My trip in Norway continues. There is so much to tell, but I have been spending so much time with all of the wonderful people I have met, that it has been hard to find the time to write about it all. So, for now, I will tell bits of the story through many pictures.
The days are really light up here in Norway. This is one of the sunsets I was up to see in Sognefjell, which happened around midnight or 12:30, but it never got fully dark.
We skied every day, twice a day for the first 4 days we were on the snowfield, but on the 5th afternoon, we took a break from the snow to go down a bit lower and hammer out some hard double pole intervals. They were really amazing, as we all did them together in a "pace line", much like biking. A different person would start each interval and then after the first 30 seconds it was a free for all and the goal was to try to pass each other. It helped my practice of skiing in a pack and it was amazing to be double poling along with some of the best athletes in the world. We were really moving, drafting each other and hauling along the road. It has been one of the highlights of my camp so far, for sure. I even got to lead the first 30 seconds of the last interval!
Ingvild and I on the way down!
The cool down ski
Ingvild totally spent!
The crew. Egil, the head women's coach on the left.
Heidi and I happy to be done and riding the adrenaline high!
Vibeke, Celine, Heidi, Theresa and Maiken hanging together in the Signefjellshytta.
My awesome Rossi Rep, Simon, who brought me a bunch of test skis!
Ingvild, Maiken, Therese, Marit, and Celine
The women's team. Maiken, Marit, Marthe, Celine, Heidi, Vibeke, Ingvild, Astrid and Therese.
Me on the only sunny day while I was there. Photo courtesy of Mette Bugge.
Celine Brunlie and I drove through Beitostollen, one of the early season World Cup stops on some years and we will be there this year in November for some Norwegian Cup races and training. Fun to see it with no snow!
Celine was so kind and took me into her parent's home in Oslo for the last 2 days and it has been so nice to meet her family. As with everyone I have met, they are extremely generous and kind and have been making me delicious home cooked meals and showing me the ropes of Oslo.
Celine suiting up for our bike ride yesterday
My bike!
Our trip to the kayak race!
We biked from Celine's to her sister's kayak race, and as it turns out, we were allowed to enter the race! So, we did! Celine was actually quite good, as she used to kayak when she was younger, and being in a really tippy boat was a real challenge for me, but I didn't flip the whole 5000 meter race! It was so fun!
Celine and I after the competition!
Celine's incredible family:
Starting with her dog, Kompas or "little bro".
Her father, and also the Chef, Gustav.
Her mother, Kathinka, Kompas, and Celine
Her sister who is on the Norwegian National Kayak Team, Agnes. Her grandma, Grandma. Gustav, Kathinka and Celine.
Grandma looking really cool at 86 in her blue shades! I hope I can be so stylish when I am her age! She is a professional seamstress and after seeing some of the work she has done, I am all the more impressed by this woman.
Ingvild Ostberg, my personal tour guide for the day, took me on a rollerski up to Holmenkollen and around on the new rollerski tracks on the course. It was a super nice day and it's always more fun to ski in a new place with a friend, so the time flew by.
Ingvild and me.
And then we finished the day at Celine's cabin on a Peninsula just a 40 minute trip from Oslo, 10 minutes in a car and 20 minutes on a boat and you are in Paradise! We did some sun bathing and relaxing in the sun together this afternoon and have now just sat down to dessert after a delicious dinner with the girls!
Me, Maiken, Marthe, Celine, and Ingvild
I have been having such a wonderful time here. The girls and the coaches have been so nice, so generous and welcoming and training with some of the best women in the World has been amazing and very inspiring. I feel really lucky to have been here, made new friends, and am fired up for the training season back home as well. But first, one more session with the girls tomorrow morning in the gym and then off to Sweden to train with and visit Anna Haag and Emil Jonsson on my annual Swedish summer trip!
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