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!

Salen Sweden

Today is a well appreciated rest day halfway through our camp with the Swedes and we’re all enjoying the time to relax and recover from a few big days of training in Salen, Sweden.  The breakfast buffet, laundry, and some yoga are on the schedule for the morning and then this afternoon we will drive back to Torsby for the second half of our camp.  Tunnel skiing again tomorrow morning!

The first part of the camp has been AWESOME!  Our Swedish hosts have been wonderful and it has been lots of fun having new friends and training partners.  A year ago I would never have imagined myself feeling  comfortable enough to laugh and joke or run and ski alongside these girls, many of whom are my idols on the the World Cup circuit.  The training has been tough and exciting.  Every day has totaled between four and five hours and included a sprint race, intervals, double pole speeds, specific strength, and long runs in the mountains and bogs.  The training plan for the week looked very complicated (partly because it was written in Swedish) but there hasn’t been anything noticeably crazy or different between their training and what I’m used to.  Many of the workouts are exactly the same as what we do at home and these girls laugh and have just as much fun while training.  It’s just hours and hours of hard work!  Here are some pictures of the Salen portion of our camp.

Salen is the start of the Vasaloppet, a 90km ski race to Mora, Sweden. Salen is a small town but it's obvious that skiing is a big part of this community.

We stopped at the stadium on our way into town. It's a huge open field with enough space for the 40,000 competitors to toe the line.

We stayed in cabins in Lindvallen, a resort just outside of Salen. Gunde Svan spent many years training here. It's the perfect location in the mountains with rollerskiing and running out our front door.

Every day started with an awesome breakfast buffet with tons of options to keep us fueled through all the hours of training.

The camp started with an OD run in a bog on the top of the mountain. It was soft footing but with some rainy weather, there were lots of muddy feet and legs at the end!

There are lots of great roads for rollerskiing and all the cars are very tolerant to rollerskiers. Here Kikkan and Anna Hag lead a train of skiers.

Following different skiers and mimicking technique has been very helpful.

We had a skate sprint time trial and the local club skiers cheered us on. Check out the bike which they found in the bushes!

The Swedish coaches have been awesome and very welcoming to our team. They said we added "spice" to their camp

Another morning we ran across the mossy high tundra off the trails for a few hours. Running through knee deep vegetation is great for the legs!

Cloudberries for snacking! There were also little blueberries hidden in the bushes.

Lots of new Swedish friends!

Thanks Marwe for new rollerskis which are closely matched in speed to the Swedes' rollers!

Tunnel Skiing

Today was our second day in the Torsby Ski Tunnel in Sweden and I’m not sick of it yet!  The tunnel is a 1.3km loop which you ski in one direction, then turn and ski it in the other direction, and the entire thing probably takes about 10 minutes.  I expected it to be quite boring but it has been really fun so far.  It’s easy to pass time when you’re catching up with teammates whom you haven’t seen in several months and listening to the pop music which plays throughout the tunnel.  The skiing is also really nice.  The snow is manmade and groomed almost every day but only changed once annually.  It almost has the consistency of sand which sounds weird but its actually very fast and a welcomed change from the resistance of rollerski wheels.   

There is great terrain with some fast corners and transitions, a couple steeper climbs and several gradual sections.  The tunnel is refrigerated to -3 degrees Celsius and feels cold and humid especially when you first transition from the summertime weather outside.  I underdressed the first day because it felt absurd to bundle when the weather was so nice outside.  Yesterday afternoon we did a combo workout where we started skiing in long underwear, hats, and buffs, and finished with a run in shorts and sports bras.

Right now our US women’s team is staying in Sunne (we like to pronounce it Sunny), Sweden which is 35km from Torsby.  When we are not skiing we’ve passed the time watching the Olympics, enjoying picnic lunches and other great Scandinavian food (Brown cheese, fish paste, fresh bread, smoked salmon, berries), and kicking the jetlag before our joint camp with the Swedish National team.  After a ski tomorrow morning we will drive a couple hours north to Salen and the camp gets going tomorrow evening!

At the start of the tunnel. Its wide enough for 2-3 skate lanes and there is a classic track on either side. There is a small biathlon range to the left of this photo with a few targets.

Giant AC unit attached to the back of the building

This is where the building (entrance to the tunnel) is attached to the Ski tunnel. There is also a rollerski track on site which rolls over the tunnel!

It is somewhat camouflaged but you can still see where the tunnel snakes along the hillside.

The stadium in Torsby includes lit ski trails, a Ski Tunnel, a rollerski loop, a biathlon gym, athlete dorms and cabins, indoor and outdoor gyms, and soccer fields; all of which receive lots of use. What a Nordic culture!

Outdoor gyms are quite common in Sweden and I have already seen a couple including one at our hotel. I've got a few ideas to bring back to our own "Monkey gym."