Olympic Reflections

After a whirlwind three weeks, the Olympics are over.  The finish lines have all been crossed, the medals spread out to nations around the world, the fireworks which blasted over the stadium during closing ceremonies leaving those of us inside with the feeling of being in a war zone have ended, and the Olympic flame was extinguished.  For many of us, though, the racing has continued and there has barely been a moment to catch our breath and recover from the excitement, adrenaline, emotion, and action.  Finding time to reflect on this big moment has been hard as we immediately jumped back into the World Cup season and are continuing racing in Scandinavia. This continuation of movement had reaffirmed to me that the Olympics was not a destination or an endpoint but rather an amazing stop along this incredible journey.  I left Sochi with more excitement than I brought with me and treasure the memories from these Olympic Games.

It was a rollercoaster Olympics with the full spectrum of emotions and sensations.  From the extreme heat in the 10km classic race to the bone chilling cold of the airport terminal in the middle of the night for our Sochi departure, I felt it all.  But the emotion that resonated the strongest and the one that propels me forward with new beliefs, goals, and insight, is inspiration.  Inspiration from the complete exhaustion that I felt racing over the top of the last hill after having pushed harder than I ever thought possible.  Inspiration from watching Sophie smoothly ski into the final in the sprint.  Inspiration from being so nervous that I could barely talk before the first race.  Inspiration from the pride of being apart of team USA as we walked into the opening ceremonies dressed in our over the top flag sweaters.  Inspiration from the sound of the stadium during this unforgettable march.  Inspiration for watching medals hung around the necks of fellow athletes.  Inspiration from the disappointment of standing on the sidelines in events which I believed I could do my best.  Inspiration from cheering myself hoarse for teammates as they put their all into the snow, slush, and ice.  Inspiration from the never ending smiles from the friendly, helpful, and colorfully clad volunteers who made this event possible. Inspiration from the peace which prevailed through the Games despite warnings of violence and threat.  Inspiration from the support I received from so many caring friends and family at home.  

Thank you to all who supported me along the way and made this unbelievable experience possible. 

Olympic Stadium panorama

The Endurance Village

The village under a full moon

Rings and mountains: What a backdrop

Susan, Hannah, and I in the rings

The chalets where we stayed

Team training before the sprint

Sprint heats

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Go USA! Relay cheering

Buddies

Biathlon racing

Not just sunny weather

Palm trees in the Coastal Village

The torch!

Holding up the flame

Burkies in front of the Black Sea before closing ceremonies

Closing Ceremonies

Craftsbury in the front row

Let the Games Begin

For a long time, I've tried to imagine what it would feel like to walk with Team USA into an opening ceremonies, to conjure in my mind the sights, sounds, and emotions that I would feel.  Finally two nights ago, I had that chance and the experience blew away any hopes or expectations.  Even with the tightest and itchiest turtleneck around my neck, the goosebumps were chilling.  I still have not found the words to describe the how unbelievable it was but I will cherish the memories of holding on to my teammates Sophie and Jessie as the three of us screamed, jumped, danced, and laughed in a burst of happiness, shock, excitement, elation, tears and more.  Even a sweater that we once considered laughable has now become my favorite piece of apparel.  Without any knowledge of the Russian alphabet, we couldn't understand the order in which the countries marched which just added to the excitement watching each new country emerge into the special stadium which was designed specifically for these ceremonies, and then join the other countries, adding to the cheering and energy filling the space.  "Hot Cool Yours! Hot Cool Yours," the motto of these games rang loud and clear, chanted in unison as the lights flashed and music blared, bringing everyone together.  And when the Russians walked out the sound of the cheering was deafening, and my excitement and joy reached a new level.  The 2014 Games are less than 48 hours old but it has already been an indescribable experience.  I feel very lucky to be in Sochi with my teammates and coaches and to have such wonderful support from friends and family at home. And most importantly, I am very excited to compete for Team USA and officially become an Olympian.  My racing starts this week on Tuesday with the freestyle sprint and then again on Thursday with the 10km Classic.

Sophie, Randy, and I with the rings in the stadium

Perfect ski conditions every day so far!

USA Nordic team dressed up before we left the Endurance Village for the Opening Ceremonies

Team USA athletes showing their skills while we waited for the ceremonies to begin.

Inside the stadium

Team Jamaica entering the stadium

Russia enters under thunderous applause

A little TV time on NBC!  It was so fun to hear from everyone who was watching from home.

The outpouring of community support has been unbelievable.  Thank you all!

Looking forward to these next couple weeks of racing with this incredible team!

Craftsbury training camp in Italy

GRP Girls skiing together in Italy!

After the last World Cups in the Czech Republic and Poland, the US Ski Team travelled to Seiser Alm, Italy for a pre-Olympic training camp.  Seiser Alm sits above 2000 meters and after a long training block at altitude over Christmas, I wanted to be at a lower altitude to get speedy and quick, peaking for the Olympics!  So I headed separate ways from the team and headed to Toblach, Italy for a Craftsbury training camp in Europe.  Pepa flew to Toblach to coach me during this time and it has been incredible to have her here for the past eight days.  She's leaving tomorrow and I will be sad to see her go but excited by the progress that I have made.  Half training camp and half vacation it has been the perfect for me both mentally and physically.  On the ski trails we put in the hard work focusing intensely on technique work, hard intervals, and fast skiing.  The afternoons and evenings have been the relaxing vacation time and the mental break as we spend the time drinking coffee, eating delicious Italian food, and soaking in the sunny mountain scenery.  Liz Guiney was here preparing for the Under 23 World Championships so it was awesome to have a GRP training buddy.  Hannah Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee were competing in biathlon World Cups in Antholz, Italy which is about 40 minutes away and Dick and Judy came over to watch the races so the Craftsbury presence made it feel like home!

Pepa has her Ipad out at every session.  Seeing the video while I ski allows me to make changes quickly.  Here I am working on my V1 in skate speeds.  

Craftsbury reunion in Italy!  We enjoyed a perfect day of skiing and lunch in the sun together.

Mountains and the church in the center of town

GRP girls together in Italy!  So fun to spend time with Susan, Liz, and Han and just missing Clare and Caitlin!

Today's lunch!

Intervals in the sun on my birthday in my "birthday suit" courtesy of the USST ladies and Annie Pokorny.  I got some crazy looks especially when I face planted on the last interval

Very chocolaty birthday cake!  This was actually one of two cakes because our hotel wanted to make sure we had enough!  We have definitely been eating well here!

I usually don't see Pepa for the entire winter so this week has been a real treat!

This weekend I will be racing in to World Cups in Toblach and then headed to Sochi early next week!  So excited for what is to come!  Thanks for all the cheers and support!  

Czech and Poland

After a training block over Christmas I got back into the racing mode with two weekends of World Cups in the Czech Republic and Poland.  It is so fun to be racing again and with each race start, each sprint round, each hill and kilometer that I ski, I'm feeling better and better so I'm very excited with what is to come!  It was a slow start with a horrendous sprint qualifier in the Czech Republic but then everything went up from there.  Sophie and I improved our classic team sprint result moving up from 8th in Asiago in December to 6th in Nove Mesto.  Then in Poland we had five US ladies in the top 15 of the freestyle sprint!  13th was my best skate sprint this season so I'm psyched with that improvement.  Then on Sunday I had my first top 10 distance result finishing 9th in the 10km classic mass start!  The best part was that my parents were there to see it.  They made a quick trip to Poland but their hugs and cheers were exactly what I needed after a bout of homesickness had set in.  Their support is incredible and I loved spending time with them in the middle of the winter.  Here are some pictures of the weekend.

The girls team walking around Nove Mesto, Czech

A church in the town square

Thing 1 and Thing 2 ready for the Classic team sprint.

We have an awesome team of techs, coaches, and athletes working hard, cheering each other on, and having fun racing on the World Cup together

A stop on our drive from Nove Mesto to Poland.  Without a map or a GPS and we had a few wrong turns but it added to the adventure

So incredible to have my favorite cheers on the World Cup with me

Not much snow in Poland

Head down and focused before the start of the sprint

Racing with some Russians, a German, and a Swiss skier

Go Team USA!

Justyna will always be queen in Poland