Season End

It is official, the 2012-2013 season is over. The last period of this season has certainly been giving me a run for my money. Starting around the end of february, beginning of march; two things start happening. You begin getting more and more tired, and somehow races begin getting more and more packed in there. After my little mini tour in Italy, I knew this last series of racing in California was going to be tough.

Truckee Spring Series turned out to be incredibly fun. After all the worry of racing at 7000 feet, the lack of snow, the hard racing schedule, and the extra warm temperatures- it turned out to be tons of fun! The organizers did an incredible job of putting everything together including lots of social events, lots of extra challenging courses, and of course great weather. 

Our Fast and Female event from the beginning of the week.

Macbeth Photo

Macbeth Photos

Awesome Fast and Female Video Skyler Mullings made:

Supertour Series started out with 3 straight days of racing. A skate prologue, a distance classic, and then a classic sprint. After completing these three days, I was skeptical of what energy I had left in the tank. All three races I managed to make it to the podium- which left me starting the final day of the series in 2nd overall headed up the alpine hill. In my recent past, I don't have a history of being the fastest skier racing up the alpine slope. But this year, I was determine to improve on my past three years of hill climbing where I generally end somewhere in between 20th-30th place. 

Macbeth Photo

Classic Sprint Podium

10k Classic Podium

What this meant was that I woke up on day four of racing with a goal of holding my podium position for the overall mini tour. This would mean that I could only allow one person to pass me. With Liz Stephan starting a minute behind me, I was sure the second best climber in the world was going to pass me; but I just wasn't quite sure WHERE. So I put my Clydesdale stature to work and just took on the pain cave. The hill climb is a unique event in our sport. Fortunately we only do it once or twice a year; but it is by far the most painful experience of the year! You have to just put your head down and block our every feeling and thought from your mind. Unlike hiking or skinning where you can just get in a rhythm and go; skate skiing up an alpine slope is just tough! Shifting between coaches skating, V1'ing and an occasional double pole as you weave around the gates- up, up, and away- your mind is screaming nothing but "help me"!! To make this event even more exciting then ever; mother nature decided to take us for a little adventure. When we woke up to colder temperatures the morning of the hill climb, little did I know what was going on only a couple hundred feet above us. As we weaved our way up the slope, the wind started picking up stronger and stronger. By the top we were in a full on blizzard with gusts of 75mph. I felt like I was trying to summit Everest! In fact, at the finish line, one of the volunteers felt the need to actually hold on to Liz to keep her from flying away in the wind. It was wild!! Not only was it the most difficult hill climb I had ever participated in; but it was some of the most extreme weather I had ever been in as well. 

Macbeth Photos- climbing to the top!

Congrats to Kikkan and Erik B for winning the overall series!! Erik giving some kisses.

So, when I crossed the finish line still in third position; I collapsed in pure pain and glee! That is surely one ski race I will never forget. As I gathered myself and all my limbs, I stumbled down the mountain. When I came to the realization that I was purely exhausted, but still had one more race, a 30 kilometer race, I tried to trick my brain into finding a way to recover.

Skyler made another great video from the hill climb:

With one day off to recover from the SuperTour Mini Series, I went into the final race of the season, the 30 kilometer National Championships ready to just drain every last bit of my tank. It was clear my "check fuel" light was on- but I was going to go as long as I could. For 30 kilometers I fought through 5 inch slush, 55 degree weather, and a world of hurt to finish my final race of the season in 8th. Weww, what a year!

Finishing my season! Pure exhaustion.

This year has been a considerable step up. After spending nearly 90% of my summer training hours either on a bike or in the pool running- I wouldn't have dreamt of some of the things that have happened this year. I managed to increase my amount of racing by 40%, I won two new National Titles, I got my first top 20 and my first top 10 on the World Cup, AND my teammates and I came within striking distance of winning a team medal at World Championships. 

This has been an incredible year not only for me, but for the entire team. The American Team has put their fighting gloves on. We are determine as ever, and now we have some confidence to build through the summer leading into the Olympics. 

I just want to take the time to say thanks!

Thank you to everyone that helped me get through this tough summer plagued by injuries. The endless words of encouragement and positive vibes were so important! Thank you to all my coaches and teammates for working together all season, pushing each other, encouraging each other, and supporting each other. Thanks to my friends and family that came to watch so much racing this year. It was so fun to have familiar voices and faces at so many races throughout the season. Thanks to all my sponsors and supporters. Thanks for believing in me and my teammates enough to support our dreams! I am incredibly lucky; and I have you all to thank!

My family got to come to many of the races this year!

Thanks to Lauri and Karl for coming to cheer! Turns out Lauri is my second cousin once removed!!

And finally, thanks to APUNSC! This is an incredible club, and it is incredible to see how much success it has been able to breed. We just recently won the NNF Cup, which is the awarded to the team with the strongest performance at the National Level throughout the entire season. This is the first year our club has won it, but I think it is a huge sign of development and what our team has built. I am lucky to be a part of such an incredible force!

APUNSC team with the NNF cup

For now, I am off to Florida for some much needed rest and recovery. This is one of the most tired I have ended a season before, so I want to be sure to be fully rested for this next important year leading into the Olympics. By forcing myself to lie on the beach; I won't have all the "snow temptations" that I would have in Anchorage. What this means is that for the next ten days I get to spend some time getting to know my boyfriends family before going on to visit my side of the family. It is going to be so nice to catch up with all my family members that I haven't seen in a few years now!

Until then- happy spring to everyone, and thanks so much for the endless support and cheers throughout the season. It has meant to world to share with all of you!

Tour de Sadie

I can't think of any better way to describe my last two weeks other than "Tour de Sadie". After having a little more relaxing period for World Champs- I got back to racing with a bang. Starting with the World Cup's in Lahti, Finland.

Last year I had one of my best races of the year in the pursuit race in Lahti. At that point that meant coming in 31st... the closest to the points I had ever been. So, this year I went into the weekend with confidence. After having a less than successful experience at World Champs, I was determine to prove to myself I was in better form. I could feel my shape was there, but I knew that things needed to line up better in order to have the day I was capable of.

The first race was the skate sprint. After a 13th place qualifier in one of the most stacked fields I had raced against this season, I knew that I was in a good place. As I walked out to the my first quarterfinal heat, I took a look around me. To my largest fear, every person I would be starting my heat with had won a World Cup medal. Thank god to the immediate encouragement from my coach, Matt Whitcomb, I released my fear into the back of my mind. This year I have had many strong qualifiers, but not once had I finished that day feeling like I skied my quarterfinal to the best of my abilities. So today, I was going to lay it out there. This would mean laying it out there standing beside none other than Marit Bjoergen, Kowalczyk, and Anne Kylloenen. Standing on the line I started to believe in myself, not allowing the intimidation to get to me. After advancing as lucky loser into the semi's, I made a small tactical mistake in my semi's, and narrowly missed moving on to the finals. But what this meant was that I finished my day in 9th- not only my first top 10, but my first top 20! And this was just the motivation and confidence that I needed.

A video of QuarterFinals

Chasing down Kikkan in the Semi-Finals (Salomon Photo)

Enjoying some time in the leaders chair after the 10km

The following day we had a 10k classic, and again I had a PR, finishing 18th. With little time to soak it in, we jumped on a plane and travelled to Norway where we had a midweek sprint in the city of Drammen on Wednesday. Last year this was my last World Cup Race of the season, and also the first time I had ever made points. So, I went into these races with some confidence from the previous year. Qualifying in 26th, I was determine to move up through the field. Drammen has a unique atmosphere with the fans packing the streets screaming and pushing you on, making it extra fun. Unfortunately, I struggled to get my skis to work throughout the course, crossing the line and moving back to 30th place. While a little disappointed, I couldn't be for too long... because I would be racing three more times in the next four days.

Ran into Pete Kling up at Holmenkollen during my race prep.

Sophie and I having some fun in Oslo

Sophie, Rosie and I enjoying the ocean on our pre-race run!

So, thursday morning I woke up early and jumped on the air plane from Oslo to Innsbruck where I began my adventure through the public bus system and train stations with my skis and duffle. 12 hours later I arrived in Dobiacco for OPA Cup Finals and tried to prepare myself for the next race early the following morning. I knew this travel was not going to be ideal, but with this mini tour being at the end of the season, I was willing to put myself into the "hurt zone" a bit. I also really enjoying ending my European season with both a different group of people, and a different challenge. Winning on the day is possible, so instantly your mind frame goes in a different place.

A new group of people and our awesome waiter in Dobiacco (Lauren Fritz photo)

Bryan Fish photo

Many thanks NNF for making this awesome trip happen!

The three day tour certainly took on a new challenge. When warming up becomes a challenge, you have to dig to new levels during racing. Throughout the three days I finished both 3rd, 2nd and even won one race... which put me in second for the combined mini-tour effort. With 6 races in 9 days in 3 separate countries- I crossed the line in the final race exhausted and exerting every last drop of energy! I had completed my very own Tour de Ski. Some rest and recovery was in store!!

Standing on the top of the podium for the first time in an OPA race. (Lauren Fritz photo)

My huge chunk of meat I won!

So now with a little over two weeks until our finals series of races in California, I am spending a little recovery time in France with my boyfriend. I am trying to break up the usual training and get some "downhill" time in. It also means some time to catch up in school, catch up in emails, and catch up in life in general!

Pete, Erik and I on top of Meribel

enjoying some fresh powder

getting some uphill training as well, of course!

Enjoying some powder!

Every good day ends with some Hot Chocolate for Erik!

One more week of rest and then it's the home stretch. Five more races; A prologue, a distance race, a sprint race, a hill climb up the alpine slope, and then a 30k classic. The finish line is in sight!

Hiking up into the sunset!

Val di Fiemme

I am just finishing up my week of Championships here in Val di Fiemme... looking back on all the great moments. At the same time, I am going through the process of reviewing my week and thinking about all the things that went very well, and the things to improve for next time. I must say, I didn't have quite the Championships that I was hoping for, but in other ways- things were also very positive.

Matt giving us some pointers for the classic sprint (fasterskier photo)

As a ski racer you can never look at anything as a failure. If you did, you wouldn't make it very far beyond one year of racing on the World Cup- because this process is not very forgiving. The difference between an average day and an overly excellent day could be .15 seconds... one size larger boot. Or the difference between putting one too many layers of kick wax on your ski, or simply the difference between finding one more gear of energy for the last climb of the course. It is all so small, yet so important. So even though my two individual start races were less than my best, there were some very encouraging parts at the same time!

Salomon Photo- Racing through the stadium in the Pursuit

So in honor of moving forward in a positive manner; here are a few of the things about Val di Fiemme that I won't be forgetting.

1. Fans! After having my first World Championships in Oslo, my standards of World Championships fans was set sort of high. To my surprise though, these Italian fans lived up to the challenge. Maybe 70% of them traveled all the way from Norway... but regardless they were out there in full force. It was also special to have so many US fans as well. World Masters took place somewhere near here, so there was an extra bunch of familiar voices and faces out there that made it special!

One of the stands full of spectators! (Fasterskier photo)

2. Hills- Holy hills! This venue knows how to test your fitness, test your mental strength, and test your hill climbing. I remember many of my teammates warning me of this after they raced the final stages of the tour here last year... but I didn't experience the full feeling of it until racing. It was fun to test my hill climbing skills though.

UP we go- USSA photo

And more UP- USSA photo

3. Wax Crew- This week has been one of the most challenging weeks for waxing yet. With temperatures hanging around zero, and constantly changing... things get tricky and tough. The techs have been incredible at working hard and moving forward. The important thing to remember is just like an athlete, tech teams have tough days as well. Even if they are putting 100%, there will always be challenging days. So thanks techs for working your butts off and always staying positive.

Group Effort!!- USSA photo

4. Records- While the week started off with much less than our best, the following days were filled with records, bests, firsts and everything else. Kikkan and Jessie set the mood with winning the team sprint for US Nordics FIRST World Championship Gold. That was one of my more emotional moments of being a ski racer. As I watched the girls ski their hearts out and cross the line first, emotion struck. As tears rolled down the faces of all the US group… I may have spotted a tear rolling down the Norwegian coaches face too. Finally, US is a force to recon with. Over the years as Kikkan has set an example of believing that we can compete, the rest of our team has started following along!

A team celebration after Jess and Kikk win the first ever World Champs Gold!! (Fasterskier photo)

Making records and having fun! USSA photo

Fasterskier photo

5. Sunshine- It is hard to not absolutely love every second of the day when you are out ski racing hard in the sun. Black suits sometimes make that experience a little more miserable than it should… but for the most part, the sunshine always brings out the best in us! If there is one thing you can count on in Italia, that is sun!

soaking in the sun! USSA photo

USSA photo

6. Team Spirit- The team “spirit” has been great throughout the week. The success of the team just spreads through our group. I think this is one of the things that is bringing us to a higher level as a team. Because one person’s success is contagious, it helps us all believe!

Jessie- you did it!!!

Matt, the ladies, and the medals!

7. Relay- Yesterday I got to participate in my first World Cup 4x5 relay. Since being a young girl, relay racing has always been my favorite. There is something about the different pressure, and your collective effort… it just gets me in a new level of energy… as with all the US ladies. Aside from being fun, the US Team managed to finish our best result ever in history. Although we were just off the podium, we were extremely stoked with a 4^th place finish. This was a huge improvement from our last World Championship finish in 9^th. With our goals set on a medal of course, we came away proud and pleased that we had reached 4^th place! Everyone skied their hearts out, and our goal is certainly attainable in the near Olympic future!

4th!!

Using the relay socks for the first time ever- Fasterskier photo

All of these things have made this Championship week incredible and memorable. With two more races to go, the 30 and 50k, we will be back on World Cup soon. Next weekend we will be racing a 10k Classic and Team Sprint, so some more exciting racing in the near future!

Salomon photo- Classic Sprinting

USSA photo

Here is a funny photo from the local paper. I have been hoping all week to get in there just once, but I wasn’t quite expecting this one. This is what google translate says:

What the Photo Symbol of the World

Let's say that the scene was the most beautiful and the American athlete of the relay this morning (yesterday, ed), shooting as he undressed. Sadie Bjørnsen has affected all of us photographers, the femininity and grace of gesture, of usual when it comes to the masculinity of athletes.

Thanks everyone for the cheers and nice emails this week. I really appreciate it!! A few more days here, and then off to Scandinavia!

Sochi-DA!

One week in the Olympic Village, one week getting to know the Olympic Courses, and one week of figuring out the environment of Sochi! In this one week, I feel like I have learned a ton! Not only have I learned the race courses, but I have gotten to race them... and feel the true burn of what Sochi has!

Feeling the burn!

A lot of construction still going on EVERYWHERE! (Holly photo)

Over the course of the weekend, we had three races. A skate sprint, a pursuit, and a team sprint. The exciting news is I had a personal best on every single one of these races on the Olympic Course. Which means I walk away with a feeling of confidence, but also an understanding for what sort of improvements and skills I need to work on between now and the Olympic Games!

American Spirit!!

As far as the atmosphere here in Sochi, that was the true experience of the past week I have spent in Russia. It all begins with security and credentials. Credentials are like your magic carpet; you can't get anywhere without them. They are your pass for the five minute walk to breakfast, they are your pass to get to the race venue, and they are your pass to basically leave your house. At first, this seems annoying- but it is just part of the experience! And truly it is to our own safety. Sochi is about security. It is a wild and different scene here- like nowhere else I have ever been. Everything is new, everything is different, but in a good way. Based on the cameras perched every ten feet all across the top of this mountain, I feel safe! I didn't get much of a chance to experience the town at the bottom of the Gondola, but I am sure during the Olympics, we will hopefully get more time.

So much snow here in Sochi!!

Beautiful views right out the window of our cottage

Strength facilities are not so good yet... but you have to get creative sometimes (Hoff photo)

As for the racing, it was awesome. Every single person on our team had at least one shining performance! Starting with Ida making her first A-final, and Liz coming in 8th in the pursuit, and then both American teams winning their semi-finals in the team sprint and going on finishing the best results ever. It was a successful weekend for the Americans. What better way to leave the pre-Olympic venue the year before? It's fun, it's exciting, and we are all pumped! We are starting to truly believe in ourselves, and believe we can do it!

Me, crossing the line first in our semi-finals for the team sprint. (Hoff photo)

Ida and I stoked on hard efforts, and making history!! (Hoff photos)

chasing down those Russians and Norwegians!

So now, its back to Switzerland. We will have a short training block there, with one more weekend of World Cups before World Champs!