Opening Ceremonies Today & Super-Dooper fans!!

This will be short, cause I'm running out the door to the opening ceremonies!  (an all day process....we leave the village at 1 PM and get back super late tonight)

Check out this photo sent to me from Mrs Gray's 3rd grade class at St. John Fisher School in Portland, Oregon!   These students took the time to make these great signs and send a picture!  So, why not post it on my blog as thank you?!?!   I'm fortunate to have ya'll cheering.  Thank you, you rock!   FYI, Mrs Gray is married to Rob's college friend, Alex.... thus the connection!  Apparently, Mrs. Gray's 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students have a surprise package that Rob will deliver once he arrives here in Whistler on Monday!

Hugs to everyone!    Let the Games begin!

-Holly

Snoqualmie snow and catch up!

Oh boy.... so much has happened in the last two days. Its gone by fast but 48 hours ago also seems like an eternity.  One reason I've been delayed is because my CAMERA BROKE!  So, instead of blogging earlier, I had to take the entire afternoon to go on a camera hunt into the Whistler village. BINGO. I got one.  (Can you really think of a more inopportune time to have your camera break - the DAY before the opening ceremonies of the Olympics?!)

This is our room. We had six HUGE duffle bags to unpack. It's a huge mess - and absolutely no storage space.  In many ways, I really feel like moving into the athlete village is like going back to college. You have a roommate (actually, she's "hidden" in this picture - can you see her? It's not Where's Waldo - it's Where's Caitlin?!) 

The skiing here has been fun. It makes me wish that I had some Whistler-specific training camps back at Snoqualmie Pass where I grew up skiing! Both days during training it's been 34 degrees and snowing hard. I actually talked to Rob about brining my extra tuff rubber boots from home. The snow flakes are dime-size huge and if you want to have a huge snowball fight, you would be in heaven. There are tons of "course volunteers" out on the trails and one was "marshalling" next to a gigantic snowman today. (I would have gotten a pic for you guys if my camera had been working!) 

(My teammate, Liz in front of a Vancouver sign pre-press conference yesterday) 

Today for training I skied on my "zero" skis. For those that aren't familiar, think of it as a new-age waxless racing ski.  They are particularly good in conditions like we are experiencing here - 32 degrees and snowing. I had heard a rumor that Kris Freeman owns 27 pairs of this partiular kind of ski. I tried to confirm it on the bus ride back from the venue today but he, "didn't really know...."  It's takes a lot of skis to be a competitive ski racer!  Also, as a side note - Kris was on the Today show the other day. If you haven't checked it out, here is the link: 

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/35329776#35329776

It's always great to see our sport bust into the mainstream media! 

(Here is our team walking into the athlete village. It's been grey and pretty rainy but lucky the atmosphere is so good that it doesn't really seem to matter. Lots of the buildings are temporary white tents - the kind you would see at a wedding but only a LOT bigger. 

McDonalds is an official sponsor of the Games and there is a full-fledged restaurant inside each athlete village dining facility. Ronald McDonald sits on this bench 24 hours a day, everyday. Apparently, McDonalds took their top 300 employees from all over the country and brought them here to work as part of an incentive program. So far, I've been really impressed by the food. They have a huge variety

and it's pretty good. No complaints.  

I was also really fired up to see one of Sean McCabe's painting in the athlete lodge at the venue. For those that don't know, Sean was a nordic skier/teacher/mountains enthusist from Winthrop WA that recently passed away from cancer. He has some amazing paintings, many of which are skiers. Check out his website here: 

http://www.seanmccabestudio.com/index4.html

The other thing that's worth mentioning today is that our entire team went to drug testing. This time we had our blood drawn to check our hemoglobin levels. (Hemoglobin is the protein molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues and returns carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs.)  Sometimes high numbers indicate evidence of doping but sometimes levels are high because of dehydration, lots of time at altitude, etc, etc. The coaches had our whole team POUNDING the water and gaterade to avoid any suspentions. If your numbers are found to be high you get an automatic 5 day suspention and are subject to further tests. We can also be testing at ANY time during the day for both urine and/or blood. We turn in extensive "whereabouts" filings that basically tell anti-doping folks where they can find us at all times so they can do surprise tests. Testing is great and helps us protect the integrity of the sport.  

Okay, more good pictures to come tomorrow. It will be a busy day between training and attending the opening ceremonies. The ceremonies are a 10-12 hour commitment for those staying up here in Whistler. Lots of driving and lots of standing around. But, I'm REALLY looking forward to it. 

Talk soon/thanks for reading! 

~Holly :) 

ps. Thanks so much to Kaladi... apparently an AK coffee care package is on the way. Thank you to Gina Romero (wife of a co-worker or Rob's) who read our coffee worries and put a plan into action!  THANKS!  BIGTIME!!

More Tomorrow.....

A HUGE blog post to come tomorrow. It's been a SUPER busy day... while I would love to stay up and write but training, health and rest must take precedence.  Thanks so much for reading - thanks for the continued support and "talk" to you all tomorrow! 

And, this is a cool website if you want to watch events.  I haven't checked it out, but sources tell me it's awesome:

http://p2p4u.net/sports/winter-olympics.html

stuff, stuff, more stuff, and Bonnie.......

Hey all,

I'm going to try and be brief. It's been a long day and we're getting up early tomorrow to get to the village - and to go train. Today consisted of driving, flying, credentialling, (is that a word?) getting THREE duffles of schwag, having a briefing on our press conference for tomorrow, and ending with an introductory meeting co-hosted by Bonnie Blair!  Enjoy the photos........

It's my turn for the Ralph Lauren shot:

Also... Freeman is going to be on the Today show tomorrow morning. (He has to wake up at 4am!)  Check it out. 

My roommate for the next two and a half weeks, Caitlin Compton, at the "check out" line - the one where you don't have to pay :) 

Bonnie then.... 

Bonnie now.... 

?

Liz and her favorite new piece of Olympic wear

Erik Flora previewing the closing ceremonies attire in the "instant alterations" room

Nordic boys ready to head to the Cape... 

Getting my credential literally a few steps off the plane 

A couple of other random thoughts from the day. 

*One thing we learned in our intro today is that there are going to be TWICE as many media people here as athletes.  That number was a bit mind-blowing to me. 

*USSA has brought in a media representative to help us with press conference, manage requests, etc.

*Both Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancusco were in our dinner meeting (there were only 25 or so athletes.)  I didn't recognize them at first because they looked like - guess what - REAL people. I suppose when the last time you've seen someone is on the front of a magazine with tons of make-up and airbrushing they may tend to look different. (That said, they still, of course looked great.) 

*As it turns out McDonalds is the SOLE distributor of coffee in the athlete village during the games. This means NO coffee at breakfast and long lines just to get our am fix. I was overjoyed to learn that my roomie is a coffee drinker too so we're devising a plan as we speak. (Kaladi, if you want to send us a coffee carepackage that wouldn't be turned down!) 

Okay, I need to get to bed. I am very excited to ski the courses tomorrow for the first time - I think I may be the only one on the team that hasn't trained there in both the summer and the winter. No worries - that just adds to the excitment. More tomorrow!  

Thanks SO MUCH for all the wonderful support. 

Sweet Dreams, 

Holly :)   

Do we have to leave Canmore?

It has been an awesome few days of training here - full sunshine, good food, famous World Cup skiers zipping by on the trail.  I'm excited for the next step but to get there, it entails leaving the little slice of heaven that we've created here in Cammore.

(You can't really tell in this picture but I AM off the ground here - this is my lame attempt at a daffy.... thanks to Kikkan who took this shot 4 or 5 times!) 

I'm excited to go to Vancouver - we leave tomorrow at 8am!!!! Here is a snapshot of what I have in store for my future: 

(re-blogged twice from USA biathlete, Lowell Bailey)

I wonder what the girls will be wearing?  I heard via the grapevine that the girls have similar boots. They might go straight from the opening ceremonies to chopping wood - how USEFUL! 

In other news, one of my master skiers, John Wood sent me this Olympic song sent to him by some of his associates that work out of Vancouver. I had to laugh.... check it out: 

Hear the cheers, hear the hype,

Good Vancouverites don’t gripe,

The Olympics are coming to town!

Closed-down streets, protest meets,

Higher costs for drinks and eats,

The Olympics are coming to town!

So it’s Rah! Rah! Rah!

As we cheer for Canada!

Too bad our slopes are wet and brown.

We will truck in snow

Where skiers have to go,

The Olympics are coming to town!

Damn the noise, damn the cost,

Damn the peace that we have lost,

The Olympics are coming to town!

Trains are late, folk irate,

But we still must celebrate,

The Olympics are coming to town!

So it’s Cheer! Cheer! Cheer!

The games are coming here!

There’s so much rain we just might drown.

We will grit our teeth

And our brollies cringe beneath,

The Olympics are coming to town!

The Olympics are coming to town!

(How I wish I could get out of town!)

So, the song is a bit sarcastic but I'm optimistic that it's going to be a great "Games."  The US team looks to be strong, healthy, and fired up to compete and turn in some good results. Here is a quick, informal team shot taken before training the other day: 

Last but certainly NOT least, I would like to say hi and congratulations to the APU devo and junior skiers that raced in Fairbanks this weekend. APU will have a bunch of athletes representing us at both Junior Olympics and Arctic Winter Games.  Congrats you guys!  

(This is a bunch of us at a training camp in Girdwood this past summer)

Also, the Alaskan "Ski for Women" was on Super Bowl Sunday. One of my master's groups dressed up at Mosquitoes and my women's group (I'm both embarrassed and flattered to say) dressed up as the "Hollyettes."

Huh?

Alright, its time to climb into bed so that I can pack in the morning. Let the craziness begin - can't wait to share the fun with you all! 

Good night! 

Sincerely, 

Holly :) 

Sandwiched between defending silver and gold!

Good morning everyone - sorry for the delayed post.... first of all, GOOD LUCK to all the APUers at Besh Cup 6 today in Fairbanks and have SO MUCH FUN to those participating in the Ski for Women at Kincaid!  Take lots of pictures!

(Classic prelim - photo courtesy of Fasterskier) 

Yesterday was my second World Cup and my first World Cup sprint.  Both races here in Canmore this weekend, (10k individual skate and classic sprint) are the first two races at the Olympics so it's great to get a tune up and test the field. 

(Sun coming up over the Canadian Rockies as we waited for the shuttle that never came) 

Before I started the race, one of the coaches, Travis, said to me, "Holly, you may be the only skier out there that has scored World Cup points in every World Cup start!"  After my prelim, I walked back to the waxing table and told him that I continued my trend! Of my 2 World Cup starts, I've collected WC points in both! 

The course suited me very well - it was long and had lots of striding uphills - plus we're at altitude and I usually preform well racing up in the mountains.  My prelim time was ranked 21st, overall.  I was ecstatic!  When I looked at the results I also realized that I was "sandwiched" between the defending sprint champion from World Champs in Liberec, Arianna Follis, and my teammate, defending Silver medalist in the sprint, Kikkan Randall.  I was among good company which made me even happy with the preliminary result! 

For those that are interested, FIS just released a new website for the Olympics.  It's awesome - you can look up skiers and check out full bios of all the World Cup regulars. (It's almost better than google stalking but not quite as complete as facebook stalking!) Check out Follis' bio here or check this link for the "team" page.

It will tell you if skiers like meat or veggies, ferrari or porche, etc, etc.  Kind of fun! 

(Arianna Follis - Italy/defending sprint World Champion)

(Shot of the finish line)

Katie, Kikkan, and Holly 

My quarterfinal didn't go so well but I am satisfied with the overall day.  It was a good day for North Americans in general - Kikkan finished 10th, Torin Koos finished 11th after qualifying 2nd... seven Americans all together qualified for the heats, 2 women and five men. Hometown favorite, Sara Renner ended up 3rd place with a bronze medal. And - it was an awesome day. Skiing doesn't get much better than a full-shine day in Canmore watching and competing with the best skiers in the world! 

Speaking of the best skiers, Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk continued her domination by literally destroying the field. It was impressive to watch.  She had tons of screaming Polish fans at the race too.  They got a picture with her afterwards... I snuck in too:  

Here is the female podium for the day: 

Also, here are a bunch of youtube links from the weekend if you're interested.

Here I am skiing in the 10k - this hill was BIG and we had to do it twice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_B0vxFFPpI

Check out this promo for the Canmore Nordic Center. It gives you a really good idea of what the area look like. It also shows their snow-making and paved roller ski trails:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRCR0Mgemv4

Here is a Eurosport video of the women's A final:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVgXveNc5wA

Phil Bowen, professional photography (philsgood.com), has a gallery of shots from the classic sprint here:
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/philsgood/gallery/Canmore-Nordic-World-Cup-2010-Classic-Sprint/G00005o2Aw990.zk/

Enjoy!

We're in Canmore for another day before making our way to Vancouver Tuesday morning....

World Cup POINTS! .... in my first World Cup!

I have to say, I am pretty psyched about my first World Cup experience.  

Last night I wrote this in my journal, "There are 66 girls starting the race tomorrow, many of whom are seasoned veterans. It's hard to make numerical goals but it would be cool to be top 40, amazing, the be top 35, and virtually unheard of to score World Cup points and finish in the top 30."  Well, I did it - in my World Cup debut, I finished with a strong 24th place, only 46 seconds out of 10th place! 

(Thanks to Ronsse for this racing pic - it's the only one I have so far but I will post more when and if I get them!) 

After any racing experience I ask the kids that I coach to analyze their race - what are three things that went well, and three things that could be improved upon next time?  Well, I suppose that I should practice what I preach and do the same thing!  Here it is: 

Things that went well: 

1. My mental game was strong.  I didn't let myself become too intimidated..... somehow I wasn't that nervous at all which is somewhat surprising.  It's just another "race" right? 

2. I've been working on my V1 technique and I think I was able to execute it more than I have in other races.... it helps when there are tons of big climbs and opportunities to work on it! 

3. All of the racing "logistics" were smooth.  Breakfast, 

Things that could be improved upon next time: 

1.  I went out too hard.  I thought it was "fast" but I didn't realize that at 2.7k my split was 12th for the entire World Cup field.  At 6.9k, my split was 14th for the entire World Cup field.  Pacing is always really difficult, especially at venues were you haven't raced, and fields that you have no experience in. 

2.  I could have been more conservative on the steep hills and picked up more time in transitions. Those that I coach have heard me talk about the rule of "threes" before. I definitely died on some of the crests of hills. 

3. I still haven't gotten pictures with the Italians! Today would have been the day to do it since they went 1 and 2! 

Even the Red Bull girls showed up to the World Cup in Canmore! 

Here is a picture of the big screen that they used for the event. On one of the downhills a video camera on a 25-foot boom swung out and I thought I was going to crash into it!  Also, the announcer told the crowd that the race was being shown (live in most places) to 100 MILLION viewers all throughout the world. That's not 100, not one million but 100 MILLION!  It makes you wonder, "Do I have anything in my teeth?" 

If you are curious about other pictures, Phil Bowen is here taking pictures of the US Skiers - his shots are phenomenal. Check out the link here.  I'm number 23 with white Salomon boots and skis..... Thanks Phil for being out on course! 

And, Erik Mundahl found this CBC Sports link of the women's race.  It's a full ONE HOUR long!  the link is:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Sports/CBC_Sports_Weekend/Full_Shows/ID=1405701991

I'm racing the classic sprint tomorrow.  I'm crossing my fingers that I can qualify top 30 and make it to the heats!  We'll see! 

Thanks for reading - Sincerely, Holly