Fall Recap!

So it’s been a minute... oops! This fall sure has flown by and I can’t believe I’m already back on snow. Last time I checked in I was just returning from an on-snow camp in Oberhof, GER and now I’m checking in from a pre-season camp in Canmore, CAN. Don’t worry there was plenty of rollerskiing in the middle there. We had two other SMS T2 team camps this fall; one was a mini camp in Lake Placid while the other was a two week trip to Park City.

Enjoying an amazing day in the Adirondacks!

Lake Placid was a short and sweet weekend in the Adirondacks but consisted of some pretty stellar New England fall weather, amazing mountain running, plenty of team bonding and a NENSA rollerski race. We packed a lot into 3.5 days but it was great to have the opportunity to work with some of the other national clubs who were in town for a sea-level camp. We sprint raced with SVSEF and BSF on the brand new rollerski track at Mt. Van Hovenberg, which had lots of twists, turns, steep hills and tactics to play around with. The following day, a few of us traveled to Jericho, VT for a 15k skate race; another great event that NENSA put together for us to test the racing shape.

The team spent a lot of time together on the porch of the ADK lodge we stayed at, overlooking the beautiful mountains. (PC: Bill Harmeyer)

Lots of high-speed corners during the sprint race. (PC: Reese Brown)

Plenty of smiles to go around! (PC: Reese Brown)

The remainder of September was packed with some pretty solid intensity training. Getting into the morning training routine, followed by work in the afternoon and an evening training session made the weeks fly by. However, I was sure to get in a few last fun adventures before it was time to get really serious.

Having a good time putting in the work (PC: Ian Torchia)

Pressing our own apple cider at the Ogden house.

Having fun with Ida and Katharine during the RAS Gravel Ride throughout southern Vermont.

In early October my teammates and I flew to Park City, UT for an altitude camp. Altitude is an intimidating place for me but I’ve been challenging myself to improve this weakness and visit the high mountains somewhat frequently. I was grateful for the opportunity to jump in with the national team during this two week camp - we packed in plenty of intervals, speeds and time trials.

Lots of rollerskiing at Soldier Hollow, Utah.

Not quite the Vermont foliage I was looking for, but it'll do.

I was feeling a little anxious about the time trials as I’m still not super comfortable with pacing at altitude. I somehow managed to flood my legs in the first 400 meters of the skate sprint which made it tricky to rebound for the rounds, but this was a great learning experience! Meanwhile, in the 10k classic time trial I wanted to start off a little more conservative. I’ve had my fair share of blowing up at altitude and once you go over that line I know it’s near impossible to come back. This strategy seemed to have worked okay for me as I was able to carry good energy throughout the entire 10 kilometers, but maybe had a little too much left in the tank at the end. Another good opportunity to practice for racing at altitude.

Lucky to have the chance to catch up with lots of friends I don't get to see in Vermont. Lizzie is a fellow ex-Catamount and always fun to see!

Lina and I found our retired teammate, Sophie Caldwell for a run around Park City.

Despite some of the photos, Park City threw in some curve ball weather days with snow falling early in the camp and making it difficult to rollerski. Although, it was exciting to see some of that white stuff fall in October and got me thinking of the race season. Alas, I needed to rest and recover after a hard two weeks at altitude. At the end of camp I made a quick trip home to Minnesota to see friends, jump in a rollerski clinic with Gear West and spend quality time with my family. 

Great to work on rollerski drills with fellow Minnesotans. Thanks Gear West for a great clinic! (PC: Tim Shea)

Embracing the fall weather with some adult hot cider ;)

Returning to Vermont after almost a month away was nice, although I seemed to have just missed peak foliage season (one of my favorite parts about living in Vermont). Stick season came fast but we made the most of it with some fun time trials, last few days of mountain biking, and a team fundraiser!

Getting frisky around those corners during time trial week. (PC: George Forbes)

Another sprint TT - check. (PC: Julia Kern)

Vermont absolutely treating us during stick season! (PC: Julia Kern)

Got to see my parents during a quick trip east.

Love team time trials days!

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The SMS T2 team hosted a running race on Halloween, inviting friends and family to join us up Stratton mountain followed by a kids race, treats, live music and giveaway prizes. It was fun to see members of the community come out in costumes to support our team and we were extremely grateful for the generous donations that so many people made. If you weren’t able to attend the race and are interested in donating to our team, it’s not too late! You can make a tax-deductible donation on our Stratton team page, which will go toward winter travel expenses such as flights, food & lodging, wax, race entries, coach support, etc. Any amount helps support this team’s motto of Local Inspiration-International Excellence and is very much appreciated!

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After a few more weeks embracing stick season I started looking at the upcoming forecast, keeping my fingers crossed that I would see a snowflake icon. Sadly, the weather was not looking great in Vermont or the Midwest and I started getting antsy to find snow. With races happening the first weekend in December I wanted to make sure I was prepared to be in the best position possible to perform well. My teammate, Lina Sutro, and I talked to Coach Pat and made some pretty quick travel arrangements to head up to Canmore, Alberta where there is currently a reliable 3k track of man-made snow.

Straight from airport to ski trails.

Pretty excited to be here and reunited with snow!

Despite this being such a last minute decision, I really think Lina and I nailed it! Although we missed quite a few other American teams who had been training here earlier in the month, we arrived just after a fresh snowstorm. We are now switching between skiing in town on the 3k track and driving one hour north to Lake Louise for over 30k of freshly groomed natural snow. We're halfway through our week-long training camp up here and getting ready to kick off the racing season back in the Midwest!

Not a bad place to be training for eight days! (PC: Lina Sutro)