Mommy and Time Trials

My mom came to visit me on Saturday, which was great as I was getting quite lonely living alone! Sunday we woke up to well below freezing temperatures so we waited until the afternoon to go adventuring. We checked out some new mountain biking trails in Hailey hoping that being in the south valley would provide some more warmth and sun. It sure did! We had a great ride, although we rode a completely different trail than we thought we did so I still have some exploring to do out there. I only got scared and walked once and managed to not fall so my first ride after my big crash was a success! My knee actually felt pretty good the whole ride. Sunday night, my mom made me some delicious salmon which is something I don't usually splurge for on my own so that was wonderful! Monday was a bit stormy although no precipitation fell, just some threatening clouds. We climbed Baldy, which is the main mountain in Ketchum and the one that the ski area is located on. The elk made an appearance for Mom on Monday which was nice and then we back up to Ketchum for a good sushi dinner, something else I don't eat much on my own. This morning it was supposed to be a big snow storm but the storm seemed to just nip us over the night and headed south so I awoke to beautiful crystal clear skies and as I drove up valley for training this morning there was a nice dusting of snow on the roads and all mountains. We did an uphill time trial this morning. the trail had snow on it the whole way but the snow is so nice and dry it was not slippery at all so we were able to give a good full effort up the hill. I had a great run and am now the second fastest girl to ever run up this hill! This was especially great news for me since I am just coming off a fairly serious injury. I now am sure that I am back on track and ready for a great winter!!! Only 1 month until my first race.....

Mom and I at the top of Baldy

Mom just reaching the top

The valley from up high. Ketchum is the town down there.

Some natural snow on the runs and some man made snow from what appeared to be a good test for the snow guns.

sorry no pics of the bike ride of the TT. Also, you can click any picture to make it bigger if you want a close up.

For Lex

Lexi asked me to get a picture of the fox that also lives in my backyard. Today during lunch he was on the fence around the garden, probably looking for lunch in the recently turned up dirt. When I saw him last, he was much more beautiful and orange so I'm guessing he is growing his grey winter coat for some camouflage.

Training, Training, Training

Team training started this week, however, flu has hit the Wood River Valley, so teammates were few and far between. Our coach was hit hard with the Piggly Wiggly so he too was absent for most of the week. I have stayed clear so far and was able to get some good training in. I am in an intensity block meaning I do hard, fast workouts everyday that are typically not too long so I wasn't able to go on any adventures. Yesterday afternoon, I didn't want to drive all the way into Ketchum so I decided to drive out the gulch just north of my house, little did I know that it was a serious 4 wheel drive road that went WAY back into the canyon. It was difficult to turn around on as well so I put away my fears of getting a flat with no cell service and kept driving in hopes of finding this trail. about 45 minutes later I made it to the trailhead and although the entire road is available for camping, it seemed that many of the "campers" were more residents than campers. That also gave me a little fear. However, I headed out on the trail and about 5 minutes into my run, I saw a full deer carcass and suddenly feared all the animals of the mountains as well. I was feeling quite isolated up in this canyon and training alone just sent all kinds of fears through my brain. I did the workout and it was fast thinking of all that could happen to me....I made it back to my car and back out to the highway with no trouble, besides passing a truck full on hunters and realized that maybe that should have been my biggest worry out there! I realized how much a team is worth! Teammates can keep you company, push you hard, pick you up when you fall, and be there all the time. I miss my team back at Dartmouth! Last night, Wise Guy Pizza Pie had a fundraiser for our team and donated all profits of the night to the team so we all went out to grab some pizza. The place was hopping, so hopefully we made a few bucks! Yesterday was also a very special day for me because the Park City High School girls cross country team won state again! I believe this is the 7 year of victory out of the last 8! Today we had our first real practice with almost the whole team and our coach! Unfortunately the team was doing a power workout with lots of bounds and jumps which still hurts my knee a bit so I did a different workout. I am looking forward to tomorrow when I can train with everyone! I failed to bring my camera to any workouts so I have no pictures to share but I will do my best to fix that this week.

Breakfast Buddies

The elk came back this morning and I got some better pictures. I think this is the mama and baby as the little guy runs and jumps around and then scurries back over to mama. There were about 4 or 5 more in the front yard and one had a big rack. Maybe I can get a picture of him soon.

Sun Valley Alas

Thursday morning I hit the road after a positive visit with the knee doctor. He was very pleased with the progress I have been making and cleared me to do all that didn't hurt. Wednesday was the first workout I've done without pain since I fell so I am feeling more confident now that I will make it through, although I am feeling behind in my training! I am living in the guest house of Priscilla and Ward Wood. Thank You Wood Family! The house is beautiful and will suit my needs perfectly! I will be training with the Sun Valley Olympic Development Team, a group of post-high grads and post-college grads all working to reach a higher level of skiing. We start group sessions again next week after a post-Lake Placid camp break in which we were all doing different things. I visited Hanover to meet our new freshmen, catch up with friends and spend some time with my boyfriend. Although quite a few of us are taking the fall term off the team seemed to be doing well. It made me quite excited for the winter and racing! I have two weeks ahead of me of some more intense training, then my Dartmouth teammate, Sophie Caldwell is joining me. It will be great to have some company in the house. I am quickly learning the challenges of cooking for one.

My new room with a bed big enough for five!

The visitors I had a breakfast. There was a whole herd in the yard when I woke up. Unfortunately, they were very timid elk and did not like me poking around so I only got this bad picture.

It's potato harvest! I took the shortcut on my way through the potato farming land and the road was covered in trucks like this full of potatoes bringing them to the transfer station to load up the train.

This is one of the many potato farms and that is a HUGE pile of potatoes. They get piled up by the little conveyor belt and then the big dump truck comes to scoop them up.

(I apologize for the sideways pictures, I can't figure out how to rotate them...)