Rabbit Rabbit

You know something crazy has happened when you blink and all of a sudden the whole summer is almost gone. It's September? How did this happen? We've been having hints of it for a little bit with apples on the roadside and the odd tree branch showing its fall colors, but now it's really sinking in. The GRP is leaving in four days for a training trip in Austria and I can't wait to get real snow beneath my boots, but I'm also a little sad to be leaving Vermont.

In the meantime, here's a little view of summer training. We've been pretty darn lucky to have almost perfect weather for the testing week and the volume week that we just finished up. The truth is that summer in Vermont is pretty hard to beat, in between all the veggies growing in the garden, the swimming holes, and the green rolling hills for miles. In spite of a knee injury earlier in the summer and a nasty sinus infection, I'm feeling good about training and really excited to test out some of the technique changes I've been trying out on snow. I'll also be a lot better about updating my blog since we have a lot more down time during camp (and more photo inspiration!)

This is gonna be one of those blogs with a random and haphazard assortment of photos from the summer, so have fun sorting through!

Oh, and last slightly exciting thing, I added a "follow by email" option to my blog. I usually repost my blogs to Facebook, but I know that not all of you have the Book, so if you want to get an email every time I post a new blog just enter in your email address, then click the link when it comes to your inbox.

Alright here we go:

Roadside coaching from Peps and her trusty iPad (photo Caitlin)

Summer evenings in the bury.. the double rainbow is real, just a little filter

Getting tall(er than usual) in double pole (photo Caitlin)

Herringbone speeds? On grass? With real skis? Why not! (photo Caitlin)

Cruising Vermont back roads with Heather

BKL campers crushing the rollerskiing earlier this summer

Signs of summer- making flower arrangements for a local dinner

I absolutely LOVE tomato season. We got hit with a late blight,
so we're lucky to have any tomatoes, much less these beauties

Although I spent a lot of time in and around Craftsbury in July and August, I did make the trip to NH one day to do some hiking with college ski friends. We did the Franconia Ridge loop, which I had never done before and had spectacular ridge views and waterfalls.

Once a wildkitten, always a wildkitten

Love these guys, and love when we are all able to get together

At the end of our testing week the GRP also did our yearly jaunt up Mt. Mansfield as part of Race to the Top of Vermont. Actually, I take it back, nothing about RTTOVT is jaunt-like, it's a full-on, pain-cave inducing, leg screaming, lung burning struggle up 4.3 miles to the top. As a taller and heavier athlete I don't exactly embrace hill climbs but I considered it a great workout and if nothing else, an opportunity to get fitter.

It was sweet to have a few of the SMS-T2 ladies (Erika and Annie P,
in teal) come and race. Also, Caitlin absolutely crushed it, taking
2nd overall in the women's race

It was a beautiful day to be up in the mountains

Saturday was the last day of our testing and volume block, and we finished up with an OD run/mountain bike combo in East Burke on the Kingdom Trail system. The riding there is unreal, and it was a great way to finish off our block. We'll have a few more days of easy training, and then we leave on Thursday for 2.5 weeks in Ramsau, Austria training on the Dachstein Glacier. I hear the snow is a little patchy this summer but I'm crossing my fingers for snowstorms and packing my rock skis. Truth be told, any snow is a reason for celebration and I'm so excited to go back to one of my favorite places in the world that I would be willing to ski on just about anything!

Girl's ride at Kingdom

Taking a breather at Heaven's Bench

Checking out the forecast, it looks like we're going to have a real last taste of summer this week in the East (daytime temps getting into the 90's, yikes!), so stay cool everyone and I'll be checking in next from Austria!! YAYAYAY can't wait!

Necessary.

Hay in the Barn

To all my loyal followers out there (here's looking at you, Mom), I realize that it has been quite a while since my last update! For that I apologize sincerely, and while I wish I could say that it won't happen again, it turns out that things can get crazy busy during the summer and sitting down to write a blog sometimes feels like a luxury.

Anyways, here we are in the thick of summer in Craftsbury. A lot of people who aren't fully immersed in the nordic lifestyle ask us what exactly we do in the summer. I mean, there's no snow, right? Turns out that the bulk of our training actually happens in the warmer months, meaning while we train for those crisp winter mornings, more often than not we're sweating it out in the gym, on the trails, and on the roads. A lot of coaches use the analogy of "putting hay in the barn" during the summer months. I like to think of every long workout as giving me the ability to stay with the pack longer in a distance race or keep strong through the last sprint heat, while every interval session gives me the speed to qualify in a top position. Then of course, there's strength, which has always been a weakness of mine but something I'm working really hard to address. Bring on the pullups, Crossfit, and protein shakes. Boom. Here's to hoping my extra muscles add up to some extra speed this winter.

A typical day in Craftsbury during the summer might look something like this:

7:15 am- Wake-up time! Morning jog or HR test, cook and devour breakfast, gather stuff for workout
8:15-11:30 am- Morning workout. Rollerski, run, bike, or strength
12:00-1:00 pm- Lunch in the Outdoor Center's awesome dining hall
1:00-3:00 or 3:30 pm- Work projects around the Center. Your choice- gardening, trail work, web updates, coaching, etc, etc
3:30-4:30 pm- Down time and the most important part of the day-- SNACK time!
4:30-6:00 pm- Afternoon workout. Another run, row, rollerski, or strength
7:30-8:30 pm- Dinner. See "awesome lunch" above
8:30-10:00 pm- Hanging out with teammates, finishing off work projects, getting ready for bed
10:00 pm- Lights out.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat again. Got it?


So back on Cinco de Mayo, the day college students nationwide gather to celebrate their beloved adopted drinking holiday, I was making my way back to Craftsbury and the start of another training season. 10 weeks later, here I am! Here's the run-down in photos:

Team pull-up session (I'm the one hidden behind 
Ethan, in green) Photo @greenracingproject Instagram

Early season rollerski! Always excited to be back with
teammates- here's Kait Miller, Caitlin Patterson, and Susan Dunklee

We LOVED having the SMS T2 girls join us for a few workouts  
last week. Here's the group doing L3 skate intervals. Photo SMS T2

For every great training session, you have a day
like this. Thanks bunches, Postal Service!

As part of our living situation in Craftsbury, the athletes also help out around the Outdoor Center with various projects. It's fun to have something a bit different to do besides training, and it's also nice to have a wide variety of things to be involved in. As Hallie said the other day, you learn something new every day around here!

Finished product!!

Em and I have been building Adirondack chairs
for the deck of the new building

Hard work in the fields now means payoff in 
winter squash later. Photo Heather Mooney

We also get the chance to coach the BKL summer camps that happen twice a summer in Craftsbury. It's one crazy and exhausting week of scraped knees, big smiles, endless soccer games, and a little skiing thrown in for good measure. Basically, a total blast.

Campers pointing the way up Elmore

I also feel like it's important mentally and physically to have some built in breaks from the intense training atmosphere in Craftsbury. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but coming back from a short break raises my motivation to an all-time high. I did something a little different this year and went on a trip with my family up the Western coast of Canada and the US to Alaska. It was beautiful but rainy, and a unique experience that I'll never forget. Of course I had to keep training the whole time, but it was okay since I didn't know what to do with myself for 3 whole days on a cruise ship anyways, and whenever we got off I would go for long hikes and bike rides.

The Olympic Cauldron in Vancouver. If you watched a lot
of women's World Cup soccer, you may recognize the broadcast
area in the background!

I

Lower Dewey lake in Skagway, AK

Biking outside of Skagway

These Salsa gravel bikes were pretty rad!

Glacier Bay National Park

Snow on Mt. Roberts in Juneau, AK

Kayaking with brother Dan! That's his normal face

After getting back to Craftsbury on June 22nd, I had one hard week, and then a recovery week that included the BKL camp. We also rang in the 4th of July Craftsbury style (see pictures).

Cream cheese frosting and strawberries-- pure perfection

This happened...

After the 4th we had two solid hard weeks of training that ended yesterday with a wet and wild rollerski/mountain bike at Kingdom trails. I'm certainly ready for the some down time, some off-day waffles, and to take on the second BKL camp of the summer. Thanks for reading, check in later this summer for more updates!

Pretty friend time at Lake Champlain!

Noms. Noshes. Whatever you call them, get them.

Spring Adventuring

Thank goodness that at some point, skiers got together and made a sort of silent pact-- The month of April = off. After a long season spanning from November until late March, most people are pretty toasted coming off of spring series. I for one was counting down the kilometers, and finishing the 30k came with a sense of relief. I now had over a month with no organized training, no races, and all the time in the world! After coming down with a nasty sinus infection post- 30k, I finally started to get my energy back and get in some adventuring. During the summer and fall there's hardly any time to go camping, alpine skiing, or even stay out late. Luckily I was able to home base myself in Park City for the month of April (thanks Mom and Dad!) and have some good adventures mixed in with a lot of rest.

In retrospect, the last race at Spring Series + the party + 5 hours
driving to Utah + a Trampled by Turtles concert may not have
been the best idea. But it was still fun!

I was able to get down to Southern Utah 3 times, the first time
with my dad on a business trip. Getting back to the sandstone
and cliffs feels like coming home

Easter Sunday at La Caille. The last time I was
there was for senior prom!

After a week and a half in Utah spent decompressing, I had another big adventure planned- a NANA Nordic trip to Shungnak, Alaska, north of the Arctic circle. It was my first trip with NANA and one that I would repeat in a heartbeat! For those of you who aren't familiar with the NANA program, the goal is to bring skiing to remote native villages in Alaska as a mode of transport and recreation. It started off pretty small a few years ago, but now there are programs in all of the NANA region schools, and many more outside of that. NANA brings elite skiers, coaches, high school skiers, and even parents together, and let's them share the love of skiing with native kids. It's an awesome experience and a chance to give back to the ski community as well as create new ski communities! The school in Shungnak was so welcoming, the location was amazing in it's remote beauty, and the kids... man, it was awesome seeing kids so jazzed up about skiing every day, all day. I had a total blast and by the end of the week I was pretty much a zombie after teaching PE classes all day, running an after school program, getting in a few workouts of my own, and then playing basketball during every spare moment. I'll let the pictures show the rest...

The kids made signs to welcome us to the school- this one was
my favorite. No lack of confidence up in Shungnak. If you can't
read it- it says "Welcome NANA Nordic. Your awesome! However,
we are the best"

An Alaskan sunset around 10:30 pm

Susana, put on your poles!

Lots of falls as the kids began to get their feet under them

A rough and rowdy 1st Grade class

Myself and the other trip leaders spent an afternoon skiing to
the nearby town of Kobuk and then catching a ride back in the
snowmachines. I think we may have broken the record for skiing
from Shungnak to Kobuk. I was suffering :)

Everyone warned us about the middle schoolers, but they turned
out to be (one of) my favorite groups! They were all awesome
skiers and took us to their favorite spots around town

Goofing around before ski practice

Ashton hitting the jump

On our second to last day in Shungnak, we had a race on Main
St. for all the kids. Here's the start of the 1st-3rd graders

I loved this- in the melee of the mass start, Tiana loses her pole,
but she's all smiles. Then she takes off, passes everyone, and wins
the girl's race. Sportsmanship plus speed!

Being the pace car for the younger kid's race

Riding the dogsled behind a snowmachine- just another day
in Northern Alaska

Our group of coaches- Tyler Kornfield, myself, Cory Smith,
and Lydia Blanchet and the plane we left on

The town of Shungnak took pretty great care of us the whole time we were there. I don't know if I'll be able to make it up to NANA next spring, but I would definitely love to go back to Shungnak at some point to see the kids.

After returning from Alaska, I did a complete 180 turn with the weather and decided to shock my body with some more hot, dry desert time. My mom and I did a trip to St. George and adventured in Snow Canyon State Park, and then I did a longer camping trip with my dad, brother, and my brother's girlfriend in Escalante National Monument.

Standing on top of the world

Everything was blooming in the desert, making for lovely
contrasts between the arid landscape and the thriving desert life

Looking into Capitol Reef National Park from a long bike ride

Campsite location is always key- this one was pretty epic next
to the rocks and not far from a river

A perfect lunch spot while hiking Upper Muley Twist in Capitol
Reef- that's the Henry Mountains and the Kaiparowits Plateau in the distance

And just like that, I'm back in Craftsbury and easing into full training mode (yeah right, Pepa has us on the full steam ahead plan). We've had perfect weather in Vermont so far, which has waylaid my fears of the Craftsbury mud season. Time to take advantage of the miles of endless trails up here and get my butt back into gear!