On the road again

Even though I have packed up and moved out many times now, it never gets any easier or any less hectic. Sadie and I spent countless hours asking each other which shirt, which jeans, how many pairs of socks and on and on, trying to make sure we have everything we need for the next 5 months. On top of that, I found out I had to move out of my room with less than 48 hours to go. Between that and trying to figure out how to turn digital video cassette files into files I can upload on to Youtube for my classes, I was in a mad furry for all 48 of my last hours in Anchorage. I somehow managed to fit all my belongings in my car, perfectly back my car into a storage unit that was only inches wider than the car and get to bed by eleven, exhausted!

We headed to the airport about 4 AM and made it to West Yellowstone about 9PM, nothing is close to AK! We were greeted by less than ideal conditions. There was little to no snow on the ground and the sky kept moving snow to rain, back to snow, and back to rain again. This continued for days. As a result, races had to be moved, changed around, and altred.

We had one official SuperTour race on Friday. It was  9k rolling uphill course at about 7500ft with a net gain in elevation on a forest service road up on top of a plateau outside of West Yellowstone. While net elevation gain is always frightening, it wasn't the uphill portions that were grueling about this race. In fact, for my likings, it wasn't steep enough. But, what was very challenging was the fact that there were no downhills so there was no rest anywhere on the course. Anytime I tried to sneak in a tuck, I feared I was loosing too much time.

I started early on, so any splits I got out on course, I had to take with a grain a salt knowing that there were many fast girls coming through after me, however, I was able to follow 2 very talented athletes, particularly in skate technique. Before I knew it, I was closing in on the woman in front of me, arguably one of the best skaters in the country. The splits I was hearing were good and I was just relishing in the pain of racing at altitude. I caught her and then passed her and just kept going until I hit the last giant hill and the wall came and I hit it. I was crawling up this hill fearing I just lost the race and telling myself just to make every movement count for something. I eventually made it to the top and the finish was in sight giving me one last push to get there. It was the best race I have had in years. I ended up winning the race by a mere 6 seconds for my first SuperTour win ever! I am absolutely elated by this accomplishment and hope I can continue to race this way the rest of the reason.

My new Rossignols skis are boots were incredible!  Swix Sport Photo

So what happens when I am racing? Well I made 3 goals for the race so any moment I lose focus I have somewhere to look to: 1. Make every motion count 2. Get up on the balls of my feet to maximize power 3. Believe in my fitness Toko Photo

It was a perfect wintry day for a race. Swix Sport Photo

Coming up the finishing stretch! FasterSkier Photo

If you are interested here are a couple of articles and links to results:
FasterSkier: http://fasterskier.com/2012/11/brennan-attacks-grueling-course-to-win-yellowstone-supertour-opener/

Ski Trax: http://skitrax.com/48354/?c


But even more important then the SuperTour is the World Cup and my teammates crushed it this weekend. Kikkan Randall reached the podium for the first time in a distance world cup race while Holly Brooks had a career best finishing 5th place. Then, Holly and Kikkan, along with Jessie Diggins, and Liz Stephen teamed up to finish 3rd place in the 4x5km relay, a historic finish for the U.S. This is incredibly inspiring for me as I train with these girls all the time and finally all this hard work is paying off on a world scale. The US Women are just crushing it!

I have moved on to Bozeman, MT for 3 SuperTour races.

Last Day

Thursday November 15th, 2012 is the last day for us to reach our goal!

The National Nordic Foundation is a great way to support Nordic skiers across the country. Please consider a $25.00 donation! Follow the link below:

https://www.grouprev.com/rosie

Thanks!

Fairbanks

After 2 weeks of dryland training in single digits, yes below 10F, I decided I had had enough. Although I will say, the cold crisp air, and low sun really makes for some unbelievable views of the mountains, if only I had a good  It's really something to experience that first cold lung burn when you are bounding with poles or rollerskiing, definitely a first for me. After that joyous experience, I was able to snag a ticket north to Fairbanks, where a little bit of snow had fallen in order to get a long weekend of skiing. Erik, my coach, coached a  junior camp up there at the same time. So not only were we training a fair amount, we were helping out coaching some of the juniors and making appearances in the evening to help further inspire these kids. Fairbanks is known for being bitter cold, but we lucked out and things never got below 0!!! A teammate of mine is from Fairbanks so we were able to stay at her house, thanks Becca and Family!

Everyone getting their wax on early in the morning (Holly Brooks Photo)

The whole group, juniors, coaches, and elite skiers

 There was just a couple inches of snow, so we had to use some old skis that could handle a few scraps from the occasional rock, but we did have close to 30km of skiing so it wasn't too bad.

As with all camps, we finished off with a fast and female event. I got to lead the power station so we had relay races with one girl pulling another to develop leg power. All the girls had fun and it was a great time had by all!

This sculpture was outside one of the local outdoor shops that we did a presentation in. It's made all of bike parts!

 Unfortunately, we came back to just a few inches of snow up high in Anchorage. I guess after all that rain in September, it was bound to dry up at some point....So we have been able to do a little skiing higher up in the mountains mixed with more running. The moose are also in mating season which means they are a little crazy right now. We had a rough encounter doing some running intervals in the ski trail. We had passed this fellow a couple of times and then for some reason, on the 4th time past, he decided that was it and started in a full on run chasing after us. Well, let me tell you, that interval was quite quick, nothing like getting chased by a bull moose. Fortunately, he steered off into the bushes at the last minute so we were all safe, despite the scare.

I am entering into my last weekend in Anchorage for the next 5 months so I have more than a few ends to tie up before leaving including finishing up with all my classes that don't actually end until mid-december. Luckily, I've had a little bit of practice at that one before. The excitement for the season is rapidly building. I am extra excited because the beginning of the season not only means racing, but also seeing my family and spending more time at home! I am going to do my best to update my schedule frequently so please check back to see where in the world I might be racing.

Homeward Bound!

I am extremely lucky to have grown up in Park City. It is truly an amazing place and somewhere I hope to return to in the near future. One of perks of Park City is that it is the home of USSA meaning there is always one US Ski Team camp that takes place there. The past few years, Park City has been the location for October Camp. The idea is that by training at high altitude for a couple weeks, our red blood cell count will creep up allowing us to come back to sea level and train at a higher pace and intensity. We also get the chance to practice adjusting to high altitude, something we will have to do many times during the race season. I have never been one to have trouble at altitude after growing up in Park City, but now that I am in my 6th year training at sea level, I do notice the thin air for a couple of days. 

I headed south a few days early to enjoy some time with Patrick. We hit the mountain bike trails and I got to show Patrick some of the new trails that were built this summer. There is the hundred of miles of single track in Park City and the possibilities are endless. It gets better and better every summer too!!!

After climbing 3000' all on single track, we finally made it!

Patrick checking out the downhill bike park at the Canyons

Everyone's favorite part of coming to PC is getting to eat Mexican food!

Before the camp started I participated in another Fast and Female event. The Park City event is awesome because they get ambassadors from all types of winter sports and all the dryland stations feature different sports. I hope we inspired all these girls to keep pursuing sport and living healthy lives!

The whole crew, lots of pink and glitter!

My high school coach's daughter participated with some of her teammates! 

Another perk of Park City is that there are tons of awesome canyons to ski up that provide lots of uphill skiing and some nice views to go with!

Starting up Emigration Canyon

Reaching the top of Emigration

Me leading my APU teammates 

Sadie and I

Still some fall colors around

And now up East Canyon 

On the struggle bus trying to make it to the top

Almost there!

Looking down East Canyon

Finally at the top! We climbed somewhere over 3500'

The beautiful mountains I call home. Thanks to Rob Whitney for all the pictures from our big canyon ski.

We definitely deserved another big Mexican feast!

The US Ski Team has a massive training center they call the "Center of Excellence" in Park City. The first floor is all the athlete amenities and the upper floors are all the offices for the coaches and administrators of USSA. The place is awesome, but may be harder to get into than Fort Knox. They have very strict rules for who can and cannot train there. This is extremely unfortunate for the community and for the promotion of ski sports. I am lucky (?) enough to be an alumni of the U.S. Ski team so I am on occasion let into the building. One of the goals of the sports science staff is to get more data on elite skiers, as a result, they had a handful of us club skiers go through some of the physical testing required of US Ski Team athletes. Having been on the team in the past, I had been through all the testing before, but hadn't done a lick of testing since being dropped from the team. The specific protocol was different than before, but the jist of it the same. Ski on the treadmill while it rises 1 degree every minute until you fall off...

My APU teammate looking strong. 

 They measure your max VO2, which basically means the amount of oxygen you can take in per unit weight of your body. This is an important measurement in all endurance sports and much of training is designed to increase this number as more oxygen uptake means happier muscles that can fire more and faster times. Generally, one would test in the spring and fall to see if they are becoming more efficient and more fit. I didn't have the opportunity to do that but hopefully I will be able to learn some things from looking back at my tests from years back and tests in the future. We also did a body composition test (every girls fav...) and a hemoglobin mass test. Hemoglobin is what carries oxygen from the lungs to the muscles and one of the effects of altitude is an increase in hemoglobin because of the fewer oxygen molecules. Knowing how long it takes for your body to increase the mass is important for knowing how long it takes your body to properly acclimate. High hemoglobin can result from certain doping regimens as well so it is often something they test for in all athletes prior to big competitions. If your hemoglobin is high, you may be asked to sit out the races until it drops to a natural level (and accused of doping) so it is important to know if you are one of those with naturally high hemoglobin. 

It was a great 2 week camp hanging out and training with some of my best friends while enjoying Mom's wonderful home cooked meals and the comfort of my own bed! I was very sad to be leaving, but extremely thankful I landed to clear skies in Anchorage!

As we flew in, we flew right past Eagle Glacier. It is the large flatter area of the photo. 

Alyeska in the foreground and Eagle Glacier in the back ground. Unfortunately, my phone isn't quite good enough to capture Denali but it was glowing pink and looking magnificent.

Just one more month til racing! Praying for snow every night!

NNF

The National Nordic Foundation (click to go to their website) has gone through many changes and phases throughout the years I have been a ski racer, but most recently, Park City local Dave Knoop, took on the exhausting project of reinventing the foundation and making it something incredibly powerful and valuable to all nordic skiers in the United States today.

The NNF subsidizes unfunded and underfunded training camps and competition trips attended by qualified athletes that are identified to be the next generation of athletes to represent the US on the world stage.

• North American Training Camps

• International Training Competitions/Camps

• Scandinavian Cup Competitions

• Continental Cup Competitions

• World Junior/U23 Championships

• World Championships

• World Cup Competitions

I have been a many time recipient of NNF funds. Last year, they helped me pay for my trip to Europe to race in OPA Cup races. These races are the next tier down from the World Cup and are vital for developing athletes to get the necessary experience traveling and racing in Europe before being thrown into the big leagues. I learned a great deal while abroad and was able to pull together at least one  good result, placing 5th in a 15k classic mass start race in Rogla, Slovenia. I hope to have the opportunity to continue to have experiences like this and continue to grow, hopefully making it to World Championships and beyond, but I can't do it without your help and the help of NNF. 

We have decided to follow the fundraising path of the Democratic party. We are asking all our many supporters, fans, and  people who care to donate just $25.00 rather than rely a few very successful people for all our funds. We want everyone to be involved in the progress and success of American Nordic ski racers and wish to grow the nordic community throughout this country.

Please follow this link: https://www.grouprev.com/rosie  to donate to the NNF under my name. I am incredibly grateful for all the support I have received over the years and I hope to continue to find support for myself and for the many other young skiers out there striving to become the best. 

Racing in Toblach, Italy OPA Finals last winter, a trip funded by the NNF

Check that off the list

Well this week I finally caught the terrible cold that has been going around our team. I am pretty proud of myself though because my housemates have been sick for the last month and I held it off for almost the entire 5 week interval training block we were in....almost. I missed the last 3 intensity sessions of the block, but all in all, I still was able to get some good training in, I guess my body just couldn't take it anymore, so be it. Honestly, as the rain continued to fall and the air grew colder every day, I was quite content curled up in bed. However, I woke up yesterday, pulled up my shade and saw this:

I didn't think much of it, but our coach sent us an email suggesting we try skiing up higher in the mountains. So Sadie and did just that and found a little bit of snow, although a bit scratchy it was beautiful and sunny out and that feeling good feeling of gliding on the snow came back. With that, I have now officially skied every month of the year!!!!!! 

Check it out:

October 27th, 2011 Skiing in Hatcher's Pass, AK

November 30th, 2011 Enjoying a beautiful ski in West Yellowstone, MT

December 15th, 2011 Sprint Racing in Silver Star, Alberta

January 4th, 2012 Sprint at US Nationals Rumford, ME

February 3rd, 2012 Enjoying some new snow in Sun Valley, ID

February 9th, More new snow in Aspen, CO

March 25th, 2012 Racing in Toblach, Italy

April 15th, 2012 Sunshine in Truckee, CA

Just so you know we were actually skiing! Truckee, CA

May 4th,  2012  Alaskan Crust Skiing!

May 28th,  2012 Interval Training Bend, OR

June 28th, 2012 More Intervals Eagle Glacier, AK

July 26th, 2012 A glorious day on Eagle Glacier, AK

August 17th, 2012  I couldn't find a picture of me, but I promise I skied on these tracks! Eagle Glacier, AK

September 29th, 2012 First tracks of the winter Glen Alps, Anchorage, AK

What is happening???

I cracked!

I know I spent my last post talking about how much more tolerant I have become of the weather, but I lied. The weather this month is killing me. Those 3 sunny days I posted about last were the only 3 days I have seen the sun and not been rained on the entire month of September (for those that are bad at math, that's 21 days of, excuse the language, shit). It hasn't just been rain we are dealing with here, but extreme wind as well. I like to tell people I've been living in an extended hurricane. And just when you see a glimpse of sunlight, you wake up the next morning to a new storm full of more rain and more wind. Mediocre days have become awesome and horrible days mediocre. I have actually been lucky as I have not had to be evacuated because of flooding and I have not lost my power again and again as many of the people in South central AK have had. But it still hasn't been all that enjoyable, so much so that I started a desktop countdown, to the sec, of when I will arrive in Utah, where the sun always shines.

All I can say is the rest of the ski world better hope the weather is not bad at any races because they won't stand a chance against the APU Elite Team.

Being the geography major that I am, I was in tune with reading about the weather and putting some thought into that. No one ever takes pictures in the bad weather so this post will be word heavy, but hopefully share a thing or two about what is going on. It turns out that this month of ridiculous extreme weather is greatly coincidental with a new record low of sea ice in the Arctic, set at the beginning of the month. Or maybe this isn't so coincidental. Sea ice is reflective sending all that heat from the sun back where it belongs, but ocean water is dark and absorbs all that heat so, when the sea ice melts more heat is absorbed raising the temperature of the water and then the air and melting more ice and so on and so on...

This warming that has occurred simply creates more moisture available and more heat to more rapidly evaporate it making for more storms. There is debate as to whether or not this Arctic sea ice melt is cause of extreme weather events around the country. Some believe the warming has created a change, slowing, of the jet stream forcing weather events to stay in one place for extended periods of time. Regardless, it is believed that the Arctic, which I consider AK to be part of, is experiencing and will experience more extreme weather events as a result of the ice melting and this I most certainly do believe after the month I've had.

Here are 2 NY Times articles for more info:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/science/earth/arctic-sea-ice-eyed-for-clues-to-weather-extremes.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/science/earth/arctic-sea-ice-stops-melting-but-new-record-low-is-set.html

Maybe most frightening is this statement from the above article:
"Now, some scientists think the Arctic Ocean could be largely free of summer ice as soon as 2020. But governments have not responded to the change with any greater urgency about limiting greenhouse emissions. To the contrary, their main response has been to plan for exploitation of newly accessible minerals in the Arctic, including drilling for more oil."

Which is, of course, often is in the headlines of the Anchorage Daily News as Shell most recently expanded oil drilling out into the Arctic Ocean, something never done before. All interesting things to think about. Look what I do when its no fun being outside....

Here we are, "taste the rainbow"

We, the APU Girls, have also been fulfilling our duties as chefs. At our 2 fundraisers, a dinner prepared and served by us is always auctioned off. We complete both dinners this month featuring all the fall favorites and extending as far as learning to cook duck (and eating it for the first time) all went well. 

My teammate Holly enjoying a wet ski (Courtesy of Holly)

We also took some time to volunteer at some running jamborees held for kids. Here we use some awesome dance moves to warm up the 5th/6th grade girls.