Park City Camp Week 2

The second week of Park City Camp got more exciting as we started adding in some more intensity, and speeding things up. The weather started to cool down, so things began resembling winter a bit more.

The group doing some DP intervals- Matt Whitcomb photo

Good training on the 2002 Olympic Course and this years Nationals course.
Matt Whitcomb photo.

Erik and Tad going neck and neck on some classic speeds- Matt Whitcomb photo.

As always the week was busy with fitting in lots of things. I was lucky enough to be able to use Tad Elliots bikes for some of the recovery workouts (who double's as a professional biker as well as professional nordic skier). It made for some entertaining off day adventures. I haven't gotten to do much biking in the past few years, so it was pretty exciting to rip around on some trails as well as the road.

Holly and I headed out... Holly with her wardrobe in tow. Many times we were so busy we packed for the whole day of activities when we left the house in the morning... which meant several sets of workout clothes and more.

Biking on one of the new paths that was put in near the Center of Excellence

Deer Valley

I also got in some good times doing aqua jogging intervals in the tide pool with Kikkan. I have been splitting my intervals between skis and in the pool. This way I can do more intensity while still slowly introducing it back on land. One afternoon we did 30 mins of 30-30's... which turned into one challenging 30 minutes. By turning on the current, and tying ourselves to the wall, we were able to ramp the intensity up high. Without a real ability to gauge our effort... at 15 minutes I felt like a sick goldfish that starts floating sideways in the fish bowl... I was cooked! Turns out you have to pace yourself even in aqua jogging. It has provided some good entertainment as well as some good motivation having Kikkan jogging along beside me though.

Kikkan was multi-tasking and working on her shooting skills at the same time.

During the busy week of training we also managed to fit in a fun little fundraiser at Mike Engels house. It was super fun to meet the many supporters of the US Ski Team around Park City. It was also neat to see how much they had followed the whole nordic squad over the past year, and how much excitement they had!

Some of the many supporters, Kikkan, and the Crystal Globe

By the end of the week I ended up parting my way with the US Team. The Alaskans headed home for some local snow, while the remainder of the National Team headed up to Canmore for some skiing. Unfortunately Anchorage is cold and clear in the forecast (which means no snow)... but fortunately Fairbanks has been getting some moisture. The whole APU team is planning on heading up there Wednesday and doing a little four day camp for "First Tracks". Last year First Tracks was started where all the skiers from around Alaska gather and train together for the first tracks of the season. This year, we will also be incorporating a Fast and Female event for all the young girls. I hear there is a few inches of snow, and it is good enough to ski, so hopefully it is still there for us next week!!

I also got a chance to see one of our old teammates and a good friend Morgan Smyth... here is her adorable new dog that Holly may have brought home with her to keep.

Some sweet sunrises in the morning from our hotel room up in Empire.

On another note, if you are in the Anchorage area, tomorrow morning starting at 10AM, there will be a running race in support of Mary Robicheaux, a young junior on our team who got hit by a car while she was biking this spring. She has been in the hospital going through many surgeries and recovery for the past two months, so the APU crew is putting on a race to raise some funds for her recovery. The race will be held around University Lake on the APU trails, so head out if you are in Anchorage.

The US Womans Team and coaches- US Team photo

Thank you Carlile for Sponsoring for signing for another year!

And finally, 25 more days for the National Nordic Foundation fundraiser. The coolest part about this fundraiser is that some anonymous donor has agreed to match $5 every dollar raised. This means that every $25 donations goes a long ways.
NNF Campaign

In the meantime hopefully it begins to snow! This morning I did DP intervals in the 17 degree weather... slamming my arms into the pavement pretty hard... yikes!!

One more thing. Check out this hilarious video the US Swimming Team made on their way to the Olympics. Those guys know how to go fast and have fun!