Thursday, August 13, 2015

10 Signs You Have Fallen In Love With Your Job.


1. It brings you to amazing places.

Lex watching a great sunset up on Eagle
Rosie and I all bundled in our llbean rain gear- prepared for a wet descent.

2. It makes you work harder than you could ever imagine for it, but the rewards are high.

Saved by a coke after a long week, and a long final workout!
3. You are happy to make sacrifices for it on a year-around basis. 

4. When it challenges you, you are willing to take on adversity and be resourceful.

Blurry hike on the treadmill after a rollerski crash left my knee and hand pretty banged up.
Best part about wearing your bones on the outside of your gloves... you can check up on any broken ones easily!
5. It brings together with an amazing group of people to collaborate with and improve from each other.
The Women's Team after a sunny and incredibly intense team sprint workout. (Eric Packer photo)
Thanks to these amazing men for keeping the Glacier going! Erik Flora, Don Haering and Andre  Lovett. (Eric Packer Photo)
APU Team celebrating the end of a sweet summer! (Eric Packer photo)
Thanks to our amazing coach, Erik Flora, for managing 100 tasks, always staying positive, and believing 110%!
6. It takes you outdoors in all varieties of conditions, but never lets you focus too much on the weather.
Sunny, or.... (Eric Packer photo)
Not so pleasant....
7. It leaves you feeling fit, happy, and challenged.

Enjoying every second! (Eric Packer photo)
Tyler vs. Rosie. How to get two sets of skis up the long 1km climb from the stadium?
A perfect day on Eagle (Zuzana Rodgers photo)
8. It teaches you about a variety of things, including the changes in climate and glaciers and how to observe your surroundings.

A glacier melting down to blue ice in new places.
Many varieties of snow crystals throughout the day on Eagle. (Zuzana Rodgers photo).
9. You love every second of it, including the brutally long and challenging training hours, races, intervals, and more.

The boys pushing hard, working on uphill DP (Zuzana Rodgers photo).
Team Sprinting with Thomas-Finding the race mindset. (Zuzana Rodgers photo)
Giving it all (Zuzana Rodgers photo).
10. It constantly reminds you to be thankful for the opportunity you are given. 

Racing around the world representing your country!
Skiing on a Glacier in the middle of summer...!! (Zuzana Rodgers photo).
Last week was APU's third and final week of training on Eagle Glacier for the summer. It was a successful camp despite some little hurdles thrown my way just before. (I took a big crash on roller skis that left me with a fairly banged up knee and a hand with some sort of ligament/bone damage).  But, sunshine cures all frustrations, and that last kilometer skied for the summer on Eagle was my happiest. Over the course of the summer, I had some great time to work on technique goals, I got to ski hundreds of kilometers, and I got to focus my heart on ski racing 100%. 

I have been to fourteen camps now on Eagle Glacier, and it still hasn't gotten old. I am just as excited, motivated, and incredibly thankful as I was my first camp on Eagle. It is so hard to believe that I train in town, jump on a helicopter, and am engulfed in winter for a full week… only to return back to town for three weeks of training, and repeat three times throughout the summer! That is a true dream world!