Classic Speeds in Bend

We have a huge North American training group together this week in Bend.  It’s a lot of fun to see so many familiar faces in the summer time and also to train with athletes who we often only see at races.  Yesterday everyone did a classic speed session and there were skiers from the US Ski Team, US Biathlon Team, Canadian Ski Team and Canadian Biathlon Team, Craftsbury, APU, XC Oregon, Sun Valley, Alberta World Cup Academy, CXC, Steamboat Springs WSC, Team Homegrown,  and MWSC were all out there sprinting in some sloppy and slushy conditions.  Having so many skiers out there pushing each other is truly invaluable!

Here is a video of the workout thanks to Bryan Fish.  You can play Where’s Waldo to find me in the group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=oOSzeJwiKIs

Here are some pictures taken by Matt Whitcomb

Part of the women's group skiing easy between speeds

Suz and I during a speed

Tim leading Erik Bjornson

Trying to keep up with Kikkan and Chandra

PPP Madness

I started the first training camp of the year with serious race anxiety.  My stomach was in knots, I was overly jittery from consuming too much coffee, and I was just trying to stay relaxed.  It felt like the World Championships and my life was on the line at the same time because in a way it kind of was.  We were starting our US Ski Team Bend camp with the Pole Pedal Paddle; a race combining five sports (alpine, Nordic, road bike, run, kayak, and run) during six legs.  The women’s team was competing in two teams so we would each race two legs.  I was teamed up with Holly and Liz while Kikkan, Sadie, and Jessie made up the other USST women’s team.  My nerves were out of control because I was starting the race for our team with a mass start alpine run.  The last time I had alpine skied was at least three years ago and this course description featured huge ruts, giant corners that could launch you into the woods, and other aggressive racers ready to take you out.  After that I would be doing a downhill bike race with sections where it was possible to reach 65+mph!  Fortunately Liz dressed me up in a ridiculous looking alpine outfit making it impossible to take anything too seriously, the sun was shining brightly, and I was ready to step out of my comfort zone and have some fun.

And about two seconds after stepping into my alpine skis and checking out the scene and I started having a blast.  It was an awesome race and an extremely chill atmosphere.  Kikkan and I started the alpine leg in the Open women’s team wave of 40 or 50 teams including quite a few middle aged women and  lots of costumes.  One look around the start line gave me confidence that I wasn’t going to get knocked out by a competitor.  The course was  a lot more relaxed and the crazy turns never appeared.  About halfway through the run I remembered how to alpine ski and my biggest regret that I was too timid, especially after I heard that Kikkan beat me by almost thirty seconds in a two or three minute run…oops!  I tagged Holly who skied a 6km Nordic leg and took the biggest crash of the day with a face plant into woods after trying to dodge some carnage on a 180 degree corner.  Holly tagged me and I biked 26 miles from Mt. Bachelor into Bend.  We lost 3000′ of elevation during the ride but it was a very hard race and a real leg burner.  I got passed by a couple intense looking racers on TT bikes but I was mostly passing people riding all kinds of different bicycles.  My favorites included the guy on the full suspension mountain bike towing a child carrier and the two ladies wearing hot pink tutus and rocking a tandem cruiser.  When I reached town I tagged Liz who ran the 6mile running leg.  She got a bit off course, though, and ended up running at least 7.5 miles.  Liz tagged Holly who kayaked a very very tippy boat and did an awesome job staying dry.  She flipped during both of the practice sessions with the boat but the third time was a charm and she killed it in the race.  Holly tagged Liz back who quickly recovered and ran an 800meter sprint to the finish.  It was an exciting race and a really fun team event to kick off the new training year.  Thanks to Rebound PT of Bend for sponsoring our teams!  Here are some pictures from the race thanks to the coaches.  Check out the USSA Nordic facebook page for more pictures from the PPP and our camp.

Feeling like a pro alpine racer in my bike helmet, sunglasses, and Liz's GS suit from her junior alpine days

Quite the atmosphere with all levels of competitors, from Kris Freeman who won the individual race to this guy who is having a little trouble with the fence.

Sadie heading out on the Nordic leg

Kikkan hammering on the bike

Liz finishing her extra long running race

Matt and I helped launch Holly for the kayak which turned into a nice ice bath for my sore legs

Post race nap

Lillehammer

I said my goodbyes to Muonio and traveled to Norway yesterday.  While it was great to be able to do a big block of training on snow before the seasons started, after three weeks in Muonio, the darkness was setting in, and I was ready for a change of scenery.

Sunset in Muonio.  This picture was taken before 3pm.

The first World Cups of the season are this weekend in Sjusjoen, Norway.  There is not any snow here either so we will be racing on another short manmade loop of snow.  The organizing committee is doing everything they can to protect the snow so the loop is closed until the races with the exception of a three hour inspection period tomorrow.  Since there isn't any skiing here today the US team decided to stay as long as possible at the ski tunnel in Torsby, Sweden, where they are currently training and will not be arriving to Norway until later tonight.  I already had a ticket booked for yesterday and since I skied many kilometers around the track in Muonio, I knew it would be alright to have a day off from skiing and I was excited for a solo day in Lillehammer, where our team is staying for the weekend.


After eating as much delicious breakfast at the hotel buffet as I could hold this morning (soft boiled eggs, toast, brown cheese, yogurt, keifer, cereal, smoked salmon, pickled herring, crepes, and more!!) I was ready to go for a run.  By this time it was fully light outside and the sun was up and shining brightly OVER the hills.  I asked the lady at the front desk if there were running or ski trails nearby and she replied, "Of course, everywhere."  Stupid question, this is Norway.  I left the hotel, picked a random direction and didn't run more than a few hundred meters before I came across a single track path.


The trail headed uphill away from town and paralleled a rocky brook.  After being in Muonio, it felt so hilly here!  It was cold outside with a thick layer of frost but still no snow.

This pool looks a little too cold for an ice bath

It at least looks wintery

Which direction to choose?  I think I'll save Sjusjoen until tomorrow

Looking down over Lillehammer from above

I followed signs to Olympiaparken, site of the 1994 Olympics.  The building on the right is now NTG Lillehammer, one of Norway's ski academies.

They were blowing snow in the stadium and I made some fresh tracks (footprints I guess) through the "powder."

From Olympiaparken I followed signs to Sentrum and soon popped out in the center of town.  The main street was very touristy with shops, cafes, and restaurants.  There were a few vendors selling waffles which smelled delicious.

Normally I would feel weird running with poles and wearing spandex in a city center but it felt oddly normal here.

A park in town

A church I had glimpsed from above and wanted to check out.  

My camera batteries died at this point but it was also time to head back to the hotel.  

Racing gets going on Saturday with a 10km skate! 

C'mon winter

The warm weather in Muonio has continued and it feels a lot like April in Vermont.  The forecast had called for a fair amount of snow the past two days here but then the temperatures were a few degrees too warm and the precipitation came as rain.  Luckily they spread the manmade and saved snow thickly and it is holding up quite well.  The skiing remains solid even though it hasn’t even froze at night for the past few days, preventing any more snow from being blown.  Thus, each day the white ribbon of a trail develops a bit more of a brownish hue.

Reports from around Europe and especially Scandinavia make us feel quite lucky to have our 3km loop.  With incredibly few options for skiing anywhere on the continent, more and more skiers are travelling to Muonio in search of snow and ski races.  The Czech and Belarussian national teams are the latest arrivals and we’ve heard that the Germans, Swedes, and others are on the way.  Each day Muonio becomes a little busier.  The ski trail is packed and we were even throwing elbows in Muonio’s small gym yesterday afternoon.   On distance days I’ve realized it’s easiest to just  ski my own pace and not worry about all the people around me.  If someone wants to pass me, I keep going and let them go around and then do the same when passing other skiers.  It’s easy to get intimidated and jump out of the way for every approaching skier but that just makes for a lot of stopping and starting.

Intervals on the busy trail become exciting and great practice for skiing in a pack.  Today we did some 2 minute hard classic intervals in the rain and right in the thick of the crowds.  We lucked out and the majority of people were skating today leaving the classic track a little more free for us.  Still, there was lots of passing and jumping in and out of the track necessary.  In the middle of one of my intervals, I was gaining quickly on another classic skier in the track ahead of me, another guy doing skating intervals was passing me and meanwhile we were all converging on a train of four Russian biathletes skiing distance with their guns.  The skater doing intervals and classic skier tangled and went down, one of the biathletes let out a surprised and high pitched scream while another yelled something loudly in Russian and by sheer luck I was able to scoot around the mess to the far right being careful to not fall off the raised ribbon of ski trail.

Here are some pictures Hannah took of our rainy, hard, but fun workout.  When winter does arrive, the hard extra blue tracks are going to seem just a bit too easy!

Ida

Tim

Pepa on the side of the trail

A Walk around Muonio

As Nordic ski racers, we are incredibly lucky and spend many months of the year travelling around the world, training and racing in faraway lands.  Most of the winter is spent living out of a suitcase and moving from place to place.  But with the focus centered squarely on racing fast, training and resting takes the priority over sightseeing on these trips.  It’s easy to get into the habit of seeing the only ski centers, hotels, and their connecting roads at each race location.  Visiting other places in the local area is often overlooked in favor of time off our feet, letting tired muscles recover.  However most times, these outings become refreshing breaks from the normal rigors and routine of training.  I promised my brother that I would take pictures of all the towns that I visit while travelling this season and I think I will be able to thank Eben for helping me get the full experience of this winter’s travels.

Yesterday afternoon I went for a long walk around the town of Muonio.  With warm temperatures and a sunny sky, it was hard not to go outside.  I didn’t even need my puffy coat and my biggest regret was forgetting to wear sunglasses!

The red area on the map shows the province of Munio which was established in 1575 and has a current population of around 2500 people. We are staying in the town of Muonio in this province and it's about 300km north of the Arctic circle and a couple of kilometers from the Swedish border.

Here are the Lomamaja Pekonen cabins, our home in Muonio. We are staying in the cabins on either side of the cars which happen to be the exact same cabins we rented last year.

One street that goes through town

And the other street in town

A very bright sun for northern Scandinavia. I boosted my immune system today with a healthy dose of Vitamin D.

This is the church that overlooks the town. There is a cemetery behind it that has candles next to each grave and makes for a neat after dark.

S-Market is one of two grocery stores in town. The other option, Kmarket, is somewhat visible in the background. Groceries are somewhat limited at this latitude so we've eaten a lot of meat, potatoes, beets, and other root vegetables. I was very surprised to see Ben&Jerry's ice cream in one of the stores here, but at alsmost 7Euro/ pint, it's a bit out of our budget.

The sport store in town caters almost exclusively to Nordic skiing, Nordic walking, and snowmobiling.

There is a wide river flowing through town with marshy sections like this one which is across the road from our cabins. There are also a lot of lakes in the area.

The ski area, Olos, is at the base of this hill. If you look closely you can see the big windmills that spin over our heads while we ski.

Reindeer Sightings

Last year in Mounio the warmest wax we used was in the blue range so this year’s packing list lacked many of the warmer waxes so the unseasonably warm weather here has quickly drained our small supply.  The ski shop in town is also not accustomed to stocking a lot of warm waxes at this time of the year and have been sold out all week.  Today Pepa, Clare, Hannah, and I drove to Levi, the nearest alpine ski area, approximately 60km to the south, in search of klister.  We were somewhat unsuccessful in this regard but were able to find Finnish souvenirs, a great coffee shop, and lots of reindeer!

Not long into the drive we saw the first few reindeer and immediately pulled over.

We got out of the car and Pepa eagerly chased after the reindeer hoping to get close enough for a good picture.

But we were a little too aggressive and scared them away

If only we had a bit more extra room in our luggage for the trip home...

More reindeer on the way home

We were those tourists that stop in the middle of the road and take animal pictures

Pepa really wanted a picture with one of reindeer but my photography skills aren't great. You can kind of see a reindeer butt in the trees behind her.