Kikkan and her cats ©
Setting up the new SkiErg ©
Trying the SkiErg ©
Training with the U.S. Ski Team in Whistler ©
To catch you up, the past few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster. I spent most of September on the road. My trip started off with a few relaxing days at my husband Jeff’s family cottage in Ontario before heading to Vancouver for a US team camp in Whistler. After 10 days of solid training at the 2010 Olympic venue, I enjoyed a few days of team bonding in the surf town of Tofino (on the north end of Vancouver island), and then finished my trip with three days in Chicago for a USOC media summit.
The three days in Chicago were pretty busy with interviews and photo shoots, and there wasn’t much time to train. So when I got back to Anchorage, I jumped right back into a regular training sequence. By the end of that first week back, I was pretty tired from the accumulated efforts of the previous six-week block, and it was time for a rest week.
Instead of really “resting” during the recovery week however, I got a little too crazy with trying to catch up on all the non-training related things I’m involved with. Meetings, catching up with family and friends, and school visits on behalf of Healthy Futures (a kids program I work with), had me running from one thing to the next. Near the end of the week I started back into normal training again as well. Midway through my over-distance ski that Sunday, I knew I was in trouble. Monday morning the cold symptoms showed up and my energy hit the floor.
That was the beginning of last week. I could have kicked myself! Now, instead of charging into another week of training to make myself stronger, I was stuck going easy, hoping the cold would pass quickly. Erik [Flora] prescribed easy distance sessions until the cold cleared. Thankfully, by Thursday I was feeling better, and on Friday I was able to resume normal training (conservatively). It felt so good mentally to be back charging again, but it took my body a few days to fully come around.
Fall has definitely set in here, and the temperature has been dropping. The pavement is getting painfully slow and the termination dust is slowly creeping down the mountains. Snow could be here soon.
Last week I received a Concept 2 SkiErg in the mail. Like a kid at Christmas, I immediately tore into the box to set it up. It went together amazingly smooth and reminded me of my old lego sets. After my first few pulls on the machine I knew I had just discovered a great new tool. Now, when the snow first comes to the streets of Anchorage, and the city dumps a bunch of sand on the roads only to have the snow immediately melt, I can continue my double-pole specific training to bridge to the racing season.
A big Thank you to the folks at Concept 2 that have generously provided me with the SkiErg to train on! More to follow on my adventures with the Erg!
Today I’m enjoying a rest day, while the rain pours outside. Five weeks until I take off for Europe to start the season.
Happy training!