Lake Placid US Ski Team Camp

We just finished up our annual USST training camp in Lake Placid, NY.  This camp usually takes place in the beginning of fall and as the leaves change and fall colors burst, we ramp up the intensity with lots of intervals and hard workouts in the beautiful Adirondack mountains.  This year the camp was a little earlier so we will still surrounded by green leaves and hot humid weather but we hit the intensity just as hard with a tough two weeks of training.  After spending most of the summer at home, it was nice for some new training grounds and partners.  We had a big group of ladies there including teammates from the US Ski Team, Craftsbury GRP, and US Biathlon as well as good friends from Stratton Mountain School, Team Gregg, and Sun Valley.  Highlights of the week for me included fast striding in a classic sprint time trial, reaching a new max heart rate in bounding intervals and summitting Mt. Marcy on an OD run with the group.  We stayed at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid and the dorm feel can be boring, it's great for recovery.  Rather than running around in the middle of the day working in the garden or on other projects like I often do, I was forced to stay off my feet and hang out in either my room or the cafeteria which to no big surprise is great for resting up between workouts.  But in order to maintain some level of mental sanity during a longer training block, I needed some non-training adventures and outings.  Fun OTC escapes were easy to find and included HoboFest in Saranac Lake , ice cream and coffee dates in town, playing Catch Phrase with my USST teammates, a joint XC and biathlon team dinner at Annelies Cook's house, grilling on the deck of Hannah Dreissigacker's apartment, and hanging out at nearby Mirror Lake.

A cool shot of the road one of our coaches took before a speed session!  There was a lot of new pavement on the roads around Lake Placid which made for some great rollerskiing

My lovely and matching roommate.  Without even trying, we ended up matching almost everyday.  Great minds think alike or maybe I'm just trying to copy Sophie's great style.

Ready, set, GO! The start of one of the heats in our sprint time trial.  You can spot me at the far end of the picture with my yellow Rudy Project helmet and red Alpina boots.  

For one of the first times ever, the ladies group was much larger than the guys group.  Here's the neon train double poling up a 1km steep hill that the coaches snuck into an easy double pole workout.  Girls getting STRONG!

Jessie and I skiing together during a continuous L3 workout on the rollerski loop.  We took turns leading every lap and learned from each others strengths.

The group at Avalanche Lake

Airborne! Sophie and I bounding up the hill during a speed workout! Taking turns following and leading while skiing with teammates, mimicking technique and tempo, pushes the borders of your comfort zone and is the easiest way to learn new tricks.

The summit of Mt. Marcy- the views were not spectacular but our stoke level was still high!

HoboFest was an awesome outdoor bluegrass festival in Saranac Lake.  Can you spot the tiny bassist?  He couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 years old but stole the show!

As always lots of FUN and laughs!