What I've been up too.... OSLO!

First and foremost - I'm GOING TO OSLO for WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS! I got the call yesterday and am really excited!  (More on this later!) Congrats to my fellow teammates, Sadie Bjornsen, Lars Flora, and Kikkan Randall for also making the team. 

Life on the road has been extremely busy lately but I have no complaints.  The APU team is approaching our 9th week together on the road (with a one-week short break for Christmas!) and we're about to wrap up the first period of racing with two Super Tours here in Lake Placid.  I am slightly behind on my blogging as of late due to our travel schedule and just plain being busy.  I plan to write more about US Nationals but I'm saving that as a task for the plane ride home to AK.  The time on the road has been sweet but I would be lying if I said that I'm not excited to get back to Alaska.  My husband, Rob, has been holding down the fort at home and my cat, Buggz is lonely. 

In the meantime, here are some pictures from the last couple of days!

Although it made for an early morning (5:30am after racing 4 races at Nationals!) Fast and Female Bethel was awesome. We had over 130 girls and 29 instructors for a day of skiing, dancing, and yoga.  Here I am facilitating a Q & A session with the girls.  Kikkan and I are leading the third annual Fast and Female in Anchorage on January 29th - if you're an Alaskan girl age 9-19, I hope you'll join us!

The whole group is excited! Thanks to Abby of NENSA for organizing and Gould Academy for hosting

If you've never tried Zumba before it's an absolute HOOT. Think upbeat music and 150 people following an over-enthusiastic dance instructor.  It was super fun! 

Zumba was followed directly by yoga.... from one energy extreme to the next... 

The APU girls team in our Fast and Female instructor sweatshirts with Betty, our "house mom" for the week of nationals.  Good accommodations in Rumford are hard to find so we ended up staying WAY out of town in South Paris.  Betty made the drive worth it by making us feel at home - she made our beds and picked up our crumbs - we are eternally grateful!  

For those of you that wonder what I do everyday that I'm on the road... the last day of racing, the skate sprint involved a 16 hour day with almost 4 hours spent commuting in the car to and from the venue twice. Life on the road requires an insane amount of patience more often than not.

Have you ever seen ski bags on an open-air ferry? This is our team traveling from Rumford, Maine to Lake Placid New York via Lake Champlain. I'm really excited to be in new territory. I haven't spent much time in the East and I love seeing new places. 

Speaking of new places, this is my first time in Lake Placid and the Adirondacks.  Here I am in the Cross Country lodge with my 2010 Vancouver teammate, biathlete Haley Johnson.  She has a cool new article on Fasterskier this morning titled "Creating those Right Connections."  Haley is a great example of how an elite athlete can positively impact communities. We share a similar philosophy.

Here is Sadie giving Billy a congratulatory kiss!

Walking around Lake Placid is almost eerie when you consider the amazing athletic moments that have happened here.  One of the APU condos has TWO copies of Miracle on Ice, the film that accounts the 1980 Gold Medal hockey game.  The arena and rink where Eric Heiden won his Speed skating gold medals is only a couple blocks from where we're staying! 

There is surely a THEME to this town! 

And last but not least, here is Fitz driving a bobsled in the Olympic Training Center! 

Two distance races starting tomorrow and then it's home to Alaska on Sunday. Yeah - 25+ hours of travel! 

Thanks for reading/more soon, 

Sincerely, 

Holly :) 

Three down, one to go!

The last race at 2011 US National Championships is tomorrow!  The girls of South Paris (the small town were many of us are staying) are getting up at 5 in the morning to make a 9am qualifier race. I'm looking forward to putting up a post-nationals post up in the next couple of days but in the meantime, here are a few good shots: 

APU has a huge crew at Nationals: 25 athletes and 5 support staff (coaches & techs)

Yesterday was Lars' birthday but we celebrated today with a cake... nothing like a torch to light the candles! Happy Birthday Uncle Larry! 

More soon/goodnite! 

~Holly :) 

A Picture Perfect Day!

Yesterday was awesome... there is really no other way to describe it.  Not only was it a great day for me, but it was a great day for our team.  Lining up for the A final felt like a regular day at practice with 4 of the 6 girls in the final wearing blue APU suits.  We've done it countless times for intervals; roller skiing, day after day in the rain (34 days straight this summer) to bounding with poles in freezing temperatures come September.  In fact, yesterday turned out so cool, here is my tweet from last night:

Pretty sweet to eat dinner and debrief with the rest of the podium tonight. My teammates rock... APU girls: 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 US #USChamps

A great photo of our girl's team at the finish line from flyingpointroad.com

Once again (this morning) the top four Americans (myself, Morgan, Sadie, and Katie) from yesterday's race are sitting around the breakfast table.  We've already had a fantastic morning drinking coffee and watching the men's Tour De Ski live on Eurosport.  We're excited to watch Kikkan compete in the women's race later this morning.

"Cheers!" (w/hot chocolate!)

My first National Championship!!!!!

There are so many great things about having a strong team.... there are so many benefits.  First of all, being on the road is fun. We have endless amounts of laughs. If you don't enjoy the people that you travel with, ski racing can be tough.  We're in tight accommodations for weeks on end training, sleeping, eating, and racing together - sometimes even sharing the same bed. It's priceless to be able to come home at the end of the day and celebrate together.  Even if you didn't have the best day individually, you can be happy for a teammate that did well.  

The APU girls storming the podium (left to right) Kate Fitz, Becca Rorabaugh, Katie Ronsse, me, Sadie Bjornsen, Morgan Smyth

Signing our paperwork

Katie, Holly, Sadie, Morgan

The APU girls team definitely has something special right now. I've been trying to boil it down, put my finger on it, & identify it but I can't..... People have asked me what it is, wanting to create the same thing amongst their team(s) but I don't know that it's reproducible.  Some how we have the right people, with the right chemistry, at the right time. We have great coaches, hard working, professional wax techs, and good attitudes.  We live for hard workouts, we switch leads in intervals, we give each other feedback on ways that we can improve.  Most people view cross country skiing as an individual sport but it can be so much more than that. 

I think that good results and good attitudes are infectious and we have the bug.  Once someone breaks through, everyone else starts doing well. There is a domino effect and it's awesome.

Here are a couple of articles about the day: 

http://www.adn.com/2011/01/02/1628803/alaska-skier-wins-1st-national.html

A cool article from the Anchorage Daily News that made the front page of the paper, even when Nationals are 3,000+ miles away. (You've got to love a ton that appreciates skiing, hence, one of the reasons why I moved there!!!)  Thanks to the ADN and Beth Bragg for covering skiing.

Kris Dobie

Also, for all you non fasterskier readers, here is the link to the ski website coverage:

http://fasterskier.com/2011/01/in-dominating-fashion-brooks-blazes-to-classic-victory/

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent words of congratulations, to the coaches and techs for their endless hours of hard work, and last but certainly not least, to the race organizers that are constantly having to battle with weather that is out of their control.  Hosting US Nationals is never a small task and I realize that the operation is a labor of love for many of those working countless, undocumented hours. Thank you.

APU girls team in Silver Star - December, 2010

We WILL Race Tomorrow...!

I'll admit, the snow conditions in Rumford are a bit sketchy.  Today during "race prep" I think we were skiing on an inch of compressed, translucent slush.  The necessary tactics required a whole new set of agility.... the ability to dodge this, dodge that, etc, etc.

Despite the lack of snow and temperatures soring into the mid 40's, I am certain that we are going to have a high qualify race tomorrow.  There is no doubt in my mind that the race organizers, the TDs, and John Farra (USSA Nordic Director) will come up with the best, viable option possible.

Needless to say, the APU team is ready to make it happen! Luckily there is snow from the last storm to move onto the trail. (This was yesterday) 

Covering the "brown streak"

We had some fun with the shovels too! 

Team APU with our shovels. Coach Erik Flora figured out some shoveling stats that he shared with us today.  He calculated that if every athlete registered for US Nationals "prepped" (meaning shoveled and spread) snow on 5 meters of the distance course, we would have a covered distance course!  This calculation brings a whole new meaning to my grandmother's saying, "Many hands make light work."  I know that folks on my team, myself included, have worked too hard all year to have these races not happen.  I am confident they will - and that they'll be great! 

If you're not ready, Reese Hanneman is!

Today on the upper part of the sprint loop that we shoveled yesterday

Last night we had all our teammates over for homemade lasagna New Years Eve dinner.  Because our team is so big, we're staying in three separate locations. It's sweet to have a big crew but logistically tough.  It was fun to get everyone together to welcome the new year, even though we went to bed early :) 

There was one rule for the "Party."  Each person had to wear one piece of "flare" and one piece of "APU."  Here is Forrest demonstrating his flare..... 

RACE ON! 

More soon

Sincerely, 

Holly :) 

Last post of 2010!

Two thousand ten is coming to a close and I figured I'd better post about it before 2011!

At the conclusion of the Rossland mini tour, our team dispersed to our relative locales for a short, one week break before resuming the racing season for US Nationals.  Christmas snuck up on all of as usual.... We got home on the 22nd, and had one day before Christmas Eve.  Factor in a good, solid sleep, unpacking, etc and it's Christmas Eve before you have time to do anything about it. Regardless, it was awesome to sleep in my own bed, pay my bills, and be in Alaska for a couple of days.

En route home I had a great surprise in the airport.  Our layover allowed time for a short visit with my family (that lives in Seattle.)  My mom surprised me by bringing both of my Grandmas to the airport.  My Aunt showed up too!  We had a great "Christmas Party" complete with cookies and all!  (Unfortunately the pictures from this event are on a different computer, otherwise I would post them.)  Thanks mom for making it happen! While not ideal, an airport Christmas visit with my family is better than no Christmas visit at all...

In addition to some well deserved R & R in Alaska I was able to attend the APU Devo "Christmas Ski" to Kincaid.  These guys skied 25 kilometers like it was no big thang! (AWESOME!)

I also got to use my FatBack!!!  Check out more info on Fatbacks at Greg's site here!

If you've never tried winter biking it's a whole new sensation and way to enjoy the winter months! 

 Our neighborhood can be quite festive.... that is, when your car isn't being stolen or your house is being broken into (no joke!)

Neighbors hang holiday ornaments from tree branch arch

Fast forwarding to Maine..... The travel from Alaska to Maine is a bit tough.  Maine is the furthest you can get from Alaska as far as a ski venue is concerned.  We've found ourselves here a lot lately.  This past spring I spent almost a month in northern Maine coaching Junior Olympics and then competing in Distance Nationals. US Nationals is on a two year rotation so this time next year, we'll be back. 

The actual "travel" door to door took us 24 hours.  We flew all night.  This was the extent of our sleep during a short layover in Newark.  (That's me on the far right underneath the airplane blanket trying to keep the blood from pooling in my legs.)

Finally - at the venue this morning! The new lodge is super nice... and will probably keep us temporarily dry for the 40 degrees and rain that is forecasted for classic sprint race day. 

A quick self portrait overlooking the sprint course.  The snow conditions look good in this shot but there are some solid patches of rocks, dirt, and bare spots. Tomorrow our team is shoveling snow on the distance courses in hopes that we can use them. 

They have BIG trucks transporting snow. It's sweet to see how much they've stock-piled. 

The girls on the van ride home. 

After our ski we took a short self-tour of Rumford.  We've started this tradition as we like to find out a bit more about the towns we visit.  On our tour we found this building.  Upon first inspection we thought it was the Star Ship Enterprise that had collided with the White House.  The second inspection revealed that it's the local hospital. HUH? 

Happy New Year! Thanks for reading... I'll try to keep you posted as best I can! 

~Holly 

Podium Today! .... and a RACE tomorrow!

Women's podium left to right: Caitlin Compton, Holly (me) & Jessie Diggins

It was a fast and furious 5k race today!  Perhaps the fastest 5k that I've ever raced with a final time of 12:06!  The course skied like two big intervals with lots of false flats and downhills that you had to work in between.  The small time gaps should set the stage for a huge drag race tomorrow.  We're doing a "hunting start" where the first one to cross the line wins!  Congrats to my APU teammate and fello "old guy" Lars Flora for taking the men's win today in a STACKED men's field! Here are a couple of pictures courtesy of my husband, Rob Whitney!

Racing 1k into the race

Lars Flora - Men's winner 

Me and Lars 

Men's podium - Lars on top! Hometown favorite, George Grey in second and Drew Goldsack in third

Teammates Taz Mannix followed by Sadie Bjornsen

Brent Knight

My dad made the trip up from Seattle to watch me race - thanks Dad! 

Tomorrow's the last race of this month-long tour and then it's back to Alaska for Christmas! I'm ready for some head-to-head classic skiing tomorrow! 

Cheers, 

Holly :) 

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!