4th of July Recovery Week

Post-glacier we always get a chance to recuperate from camp. This is great because we get to go on adventures outside of Anchorage while enjoying some relaxing days. We also lucked out because summer decided to come for the week as well. We headed south to Seward with the rest of the state to watch Mt. Marathon, the crazy race in which people climb a mountain and fall down it at the same time. On our way down, we ran Lost Lake, a trail that I have been wanting to run for some time now, but due to my plethora of injuries have never been able to. It took us about 3 hours which is the longest run I have gone on in 2 years! I was very happy to say the least. Then we camped on the beach and it was even warm enough to take a dip in the ocean! Lastly, we hiked the mountain to offer support for our crazy teammates that decided to race. I also made it to the top for the first time, again something I have never done thanks for the many injuries I have procured. It was a great week of adventures and a great way to spend some time not thinking about training before we head into the next camp.

Beach Camping

Post Swim

How many boys does it take to build a fire? 

Sadie halfway up Mt. Marathon

Teammate Holly Leading on the way down. She managed to hold her lead by a mere 2 seconds!

Teammate Ann crushing the downhill

Teammate Lauren on her descent

The crowd at the bottom as Eric Strabel, APU coach, makes it to the bottom of the cliffs. He smoked the field! And yes the races come down those cliffs that are quite large. If you look closely, you can see Eric just above the head of the man in the blue BP shirt to get some perspective. This race is insane. 

Mt. Marathon is nuts as I'm sure I've blogged about every 4th since arriving in Alaska so if you are curious or can't remember, look back at other posts from around the 4th or just google it. It's very much in line with everything in Alaska, a little bigger and a lot crazier.

Seward beach, a favorite place of mine

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Me on a more casual descent of the mountain

Lost Lake trail

Meeting our shuttle drivers who hiked backwards to meet us at the end!

A little evening skinny dip in the ocean

We celebrated Becca and Eric Packer's birthdays over the course of the week. Good thing I love baking!

I also had a surprise when I returned to Anchorage. My friend Corey was in town visiting! Corey and I spent many summers adventuring together as kids and this was the first time I had seen him since we graduated high school! 

The U.S. Ski team women arrived at the end of our break for our annual camp. The next two weeks will be filled with even more training than usual and a whole lot of chicks. Check back for that report!

Back to Winter

Glacier Camp 1 has come and gone! It turned out to not be a great week of weather in the Anchorage area and I was actually thankful to be 6000 ft up where the less than ideal weather came in the form of snow. It felt like winter with wet, heavy snow falling most days and nights, making for some amazing skiing even if we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of us for the majority of the kilometers covered. I am really pleased with my training. My injuries all behaved, I was able to ski quite a bit, and had some big technical breakthroughs, not to mention lots of k's with my teammates!

In the meantime, Mr. Bear has been causing havoc on our street.

Clouds moving in

Here they come

I could see out my window when I arrived and then it snowed everyday...

We sleep in bunk rooms and there are no shades on the windows so I am a big fan of making a princess palace by enclosing my bunk with blankets to make it dark and cozy. 

My palace where I sleep 1-2 hours during the day and another 8-10 at night, a must when we ski 4-5 hours a day. 

The last day we were graced with beautiful bluebird skies for a sold 3 hour ski. 

We have a slightly modified course this year that features more technical terrain, which is a real weakness of mine. Thanks Erik for all the grooming and making me work on my weaknesses!

The groomer!

Heli coming in for landing. We were unable to hike out because it snowed so much, the avalanche and rock slide danger were quite significant. 

The snow came up to the building so we could literally ski out the door. 

Flying back down into the green. 

When I got back, my plants had really drown big from all the rain followed by sun!

Girls psyched on finishing our team sprint race

Cruising in the fog. Thanks Rossignol, T2, Toko, Rudy Project, and PowerBar for keeping me fueled, fast, and stylish. 

Can't see a thing, but always a smiling when we are skiing!

A little strength session

Sadie and I fueling up for a big ski

All the awesome APU girls

Upon landing back in town, the sun was burning strong and it was nearly Becca's birthday so we hit the beach for a
little celebrating! Great way to end a great camp!

In other exciting news, Erik Flora, my coach and the head coach of APU won coach of the year for the entire USOC, meaning all sports in the U.S.  This is quite the honor and I am super psyched to have had the past years to work with him. He literally works day and night and he is very deserving of this award! read about it here: http://usskiteam.com/news/us-olympic-committee-announces-2013-coaches-year

A Tribute

Bumps and Grammy Ro with their namesakes Charlie and I

I spent the past two weeks in New England celebrating, remembering, and spending time with family. First stop was Cambridge, where we celebrated Charlie's graduation from Harvard with a Master of Arts in Urban Planning. I then got to spend a few days vacationing on the cape where I ate a plethora of seafood. I thought I loved steamers and lobsters a lot and then I met Patrick who can actually eat more of both than me. It must be a sign. Next, I headed to Vermont where I trained with the team Patrick is now coaching. It was a nice few days of hot and humid weather. Lastly, I traveled to New Hampshire for my Grandfather's memorial service.

My perfect world turned upside down this winter when my grandfather, Bumps, was slowed down by a brain tumor. I say slowed down, because Bumps is as stubborn as New England Yankee could possibly be and it really took a lot to slow him down. He entered the hospital just as I boarded a plane to Europe. Yes, I was a little scared for Bumps, but to be perfectly honest, Bumps is the strongest grandpa I have ever come across and I never imagined that anything could happen to him. As things progressed and I learned about the tumor, I did become frightened and I began to realize just how much my family meant as I was thousands of miles away in some hotel room, eating strange food, listening to people speaking strange languages, trying to race, but really just wishing I could be with Bumps, listening to his wise cracks and laughing at all the nicknames he had for the medical staff as I grew angry at my selfishness in always putting racing first. Bumps passed away halfway through January, just after Nationals and right before the Olympic Team was named, perhaps teaching me yet another lesson in finding balance in life and value in family.

I have been fortunate to not have experienced many deaths in my life, but as a result am still learning how to process and work through everything that comes with, which is why I have not mentioned Bump's passing until now. Led by Grammy Ro and Bumps's 60 years of marriage, my Mom's family has remained exceptionally close and tight knit down to all 12 of us grandkids. We all gathered this past weekend to remember Bumps and to share our love with each other. It was the first time in many years that we have been able to get all 12 Grandkids (and 1 great grand kid) in one place, which was something special and something I know Bumps was smiling about. As we sat in the pews of the church my parents were married in, all together, tears streaming down our faces, I couldn't help but think about just how amazing my family is. I had a few brave cousins speak, sharing many of our beloved memories of Granite, Bumps and Grammy Ro's home. Each one spoke gracefully and eloquently, undoubtedly making Bumps, a lifetime educator, proud. Looking around, I had a strong sense of pride as all 12 of us are accomplished, educated, driven, kind and loving, something that would only be possible with the guidance and support of grandparents like Grammy Ro and Bumps. Grammy Ro spoke last with stoicism only seen in Hollywood movies. I truly hope I have even the tiniest bit of both my grandparents in me and I too can live life anywhere close to the fullness Bumps lived his. It was one of the most difficult things I have done, but knowing I have such a strong and loving family made it so we could all get through and eventually move on to celebration: square dancing, laughing, and truly enjoying our time together. As I have moved myself into tears now, I will sign off with some pictures of my trip to New England.

Scholar Chuckles

Lady Slippers in full bloom at the Cape

Patrick indulging in steamers

We had some horseshoe crabs come to our beach to mate. The female is on bottom and she lays thousands of eggs in the sand that are then fertilized by the male. 

Doing a little training in Vermont

The Pond

I got to share a lot of my favorite places and memories with Patrick as he graciously joined me in New Hampshie. 

Granite

Looking towards Bump's many vegetable gardens

Bumps driving Millie with Mom, Char, and me in tow

Bumps teaching Char and I how to shuck corn

Bumps taking us to pick corn

The most picturesque barn in the world