Fresh Tracks Farm Presents....

....A night with me, but that is not the highlight!  There will be ski inspired yoga, wood fired pizza, and, of course, the best wine east of the Mississippi!  Space is limited so get your tickets early.  I can't wait to catch up with you all!

And now a little on Canmore.

Me, Ida, Jessie, Sophie, Erika Flowers, and Annie Pokorny sporting our new Fast and Female Ambassador hoodies from Lululemon!!!!  Thanks for supporting us Lulu!

On that note of Fast and Female, Chandra Crawford (founder of the organization and Olympic Gold Medalist in 2006) is a close friend and spoke at her first TED talk last week!  Here is the crew of friends and family who came to see her speak, but there were many more who will be watching it online in the coming months.  She spoke about Fast and Female and how being a role model is so much more important than winning a medal.  Her medal helped create the platform she stands on to inspire so many young girls (and people in general).  It was a great speech and I see many more opportunities for her to share her Olympic story among others in the future.  Shoutout to you, Chandra for being brave enough to step up on that stage and take a risk by publicly sharing yourself and your thoughts.  That takes a lot of courage.

I spotted a Bansky in Canmore!

The track!  It was about 2K long this year and created a really nice loop with good terrain and good snow conditions.

The weather also rocked.

Matt on the side of the trail.  Glamor days here in Canmore.

Newell snagging a quick drink on the trails.

What a treat it is for me to hear live music of one sort or another.  This, right here, is my favorite kind.  The kind performed by friends in a living room, singing and strumming together.  Man it sounds so good.  This is Jennie Bender who has an insane voice and loves to harmonize, and her coach, Andrew Moorehouse, whose first recording is coming out in December!  HIGHLY recommend it.

Newell strumming and singing away.  Andy also has his first recording on the way!

The Ninja's wish you all a Happy Halloween!!

I am back in Park City now and then will be heading home to Vermont on the 6th.  I can't believe we are 100 days out from Sochi already and 23 out from leaving on a jet plane for the season.  Wow.  Time flies by even when you are trying to notice each moment.

Well, at least it's organic....?

Who knew, smoking actually can be good for you. (Pause) Not.

My good friend Cheryl on her Birthday dinner!

Party favors come in the form of colorful facial hair!

Our last day in Park City a few of us went on a long run on the trails around town.  It was a gorgeous day and a great group of people made trails that are usually a bit mundane really fun.

Pete Vordenberg and his daughter Josie.  It is rare when Josie does not have this smile on her face.

See what I mean?

Josie is actually our newest member of the team, as you may be able to tell by her coat.  Perhaps a smaller size is needed, but works very nicely as a dress.

Jessie, Sadie and Sophie hanging in the van after a ski.

Dan Campbell, a photographer with Rossignol, stopped by and took a few shots at our team sprint workout last week.

Tired eyes! haha.  Thanks for the shots, Dan!  Check him out at: www.dancampbellphotography.com

We are now in Canmore, Alberta skiing on 3K of saved snow from last year.  It is pretty awesome, great loop and so far I have not gotten sick of it, which I think is due to the amazing mountains that surround you here.  This is by far the most picturesque venue on the World Cup, in my opinion, and that is saying something as we travel to some pretty incredible places.  We are here for the next week, weather has been perfect fall weather, though we could use some cooler days for the snow, but still freezing at night so we should be fine.  I find that I am getting really excited for the season to start and all that ensues with a winter of travel.  I can't wait to settle into some quality time with the team, racing our way all over Europe and enjoying our time together.

Keep kicking ass and being the best you can be.  It's the only way to do it.

Each one is for you, Amy.

Pics from the week

Just a few pics from the week.  I have a lot of words, things to say, but time has not been something that I have had enough of to write the right words down on paper to share, and I want to get these words just right.

The third annual Fast and Female Park City Champ Camp was a real success, with our biggest showing ever of 135 girls!  So amazing.  A big shoutout to my Mom who made 114 tutus for the girls!  Thanks Mom.  Link to pictures is here, there were too many good ones to choose from! 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.590140941044182.1073741829.116870891704525&type=1

Our last camp of the training season is in full swing here in Park City.  We have had great workouts together, pushing one another, enjoying each other's company and working on our agility skills when we can.

Intervals on a particularly challenging day for me, but the colors are really beautiful here this time of year and it made it easier to focus on them rather than all of the other things that seemed to be taking up all of the space in my mind, body and heart. 

Charge on, even when you think you can't.  Find it in yourself to keep moving.  Keep pushing.  Keep taking one step in front of the other.  Periods of time will not easy, they aren't all supposed to be, but sometimes they feel impossibly hard.  It is at these times, when pushing on is at it's most challenging, that you must keep going.

Views from the tops of the mountains around.

Girls team sushi night!

Yesterday I worked on a project with my good friend Sarah and our friend Peggy.  They have been retiling this table and it was so fun to work on a creative project with people who had a vision. I wish I had an eye for this type of art.

SNOW!

SNOW!

The first snow angel of the year!

Cory and his homemade guitar.  Sounds insane.

Wubbs, Shaf and my brother, Andy who came for a 3 day visit!  So awesome to get to see him again before the long winter!

My sweet new Rossi backpack! Super rad design!  So many pockets and so much space, but also fits on my back!

Aspens are popping with bright yellows right now.

Fall colors.  Ahh....

Taking the bull by the horns.  Also, it's great wine.

Sadie and I rocking some speeds the other day at SoHo!

Jessie, Cork, Me and Shaf eating lunch in Shaf and Wubb's new home!!!

We had a team fundraiser at Mike Engel's home Saturday night.  Mike put me up in his home for 3 years and has since housed almost every member of the team, including staff, at one point or another.  He is into it and is an extremely generous and caring guy who donated his home, time, money and self into trying to raise money for our team as well as raise the awareness of our sport in the community.  Thanks Mike!

More When It Happens

Some of the crew who came together to remember a girl who changed people's outlook on what life can be and was for her.

Dinner parties full of Fall's best flavors!

My good friends, Evelyn, Sarah and Tyler and Tyler's Mom and Step Father.  We cooked up a really good meal hosted in their new kitchen! They also put me up for the night last minute, and I slept like a champ.  In the morning after a great breakfast at Einstein's of a PUMPKIN bagel (a favorite fall flavor of mine) and cream cheese I did one of my favorite workouts in the area.  

I skied up Millcreek Canyon and ran up to the Crest Trail, (one of my favorite trails in Park City that runs along the top of the mountains separating Park City from Salt Lake) along the ridge and back down the other side straight through the door of my condo.  Pretty sweet point to point.

On the Crest!

The trails are perfect right now, the leaves are beginning to change and there is still a bit of leftover snow around from last week's storms.  FALL!!  SMELLS LIKE HEAVEN!

Fall colors in Park City.

Barb Vordenberg Jones and her daughter Josie.  Pete was one of the Ski Team coaches for many many years after being an athlete for many years as well.  I don't get to see these guys enough, but when I do, it is always a great day!  Barb is a little under 3 months away from having another baby too!!

Dinner tonight with more good friends and teammates.  Me, Alex, Cory, Holly, Jessie and Kikkan all feasting on Turkey Burgers, salad, cornbread, and homemade butternut squash soup!  

Favorite Fall Flavors: Pumpkin, Squash, Apples, cinnamon, curry

Least Favorite Fall Food: Poached Fruit

Share your favorite recipes for the season!!!

Xterra Trail Nationals

Again, I waited until the last minute to do this blog and do not have enough time to really get into a writing zone tonight, but a bit of an recap of my week....

I flew back to Park City on Tuesday night after spending 2 days at home with my parents after our Lake Placid camp.  So nice to be home, always, and to see my family seems to be becoming more and more special as I get older and more mature:)  Jessie Diggins greeted me home, as she has moved in for the remainder of the fall and it is really nice to have the house not feel so empty and have a buddy to train with!  Yesterday I raced in the Xterra Trail Running National Championship which takes place in Ogden, Utah each year.  I have competed in this race 3 years now, though not consecutively, and each year has been different and fun.  Its a great course, climbing over 2200 feet in 21K, but is a loop, so there is quite a bit of downhill as well.  This year I had the opportunity to run with Lindsey Anderson, who I learned after the race competed in her first Olympics in Beijing in 2008 in the Steeplechase!  She and I ran the whole race together until the last mile or so when she opened up a gap that I couldn't close.  To have such a competitive race between the two of us the whole time made for a very exciting 21K for me, as well as a super hard fight, which made it mentally a great preparation race for the season.  Thanks to Xterra for hosting such a well run event again this year.

Yesterday's Xterra 21K Trail National Championship podium. 

It's fall here in Utah! Leaves are beginning to change, shadows are getting long, and the air has a bit of a briskness to it!

Many fall dinner parties! This one was with my good friends Cory, Jessie and Alex and we had some delicious fall flavors!

Along with some Wild Alaskan Salmon that Holly and Kikkan caught on our fishing trip in Alaska a month ago!  Still so delicious!!

My parent's new dog, Maisie, who is 4 months old, trying on her new tutu!