And winter begins...

With a little snow on the ground, really good skiing, and temperatures in the 20s or colder, it doesn’t feel like October in Canmore.  The Nordic center Camore saves snow from the previous winter and rolls it out in the middle of October every year for “Frozen Thunder.”  Our first day here it was warm and the skiing was a little slushy and rocky but then the temperatures dropped and the snow began to fall and the conditions have been great ever since.  We have even been skiing on hardwax which is not normally to be expected in October!  There is only a 2km loop of skiing so we end up doing a lot of laps but the terrain is fun and its nice to be back on snow.  It reminds me a bit of Muonio, Finland last year except with fewer people, prettier views, and a lot less dark!  So far the training has mostly just been distance with a focus on technique but we also did a 10km TT and we have a sprint race with the Canadians in a couple days. We're off for an afternoon ski and the rumor is that they've changed the direction of skiing today.  It's going to feel like a whole new loop!  Here are some pictures from the week so far!

We're staying in some cozy apartments in the Rocky Mountain Ski Lodge. It's a great location at the edge of town and across the road from an awesome coffee shop but the small kitchenettes make cooking team dinners for our hungry team a creative process.

This is the view from our deck! The Canadian Rockies are amazing!

Kris Freeman, Noah Hoffman, and Andy Newell during a distance classic ski.

Tad Elliott and Jason Cork skating with the mountains looming behind them. Watch out for the black and yellow this winter! (Noah Hoffman photo)

Looks like winter! (USSA photo)

The snow guns are blowing on the World Cup courses so my fingers are crossed for some more terrain opening sometime soon! (Noah Hoffman photo)

Yesterday morning for our OD workout we skied for a couple hours on the loop and then switched to running shoes and ran to Banff National Park. It was about an hour and a half run on ski trails and then single track trails with a few inches of powder on the ground.

Here is the group about a half hour away from Banff. The coaches picked us up in Banff and we walked around the town and warmed up with a warm lunch at a cafe in town.

Canmore is home of my great friend Chandra Crawford who has been showing us around the area while we are not training. She also has an awesome house in town with a normal kitchen and a very comfy couch so we've spent quite a bit of time relaxing at her pad! (Noah Hoffman photo)

Park City Camp

I spent the last 10 days in Park City Utah for testing and an altitude camp.  After some wet weather at home, it was great to arrive in the arid west and see the sun!  The town of Park City is around 7000′ but we stayed in a condo near the top of Guardsman Pass so we were sleeping at 8500′ for extra altitude effects.

The view from the deck of our condo.

I wasn't expecting to see foliage here but the yellows leaves were really pretty

The camp started with lots of testing at USSA’s Center of Excellence.  We did VO2max tests on the rollerski treadmill, strength tests, mobility tests, blood tests, and body composition tests.  So after a couple days of feeling caged up like a lab rat, I was very excited to head outside for training with the rest of the USST as well as great friends from SMS and APU.  The rest of the camp involved lots of rollerskiing, running, and bounding on the roads and trails around Park City including a 3+ hour point to point run on the Mid Mountain Trail

Liz and Holly running on the Round Valley trails

We did a couple of intensity sessions on the rollerski track at Soldier Hollow including classic speeds and skate threshold intervals. It was fun skiing fast in a big group.

This camp was the first time that our entire team was together since the Bend camp in May. Unfortunately with some injuries plaguing the team, we weren't able to train together for every session but everyone was working hard all the time. Here are Sadie and Kikkan aqua jogging in the COE pool.

After a week and a half in Park City, we headed north to Canmore, Alberta for Frozen Thunder.  The Canmore Nordic Center saved snow from last winter and rolled it out last week for a 2km ski trail and some of the earliest skiing in North America.  We’ve spent the last couple days skiing hot laps around the manmade loop and then today it started to snow!  The ground is fully white and we are off to make some fresh tracks through the powder!

NNF Drive for 25

The National Nordic Foundation is totally committed to the development of Nordic skiers in the United States.  Every year they raise thousands of dollars and distribute these funds to rising athletes and other development projects.  This support fills the gaps making it possible to gain international experience necessary for success in this sport.  I personally have received funding from NNF for the J1 Scandinavian Cup trips, World Junior Championships, U23 World Championships, World Championships, World Cup racing, and most recently for our joint US and Sweden training camp in Sweden.

NNF has organized the Drive for 25 with the goal for our nation's Nordic skiers, fans, and enthusiasts to come together on November 15th and collectively support cross-country development on this day.  Please check out the following link for more information about the project and how you can help.  Thank you very much for your support!

http://grouprev.com/idasargent#.UHXb8NOktfw.facebook

Roll Run Row

Rollerski from the bridge on North Craftsbury Road to Mill Village, run back to the center, and then row to the narrows and back.  That was course for this year's Roll Run Row triathlon between the Craftsbury GRP skiers and rowers.  A lot of smack talk happened leading up to the event and the triathlon was mentioned in nearly every mealtime conversation.  But I think all the hype was worth it.  I had a few close calls including a fall on the dock and a near swim after some no hands rowing but in the end my biggest trouble was debilitating forearm cramps during the second half of the row.  Check out this video for footage from the racing action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLax9TEk0lE&feature=plcp

Craftsbury GRP rowing coach Dan gives a dock talk before the race

Shoes in the transition area

Pepa gives a rollerski lesson before the start

The start

The pack strung out quickly

Heading out for the row

Alex several strokes into the row

Kyle Lafferty, this year's Roll Run Row World Champion

High School Nordic Clinic

Last weekend as part of our Oktoberfest weekend at Craftsbury, the Green Racing Project hosted a high school dryland Nordic clinic.  While we didn't have huge numbers outside of our own Craftsbury juniors, it was still great to meet some athletes from North Country Union HS and BFA Fairfax HS.  The rain held off and we spent the afternoon bouding, grass skiing, and trying some agility exercises and strength circuits.  Susan Dunklee and I finished the clinic with a slideshow of pictures from last winter's World Cup Biathlon and Nordic seasons.  Here are a couple pictures from the afternoon.

Grass skiing

Matt Lawlor rocking the single leg jumps

Side to side jumpies

Fall Foliage

Fall is one of my favorite times of the years.  Colorful leaves, the last garden harvests with pumpkins, squash, and apples galore, and that frosty chill in the air which is an exciting harbinger of the upcoming winter.  This year we had a very dry summer and early autumn and this nice weather became the gift which kept on giving with awesome fall foliage.  Here are some pictures of the fall leaves around Craftsbury.

A rainbow of leaves

A neon tree which Caitlin and I marveled at while rollerskiing on the Creek Rd. in East Albany

The treeline next to our favorite bounding and grass skiing hill

The view from our parking lot at Elinor's

I think the new windmills are enhancing the fall panoramas. Here you can kind of see the turbines in the distance.

Lots of reds and oranges

Jay Peak

It's past peak now but that only highlights the trees which continue to shine

And now that the leaves are falling, it's time to start our snow dances. The first snow of the year left 

With the peak of foliage over, I headed west to Park City for an altitude training camp with the US Ski team.  There are some yellow birch trees here but the colors are nowhere near as vibrant.  On the upside, the drier climate  means lots of sunny weather and my vitamin D stores are feeling happily replenished.  Check back soon for updates from Utah.

Thanks for reading and happy fall!