Davos Week 1

This past week we have been in Davos, and actually it has been almost two weeks now, as, due to lack of snow, our races in France planned for this coming weekend were moved to Davos as well.  So, this weekend we will be racing here as well, tomorrow with a 10k skate and Sunday with another skate sprint.  Europe has been having a very tough snow year so far, and Davos is one of the few places in central Europe with any snow at all.  So, as as a result, we will not be spending the holiday break in Les Saisies, France,  but will stay in Davos for Christmas as well!  I am bummed not to be spending the time in France, as it is one of my favorite places to ski, but most of the team will be together this way, making it more festive at the holidays!

A photo from the 10k Classic last weekend.

Sadie, popping champagne to celebrate finishing her last college class! Impressive lady to be able to manage school and skiing while on the road.  Congrats Sades!

Holly was in Davos for a week preparing for the two marathon races she competed in this weekend in Livigno, Italy, so she stopped in for dinner one night and we got to catch up!  Plus, she then went and snagged a 2nd place in the 42k skate on Friday!  Congrats Holly!

Jessie found a bit of chocolate....just the small sized ones!

A few of us drove over the pass last week to get some different skiing terrain in Livigno, Italy and we followed this most of the way over the top.  A snowblower that was blowing the snow from the side of the road into the dump truck which was then taking it to the course.  Pretty incredible how much snow they had to move to make these races happen.  No job is too big here to put on a World Cup.

After our ski in Italy we stopped in for a pizza and at the end of our meal we were offered a taste of many different regional liquors, as well as this grappa.

Just a cobra and a scorpion marinating in there.  No big deal.

Nice shot of a perfect Davos day (minus all the snow that should be here!) from our deck at the Hotel Kulm.

Vitamin D. Erik and Sadie soacking it in.

Lullaby time.

Caitlin Gregg has been with us this last month as our continental cup leader from last season!  Its always so fun to have another face along with us.  She has been keeping close tabs on her husbands races and keeping us informed.  Here she is checking his results while pumping some heavy iron!

The Kaffee Klatsch is a common stop for us here in Davos, mostly because of their beautiful Cappuccinos!

Always good to get a little spa time when possible.  Tough life....

And on a completely different note; Meet Addison Wubbles!!!  Alex and Cory Wubbles, my very good friends (Cory is also one of our wax techs, though he is taking this year off) had a healthy baby boy on December 8th!  I am so excited to meet this guy! Lucky little man to get parents like these guys.

Lillehammer Triple

We just arrived in Lillehammer, Norway for our second weekend of World Cup racing and our first mini tour of the season, which is usually held at the opening World Cups in Kuusamo, but this year it has been moved to Lillehammer, which is fun, as the venue is new last year and we will get an opportunity to really race all of the courses and loops.  Today was a skate sprint, tomorrow is a 5k skate individual start and Sunday will be a pursuit start 10k classic, based on the results from the sprint and the 5k.  It is a really fun format and I am hoping to be able to chase some people down in the coming days!  

It was a really fun day here, as Celine Brun-Lie who joined our women's team camp in Alaska this summer and hosted me at her house two summers ago in Oslo was second!  It is not an easy ladder to climb up in the Norwegian team or just in the World Cup field in general, so to be on one of those podium steps is a really special experience, and Celine has been really patient with a very tough battle, so to see her succeed today was so inspiring for me.  I am so happy for her.  Congrats Celine.  Thanks for reminding us all the importance of belief in yourself, belief in your process and your way and not to ever give up.

Celine, showing some emotion after securing second place in today's sprint.

Noah, still smiling with a broken fibula.  He actually just had surgery in Vail yesterday morning, so already on the road to recovery.  He is expecting to be back for World Champs in Falun, Sweden in February!  Send speedy recovery wishes his way!

Jessie and Soph just being great people.

Our team PT for the last 3 weeks has been Pete Dickinson from the Methow Valley in Washington.  He has been incredible to have on the tour with us, never too tired to work on whatever we need, even our boots! Thanks for all of your time and knowledge you have shared with us, Pete! We can't wait to have you back again in the future!

Some "dry needling" on my shoulder, which is a sort of acupuncture technique to get some muscles to relax.

Skiing in the heart of winter in Sjusjoen earlier this week.  So nice to be on real, white, beautiful snow.

And with the Norwegian tundra all around, on the Birkebeiner trail, ahhh, couldn't be better.

The views were beautiful.

Like I said, beautiful.

Reese Hanneman took this picture of me after our ski one day.  If you haven't checked out his photography, you should.  His website is: http://www.reesehanneman.com.

Excited to Announce....

 My new glove sponsor!!!  I am so excited to represent this awesome company and do so with a wonderful group of fast, courageous and smiling women.  Look for Johaug Gloves to be keeping my hands warm and fast tomorrow!

Hazel Says...

This is my strength coach's baby named Hazel Luna.  I never posted this picture, and it has been recently switched to be my desktop pic for the month, so I wanted to share it with you all.   It has reminded me the importance of smiling.  Whenever I open my computer now, I smile, because, who sees this adorable little girl sitting in a pumpkin with her chubby arms and cute outfit and doesn't, without even noticing or trying, smile?  

I read this interesting article the other morning and was reminded of the benefits a simple smile can have on your mood, but also the effect it can have on others as well.  While spending these last 10 days at home before I head to Europe for the season on Wednesday, I have noticed what a difference making myself smile in the morning before I get out of bed makes on the way I go about my day.  So, its become something I do. Try it tomorrow.  Wake up, take a breath and smile for no reason at all, just smile, whether you want to or not.  Feel that instant change in your attitude, demeanor?  I do.  So, I think it's the ticket, and Hazel Luna here, is helping me do it.

So, as I soak up my last day in Vermont tomorrow for 4 months, I feel ready to hit the road and join my teammates.  I have had a chance to recover, get my feet back under me and my injury has had time to heal so I am feeling almost 100% again!  It's exciting stuff!  So, I'm smiling, but I am sure had I frowned more last week, I would not have healed up as quickly:)

If you feel like reading more, here is the article I found the other day:

https://blog.bufferapp.com/the-science-of-smiling-a-guide-to-humans-most-powerful-gesture

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Long and Short of my Stick Season

Well, I finally go what I wished for and get to spend some extra time in Vermont!!  Unfortunately, it is not because the World Cup is coming to East Montpelier, but because of an injury I that needs some extra nursing before making the trip across the pond.  I got home with some tricep and peck tightness and was doing some stretching to try and relieve it, but continued to train through it, which may or may not have caused my first and second ribs to find their way out of place and create a fair amount of pain.  I have luckily had some amazing help here in Vermont from my PT Mom, my favorite massage therapist, Emily Gatewood, and an incredible Osteopath, John Peterson.  I have made massive recovery over the past week and skied for the first time yesterday, which went well, though today's first classic attempt did not provide the same result.  Baby steps.  

This has been an very educational opportunity for me, learning how to be smart, train creatively, and be tough through some times that are not as fun as the rest of my training year has been.  I have been very lucky in my career to not be put on the sidelines for injury or sickness too often.  I have watched some of my teammates and friends on other teams suffer with injury after injury and illness after illness and I have not had too many setbacks of those kind in my career.  So, it is good to be reminded, though I don't often find myself forgetting, how incredible it is to be healthy.  It is life's biggest happiness factor, I believe.  

I will head to Kuusamo, Finland on Wednesday and hope to race on Sunday, but we will see.  Patience, I hear, is a virtue:)

My Mom had a birthday on the 10th and she and Maisie blew out the candles together!

And Matt came over to make it a bit more of a party!  And, yes folks, those are overalls and they will be coming with me to Europe this winter!

Corinne Prevot, Skida Founder and Owner and the one who gets the props on this year's Friends Of Liz design! Super psyched on these! Get yours today on her website (along with her new cashmere line!!) at: www.skidasport.com

When I first got home it looked like this.

Then yesterday, I did some of this! Craftsbury is in amazing shape right now and it is only going to get better as they continue to blow snow and spread more of it out.  So if you are getting the itch, that' the place to scratch it.  Or the Notch road in Stowe is in great shape too!

First tracks on the 5k at Craftsbury yesterday.

HUGE thank you to ProBar, who sent me a box of their finest products the other day to get me to Europe and keep me fueled during the dark, cold winter months!

Photos from Canmore I never posted! Whoops!

NNF D25 Final Push!

We are getting into the last days of the NNF Drive for 25 fundraiser and I am overwhelmed by the support that has been shown in this small community of Cross Country Skiing.  We have almost met our overall fundraising goal of $150,000 but we aren't quite there yet.  This is the way we support our up and coming junior skiers, how we help our senior skiers make the jump from national to international competition, how we help sustain programs and athletes that would otherwise not be able to continue the fierce pursuit of their passion.  So if you haven't had a chance to donate to this cause, or are inspired to give again, please do so at the link below.  I am inspired by the hard work and dedication of our up and coming skiers and by the support of this community of nordics.  Thank you for everything you all do to support healthy lifestyles, chasing passion, and believing in all of us.

Happy Halloween!

https://support.nationalnordicfoundation.org/fundraise?fcid=357265

Thank you!

Park City Camp!

I am currently on a plane to San Francisco for a night with my good friend and teammate Jessie Diggins to attend the annual Snow Ball that is held there every year as a fundraiser for the US Ski Team.  Unlike the other Ski Balls, this one is themed and this year's theme is retro ski getups.  So, Jessie and I have embraced the theme as best we can and with the help of friends put together these outfits to dress the part as best we can.

Jessie dressing and living the part!  She should have been an 80's baby!

Here we are!

The crew.

I had to get a picture with this lady in the cow suit as this was the suit I had when I was an alpine racer. I wish I could figure out how to import the photo I have of me in mine when I was racing, but no go, so you will have to just imagine it!

Jessie and I getting our dance on!

Meanwhile, the Park City training camp carries on without us for another day before we take the party north to Canmore, Alberta where the ground will be laden with snow saved from the 2014 ski season on a 2 or 3K loop, depending how much they were able to save.  It is a pretty cool loop that they are able to put together with a few hills, corners, a fast downhill and conditions that mimic a lot of what we have been seeing the past few winters.  Though I can't deny that the loop can get boring after a few too many loops, the beauty of Canmore, the feeling of snow beneath your skis again, and catching up with friends who we haven't seen in many months keeps it enjoyable.

Fast and Female was a huge success last week with an all-time record number of 181 girls!  Thanks to all the ambassadors for being inspiring leaders to our young women and all the support from the volunteers and community.  See you next year!

A huge thanks to our awesome volunteer PT, Zuzana Rodgers.  She travels for long periods during the season with us, donating her time, expertise and has never once said no to helping any of us out.  Thanks Zuzana! See you this winter!

Doing some training in the beautiful fall weather of Park City.  I think this will be my last day of shirtless training in a few months, so I took advantage!

I want to say a huge thank you to Mike Engel for hosting me all summer and being my Utah "Dad" and good friend.  Here is the team at a recent flank steak dinner that Mike grilled up for us last week.  Thanks for all of your support, Mike, from me and the US XC Team.  We love you!

My best friend Alex Shaffer is due to have a baby in early December and last week we had a baby shower for her at Sundance.  It was a beautiful day and a wonderful evening of girl time with some close friends.

It's been a great camp filled with the normal mix of hard sessions and long sessions, time trials and speed work, getting buff in the gym and spending time with the whole team for the first time since our Bend camp in May!  We have had almost every elite club team in the US here joining most of our sessions, which has been great to connect with everyone one last time before the long winter of travel begins.

Ok, until next time....