Women's Olympic Relay in Photos

Yesterday was quite a day for our team... There was a lot of pressure and a lot of expectation for our team to take a medal and make history. Spoiler alert: it didn't happen...... The thing is sport is fickle, performance is variable and nothing is certain in Cross Country skiing.  

Medal or no medal, I'm still just as proud as ever of our team. 

Turns out we weren't the only ones to have a tough day out there.  The Norwegian women's team has won EVERY SINGLE relay since 2010 by an average of 20+ seconds and yesterday they didn't take a medal at all - not even the "wooden medal" (AKA 4th place).  

As much as some of these results hurt it's what keeps us coming back for more. The uncertainty and surprise in sport is what gets me out of bed in the morning to train, it's what makes viewers tune into the LIVE broadcasts to see what unfolds.  It keeps hope alive because sometimes you fall on the right side of the fence and luck.  The relay is usually the biggest event at the Olympics seeing that it shows the depth of a team.  There is a lot of pride involved for the participating countries. To put together a medal performance it requires ALL FOUR skiers to be completely on their game. It requires good energy, better than average skis, and all the stars to align. Norwegian media is reporting that yesterday's failure to medal is "one of the biggest upsets in Norwegian sport history."  Our team received lots of supportive emails yesterday and they are much appreciated.  I was also thankful for title of the article that Fasterskier wrote about the event: "US Women Sparkle but lack Spark in Olympic Relay."  That was very classy. 

Here is the day, captured through my lens. Enjoy.... 

Some of you may already know that my husband, Rob makes me quote/picture flip books for everyday I'm away from home, racing the World Cup and the Olympics. This means he has quotes and pictures from 4-5 straight months! After yesterday's relay I pulled some of my favorites out and sent them to our team. Here they are: 

"Life is better when you're laughing" 

"Sometimes you have to stop worrying, wondering, and doubting. Have faith that things will work out, maybe not how you planned, but just how it's meant to be." 

"In the blink of an eye, everything can change. So forgive often and love with all your heart. You may never know when you may not have that chance again!" 

"Some people think that to be strong is to never feel pain. In reality, the strongest people are the ones who feel it, understand it, and accept it!" 

"Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive." 

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guys, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more." (Pre)

"May you see sunshine where others see shadows, and opportunities where others see obstacles." 

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is that little voice at the end of the day that says, I'll try again tomorrow." 

Today is the men's 4x10k relay. I expect the race to be just as exciting and I predict it to be a battle between Russia, Sweden and Norway. But, like we learned yesterday, anything can happen and I can't wait to see how the race unfolds!  Good luck to our USA team of Andy, Erik, Noah and Simi!!!! We'll be on the sidelines cheering loud! 

Holly :) 

The Scoop on Sochi

I'm sorry that I haven't blogged earlier. To be completely honest, I've been pretty overwhelmed with the whole Sochi situation. Also, my teammate, Noah Hoffman spends up to 3 hours a day on his blog and it's easy to feel like he's covering most everything. If you want to know what I had for breakfast, sometimes you can find the answer on Hoff's blog. Check it out here and throw a bookmark on it if you wish.  I will warn you though, due to popularity, his blog has been crashed with regularity. He's currently receiving technical assistance. (He thinks the crash is due to his site being passed around by Russians..... which could mean upwards of 50k hits!) 

http://noahhoffman.com

While my blog has been lacking I HAVE been tweeting up to ten times a day. You can follow me

@brooksha1 

or on my facebook page, Holly Brooks - Dare to Dream

But back to being overwhelmed. 

There are so many things to do, to read, to explore I don't even know where to start. Yes, Sochi is my second Olympics and yes, I was here just one year ago for the pre-Olympic World Cup yet things never hesitate to surprise me. 

For all the negative press Sochi seems to be receiving our life up here at the top of a mountain (the "Endurance Village" they call it) is nothing short of amazing. In retrospect, our accommodations in Vancouver were tiny dorm rooms at the very least - here we have a grandiose "Chalet" that I believe Putin is planning to sell for top dollar once the Games are over. Luckily we have more than borscht and mayonnaise/hot dog potato salad to eat and thankfully, communication is much easier than usual "World Cup life" as the IOC hooked every athlete up with a world-wide phone. In that regard, it's funny to think how much technology has evolved over the past four years in that in Vancouver we had a dinky phone with ten minutes on it - now, in comparison we have a huge smart phone (actually the AT&T rep told us that it's a "Fablet" enthusiastically....) where we can call anywhere in the world, text, tweet.... Keep in mind I'm still dealing with a 13 hour time difference to home.  We also have a million and one apps from the OC, the USOC, the IOC, and everything Sochi to keep track of all the events, read bios of fellow competitors, register for guest passes, trade Olympic pins - literally anything Olympic you want. 

The APU Alaska crew with Joey Cat in our Opening Ceremonies garb

The infrastructure here in Russia, particularly at the top of our mountain is absolutely astounding. Over the last year I've been using the analogy of building the Olympics in the equivalent of Denali State Park. It's my understanding that there was literally NOTHING here to begin with and now look at it. It's a village up here, a self-sustaining city. The highway and train system from Sochi to the mountain & endurance villages alone feature a $9 billion dollar price tag. Here is a picture of Rob on our "hike" this morning on what we believe to the original road in the valley: 

Last night I decided to venture "off the rock" as we call it. It takes a certain amount of energy to leave our world up here as we have everything that we need. Also, anyone that travels up to the Endurance village comes with the message that we have the best living accommodations so the motivation to leave dwindles.  That said, it was awesome to spend the night with Rob down in Krasnaya Polyana. He's staying at the NBC hotel in the valley and we took a field trip to a nearby mall. Here's Rob by a Russian Doll station... I was tempted to get one until Rob pointed out that it would most likely just collect dust on our shelves.

Security getting into the mall was odd. The entire thing is brand new so there were literally workers laying bricks. Some of the stores weren't even open yet.  I had to walk through a metal detector but they didn't even check my bag.  We also found a completely different entrance that was open and entirely un-manned.  There seems to be some serious loop holes and inconsistencies with some of these efforts, that's for sure. Not to mention that on the walk TO the mall you should look out for uncovered man holes in additional to looking both ways TWICE before crossing the street! (Cars don't stop for pedestrians.... yesterday Rob saw someone laying in the road after getting hit by a car.) 

But back to the mall. On the fourth floor is the most odd thing of all - a BEACH. I thought there was a cardinal rule about not putting a pool on anything other than the ground floor but the Russians seem to disregard that small piece of common sense. This place was incredible and in all, approximately the size of a football stadium.  To begin with it had the most obscure entrance - it looked like a doctor's office. Then there was a single flight of stairs that lead up to this: 

Rob and I were the only ones there other than a few Russians that appeared to be working there but they seemed just as dazed as we were. 

Nothing like seven 4th floor water slides! 

Enough of the weird stuff. So far I've had one Olympic race, the 15k skiathlon.  I have history with the skiathlon. You see, me and that race just don't get along. The race format is 7.5k classic, followed by 7.5k skate with a gear transition in the middle. I seem to be able to classic ski, and skate independently but when paired together it's incredibly tough for me.  Combine my least favorite race with the biggest hill on any World Cup or Olympic course and it's a recipe for a hard day. Luckily some of my teammates pulled the slack and my roommate, Jessie Diggins wowed by posting an 8th place finish for the best US Female Olympic distance result in history. 

The Olympic race bibs are gorgeous

Lucky for me the Skiathlon isn't my only start here in Sochi. I'm hoping that my next race is the 10k individual classic race on Thursday, 2/14.  Tomorrow is perhaps one of the most exciting events for USA Cross Country, the skate sprint.  As many of you probably know my teammate Kikkan Randall is the favorite to win the Gold Medal. She is an amazing performer and I'm so excited cheer on our entire USA sprint crew! 

Liz & I with Charlie & Meryl - US Ice Dancers upon our arrival in Sochi!  One of the things I miss most about being the Endurance Village is interacting with athletes from other sports.  The Endurance village is just Cross Country and Biathlon, no other sports.  That said, it is fun to spend time with biathlon as our paths NEVER cross. I've had a blast watching some of the biathlon racers WITH the biathletes and getting the inside scoop from them! 

The Italian National Cross Country team takes a moment from training to watch an Italian Alpine skier competing literally across the valley.  It's super cool to have LIVE feeds of other sports in the Laura Cross Country Stadium! 

Alright, that's it for now. I'm going to do my best to blog more frequently as I know that people all over the World are curious what is really happening in Sochi or in my case, up at the Endurance Village. 

Until next time, thanks for all the support! 

Cheers, 

Holly :) 

SOCHI Soon & a Sincere THANK YOU!

Competing in the Olympics is often considered the culmination of an athlete's career - definitely a highlight and the realization of a long-seeded goal. After what what can be years of obscurity, finally everyone cares about your sport. Along with being named to an Olympic team comes letters, emails, and requests from people like the person you sat next to on the school bus in second grade. I'm not saying this is a bad thing - it's actually quite the opposite.  The Olympics represent a time for us, as athletes to share our passions and show the rest of the world how cool our sport is. It's our time to shine and pull dividends from the thousands of hours of roller skiing in the rain.... it's an opportunity for us to advocate for and share our message.  

As a cross country skier I've put in over 800 hours (annually) of training over the last four years in preparation for and anticipation of the Games in Sochi. The path along the way has been full of highs, lows, and everything in between. When you throw yourself into a passion without abandon you never know what will materialize but luckily I'm focused on enjoying the process (the small steps, the everyday) in addition to the big outcome goals such as performance at the Olympics.

Sometimes you hear athletes reference their "team behind the team" and the people that have supported them over the years. I'm frightful to mention specific names, organizations or businesses for fear of forgetting someone but I am so thankful that I need to share and give credit where credit is deserved. 

My parents & family have of course been huge. My mom and dad got me into the sport in the first place taking me out roller skiing in Seattle when no one else did, driving me to Junior Olympic qualifiers, investing in a family cabin up at Snoqualmie Pass that we skied into on the weekend between working as ski instructors at Ski Acres. (Check out my parent's instructor coats in the pic below) - I had one too that went below my knees... At the ripe age of 9 I was an "assistant instructor" for the five year olds! 

It's really, really cool that of a team of 14 (total) 5 athletes are originally from Washington state - more than any other state including Vermont (a close second) and Alaska (where many of us live now).  I think that people who grow up skiing in the Cascades develop a special passion for snow sports - the community is small, tight knit and passionate. Yet at the same time, it isn't always easy to be a skier, especially cross country.  While skiing in the Methow is accessible I know that I had to work for it as a young skier.  Snow was far away and none of my school friends in Seattle even knew what cross country skiing was.  While it wasn't always easy it made me incredibly resilient. I skied on weekends and occasionally on Wednesday nights at a mid-week time trial. Wednesday nights there were upwards of 75 people participating and at the age of 13 my "training partners" where always women in their 30's, 40's and 50's! A favorite moment from that time period was stopping by the gas station on the way home and getting Cheetos and Cream Soda for the ride home. (A little junk food for kids never hurts?!) 

Next is my husband who is undoubtedly my best friend. I initially moved to AK to be a coach and coach I did. However, I met Rob along the way. Many adventures and thousands of "on-snow hours" later he convinced me that I was a faster skier than I thought.  As a competitive racer himself, having just missed two Olympic Games ('98 & '02) he knew the level of dedication and talent that it takes.... This whole racing thing was his idea and although I'm know he occasionally regrets it when spending long winters at home alone he's my biggest supporter.   Rob's presence in Sochi was never in the plans due to $ & logistics but a few months ago Rob landed an official position with NBC as the Assistant to the Assistant Announcer for Cross Country Skiing! It's still really unclear how much I'll get to see him but I'm excited to know that he'll have a context for my stories from Sochi - as well as his own! 

Here is a FasterSkier article about Rob in Sochi that was published a few months back if you're interested: 

http://fasterskier.com/article/salmela-and-whitney-to-call-the-shots-as-nbc-olympic-commentators/

Rob and Buggz the cat pay a short "house visit" during one of his many 24 hour shift working for the Anchorage Fire Department. 

Next is Erik Flora who I would call one of the most passionate and dedicated coaches in the World. Funny thing is that for the first six years of our relationship Erik was my boss, not my coach.  Four and 1/2 years ago I sat Erik down and timidly told him that I wanted to make a run for Vancouver. Instead of laughing (which would have been an understandable response) he encouraged me and he's been there ever since. There are few people in this world that love skiing more than Erik does and he conveys his passion to all the athletes he coaches.  It's paid off in that all of his athletes continually improve and Kikkan Randall, my teammate and Olympic Gold Medal hopeful have been nurtured by him for many, many years. 

While athlete's names are the only ones listed in the results or standing on the podium there is always a "Team behind a Team" we couldn't do it without parents, significant others, coaches, teachers, PT's, massage therapists, friends to watch your cat, etc, etc. 

While the list of these types of people go on and on I think it's really, really important to acknowledge one other group of people too and that is, sponsors. 

Pursuing Cross Country Skiing at an elite level is expensive - there is no other way around it. While physical and emotional support is priceless, financial support is also necessary and often, extremely hard to come by.  Luckily I have a great team of individuals and businesses who have stepped up to help me out. In 2010 I decided to officially resign from my job as a full time coach at APU Nordic Ski Center to pour my energy and time into full time ski racing. I wanted to see how far I could go. It worked in that I continued to improve, breaking barriers and expectations of the traditional development pipeline along the way.  My message to others was and continues to be, "Don't count yourself out. Dare to Dream. Good things will come to those that try."  In the span of three years I went from full time coach, to overall Domestic Super Tour Champion, to Vancouver Olympian, to US Ski Team Nominee, the making the US Ski Team A team & being ranked #16 in the World for distance racing (at the end of last season). While I may not be a medal favorite I'm ready to give it my all. 

Growing up I had no expectation of reaching the top of any sport because I was always middle of the pack. I never won anything and presence on the trails and at events was always because I loved it, not because anyone ever expected me to be great at anything. Years later that passion has paid off and with the help of my Sponsors I'll be climbing on an Olympic charter flight from Munich Germany to SOCHI RUSSIA on Tuesday! I am and will continue to be eternally grateful for the folks who helped me finance this journey because without them, none of this would have been possible. I certainly hope that I can make them proud and pay them back someday through service and/or my actions.  

Four years ago Dr. George Rhyneer contacted me and signed a FOUR YEAR contract of support.  Any athlete will tell you how rare this is and Dr. Rhyneer's generosity was one of the things that helped me take the plunge into elite ski racing. He provided a little bit of security where there truly is none.  He's a fantastic Orthopedic Surgeon in Anchorage who practices new school techniques with old school bedside table manner... (AKA, a Dr. who gives you the time of day, calls you at home and honestly cares about your care, treatment and prognosis.) 

The Rhyneer Clinic was also a sponsor for the Oct/ANC edition of Fast & Female! 

Second is my current headgear, Carlile Transport. Harry McDonald is an APU Alumni and current Board of Director who uses his business to promote good in the community.  Harry has been supporting APU skiers for years now and my teammate Sadie Bjornsen and I are lucky enough to have Carlile (Yes, ICE ROAD TRUCKERS!) as our headgear. Ron Keiswether, the new COO of Carlile is supportive of our Olympic pursuit too. We're both hoping to make the trip up the Alaskan Haul Road one of these days.... 

 In front of a Carlile Truck! (Alaska Pacific University Summer Fundraiser)

Carlile Athletes in Seiser Alm, Italy. 

 Microcom Communication Systems (Satellite Internet, TV & Phones) came on board for some extra support this Olympic year and I will be eternally grateful! Not only did they help me cover some of my expenses but they also hooked me up with DISH TV which will allow our house sitters to watch Olympic coverage 24/7. Thanks guys! 

Kendall Toyota of Ancohage helped me out with a lease on a new vehicle to get me to and from training.  After 11 years of driving the same car new wheels were a fantastic (and safe!) way to get to training all summer and fall! 

 Thanks to BP Alaska for their help! 

Also, thanks to Doug Pauly and the Northern Fruit Company, Davis Constructors & Engineers & Alaska Medical Solutions.

Not to forget my industry sponsors: Salmon Nordic, Swix, CLIF bar, Rudy Project, Polar HR Monitors, & the Alaska Club. 

To organizations who help athletes with grants: NNF (the National Nordic Foundation), Kongsberger Ski Club, Girdwood 2020 & AWOF - Alaska Winter Olympians Foundation. 

Logos and Links to ALL of my sponsors can be found on the right hand side of my blog. Please help me thank these individuals and companies by utilizing their businesses and products! 

Last but not least, my two teams..... 

APU Nordic Ski Center 

And of course, the US Ski Team, athletes, coaches & administrators. 

WHEW! That was an exhaustive list and I am so thankful to all of these people and more! 

Cheers! 

Holly ;) 

Congratulations and Condolences – and my urge to remain hopeful and positive through it all.

(I have to say, the Internet here in Seiser Alm is horrible, some of the worst I've ever experienced in Europe. So, sorry for the lack of pictures, posts and returned emails!)

The first order of business. Congratulations to those just named to the 2014 United States Olympic Team. It goes without saying that being named to the team is a huge honor and privilege. I’m sure that along with the naming of the team comes congratulations beyond expectation – notes from people that you haven’t heard from for fifteen years and places where you may have spent a month or two claiming you as their own hometown Olympian. There is certainly cause for celebration and celebrate you must as being named is an amazing accomplishment. Seeing that you email inbox is most likely full, the purpose of this blog is specifically aimed at those that were close but were not named.....

To those in that boat: take a day or two to be disappointed but once that 24 or 48 hour period is over do yourself a favor and hold your head high. The US Ski team women have a rule that if you have a bad race, take 10 minutes or a cool down by yourself and then put a smile on your face. It doesn’t help anyone, yourself included to mourn for an extended period of time. Some may argue that it’s easy for me to say since I’m a member of the team but I urge you: Don’t regret following your dream. Be proud of your effort, your fight and giving it your all. There is an extreme amount of honor in people who chase their dreams with reckless abandon.  Yes, sometimes those dreams will materialize into reality and other times, they may fall a little bit short. However, if you take it too personally and dwell on  what could have been, it will eat you alive.

If you read my last blog you know that it was about concentrating on the process rather than the outcome of ski racing.  The article I cited stated that to get the outcome, one must focus and concentrate on the process thereby allowing the outcome to take care of itself. Too much focus and concentration on the outcome and the outcome alone will only lead to unhappiness and in my humble opinion, a wasted opportunity.

What does all this mean you might ask? Can she be more specific?  Yes, yes I can. I understand the obsession with the Olympics and with the quest to become a member of the exclusive club. There is a saying, “Once an Olympian, always an Olympian.”  But while the Olympics may overtly be about who can ski uphill with the most efficiency, slide down the track with the most speed, complete the quadruple axel with precision or the overall medal count I believe the Olympics are about a whole lot more. At the core of the Games are the Olympic ideals - “Olympianism” is the technical term.  You see, the Olympics are guided by core principles including excellence, respect and sportsmanship both on and off the "field of play." 

The way I see it you have a choice, an opportunity.  I hope you decide to take the high road; that is, espouse these characteristics whether you have the title Olympian or not; insert these ideals into your everyday life, your existence, your identity.  Use them to guide your character at the breakfast before coffee, or in the choices you make when no one is looking. Strive for excellence in your athletic, professional, and personal life. There is a cliché quote that says, “reach for the moon and you may fall among the stars.”  If you strive for excellence in each and every way good things will undoubtedly happen. 

The worst thing you can do is to view missing selection as a failure or as lost time.

Think back to your journey beginning with the moment that you decided to “go for it,” the excitement of verbalizing your goals and pouring yourself into the pursuit. Think to the moments of silence or fitness when you went on that perfect extra blue classic ski day where you felt invincible, unstoppable. (The analogy I use for good classic skiing is “cutting through silk”).  Recall the towns and mountains you’ve seen on your travels and the friends that you’ve made along the way. Heck, think about the awesome pair of German National Team spandex you traded your suit for or that delicious cappuccino you sipped in the Italian sunshine! You must be able to find joy in the journey; even if it didn’t end with the title you sought out to receive.

I hope that this post doesn’t come off as trite or disingenuous. I sincerely mean everything I have said. I believe that every athlete, every competitor, whether he or she is a recognized Olympian or not should be proud of their effort, dedication and passion if they indeed gave it their all. Everyone has a story to tell and I urge you to think of what you want yours to be.

No regrets, give & receive hugs as needed and once you’re at peace with yourself embark on your next adventure! We all have so much to be thankful for and sometimes, a little reminder to reflect on those positive aspects in our lives can go a long ways.

Finding Perfection in Park City...

Okay, so maybe nothings entirely perfect but for the past week, Park City and Utah have been just about as perfect as it gets. Tomorrow I fly to Denver for the night (bonus of visiting my Cousin Eric!) before b-lining it back to Europe on Tuesday. I'm really excited to get back to the team and racing and I think that's indicative that this break has been "just what the Dr. ordered."  I'm excited to have some training, freedom & recovery under my belt headed into Sochi and hopefully my body agrees.  After all, we are living at the top of the mountain for 2.5 weeks .... time will how that goes?

As I write this there are 16 days until the Opening Ceremonies in Russia.  The anticipation, hype and excitement is building as athletes prepare for the crux of their athletic careers and the rest of the world waits to tune and see what happens. There will undoubtedly be surprises, heart-breaks and everything in between. That can be certain.

As far as the US Nordic squad is concerned I'm positive amazing things are right around the corner - we just have to wait and see what unfolds.... what I do know is that I'm extremely proud to be a part of this team going to Sochi. I'm proud to represent The US Nordic Community, the US Ski Team, APU Nordic Ski Center, The US (!) Washington state & of course, Alaska.

Coming into the Olympic season I had some very ambitious quantitative goals to be x place in this race, earn a spot on the medal-hopeful relay team, obtain specific rankings, etc, etc.  Today, 16 days shy of the Opening Ceremonies I've made a distinct, cognitive, conscious decision to forget about all of these goals. Yep, you heard me right, forget. Throw aside, bury.

But, that doesn't mean that I'm giving up. Far from it actually.  Instead, I've decided to concentrate my effort and energy on the process rather than the outcome. What does this mean you might ask? Rather than obsess about numbers, placing and what other people are doing I'm simply going to focus on what got me to the Olympics in the first place. It was my passion for skiing and sport; my drive to improve myself, and my love of competition. I've been close to this realization for a while now but after reading this article sent to me by a friend (you know who you are!) it made more sense and I am able to put emotions into words.  The article is titled, "Results Matter but to get them, ignore them."  There is a certain amount of brilliance in the words and advice - advice I plan to take:

http://skiracing.com/stories/results-matter-but-to-get-them-ignore-them/

Then, if you need further anecdotal evidence of this fact, here is a great piece that the New York Times put together about the 18 year old Slalom phenom, Mikaela Shiffrin:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/sports/mikaela-shiffrins-swift-if-unplanned-ascent-to-world-champion.html?_r=0

One thing that helps me focus on the "process" is getting back to the roots of the sport and sharing my love of it with others. This morning, enroute to the airport (!) I was able to host a last-minute, informal Fast & Female power hour. Basically, I invited any and all of the female Nordic skiers in Park City to join me for my last USA distance session enroute to Sochi. Today being the MLK holiday there was no school and bunch of girls from Park City Nordic joined me for a couple of "hot laps!"  Yes, we wore glitter and I think it's safe to say that everyone had a good time - especially me!  Here we are:

Thanks so much to Kerry Morgan for putting this video together!

Here are a bunch of other pictures from my training camp: 

Up early watching my teammates absolutely KILLING IT in Poland! 

Liz out-lunged Poland's National Hero, Justyna Kowalczyk in a SPRINT lunge! Go Liz!  

This past year I spent a bunch of time in Park City training but I've never been there in the winter before. It was really fun to ski the trails I've run so much on and to experience other winter sport events!    Ski half pipe was really fun to watch in person! 

I got to see Kashi's "Kikkan versus Kikkan" commercial on TV rather than computer. I'm Kikkan in 2010, the Blue suit. We filmed this at Hatcher's Pass this past October. 

New Training partners - thanks for the ski Emma! 

Never a bad day preparing for Sochi when you get to ski on the "Olympic 5k" 

Soldier Hollow is amazing. Literally every morning I was there the tracks looked like this and they had 8-10 snow guns blowing snow at any given time! WOW. 

I'm not a huge fan but the Biebs joined me for a ski or two in PC. 

Thanks so much to Morgan, Chris and Sam for letting me stay with them this past week! Hopefully I didn't leave too many dirty dishes around... 

And, thanks to Dave Knoop (NNF Master Mind) who lent me his car for the week!!!  Quality training wouldn't have been possible without it! #gonnf

Last but not least, I got to cook while on break which is recovery in and of itself. I found this recipe on FB a while back and changed it a bit towards my personal preferences. It has no butter, no flour and no sugar!

Here's my last batch with chopped dates, coconut & pumpkin seeds. It's SUPER easy - give it a try! 

My next post will be from Europe! Til then, thanks for following - have a great day, 

Cheers, 

Holly :)