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

Heaven (in Canada!)

Today was race prep... everyone was out testing their skis. The scene was awesome.  I think some of the pictures below will speak for themselves!  I'm excited to go 10k tomorrow. I felt great skiing today. Somehow the steep hills seem to be getting smaller each day. Check out some of these shots!

Another perfect day in Canmore. It's great to feel the sunshine on your face... the girl in pink is Petra Madjic, arguably the best female classic sprinter in the world right now. Maybe one of these days I'll get the courage up to ask for a true photo rather than having to stalk her in the parking lot :)

Here I am with the first US Ski Team hat I've ever owned standing in front of the biggest hill on the course. It's steeper and longer than it looks in this picture. I'm glad we did Wall Street intervals on the first half of Spencer a couple of times before we left Alaska! 

APU head coach and program director Erik Flora

One of my APU teammates, Beeca Rorabaugh loving Canmore - she just found out that she gets to race the distance race in addition to the sprint.  She's only 20 years old! 

Me and my skis which have been awesome all year.... (doesn't it look like I'm holding an Alaskan Salmon?)  OIA!!! But this time in Canmore :) 

We got our new US Ski Team Bjorn Daehlie suits so of course we had to try them on in our hotel room once we got back from training. One of our jobs this afternoon is to sew APU patches above the US Ski Team Logo! 

Also, all of you Alaskans might be happy to know that we've put up a gigantic Alaskan flag in the hotel dining hall.  The Italians are the only other World Cup team staying at this hotel with us. Apparently they asked the wait staff, "what's that flag?!"  My goal is to get a picture with some of the famous Italians IN FRONT on the Alaskan flags! 

Thanks so much for all of the encouraging emails - you guys are the best! 

Holly 

HAIR!!!!

The following youtube video was sent to me this fall while on the Supertour.  If you watch it, you will understand the following pictures :)



The APU juniors are totally AWESOME!

So I picked red, white, and blue..... the boys came through on the deal! 

And then the girls decided to follow suit!

Kyle during.... (I think it actually looks kind of cool like this!) 

High school boy sacrifice! Forrest, Ray, and Kyle

"What did we do!"

Rob stopped by the salon to check on the progress

?

Forrest even got his unibrow WAXED for the occasion... I feel so special  (I think Ray might have too!)

Turning a brown afro red is no easy chore

Big Mac pre-blue

Mac and Erica representing with their side ponies!

Thank you guys! I feel so honored :)  Miss you all.... 

Random thoughts on a recovery day...

My first world cup race is two days away so today I have a "day off" from training.  But, that doesn't mean that I don't have a lot to do! Before the rave and the rant here is a picture to start the post off with...

This is Kikkan and myself at the venue with the Canadian Rockies in the background......

A couple random thoughts for the day:

*Since it's my recovery day I slept in a bit later than usual and was the last one at breakfast. That means that I missed the Italian team that flew in last night.  (DARN!)  They do randomly roam around the hotel though. I do have to admit that they seem to have some of the best looking guys on the world cup. (Of course not as good looking as my husband Rob though!)

*Yesterday I was wishing that I could understand Polish because I sat behind Justyna Kowalczyk, the current World Cup leader.  Maybe one of these days I will get up the courage to ask for a photo!

*On Fasterskier.com they have a cool "Olympic countdown" timer.  This morning I looked at it while drinking coffe and it gave me goosebumps!  It read: 8 day, 18 hours, 4 minutes, and 55 seconds until the start of the Olympics!  Speaking of which, I was on a training ski in Silver Star last December and randomly found the Vancouver Olympic symbol that someone had built as a rock sculpture. Check it out!

*Also, many of you have been asking about event tickets latety.  It seems like there are lots of rumors and confusion over when more tickets will be released, how much one should have to pay for them, and the best way to get them.  I WISH that I had a ton of free tickets to give away but unfortunately I do not. Apparently I get two free tickets for each event that I am racing and that is it. However, there is a forum on Fasterskier and someone threw out these sites for good scalper ticket sites:

eSeats.com

ticketliquidator.com
stubhub.com

I also have this feeling that they will be readily available AT the games once they start.  It does seem like the organizing committee has been hoarding them - for corporations, for Canadians, at this point. It's frustrating but I hope that everything will work out! I am so excited that many of you are coming down to cheer! I wish I could be of more help! (Sorry!) 

Here I am standing in the Canmore stadium... the nordic venue was the site for the 1988 Calgary Olympic Games... 

Well, it's time to get on with my day. I underpacked for this trip (in anticipation of getting lots of new clothes/uniforms) but they haven't come yet.  I've been wearing my same APU spandex every day, twice a day for a week now and I NEED to do laundry.  The hard part is that it entails hiking across the highway with a huge packpack, sitting at the laudry mat, and then hiking back.  The hotel informed me that they only have drycleaning :( 

I'll end on this fun picture for the day: 

Thanks to Rob and the APU juniors for making this sign.  (It was on the hill at US Nationals in Anchorage this past January) 

Should be a fun post tomorrow :) You'll have to check back and see why! 

Olympic Race Schedule + More Canmore....

Sorry for the late post - it's been a busy day today! Let's start this post right - here is a picture of team "APU Olympics!"  We took some shots yesterday but the Canmore blue bird sky didn't cooperate with us...

Also, people have been asking for a while, "do you know what events you will race in the Olympics!?" At this point, I have general idea... and other races depend on this weekend's preformance while others depend on preformance at the Olympics themselves.

I'm fairly certain about my participation in three events including:

1) Classic Sprint - Feb 17th

I still have a hard time considering myself a "sprinter" ... it's hard for me to wrap my head around a race that takes anywhere from 2-5 minutes. Personally, I like to have more time to settle into a pace without having so much pressure riding on every stride.  Nonetheless, I'm excited to race it!

2) 15k Pursuit - Feb 19th

For those that don't know much about a pursuit, it's a mass start, the first half classic, and the second half skate.  Your "transition time" which is the time it takes to switch equipment is included in your overall time. I am a balanced skier when it comes to the two techniques and it's 15k, I'm excited for this race.

3) 30k Mass Start Classic - Feb 27th

This is the second to last day of the Games... a long wait.  The long classic race was also my best event at US Nationals (Silver Medal) so I've been anticipating this race.  I learned about a new twist yesterday about this race - you can SWITCH SKIS mid - race, or every 7 kilometers.  This adds a whole new twist to long distance racing - lots of tactics, more work for the wax techs, plus the fact that you have to have a  lot of skis for something like this.  There is also an option to NOT switch your skis, ski through the transition, and hope that everyone else doesn't catch you with new, improved, better wax.  I have to admit, I'm slightly nervous for this aspect of the race but it could be a lot of fun!

APU wax tech Casey and head coach/program director, Erik Flora waxing skis! 

There is a chance that I will race in two more races.... so it could be as few as three or as many as five. Each country is allowed to start 4 people in each race and the US has five girls. That means at least one girl will have to sit out each race. That's fine considering that no one wants to race 6 races... plus we all have our strengths and weaknesses.  There is a small chance that I could start in the 10k skate race Feb 15th. I have a big feeling that that will depend on my preformance here in Canmore this weekend. Also, the 4x5k relay is on the 25th... I really hope to get to race that as well. Relays tend to be one of the highlights of the games. 

If you want to see the full XC schedule, check out this link on the official Vancouver website: 

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-cross-country-skiing-schedule-results/

I have a ton more I would like to write about but it's past my bed time...more tomorrow.  In the meantime, I will end with this shot of Chandra Crawford's (Canadian Olympic Sprint Gold Medalist from Torino) SWEET Fast-and-Female-mobile.. 

Good night! 

Thanks for reading, 

Holly :) 

Good day everyone!  And good luck to those racing Pia's Classic today at Kincaid!  Things are starting to ramp up at the Canmore Nordic Center...... more and more teams every day, different languages overheard on the trails.  It's sweet! 

This is a picture of Chandra Crawford, the Canmore "hometown" girl - also the sprint Gold medalist from Torino.  It must be sweet to have the world's best skiers come to YOU to race!  How sweet would a World Cup in Anchorage be?! 

Canmore truly seems to be a nordic-oriented town.  There are poster advertisements every 5 feet downtown, even in vacant store front building.  

If you squint your eyes you may even be able to pick out Kikkan and her mom, Deb, complete with pink hat and scarf!  I took a picture of one - sorry for the glare.

Training went really well today.  I've been feeling pretty junky the last couple of days due to a hard week of training, followed by three days off (I NEVER take three days off!), long travel, and then arriving at altitude.  Today I did 6x45-60 seconds at 10k race pace on the race course and felt great once I got up to speed.  I've had that sensation a lot this year - feeling bad at low speeds and distance pace, and feeling awesome at Level 3, 4, and 5.  Erik says that it's beacuse my "high end race muscles" are in shape.  I suppose that's a good thing! It's funny because I think that a lot of ski racers want to feel really good all the time.  One thing I've learned this year is that you don't have to feel good to race well.

If you are curious about following Friday and Saturday's World Cup races (I'm starting both) you can find links to startlists and results on the Alberta World Cup Academy website here:

http://www.albertaworldcup.com/main.php

Here are just a couple more fun pictures to end the post with....



The media is starting to show up...

Can you see the venue in the reflection of my glasses!?

This is my women's only group that had to put up with having a male coach for the second time this year last Wednesday. Sorry girls.... and thanks Casey for leading. (Thanks to Gail French for the pic and thanks to Gail French and Gail Hoefler for the beautiful leis!) 

More to come including pictures from the venue... 

Enjoy your day! 

Holly :) 

Day Three - Recovery

Check out this sweet picture that my uncle Dennis sent over email. This is me and my dad skiing when I was 8 1/2 months old! My dad looks like he came straight from Woodstock and what do you know.... I have an Olympic hat on?!

Our approach coming to altitude is to take day 3 off from training.  The third day at altitude is notoriously one of the hardest with low levels of oxygen in the blood.  It can make a person from sea level feel extremely out of shape!  Starting tomorrow, our bodies will start to re-adjust to our new environment and acclimate a bit more each day.  I'm excited to have the day to get caught up on paperwork and emails. Yes, ski racers have "paperwork!"

I wanted to start the day with a couple of thoughts. First is to thank my husband Rob for being such a huge help through this whole process.

Rob has been working his tail off making "Go Holly" stickers, communicating with friends and family, helping with logistics, acting as my personal assistant, etc, etc. He's the best husband that anyone could ask for. Thanks Babe!

Next, good luck to my APU junior skiers that have a high school race today! Ski hard and have fun you guys, I will be thinking of you!

I'll write more soon.  The coffee is calling me from downstairs....