Hot.Cool.Yours

Well, that's a wrap- hard to believe that the Olympics could already have come, happened, and are now over! How did that happen so fast?

Where do I even begin to explain this experience. I have to start with the silly theme of my very first Olympics, "hot, cool, yours". I think that about sums up my experience just perfectly! None of us really knew what those three words written on everything meant, but I made up my own idea..!

 First, and foremost, we got incredibly lucky. We had the most incredible three weeks of weather I have ever had consecutively in a winter. Three weeks of beautiful views, beautiful weather, and beautiful Sochi racing! What comes with the beauty was heat though... in fact there were a few days of racing where I just couldn't figure out how the snow wasn't simply turning into a rushing river down the mountain! I don't know how Russia knew it was going to be hot.... but I guess they predicted well!

"Cool"... that was the next word. While it may have never actually been "cool" as far as temperature, it was one heck of a "cool experience". Every day there was something new to blow my mind away. Some new experience, some new extremely friendly volunteer, some race that played out incredibly "cool". If I had a ten year old's vocabulary, or a fourty-five year old's very brilliant vocabulary... "cool" is simply the best way to describe what the Olympics are like! Cool feelings, cool honor, cool people, cool venue, cool coaches and wax techs that rock at their job, cool Russia... COOL! Ok, they nailed the second word in their theme.

So, finally, "yours".... and by yours, I see it as "your experience". The Olympics are what you make of them. You either choose to have the racing define it, the experience to define it, or whatever it be. For me, Sochi was one of the coolest experiences in my life. The racing was exciting, and fun... not my highest moments of the season, but it was "yours". I gave what I had at every moment, learned a lot of lessons, struggled on some of the hardest sections of the course, but gave it my very best! I still dream of winning medals, and will still continue that dream into my future!! But, "yours" was more than racing for me. It was the feelings I had every time I skied by the Olympic rings. It was the feeling of excitement and joy as I watched in disbelief when my brother dropped everyone in the team sprint. It was the feelings I got when I watched an awards ceremonies and saw tears rolling down fellow athletes cheeks. It was the feelings I got when I watched Kikkan pull her heart together after the sprint race when it didn't go exactly as planned. It was the feelings I got as Kikkan, Liz, Jessie and I did a cheer together before the start of our relay and decided to make it "our" race..... whatever it was going to be! It was the feelings I got as I watched coaches cry, scream, jump five feet off the ground as they watched their athletes succeed.... it was everything!! Two days before I left, I went out and did a workout with Erik Flora, and decided to take "yours" to a new level. Sochi has this incredibly hard seven minute climb at the finish of all of the races... and every race I had started... that hill tore me to pieces. So, two days before I left, I decided to make that climb "mine". I went out and did intervals on it, and learned to conquer it. While it may have not been in a race, I still walked away just as satisfied! It topped off making the Olympic experience "yours".

When I look back on Sochi, less than likely will I even remember the places I finished in the races; but I will remember all the hottest, coolest, and unique Sadie experiences. I will remember all the messages I got day after day from friends, family, media, Jimmy Fallon... the whole experience. And, not only that, I am going to remember that silly little theme written everywhere, "hot.cool.yours"!

They say that pictures speak a thousand words... and since there are probably a million words I could put together to explain how awesome these last three weeks have been... I am going to let pictures tell most of the story!

You have seen it a lot in media, and seen it a lot in my own writing- but it has been awesome to have Erik around! Not only because having family makes everything more special, but because of who Erik is! He is the most easy going, silly dude in the world! He keeps the atmosphere light, he keeps everyone smiling, and he knows how to kick some butt ski racing!!

The dream team! This team has been a key piece of this experience. We all worked together for years now getting to this point, and it is cool to be here together! Thanks to all of you for helping me get here. I have a heck of a team. A team that teaches me something 365 days of the year, and a team that keeps me having fun!

Always excitement! 21 days later, still stoked on the experience!

Photo Credit- Competitive Image

Erik Flora! The man behind the magic. It has been so awesome having our coach here at the Olympics! This is the hardest working, most excited dude in the world! Thanks Erik Flora!

Photo Credit- Zimbio

Photo Credit- Getty Imgaes

Fasterskier Photo

Spirit- while we may rock glitter and pink all other parts of the year- I always appreciate when we get to put the stars and stripes on, and we rock the red, white, and blue!

Photo Credit- Andrew Scott

Norwegian News

Photo Credit- Competitive Image

FasterSkier Photo

FasterSkier Photo

Well.... what you can tell from these images.... WARM! I only entered one race with a full suit... felt like racing in California! The 10K Classic was by far the worst. It was reported +20 C in the sun.. 68F. When you are standing on snow at high altitude.... that is straight tropical. Sophie and I got a surprising large amount of press for wearing tank tops... the Norwegian Media plastered photos of us everywhere... I was feeling pretty smart afterwards :)

Photo Credit- Jonas Lindkvist

Going hard! If I am not lying on the ground after the race like this.... there was more left in me!

Even though we are at the Olympics, and the pressure can seem high... a little laughing always solves the problem!

Matt Whitcomb giving the big X for extremely amazing woman's coach (and for standing in a coaching zone to cheer... when we were told not to) Whoops!

Sophie and Jessie in the quarterfinals. Sophie was extremely impressive this day!! She was skiing like she had a set of wings on her back. Floating when she needed to, and turning on the turbo engine when she wanted! Unfortunately she fell on the furthest corner out during the finals... but don't be surprised if she has the gold medal in hand four years from now!

The Sochi atmosphere was great! There were tons of excited fans, and it made the olympic experience a true olympic experience!

Chandra and I enjoying some rays while we cheer on the race. Chandra has been a hero since I was young, and a great friend in these past four years. We have had a lot of awesome talks about goals, dreams in life, and dealing with adversity. This photo really captures how much I appreciate this girl!

Hanging out with the legend, Bjorn Daehlie himself!

While I may have missed opening ceremonies because I had a race the next day... I still got to rock the suit for the afternoon around our village!

Flowers for our first Olympic Race from Torin Koos! How nice!

The hardworking staff working all day, every day. These guys may be behind the scenes- but they are running the show! You would be amazed how much time and effort it takes to put together a pair of skis to be competitive on the World Cup. It is something that never gets enough credit- and these dudes are amazing!!

My "Sochi Mom" time. It was so nice to see Kristann Schoening, who was working for the Norwegian Team. She is my dad's best friend from growing up, and a really close family friend, so I was enjoying spending time with her so much! Thanks Kristiann for the huge smile all the time!

The Endurance Village had everything!!! Even a lap swimming pool that looked out on the mountains. I was bummed I didn't bring my suit and goggles!

And school goes on- class the morning of race day.

The view of our walk to the dining hall at two different times of the day.... beauty!!

Family Spirit! My sister and godsister made these t-shirts for all our friends and family. It meant the world to get all the photos from everyone. Thanks Hills and Kaley for making them- and thanks to all the amazing people rocking them!!

Valentines Day at the Olympics wasn't as fun as spending it with Jo- but we have some awesome boys on our team who made us some Valentines!

OnePiece gave us a bunch of suits this year, and I was laughing when I saw the American Flag one in the store in Sochi! Crazy to see they had a store there!

I finally made it down to the Coastal Village on the last day for closing Ceremonies. It was amazing to see the difference. It smelled like the Sea, there were Palm Trees, there was sweet sunsets looking out on to the Black Sea, there were bikes to ride around the Village... it was just an entirely different scene. It was really neat to visit, but I was glad we had our secluded village up on the top of the mountain without so many distractions!

After not getting to be part of opening ceremonies, I was double excited to be part of closing ceremonies. There was an amazing show and the largest firework show I could ever imagine afterwards. It was pretty neat!

After the show, there was an Olympic DJ in the middle of the massive stadium... maybe the coolest dance party I have ever been to!

And finally, after three weeks and an epicly long final day of the games... we have made it back to Europe for the final three weeks of World Cup racing. I guess with world keeps spinning after the games have completed. Next weekend we are going to go out and race the exact same people, but this time it is not for an Olympic Medal... how crazy is that?

That about sums up the majority of my experience. It was an incredible one, and I can't believe it is already over! Thanks to everyone that helped me get there, thanks to everyone that cheered me on once I was there, and thanks to everyone who is keeping me going! I just had the time of my life!

And finally, here is a little laugh if you haven't seen it already. Jimmy Fallon found Erik and I were Bjorn to do this!

First Impressions

It is hard for me to even put words to my first impressions from the Olympics! I feel like there is not enough words or word combinations to explain all the sites, feelings, and experiences so far. Lets just say that when I dreamed of going to the Olympics, I wasn't imaging it could be THIS amazing! (And the racing hasn't even started yet)

Exceeding the dreams!

If I had to explain it as best as I could I would say it feels something like being a princess! Going to processing, you are handed all these clothes, jewelry, credentials, a phone, etc. It is four hours of trying on outfits, running around in your new race suits, fitting your Olympic ring, taking team photos, tailoring your "way too warm" opening ceremonies outfit, taking face shots, the list goes on. It is a day full of instructions, organization, and just pure excitement!!

Day 1: Processing in Munich

Seriously too funny!!

Day 2: Travel to Sochi. This was surprisingly easy and quick. It was a plane full of US athletes, so we took some fun pictures of the whole plane, gave a few cheers as we took off, and then made the 3 hour trip to Sochi. Last time we were here we flew in and left, both in the dark... so it was my first time actually seeing the city as we arrived. It is crazy to see the beach right there, the palm trees, the longest city in the World, and then look up into the white mountains! After arriving, we loaded all of our stuff into vans- headed to the welcoming center in the coastal village, got our credentials processed, checked our bags, and made our way up to the mountains. The drive was a lot different than last year. The roads were huge, fast, and there was no traffic to stop us. Again, amazingly quick and easy. We finished with a gondola ride up to the mountains and then arrived in the amazing Endurance Village. Smooth sailing!

The view on the way in (athlete village right there up against the water).

Arriving in the Coastal village!! (Welcoming Center)

Bags on bags!!

Driving up the road with the white mountains right there.

Multi-tasking on our Gondola ride. We all got cell phones with some credit on them to keep us in contact with all our loved ones. Our phones have this awesome ability to get close and share files... so convenient!

Since arriving, I have been constantly amazed! We arrived in our cottage fully stoked with peanut butter, Kashi products, stationary bikes, presents on our bed, coffee makers, huge comfy rooms, TV's full of Olympic coverage. (Thanks to the USOC for making sure everything is perfect) When we leave the house we are constantly greeted by incredibly helpful and friendly volunteers looking for some way to help us. The Olympic Village is unbelievable. It wasn't here last year, so that is all new and exciting. There is a cafeteria, a post office, small store, hair salon, outdoor pool, disco ball, game room... you name it, they have it! The only athletes in our village are the nordic skiers and the biathletes- so the majority of the athletes are familiar. For that reason, things feel a little more calming and familiar.

So much peanut butter- so much excitement!!

Some nice strength training on the walk to breakfast!

One beautiful walk to meals!

Soph doing some media. I am not used to so much media! 

The courses are amazing, and the weather has been incredible. It is hard to not just want to stop every five seconds and snap a photo. With Olympic Rings covering the hill, white mountains poking out of everywhere, and Olympic Spirit just busting out of everywhere... it is hard to keep your mind on your workout. Not only that- all this excitement makes you want to race around the courses in pure glee!

Testing skis and enjoying the sunshine!

so much fun to have stars and stripes in our uniform!

These past four days I have had to teach myself to regulate my energy. The first day I was so excited when I got to processing that I forgot to conserve energy... which lead to a huge bonk by the end. Then later that night my mind was so wired and excited I couldn't sleep for a full night. So, my new approach is to take everything in at a slower rate. I have to control my excitement and regulate my energy. Every bit of being here is beyond exciting! The Olympics are everything and more than I ever dreamed of! My brother said it perfectly "I knew the Olympics were going to be amazing, but nobody told me were coming to heaven for a ski race". That about sums up the whole experience so far!!

so stoked!!!!!

Our new home for the next three weeks! Soph and I have been racing together since we were 14 years old- so super fun to have lots of Sodie time! The fun part about our location is we are living in a house, so it feels like a camp atmosphere- all living together!

On another note, racing is coming quickly. I have decided to race in the Pursuit on Saturday, the first nordic event of the Olympics... so unfortunately that means missing the Opening Ceremonies. We wouldn't return from the Opening Ceremonies until 2PM... so I have decided to conserve that energy for skating up the big hills 12 hours later. I have spent the day trying to plan an opening ceremonies up in the Endurance Village for all of us that are racing the following day. My plan is to dress up in all the gear, walk the road up to the Olympic Village, and gather all the other countries. By the time we make it to the Village, we will hopefully collect a dozen countries or so... and suddenly it is our own Opening Ceremonies! Then we can watch it on the big screen over there in the Cinema! Then I will direct all the rest of my energy towards the closing ceremonies!

Missing my little buddies back in AK! I absolutely love waking up to fun little things like this!

Look how much my cheering squad has grown up :)

More updates to come soon when the racing starts!