Two races down, two more to go!

I'm laying on the couch right now with my legs elevated after just finishing the Teck Skate Sprint in Rossland.  The first day of the mini tour is over, only two more days of racing in this period before headed back to Alaska to my own bed, my cat, and some well deserved R&R.

Today was a fun race on a technical and tactical course.  The prelim only took us three minutes - too short for my liking but the margin between me and Sadie today was even smaller than last weekend in Silver Star (.05 versus .1)  How many ways can YOU think of to make up .05 seconds!?!

The scenic shot.... (thanks to my husband Rob for all the great photos!)

Reese rockin it! 

The women's A final coming off the technical "S" turn

Anyways, today's race was a big deal for the Canadians.  The Canadian winner of each skate sprint "stamped" their ticket to compete at World Championships in Oslo, Norway!  While I'm glad that we don't use the "perform or else" qualification system I'm sure it feels nice to know Championship plans now rather than having to wait until mid January like we have to in the US.

The men!

Today's course featured a huge hill at the beginning of the race.  We bottle-necked early and I was basically in third place the entire race.  Each attempt to pass proved unsuccessful.  We navigated a gnarly turn which saw some pretty good wipe outs earlier in the day and headed in for the final stretch.  I had good cornering and decent finishing speed. I came from behind to lunge for second place with Perianne Jones!  After mulling around for a while I found the jury hovering over the finish camera debating the timing picture inside and out.  No one could really tell who was second, and who was third.  The final call was TIE!

With teammate (& roommate!) Katie Ronsse who rocked the B final!

Perhaps the best quote of the day goes to Perianne when she said that she looked over at my suit color after we crossed the line was relieved to see that was an American rather than a Canadian.  Imagine the debacle that would create if two Canadians tied, the "prize" being a trip to World Champs?!  We were disappointed to find out that there wasn't a "2" bib for the podium.... the plan to both squish into it was foiled!

Sharing the podium with Peri (I'm in green)

The women's podium today: Sadie, Peri & me!

Rewinding to the distance race last weekend at Soveregin Lakes....... I had a great day!  The course suited my strengths well - slow snow and lots of climbing.  The suffering factor was high and I love it when it hurts!  Erik described racing at altitude according to Bill Koch: "It's like reaching for that branch that is just SLIGHTLY out of reach and trying to hold on."  That's basically what it felt like and I was happy to come out of it with a NorAm victory!

Top of the podium at Sovereign!

Rocket skis and poles!

We've been on the road for 28 days now and this is the final stretch!  Tomorrow's race is a 5k skate and Sunday's is a 10k classic "hunting" start.  Basically, all of the race times over the three days will be added up. Additional bonuses will be given for sprint performances.  Sunday's start will be rolling pursuit style and then it's the first person to cross the line wins!

Last but certainly NOT least, my teammate, Reese Hanneman (who also had an awesome day today finishing 10th overall amongst a stacked men's field) made another great "Engine Room" productions video.  Check it out here:



Stay tuned for progress and details!
Thanks for reading,
Holly

ps. Special "thanks" to my husband Rob for taking hundreds of awesome pictures the last couple races. Sometimes I think he's getting as good of a sprint workout as we are - making it to all parts of the course.  It's great to have him out there cheering and hooking up everyone with FABULOUS photos.  Thanks Rob!

With my homemade Black Jack coffee receptical!

Sovereign Classic Sprint Update

This is going to be a pretty short post because I have a race tomorrow and I am TIRED. It's easy to forget how much a full sprint, complete with heats can be fatiguing.  Thanks to my husband Rob Whitney for coming down to the races to cheer me on and take pictures of our team!  He got some great shots and I will post more tomorrow.....

Girl's start, quarterfinals (I am in blue with white boots) 

Today I finished second in the prelim (by .1 second to my teammate Sadie Bjornsen!) and fourth overall at the end of the day.  I was skiing well in the final, leading in the middle of the race. Then, on the last downhill I slipped once (despite good skis) and a couple of us had a bit of a hangup allowing Perianne Jones to ski away from us.  After that, I tanked on the double pole finish.  Oh well, that's sprint racing and I went for it.

Coming around a sharp turn in my quarterfinal

Boys coming down the long downhill stretch

Lars making the final turn into the finish

Kasandra skiing up over the tunnel

Also, I found this really sweet vimeo video tour of the course in case you're interested in seeing what we skied today.  Hats off to Sovereign, the race committee, and the trail designer.  Everyone loved the course. Thanks to Geoffrey Richards for making and posting this video.


Sovereign lake classic sprint 1.5k from Geoffrey Richards on Vimeo.

Also, here is a video my teammate Brent Knight made.... for some reason I can't find the code to embede it but go to his blog to see it anyways! It's sweet:

http://enduranceak.blogspot.com/

That's it for now. I'm going to BED!
Night,
Holly :)

A shout out to my teammates

Yesterday we had a team photo session. Seeing that I was in the full team and girls team shots, I didn't get those on my camera.  But, I did get my own copy of the boys team - or at least those who are here in Silver Star right now.....

 Left to right are Lars, James, Pete, Bart, Reese, Brent, and Patrick.  This picture came out well so I am excited to see the other pictures from the photo shoot!

Speaking of the APU team, many of my teammates also keep awesome blogs.  Since I'm not posting everyday, I figured that I would include links to other athlete's blogs on the APU team.  It's fun to read about similar things from a slightly different perspective.  If you're interested, here are some links (Sorry, you might have to copy and paste them into your browser)

Women’s Team:

Sadie Bjornsen
sadiebjornsen.blogspot.com
Taz Mannix
www.tazlinamannix.blogspot.com
Katie Ronsse
http://www.katieronsse.com/
Kikkan Randall
http://www.kikkan.com/
Morgan Smyth
http://www.smythski.com
Becca Rorabaugh
http://www.beccarorabaugh.com
Erika Klaar
www.eklaar.com
Holly Brooks
http://hollyskis.blogspot.com/

Men’s Team:

Brent Knight
www.enduranceak.blogspot.com
Mark Iverson
www.markiverson.wordpress.com
Eric Strabel
http://truthintraining.blogspot.com/
Don Haering
http://donhaering.blogspot.com/
Bart Dengel
http://bartdengel.blogspot.com/
Reese Hanneman
http://blogs.fasterskier.com/reesehanneman/
James Southam
http://www.jamessoutham.com/

Reese Hanneman, one of our new APU teammates (from Fairbanks!) keeps an awesome blog on Fasterskier.  He also has started making YouTube videos that show what we've been up to on the road.  This particular video shows the amount of snow we encountered in West Yellowstone and some of the boys team racing.  (Boys were warming up for their race during the girls race - Taz took the footage of the men)

Speaking of teammates, here I am with new APU team member, Morgan Smyth sporting our new E'Klarr (another teammate who makes awesome hats, headbands and buffs!) team ware.   Morgan moved up to Alaska from Utah this spring and has been training with us ever since.  I don't want to put words in her mouth but I think she's an APU convert and here to stay.  After a season of injuries (compartmental syndrome and mono) I think she's pretty happy to be a member of APU!

....... Let me just say that the APU women's team is awesome. We have a great group of girls that are smart, fast, and competent.  Intensity workouts with this group are really productive and fun.  For example, today we did an "over and under" workout where we did some L3 on the 10k skate race course and finished with some speed work on Saturday's sprint course.  We had a group of five girls going for the finish sprint, complete with lunge practice.  The crazy thing is that there is a distinct chance that the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals for Saturday's sprint will feature a lot of APU girls.... not completely different than a regular day at practice. It's great to train with such high quality teammates each and every day.  My feeling is that it can only make each and every one of us better!

 Afternoon running buddies, GA, Fitz, and Ronsse

 Morning sunbeams at the start of Sunday's training session 

 Typical, everyday grooming quality at Sovereign Lakes.... 

FYI, Sovereign Lakes, our race venue for the upcoming weekend is also hosting 2011 World Masters in March.  If you are a master skier (over 30) and are looking for a sweet trip, I highly recommend coming here!

Found on the side of the ski trail.... 

Thanks for reading! More soon, 

Holly :) 

The Danger of SS + West in Review....

I know that everyone's been saying it but this place is SWEET! Silver Star has been called heaven, paradise, the best place to ski in North America, etc, etc.  It's probably all of those things that therein lies the problem.  When you have races coming up in the future, how do you keep yourself from hammering out a hard 50k everyday?  The point is to get in shape but blow yourself out for the races - when you have to ski fast.  It's hard because all I really want to do is ski hard until I drop :) Here are a couple of pictures from our first days in Silver Star... 

Extra Blue... if I could only have one wax for the rest of my life, this would be it!

Me lovin the trails!

I did some classic ski testing with Erik and Casey this morning. It's important to organize your skis and get to know which ski works in which conditions.... It was great to be able to blaze around, switch skis, discuss our thoughts, and come to some conclusions. 

Silver Star and Sovereign look like THIS - all 100+ Kilometers of trails. The grooming is done everyday and night and skiers wake up to deep, firm tracks and corduroy EVERY DAY.  This is what creates paradise!

Note the iconic Silver Star trees.  For some reason, they always kind of look like this.... 

In many ways, Silver Star is somewhat of a homecoming for me.  Having grown up in Seattle, my family would come here to celebrate Thanksgiving every year.  Here is a pic of my Grandparents Christmas card in nineteen ninety five! 

Moving onto the race report from West..... 

I had a solid beginning to the race season.  It was fun to pile four races in three days. Going into the races I didn't know where my fitness was or where I stood.  Now I have a decent idea of where I am and where I need to go.  I have a much different approach then last year.... Last season I had to come out at the West Yellowstone races firing on all cylinders.  I had virtually no points coming into the season and to make the Olympic team, I needed to be skiing fast right off the bat to get my name into the mix.  This year is different.  I have decent points and I hope to be skiing my fastest towards the end of the season rather than the beginning. I was especially happy with the sprint races - I didn't really feel like I preformed better in them than the distance races but for some reason, the result was way better. Here is an article from fasterskier on the sprint races: 

http://fasterskier.com/2010/11/brooks-dominates-thanksgiving-day-dual-sprint/

And, here are a couple of pictures from last week and the races:

Sweet shot of teammate Sadie Bjornsen and myself in the skate sprint

My family came to the races in WEST!  My sister was coaching and my family ended up volunteering because the races were switched to Thanksgiving Day (and they lacked volunteers.)  It was sweet having my mom work course control and hear her cheering and to have my dad in the finish shoot taking my skis off after I crossed the line! 

My sister Robin is working her first winter as the head coach for Glacier Nordic out of White Fish, Montana.  Her team was a great cheering contingent in the distance races! ..... Also a special thanks to USKH, my headgear sponsor for the season. 

A shot from the classic distance race compliments of Andy Canniff of Swix

Post APU team meeting... Fitz wearing the distance bib, Erik holding Lars' Super Tour leader bib, and me wearing the leader bib :)  Go APU!!!!

APU Girls team, left to right: Holly, Kalysta, Fitz, Sadie, Morgan, Tax, Greta and Ronsse.... missing Kasandra :(

Sweet shot of Pickle Pete in the boys race before my camera battery died.

Awards ceremony... 

And last but not least, my huge ski-sickle.. 

Thanks for reading - more to come soon! 

~Holly ;) 

Tis the night before the first race(s)!

The snow has finally subsided, the race timer and jury has finally made it to town and tomorrow, we're off!   Since arriving in West Yellowstone five days ago this is the first time it's stopped snowing.  

APU girls "deck diving" into the waist-deep powder

Group shot

Morgan struggling for air

The roads are finally open and folks are flocking - to West that is!  It's exciting to be here and my family finally made it here after spending three days driving from snowy Seattle.  It took them four hours to get from downtown (Seattle) to Snoqualmie Pass, one hour east of Seattle.  My mom and my uncle spent the night the Kongsberger cabin and my dad spent the night IN THE CAR because he didn't want it to get broken into.  (A good example of toughness!) 

Our team celebrated Thanksgiving early, on Monday, so that we wouldn't experience the traditional "food coma" between races.  My contribution to the meal was five pounds of brussel sprouts.  Our team seems to be divided into folks that love them and folks that HATE them.  It's turned into our favorite argument or threat :) 

My Thanksgiving creation

Mark and Patrick celebrate with Turkey legs

APU coaches run to the rescue of the St. Olaf team that stuck on our road.... (we got stuck too!) 

Our team loves the new Swix triacs! 

Reports from racing soon... thanks for reading! 

Holly :)

Thoughts from 30,000 feet

And….. we’re off!!!!

As I write this I’m currently sitting on the airplane enroute to early season racing in West Yellowstone.  It’s a gorgeous, clear day and 30,000 feet reveals much of Alaskan’s grandeur.  It’s fun to look out the window and see how many familiar features I can name…. Eklutna Lake, looking over the Eklutna Traverse that I completed for the first time with Rob and Toby on skate skis this past spring…. I was sitting on the wrong side of the plane to see Eagle Glacier (our summer training facility.)  As we continued South we flew over Prince William Sound and The Harvard, Columbia, and Yale glaciers.

Pre-travel is always hectic.  Even though I’ve been keeping a detailed packing list for the last week, it always seems to come down to the last minute.  Last night Rob helped me measure out quantities of vitamins, I completed three loads of laundry (because you never want to pack a fresh bag with stinky clothes!)  I bought a new Kaladi coffee mug for the occasion and the beginning of a brand new season.  Time was spent tying up loose ends: Setting my “out of office” notice at work, paying bills, and triple checking that I have my passport with me.  Early season ski travel is funny because I know that when I return to Alaska, it will basically be Christmas time.

Rob cutting our last minute Christmas tree last year

Sitting on a plane always allows an opportunity for reflection.  What was I doing last year at this time? What were my expectations exactly a year ago (Nov 19^th) when I took the same flight, Anchorage to Seattle, Seattle to Bozeman.? A lot has changed in the past year including my identity as a ski racer – and my expectations as a ski racer.  Last year I was literally shocked to learn of my fourth place finish in the classic prelim-only sprint and even more ecstatic to win my first Super Tour race (ever) in West Yellowstone. Sandwiched in between last year’s Super Tour opener and this year’s was the Olympics, my first time racing at US Nationals since 2002, my first World Cups and a re-organization of my life and priorities. 

Photo taken after 2009 10k skate win - West Yellowstone SuperTour

Sometimes I wonder if my success last year was due to my “I have nothing to loose mentality.”  The pressure that I felt for my racing was mostly internal and whenever I did well, it was a bonus.  My outlook has always been (and will hopefully always be) to find Joy in skiing and to realize that this lifestyle and pursuit is a blessing – one that is supposed to be fun and challenging. That is why last year at most of the big races I wore glitter to set the tone…   This is not to say that I didn’t take racing seriously because I did – and I do.  When the gun goes off get out of my way (!)  I just think it’s detrimental to take yourself too seriously.  If a race doesn’t go your way, move on.  Don’t let the defeat define your day, your week, or your self worth.

Coaching junior skiers is just another way to remember how FUN skiing really is.  (This past summer we took APU juniors up to Crow Pass with skis on our backs. The first time carrying skis to snow for many!) 

This year I’ve trained harder, I’ve trained more, I’ve gone from working full time to part time, part of the year.  I’ve given up trips in the mountains with my husband for roller ski workouts in town and summer vacations for glacier training camps.  I’ve spent countless Friday and Saturday nights at home, too tired to go to parties with my friends knowing that I need to get up the next morning and have a productive workout.  After all this, it will be interesting to see if I get any faster.  Theoretically the answer would be yes, further dedication and better training should result in improved performance.  But, I suppose only time will tell. I am fully prepared for anything and know that whether I come in first place, last place, or somewhere in the middle, I ski because I love the sport.   

APU Teammates training on Eagle Glacier, August - Alaska

Saw this on the inside of a Forest Service cabin once :)