Sadie Bjornsen

    – Final day of sitting for 9 hours- thank god!! I am not made for the sitting all day. Quick level 1 jog before the fun job of helping my boyfriend move out of his place for the winter. What a weekend!! Can’t wait to have some time again next week. Feeling recovered and ready to go back to the athlete focus after some condensed student time!!

    – Long day in the classroom day two. 9 hours of sitting, yikes! Snuck out for a little snow ski in the sunset. Thanks to Erik B. for shoveling so much and making a track!

Erik B. on the golf course © Sadie Bjornsen

    – School time. 8-5 in the classroom learning about business ethics. Packing my brain full for three days. Every time I get a break, lots of walking in the halls to stay sane. Off to school pic… Can’t wait to enjoy that snow when I’m done!!

© courtesy of Sadie Bjornsen

    – Day off, but “achieved my goal” pretty easily on my polar watch… Which normally means I am doing lots of walking around even if I’m not training. Active recovery! Got this awesome Sean McCabe painting in the mail – somehow Erik managed to steal it and hang it in his room. I have to manage to take it back somehow when he is gone:)

© Sadie Bjornsen

    – Travel day back to AK. Always nice to be home. Welcomed at baggage claim by this familiar face!

© Sadie Bjornsen

        – Morning level 1 final lap of town Park City Skiing. Enjoyed my final training session of the camp in a wonderful bounding pain cave up the canyons chasing my brother and coach, Erik Flora. Man am I lucky to have these two people keeping me motivated, confident and having fun!! Level 4.

© Sadie Bjornsen

    = Great day for a day of recovery between two bounding days. Level one solo Rollerski this morning. An afternoon alone to be super productive and catch up with homework. Highlight of afternoon was a jog through round valley chasing Liz and talking plans for this winter. Nothing like going for a jog with teammates and getting totally stoked!!

    – Day one of Time Trial races here in Park City for the US Ski Team Camp. Last night I had to make the tough call of not participating in the three day tour here. This past month I have been fighting to try to heal my hand after a series of rollerski crashes this summer. After checking in with the doctor and hand therapists down here in Park City, I have made a plan of attack to fix the bones and ligaments. This involves protecting it, and trying as hard as I can to avoid having another contact with the pavement. Sometimes, the best solution is believing in your plan, and going after it. So, with that said, I am switching things up here in these last few days of Park City, and taking my risk in Ski Bounding, which seems to have a softer landing if things go wrong. Morning level 1 ski. Afternoon Level 4 bounding intervals up the Canyons Resorts. Nothing like feeling the true burn in your legs and lungs!

    – Level 1 skate rollerski with some speed sets though the overspeed transitions of SoHo. Afternoon solo jog through the high PC Hills. Highlight of the day – dinner and stick shift driving lessons with our d-team girlies. Loving having some young blood and constant excitement around!!

    – Morning visit to Park City Physical Therapy for some solutions on fixing Mr. Hand. Great to get a plan!! Level 1 classic through Park City. Afternoon level 1 jog and strength time.

Enjoying some sun and much needed liquid on my ski. © Sadie Bjornsen

        – Morning skate speed session in SoHo. Great day to follow some seriously amazing sprinters like Kikkan and Sophie and try to learn their secret tricks. Level 5. Afternoon busy full of doctor time, trying to figure out my broken fingers. Turns out they are still broken 7 weeks later, so time to understand what is going on!! No more jokes. Afternoon level 1 hike.

    – Level 3 intervals up the canyons resort, one of my favorite workouts! Fun to have some APU buddies to join. Evening dinner with US Biathlon Team who is here training at the same time. Fun to connect with some fellow skinny ski buddies!!

    – Tired legs, so took the day for an easy L1 classic rollerski around the PC town loop talking babies with Kikkan. Afternoon strength and L1 running warm up. Strength becomes so much more fun when I get to do it at the center of excellence!

    – Rest day here at Park City Camp. Morning Dentist trip, L.L. Bean and Craft uniform unveiling, and finished the evening with online class. Really fun to see the new uniforms for this season. Craft and L.L. Bean have done a great job of rallying the very best troops! Look out for an exciting and different suit on the trails for Team US this winter!

    – Level 2 run/hike in the mountains chasing Eric packer through the snow. Made up high where the wind was blowing hard, but the sun made a few peaks out of the ski. Photo credit- Eric packer. The butt descending technique through some sketchy snowy cliffs. Afternoon leading the Tuesday night races, where 1000 people of all ages show up to race every Tuesday through the fall. So fun to see such a community of outdoor enthusiasts!!!

© courtesy of Sadie Bjornsen

    – One full day of recovery and resting means for a lot of errands getting done. One of which is upgrading from the iPhone 4 to the 6, loving it!!

© Sadie Bjornsen

    – Recovery hunting day with Jo. Successful grouse day, providing some fun mix for dinner! Discovery of the day- this wonderful headlamp that I will be traveling with this winter!

© courtesy of Sadie Bjornsen

        – With a stiff and sore body after yesterdays really hard effort, the OD run with the women’s team was a little bit harder to get started. Right away we managed to place ourselves between a mom and baby moose… which left us sprinting for safety… a good way to loosen ourselves up. Again, halfway through the workout I found myself between momma and baby on a different trail… only to sprint to safety for a mid-workout surge. Seems these little surges may actually be good for my OD training… after all that happens quite frequently during those really long races!

        – Easy Level 1 jog in the morning to get some training in, but save a little for the afternoon Kincaid Stampede Rollerski Race. After an afternoon of homework to keep from getting nervous, I headed out into the wonderful windy and rainy weather for the classic race. This is my fourth time doing this exact same race, so it is fun to see how my DP’ing has improved. With a windier and colder race than in years past, I was still able to PR, so I was pretty excited about that! It was fun to get both APU juniors as well as the UAA crew out to make it a little larger event!

    – Happy October! Woke up to 25 degrees and still snow on the ground. Warming up for bounding in this ridiculous outfit made for a good morning giggle and some quality “warm muscles” for some level 3 bounding intervals. Afternoon danger rollerski through snow, leaves, Already graveled roads… Scary situation!

© courtesy of Sadie Bjornsen

        – So nice to have a recovery day to enjoy our fresh 5 inches of snow down in town. Snow dance and level 1 run on the running trails turned ski trails. Afternoon stationary ride while watching top gun with the university boys. Good company and good entertainment for a boring level 1 activity!

Jack Novak, Thomas Ohara, and Andre Lovett. © Sadie Bjornsen

        – Rollerskiing intervals in the 35 degree torrential downpour turned to snowstorms on some wonderfully slippery fall leaves all over the road…. couldn’t be more thankful for a team and some L.L. Bean rain gear! level 4. Afternoon jog in the rain followed by strength. Level 1.

        – Morning speed under the wonderful rain system that has moved into Anchorage. Trying to stay dry while also trying to get my hips up. Two challenging monday goals! Afternoon run through the hillside.

    – Fast and Female Day! Time to dress up funky, inspire the next generation of kids, and keep them involved in activity! Successful Fast and Female with 13 sports, approx 260 + participants, and endless smiles.

Autograph signing © courtesy of Sadie Bjornsen

    – Nothing like having teammates to join you for a cold and wet morning OD. Your guide, Kikkan, showing us some ski trails I was never aware of at Kincaid Park. Nice to switch up the “usual” for a long L1 workout. Afternoon off, a perfect time to do some extra stretching and body care!

        – Morning bounding intervals pushing myself hard. Nice to have my classic skiing buddy Rosie there to remind me where my strengths and weakness’s are. Best part of having teammates, they remind you every day what you need to work on. Level 5.
Afternoon bike and strength. Still struggling with finger, so putting a lot of emphasis on core work for the time being. In cross country skiing, your core can never be too strong! Level 1.

        – Distance classic with some speeds mixed in. Cold morning, with temps down around 22… So chilly times! Great day to have a little technique reminder! Every day is a great day to not just train… But think while you train. Afternoon level 1 distance run in the mountains. Snow last week meant for really soggy and wet trails today! Mud slip and slide!

        – Morning hike up into the mountains with Kikkan. On a chase for some snow, and finally went and played in it. There has been snow for a week now, very close from town, but I have been busy doing most of my training down low. So, fun to finally chase it today! Afternoon mountain bike on gentle terrain. First time back on a bike since all my “breaking episodes”. Level 1 mid-week recovery day.

Sadie and Kikkan © Sadie Bjornsen

    – Morning chilly jog with Lauren all throughout the lower hillside. 28 degrees makes for a fast and furious service to rip on feet!! Afternoon strength session. Working on introducing things back into my strength program with a healing broken finger. Getting creative with my upper body exercises.

morning 12 mile route. © courtesy of Sadie Bjornsen

    – Awesome run in the Adirondacks over Algonquin and Avalanche lake. So much fun to do an adventure. It was a little foggy on top, but beautiful the rest of the way and the fall colors are beginning to change. Perfect way to end a big camp week.

The majority of the girls group before heading out on our run © Jessie Diggins

    – Travel home to WA. Wonderful day to be back home and see family. Evening walk to the local resort for some sunshine and smiles with my mom, dad and sister. Recovery day.

© Sadie Bjornsen

    – Longest run for years today! I started doing foot OD’s this year after a five year break from them… But most of these have been hiking. Today I ran 16 miles uphill with the girls team. Avoided all potential tripping roots and rocks. Successful day of staying on my feet.. And one heck of an enjoyable happy one too! Level 1.

© Sadie Bjornsen

    – Woke up to a downpour and wonderful Los Anchorage…. Didn’t make my attempt to rollerski so successful. Slippery roads, slippery tar… Not the best. Swallowing my frustration and remembering my solid summer of training. Better safe than sorry this morning! Afternoon stationary ride with some core and jumps for my strength routine. Level 1 day.

    – Crazy colors and pain in my hand brought me back for another x-ray. Broken finger. It seems I am following the same pattern as Therese Johaug!!

© Sadie Bjornsen

    – Level 1 running. Sore tail bone and hand means taking a step back and being patient. Afternoon level 1 stationary bike and ski erg. Best way to enjoy a ski erg… Close your eyes and visualize while you erg. Magic!

    – One of those days that you have to remember that the world keeps spinning regardless of some setbacks. Woke up super stiff from a fall while rollerskiing and trying to avoid moose yesterday morning. Tried some level 4 running, but an incredibly sore tail bone made me decide to call it quits early and make it a rest day. It seems my body needs some recovery after another big fall.

A colorful angry two fingers © Sadie Bjornsen

    – This is not a joke, be aware of moose! The fall has come, which means lots of moose on our regular rollerski and running paths. Today I came flying down a hill on skis, and had to bail off the side to save myself from a baby and momma moose encounter. Good news, I avoided the moose. Bad news, I fell on my already braced and troubled hand… Which left me in a world of new pain. Dangit! Level 1 skating gone dangerous. Afternoon level 1 run.. Goal, stay on feet!!

    – Recovery day. Woke up to lots of snow in the mountains, exciting!!! Headed for the State Fair and the shooting range for some fun off day activities.

© Sadie Bjornsen

    – Morning skate on the chilly and cold pavement. Temps in the low 40’s… Brrr!! Afternoon sponsor event playing games with the Saltchuk clients. Highlight of the day was potato sack races! I haven’t done that since elementary PE class. Afternoon level 1 hike up into the mountains with some amazing views!

Saltchuk Family Day © Sadie Bjornsen

    – Day 3 of APU 3 day tour. Classic uphill climb. Hunter start according to combined times and bonuses from previous days. Erik and I out first with the pack of boys and girls chasing me from behind. Tough and fun! Level 5. Afternoon strength training.

        – Morning level 1 classic role through the hills. Just moving my legs preparing for our afternoon uphill running time trial. First time on course… So always a PR that way. Level 5. Got the juniors out to join the TT, awesome to add to the fun!

Junior and Elite Apu team post TT. © courtesy of Sadie Bjornsen

        – Sprint Race morning. Woke up to some wonderful rain.. which made me have to conquer some fears during sprint racing. Having memories from recent falls, I overcame my fears and got an awesome sprint race training! Level 5. Afternoon easy Level 1 hike up the time trial course, getting ready for tomorrow’s uphill running time trial.

    – Morning easy Classic through the hills with some level 5 speeds. Always feels good to go a little speedy… one of my favorite workouts. Afternoon run level 1 with strength.

    – Monday easy training. Level 1 skate and stationary bike. My hand is still in a brace, so I haven’t been able to take the biking outside yet. 8 weeks of recovery, and then hopefully I will be able to! A day of Fast and Female planning for our Anchorage event coming up on Sep. 27th. Great to catch up with Holly Brooks and Kikkan Randall, whom both I haven’t seen for multiple weeks.

    – Recovery day shopping with Jo. Buying me a gun for our hiking/hunting recovery week adventures early next week.

© Sadie Bjornsen

        – Final day of skiing on Eagle for the summer. Making the most of every last skate push on the soft snow. Level 1. After a nice full week of weather, the weather decides to move in just in time for our exit… Level 5 sprint for the helicopter when it finally appears out of the mist to pick us up.

    – Ski race morning jitters. Eagle Glacier team sprint time trial. Nothing like practicing and making it fun! Level 5. Yet another day of sunshine… Nicest camp I have ever attended on Eagle! Is it possible to have one more day of sunshine for the OD tomorrow?

        – Morning level 1/2 skate. Hand really bothering me, so decide to ski one pole. Feeling the serious hip burn!! How did Sophie do this so much last year? Afternoon classic with some level 5 speeds mixed in.

    – Morning threshold intervals skating. My last threshold intervals on snow before season time- so really trying to make the most of my time spent. Afternoon classic level 1. Slippery skis, so working through frustration- but picturing the many races that I have started and had to find a way to make slippery skis work. Practice weaknesses in the summer, yes please!

        – Sports bra laps for days! Best weather I have ever seen on Eagle. Soft and sunny makes the third camp secretly amazing! Morning level 1 skate with some level 5 speed. Evening level 1 classic. Smooth seas so far!