Following US Nationals, I had a pretty easy week to recover from the championships. It took me a few days to unwind from the races, and the Fast and Female ski day I helped organize, but the skiing conditions were near perfect and it was nice to have a little time to catch up on some housework and computer work as well.
The next week however, it was time to get back to work. Erik and I laid out a plan to put in one bigger week of training, before beginning the taper leading into the Canmore World Cups and the Olympics. I did four workouts of pretty hard intervals, four strength sessions, several distance skis and two over-distance stints of 2.5 hours, in seven days. I felt surprisingly good through the week, which gave me added confidence that my race fitness is really coming up. The conditions throughout the week continued to be excellent, with fresh grooming and sweet classic tracks.
When I was not training, I was taking full advantage of playing with my two cats, Sophie and Lulu, and playing a little bit of DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) on the Wii. There were also lots of media and appearance requests, which I had to balance with the training. Being able to be at home so close to the Olympics was a great way to be able to stoke the enthusiasm of the Alaskan community for the Games. Everywhere I went people were fired up!!
Upon completion of my “big” week, I had a few days off to gather up all my stuff, say goodbye to everyone and prepare to head out for the next two months. I did my typical whirlwind, throwing everything in my bag, agonizing over which sweatshirt to bring. Thankfully, my brother helped me pick out some of the essentials and I managed to leave feeling pretty much together.
Now I’m in Canmore for the next 10 days preparing for the upcoming World Cups. It’s great to be on the road again, especially with the Olympic opening ceremonies less than two weeks away! The energy is high for my teammates and we’re all excited to test our selves out one more time before the big show!
I will be posting blogs through out the next few weeks. Stay tuned!!