succeed, as others in their country have done in the past.  In the US we are more or less paving our own road but trips like this add to our belief when we have proof that we can keep up in summer interval sessions, handle more training hours, or do more pull ups J  I think that this trip gave each and everyone of us some positive feedback and some additional motivation to finish out the training season strong as we head into the 2012-2013 World Cup season.

Keeping in touch with Euros & building relationships

Seeing that most of us spend five months a year racing World Cups in Europe, it’s good to maintain contact WITH Europe and our peers there.  It’s easy to isolate yourself in a small microcosm American training bubble but it’s valuable to see what summer training in Europe consists of.  For most of us, this was our first time doing so. We also got to practice traveling, adjusting to the time change, and eating weird foods…. All seemingly meaningless until you try to perform on the World stage continually out of your comfort zone….

The camp provided a great opportunity to become friends with the Swedish girls as we were in a (mostly) non-competitive environment. It’s tough to build relationships on the start line at Kuusamo or the dining hall in Russia.  Having more friends on the road and WC circuit will make it easier missing holidays with friends and family.

Proud of our team’s resilience

I am so proud of our team!  We are strong, resilient, and it’s amazing what we are able to accomplish, especially considering our shortage of resources compared to our larger budget competitors!  On the last day of camp all the North Americans were still standing, ready to train with smiles on our faces. Somehow, one way or another, seemingly half the Swedish team seemed to be out with sickness, injuries or general fatigue despite the fact that they were just hours away from home by car compared to our thousands of miles by plane. For comparison in Torsby they had 12 wax techs, a slew of coaches, video technicians and two “physios” (What Euros call PT/Massage Therapists.)  Sure, the camp was in their backyard but there is something to be said for staying healthy……

All said and done, I’m flying home with infused confidence, specific direction for the remainder of my training period, and more International ski experience to my name.

THANK YOU to the National Nordic Foundation and everyone who has donated to it for helping fund this trip!!!!! Happy summer everyone,

Sincerely,

Holly 

Ok, shoot. I lied. I can't help but add some other, new pictures to the post. On my way home from Sweden I stopped in Seattle for three days to see my family. It was a rare opportunity and I usually miss every holiday and every birthday. So, we took the opportunity to visit my family's cabin at Snoqualmie Pass where I learned to ski.  It was cool that I was just in Sweden because I am actually part Swedish.  Consequently, the trip got me thinking about my Swedish Grandmother, "Farmor" quite a bit.  I wanted to make Swedish coffee bread or "Bula" with her.... here are a couple pictures from my visit to Seattle..... 

 Wasa Bread and Lingon Berry Jam!  (Also, check out my grandma's hat! (I traded for it at the Olympic s and gave it to her!)

 I went on an awesome hike/run with my parents on the Pacific Crest Trail. Here I am running on the Kendall Catwalk 

 With my parents, Don & Chris 

 With Farmor getting ready to put the Bula in the oven 

In Seattle I also took the opportunity to pick blackberries which grow like weeds in Seattle. We don't have them in Alaska and I wanted to bring some home for Rob! 

What's next? Five weeks in Alaska, at home! I'm really pumped for a solid block of training & time with my husband, friends, and cat!  In October I'll go to Park City for another round of testing at the COE and an altitude block! 

Until then! 

Cheers & thanks for reading, 

Holly :)