At last! I had been anticipating this day for many weeks, the drive home from Laramie was long, but I had managed to make it in time for a Tuesday evening paddle. Even though I had just barely stepped foot in my house, I ran back into my car and headed for one of my favorite places on earth, Lake Superior!

A long, cold winter had left BEAUTIFUL ice burgs that managed to stay into the middle of June. Here is a picture of my dad and I paddling amongst them.

What a beaut!

Here is some more amazing water, only its the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. 

Here I am on top of an Ottoman castle. It is only accessible via boat! The Island behind me is home of the Sunken City. Over time it has sunk two meters under the sea. We were able to kayak right over it!

Here are some wild poppies growing amongst some ancient tombs.

The white bank may look like snow but it is actually a GIGANTIC calcium deposit! Yay for calcium and family photos! 

The city of Istanbul taken from under a bridge.

One Summer Adventure After Another

As I sit here listening to Italian pop music, I am reflecting on the past experiences that I have been bless to have had this last year and particularly the most recent of my activities. Many of which have come from skiing, racing, and training. From The high mountains in the heat of the summer sitting in my kayak looking at my own reflection in the water, to the Italian Alps overlooking the most breathtaking mountains I have ever laid my eyes on, I have had an amazing year. Most recently, I have been fortunate enough to be able to spend a week and a half in the Jackson/Pinedale area.


As many of you may already know, we had our Jackson camp over the weekend of the fourth, and there was also the trail race that a few of us raced in this last Saturday. In planning for the two events, Pat and I realized that we could take the week between the ski camp and the trail race to embark on some epic adventures, needless to say it was not a very difficult decision to make. First I will cover the events of the ski camp, after which I will tell you about Pat and I's adventures in Pinedale, and to wrap up I will tell you a bit about my last few experiences in Jackson during the trail race before returning back to Laradise.

JACKSON CAMP:

Jackson camp in a nutshell was unforgettable. Pat, Kyle, and I stayed with the Thomas family throughout the duration of the camp, our gratitude for this cannot be put into words. Getting to know the Yara and her family more was one of the best parts of the camp. Unfortunately this did separate us from the rest of the team, but we were still able to spend good quality time with all of the team. 
The first day of the camp, the 4th of July, we went on an epic trail run. The trail run was accompanied with sights overlooking Jackson from thousands of feet above the valley, secluded single-track through dense forest's, cascading streams under little pine bridges, birds harmoniously singing, and companionship from teammates.The run, though tiring, stated the camp off on the right.
From there we all prepped to go floating the snake river. Like a herd of turtles in a snow storm, we were off. Floating the river was quite the experience on many different levels. Between the vast crowds of people lining beaches and other groups of people occupying entire islands, the tremendous quantity of people created a spectacular atmosphere that is second to none. our group of a dozen (more or less) was only a spec of sand in the group that populated the waterway. Our group had a few minor snafu's that could have easily brought agitation to any number of people but we were having far too much fun to let being capsized, rolled, and submerged by numerous rapids get us down. After all the laughs and all the fun, the rest of the day was spent recovering from an exciting and long day. In the evening, the Wiswell's hosted our team and many others' 4th of July dinner. Between the brats, grilled chicken, hamburgers and countless other sides and desserts we were all stuffed to the brim. Happy and full, we all dispersed for what was surely going to be a good-night's sleep. 
The next day we were able to rollerski the bike pathway that runs from the park entrance across to the jenny lake turnout. Rollerskiing directly below the Grant Tetons will never get old. In the evening we were guided by both Sam and Yara (our Jackson local experts) to a lake where we swam, jumped off rocks, and had an all-round great time. After our mountain lake adventure, we headed back down to Yara's where her family hosted the team for yet another spectacular meal enjoyed by all. 
On Sunday, Pat and I decided to go to mass instead of going for the morning hike, which we heard was also a "grand" time. By a little after noon, we had said our goodbyes and everyone on the team had left while Pat, Yara and I were off the flat creek for yet another float with some of Pat's old work buddies from the area. 


 PINEDALE:

Monday rolled around and it was time to head off to Pinedale to meet up with Pat's cousin Blane. As we arrived, we met Blane up at the Nordic/Alpine area to check out the next day's venue for mountain biking. After checking out the area, Pat and I headed to what would be our camping spot for that night which is nestled in the foothills of the wind river mountain range right off the edges of a small lake. After a bite to eat, we decided to take the kayaks out to do some fishing until the sun went down. As we paddled across the lake, we noticed the fish were slowing begining to rise, which can only mean good things to a fishermen. after catching a few rainbows and watching the sun dip behind the silhouette of the surrounding pines, we headed back to camp. (On a side-note, sleeping in a tent will never get old)
The next day we packed up our temporary home and headed to meet up with Blaine, his Fiance, and her parents for a mountain bike ride. After a bit of climbing, the view of the mountain range was better than I had anticipated, but not too long of a break to enjoy the scenery and we began the rest if the ride which was filled with jumps, single track, open meadows, tight turns between trees and a few bumps and bruises. After the thrill of catching air and countless mouth-fulls of dust and dirt, we headed back to Blaine's for what would be yet another wonderful meal (aside from getting eaten alive by mosquitoes).
The next day, Wednesday, was our "big adventure" day. Pat and I woke up early to get a good start on the day and have as much time as possible to get as much packed in the day as we could. We started the day off with a few hours of kayaking on and around the green river lakes about an hour outside of Pinedale. I could have paddled that lake all day, between the mountains shooting straight up on the other side of the lake and the pristine water untouched by wind or wave, I was never going to be ready to get off of the water. My stomach however, was ready for lunch and so was pats. Once we had loaded up the boats, we headed downstream to a nice little sport next to a small tributary where we ate freeze-dried mac-and-cheese provided by my very thoughtful sister. At the point of realizing that he fishing was not optimal at that time of day, we decided to take a little siesta. Rough life, I know. Once we woke up it was time to hit the water once again, but this time in a different fashion; with our fishing rods. I can honestly say I have never seen a river quite this unique. Green river is fed by the lake that we had paddles earlier that day. It also loses several vertical feet very rapidly in multiple sections. In the short runs there are boulders the size of small trucks and treacherous white water. In between these sections of chaos, there are flat, slow moving section perfect for fishing with dry flies that sit on top of the water. Pat and I fished for a solid 6 hours if I am recalling correctly. Fighting of mosquitoes from hell, sandal-eating marshes, willows and other various obstacles, the fishing seemed like we were in a movie. Now I will note, the fishing was amazing as I just mentioned, but the catching however, was not so great, not for a lack of trying of course. Pat and I often times can be sometimes a little poor at picking out the correct flies and patterns to match what the fish are eating, however we tried everything. Eventually we caught a few but only right before it had gotten dark. After watching the fish rise time and time again only for us to be frustrated trying new things to figure out what they were biting, in our frustration, we decided to come back the next day to redeem ourselves.
After a night of sleeping, it was time to tie what we predicted the fish would be biting. We spent a good majority of the day getting our fly boxes stuffed full of said flies. Later that evening we were no more successful than the previous night. Unfortunately we were unable to catch more than a few, but we still had one hell of an experience. 
On Friday we re-packed our things and headed back to Jackson where we met with Yara to hang out and enjoy resting before Saturday's trail race.


JACKSON TRAIL RACE:

Now I'm not much of a runner, never have been. Growing up I hated running with a burning passion. I ran cross-country in high school for one season, getting my 5K time under 20 minutes only once. Over the past few years I have grown to like running, in fact, I truly do enjoy it now. But aside from racing triathlons, I hadn't raced a running event since Junior year in high school so preparing for this trail race was a little intimidating. I knew I could finish the race but cramping has always been an issue in my racing experiences in the past and I had a feeling this might be pushing my limits. Fortunately I am good about not worrying too much about something for too long if I don't want to. So going into the race I decided to not worry about cramping, fitness, or other potential problems. Instead of worrying about what might happen, I instead focused on the awesome people around me (Sam, Yara, Pat, and Sawyer). Laughing and making jokes at the start of the race was the best start to a race. After setting into a pace I watched Pat, Sam, and Sawyer take off in the first few of the lead packs. Wishing I could keep up with them, I held back and worked on pacing myself. Having a few other pass me and passing a handful of people my pace was set and I really started to enjoy the race. Having the cache creek running fast next to the trail was a good distraction from the pain in path quads as we climbed more and more. Coming to the final hill-climb, I surged over the top and felt a rush of adrenalin and speed. Catching and passing a group of people I felt rejuvenated heading into the last few sections of open fields of willows, more winding single-track, and down into the finish where the guys were cheering me on. enjoying the feeling of accomplishment, I talked with a few racing that I had gotten passed by and re-passed to congratulate them on their races. Heading back to the start I found the rest of the group and talked with them inquiring about how their races had gone. The only thing that could have made the rest of the day any better would have been food and a Nap, which is exactly what we did. 

All in all it was the best week of summer that I've had yet. Being able to share my experiences with so many wonderful people is something that I do not take for granted. I know this is only just the start of many more good experiences with many more good people. Until next time, stay active, stay positive, and as always, stay classy ;)


(Here are a few pictures from the above stories, I hope you enjoy!) 

Meditation

Last Thursday, rather than focusing on lactate threshold, we changed gears substantially and had a session dedicated to meditation. As we were all struggling through a much needed but difficult rest week, meditation seemed a more fitting topic. We began our Thursday night session by reviewing a recent journal article in Molecular Neurobiology (2013, vol. 48: 808-811). This article, by Jindal et al. is a review article  succinctly, yet eloquently overviewing the neuro-physiological, neuro-endocrine and neurochemical substrates underpinning the process of meditation. 

Perhaps we all expected the article’s summary regarding the ability of meditation to decrease stress and improve attention. And, after so many phenomenal yoga sessions with Vicky, I do not think that the article’s conclusions about decreased respiratory and heart rate with meditation came as a surprise. However, Jindal et al. also eloquently described the positive impacts of meditation on the executive functions (attention / memory retrieval) of our prefrontal cortex as well as our limbic functions of motivation. In these neural regions, stress promotes apoptosis (a.k.a. programmed cell death or I prefer ‘cell suicide’). This cell death can lead to memory impairment and meditation decreases such stress.

But perhaps even more interesting are the impacts of meditation on neurotransmitters / neuroendocrinology. Melatonin is the neurotransmitter that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. During meditation, melatonin decreases and this likely helps to balance sleep. The feel-good neurotransmitter, serotonin is increased in meditators.  Finally, (and always a buzzword to athletes), nitric oxide (the superhero healer) is enhanced!

After we talked about this article, we did lunar flow yoga on our back porch while the sun was setting. We ended with a focused attention meditation. And as we allowed passing thoughts to float in and gently back out, I think we all wondered why we did not do this more often. For me, as I pictured my breath, in bright yellow, I could sense those around me and perhaps that did just as much as the meditation to bring me peace. 

Witness the Fitness: Cashe Game Trail Race

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Today I had the pleasure or running The Cashe Game Trail Race with Pat, Taylor, and Yara. The course is 18k of epic terrain climbing over 1,300 feet in Cashe Creek Canyon before dropping 1,500 feet down in adjacent Game Creek Canyon. It is by far my favorite running race and is pure bliss for me. I wasn’t able to get any pictures as we were running like bats out of hell the entire time but instead I am going to link the songs that were stuck in my head through out the race.

The first is Witness the Fitness by Roots Manuva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y94oPOE-Ro0. This songs chorus seems very appropriate for how I have changed my philosophy towards ski training since joining the UW team. I am entering my 5^th year of full time ski training and for the fist time ever I have done no interval or speed training during the early summer months. After 4 seasons of varying results in interval focused programs I am very interested to see what an over distance focus does for me as a skier. Today was the first real barometer to see how it is going. I have come to know quite a few people in the trail racing scene here in Jackson over the years (this was my third consecutive year doing this race alone). As I went to the start line teammates and friends old and new surrounded me. Even a former ski coach of mine was racing. As the gun went off, I was all smiles. This was a change from the more serious approach I had taken the last 2 years.  During the fist few miles of hill climb I settled into the zone. I get to run with a former cross country team mate, Sawer Thomas (Yara’s little bro), who was great to pace off of.  I have never had such a bast hill climbing before. We passed a few people and came to the steepest part of the course. We power walked up the steep trail littered in loose rocks aiming to catch the group of five in front of us which I later found out was the second pack.  Sawer dropped me there but the group was still in my sights and I powered on. Upon cresting the hill and and the course high point the world seemed to slow.

The song in my head changed to the epic electronic remix “Help Me loose My Mind” originally by: Disclosure and remixed by: Mazde. Enjoy! (Free Legal Download) https://soundcloud.com/mazde/disclosure-help-me-loose-my-mind-mazde-remix  I have always struggled with the downhill section of this course. It is steep and treacherous and it has been known to trip up people sometimes throwing them violently off the trail. Today was different and I made up my mind that I was going to slay this dragon! A few seconds into the downhill I experienced one of the coolest things in all of endurance sports: the second wind. The suddenly I was sprinting as fast I could and the thought crossed my mind I am a mother f*****g stallion! I started eating up terrain like none other and caught the group in front of me and passed them. We ran though the most gorgeous field of chest high wild flowers. In that moment nothing could stop me. There is nothing quite like the feeling of bone jarring flight that comes with steep downhill trail racing. It’s not smooth as skiing downhill. Knowing a single misplaced step could send you careening into the bushes is exhilaration and the amount of focus you have to put in is tremendous. I could feel the energy of the racers around me and the air was almost electric. The last part of the race enters a down flat that is brutal with legs that feel like lead but a good test of your endurance and I still felt like I was flying. Crossing the finish like I looked at my time. It was 20 seconds faster than last year. Heart rate stats were just as impressive with a in race max of 213 bpm and an average of 202 bpm sustained over an hour and twenty minutes. To put it in perspective I had done over 20 speed sessions prior to this race last year.

After the race we went to Nora’s and got huevos rancheros and biscuits and gravy, yum :). It was a perfect summer morning spent with awesome people. No complaints here in Jackson.

Summer Loving

"I think I have an iron allergy, everytime I lift weights I get swole!" Thank you ten pm sidewalk chalk artists around Prexy's pasture... this quote is a gem.

Tonight was really fun! We celebrated Ferne's birthday with orgasmic vegetables, and delicious chicken and mushrooms. We also had fresh salad from ACRES, quinoa, and banana bread for dessert.

After dinner, we took CLIFFORD for a drive with some Aerosmith's Dude Looks Like a Lady blasting. Viatly was worried about where we might me going, but danced for us anyway. (Kyle can you post a picture of CLIFFORD in action?). Note that the first song that came on the radio in Clifford was We Are the Champions. I think it is a sign for the coming year!

Then, we watched The Great Race (Ferne's choice), which was fantastic. We laughed the whole way through the first half (we had to stop at intermission because it is a long movie).

I am getting excited for recovery week to be over, so we can get out on the trails for OD runs and adventuring! I think the Rawah Wilderness is next on the agenda for this weekend.

Also, here is a little music from Grease to get you going...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oKPYe53h78

Jackson Camp!

I have been hoping for an amazing post from an athlete but I'll get the ball rolling on this myself.

The Jackson Camp ROCKED!!!!

Thanks so much to Yara & Sam for organizing and even more to their parents for hosting not only the athletes but feeding us for two dinners! The food and the company was stupendous and we really couldn't afford a camp in that area without the support of the families!

We started with a bang on a fantastic run up Phillips ridge! So beautiful with the wildflowers and the views!

View from Phillips Ridge

That afternoon the athletes all took a ride down the Snake River on a variety of floating devices. A great time was had by all, even Willie! We then spent the evening at the Wiswell house, lovely time and great food!

Our own personal flag!

The next morning we did the most beautiful rollerski I have ever done on the bike path from Moose to Lake Jenny and back! It was almost surreal watching the team ski with the backdrop of the Grand!

The Majestics and the Majestics!

That afternoon the athletes went swimming and cliff jumping and that evening we had another fantastic dinner at the Thomas household.

Sunset at the Thomas house

The next morning was a choose your own adventure with the coaches doing a bike ride from Jackson to Jenny lake, 40 miles, and the athletes doing an awesome hike along a ridge with amazing views!

It was wonderful to see our Jackson athletes and connect with them as well as Nathan, who met us from Idaho!

We really couldn't have had a camp that was more fun, more productive and in a more beautiful place!

The Sugar Goblin

So this was supposed to be the original post but somehow Vitamin D took over my train of thought.... Anyway... sugar.. since this is training oriented I'll start there.

1)If you are sick more you can't train as effectively... and being sick is depressing.... and not fun... and actually don't train when you are sick, unless it is super chill and your are not that sick.
2) High sugar diet=More sick

There, now that you are convinced I will delve into better evidence on why to ease up on the sugar...

Remember Vitamin D and how it helps out your innate immunity? Sugar does the opposite... In the previous post I described how cells of the adaptive immune system can specifically recognized a specific pathogen. The innate immune system can't do that... It's why you get vaccinated so when some boss pathogen that you were vaccinated against busts past your innate immune system the adaptive is there to exploit its weaknesses since it "knows" it (has a receptor that will bind specifically to it). The innate does however have a general array of receptors that recognize "PAMPs" or Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns. PAMPs are general proteins found on the surface of many types of pathogens. So while not very specific and so not quite as effective as killing the bad guys, innate immune cells can still stop an invading virus or bacteria in it's tracks by binding to a PAMP.

One such receptor that binds to a PAMP is the Mannose-binding lectin (MBL). In the linked study(http://file.scirp.org/Html/7716.html), it was found that dietary sugar down-regalutes this MBL/PAMP invader halting mechanism!!!!

In another study... (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ptr.2509/abstract), it was found that sugars can even inhibit the method by which macrophages (part of innate immunity) kill an engulfed pathogen. They can't form a reactive oxygen species so pretty much your internal lazer gun is out of batteries (don't take my word for that and instead look at this graphic...http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/content/92/9/3007)


So you get the idea.. I'm sure there are numerous other articles that look into that. It also doesn't mean cut out sugar totally though because without it your brain wouldn't work and yes your immune system wouldn't work. How much then? I don't know, I'll leave that to your own research and good judgement, aka processed food prob not the best).

Vita-man D versus the Sugar Goblin(arriving in next post)

So the last time you heard about how Vitamin D was good for you probs wasn't too long ago but it's time again for another refreshing dip back into the benefits...

Observe the below diagram carefully...


 If you noticed a large amount of white blobs and black text your on the right track...

To the right are your white blood cells, they act as your first line of defense against things that make you sick (your innate immunity).. to the left are some more white blood cells BUT these little buddies are special... they are part of your adaptive immune system. Specifically, these "T-helper" cells release lots of chemical messengers that tells your T "killer" cells and B cells(release antibody that mark a bad guy for destruction) to get on their job!

In the diagram above, the study says that the in response to Vitamin D, the white blood cells on the left (WBDs) are down-regulated (suppressed), and the ones on the right are up-regulated (more grow). So GREAT! Vitamin D means your line of defense gets more foot soldiers!

BUT WAIT! I said the ones on the left are suppressed? Isn't that bad if they help kill foreign invaders?

 The catch is: ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY!!!! remember that the cells on the right are part of that INNATE IMMUNITY but not the ones on the left... Adaptive immunity is uber effective in killing invaders because it will specifically recognize a foreign pathogen (vaccines prime this adaptive immunity!) but it can also be destructive.... IF an adaptive immune system cell mistakenly recognizes a cell in your own body as non-self, you have an autoimmune disease!! This = BAD...

Thus there are two take-home messages...
1) Everything in balance (referring to adaptive immunity)
2)Vitamin D not only means enhanced innate immunity BUT less likely to get an autoimmune disease

Be a STRONG skier!

We have lots of questions about strength for skiers so we decided to put together this quick video explaining why we do what we do for our training program.

 Enjoy!

 

Threshold Thursday!

Below are two posts by Coach Rachel about lactate threshold. Enjoy!

Lactate Threshold
Happy Threshold Thursday! 
There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of weeks about Lactate Threshold. For those of you who are a bit new to this, lactate threshold or LT refers to the intensity of exercise at which there is a sudden increase in blood lactate (Roberts and Robergs, 1997). Interestingly lactate is actually not the problem but instead protons that accumulate when your body must meet certain energy needs anaerobically. Lactate is actually the buffer but is therefore also an indicator of anaerobic metabolism. 

I wanted to share a recent study with you regarding lactate clearance. As we all know, the key to increasing your performance is MAXIMIZING RECOVERY and for a very long time researchers have not been able to figure out how best to clear lactate after a hard workout. This new article reports faster lactate clearance for active recovery vs. passive (finally a reason for that dreaded cool down). Active recovery at 60-100% seemed to clear lactate most effectively. And of course, the faster we recover, the faster we can train again.

LASTLY, today I contacted Dr. Smith about the possibility of getting some physical tests: LT, VO2max and DEXA. That being said, we would REALLY like for all of you to be consistently completing medals tests before you become infatuated with physical tests. I will keep you posted as to what Dr. Smith says.

One final parting note!! I have noticed just how jazzed everyone is on training. Please remember that another one of those am I getting a positive response to training things is whether you are able to do each workout at your best. If you're being subpar in a workout, it probably means your doing too much.

I am so impressed with your AWESOME, INSPIRATIONAL TRAINING 

Robergs, R.A., & Roberts, S. 1997. Exercise Physiology: Exercise, performance, and clinical applications. St Louis, MO: Mosby.

It's Threshold Thursday!

On this Threshold Thursday I have been pondering an article that Kyle and I discussed a year or so ago. It was a study done in male Junior skiers in Estonia. I will upload this article for all of you to read but the primary data collected were Heart Rate and Blood Lactate during a mixed summer training session. Twelve strength exercises were done and then afterward, the skiers ran a 1500 meter at anaerobic threshold. The data show that although heart rates were relatively similar during the strength exercises and the run, blood lactate levels were substantially different. In the run, they were only around 2-2.7 mmol/L. However, in the strength exercises they were high (between 5.0 and 6.1 mmol/L). The authors of the article are wordy with their possible conclusions, and I would love for all of you to read the article. However, one conclusion that struck me is that we may not be aware of the extent of blood lactate accumulation when we do strength and our Heart Rate monitors are underestimating our lactate levels. So, what are your thoughts on helping our bodies recover from max strength then? Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Nurmekivi et al. (2008) Biology of Sport, Metabolic Effect of Stength Endurance Exercise complex in Young Cross-country Skiers. 25. 297-306.

Tour De Wyoming Film

Hello again!

As promised I have attached the link to the Tour De Wyoming safety video that Kyle and I filmed and edited right here. Even if your aren't participating in the tour, the safety tips that are in the film are mostly universal, so using it as a safety tool for commuters and riders alike would be great! I hope you enjoy it, tell your commuter friends to check it out! Thanks and cheers,

Taylor

Summer Thus Far

Greetings!

I hope those of you that will read this are having a great summer regardless of what it has transpired so far. Laradise has certainly upheld its title these last few months! Though I have not spent much time here the last two months due to birthdays, weddings, triathlons, mountain bike races, and family time, the time that I have spent here has been superb. 

The intense tornado of classes, homework, studying and tests have left just a handful of us here for the summer to train and study. It seems odd not having our large team together 24/7, but I am getting used to the intimacy of our small summer training group. The training sessions have also been excellent and with our Jackson camp coming upon us quickly, trail races and triathlons around the state and Colorado, it doesn't seem like the training will become any less enjoyable. I am finding it hard to believe summer is already half over, but that fact alone is a great excuse to get out and enjoy what little time we have left before the whirlwind starts up again. Having such an physically demanding schedule, your body starts to become more and more tired, but on the contrary the soul and spirit becomes even more alive and rejuvenated. One would be crazy to complain about living a life like this. During training sessions I have more than enough time to think about life and figure out all of its complications and wonders. When I'm not training, I day dream about my next adventure and what it will bring. Having the time to really train and enjoy summer has been such a blessing and I am thankful for that each and every day.

I recently finished a project for the Tour De Wyoming committee. They were gracious enough to donate to us a generous sum of money to help us get through the ski season. As a trade, we were asked to film and edit a safety video to help them keep the tour riders safe and aware throughout their tour across the state. Kyle and I were able to work in tandem allowing us to get the project done with great success. Hopefully it will help the tour participants to remain safe while they ride while meeting or exceeding the tour committee's expectations. My next post will include a link to the video if you wish to watch it.

Well you don't have to suffer through any more of my rambling, that is it for now. I am hoping to work on and post a few more projects here before too long so you should see some more posts from me eventually. Also, as the summer progresses I will be trying to post pictures of our latest and greatest adventures so you too might be motivated to get out and enjoy what amazing things life has to offer. Until next time, keep living life to the fullest and make life happen!

Cheers,
Taylor

Step After Step on the Sagebrush Steppe

Morning. Low clouds.  Misty mountains. Sunrise. SAGEBRUSH.  Most people would look out on the high desert of northwest Wyoming and say, "There ain't nothin' but sagebrush out there."  THEY would be wrong.  There are prairie dogs, golden eagles, horned lizards, the cutest baby pronghorns, night hawks, badgers, horses, beetles, and a man in a brown-and-gold plaid shirt pacing back and forth.  That would be me.  I have been conducting prairie dog surveys for almost a week now, and have been hiking transects through the sagebrush for a solid seven to eight hours a day, minus a short lunch break or a rerouting of the GPS. Not what most people would think of as summer ski training. But, at the end of the day, I can barely take the last step...so it has to be doing something.  That and a few strength sessions in the hotel workout-room will be my training for the next four days, followed by a deer GPS collar chasing session in the mountains, and the UW ski camp in Jackson.
  As I look out the window at the Wind River Mountains of all of the hiking in the mountains that I will do this summer.

For now, my feet will be firmly planted in the sagebrush steppe.  Actually they will be planted thousands of times...step, after step, after step, after step.....

Random Summer Training? and fluffy snow

A randomly generated bunch of short vids from the past.... http://youtu.be/vJp2eWBA5EY

Cheyenn Tri

The sun rose slowly above Turtle Rock as we drove to Cheyenne for the Triathlon on Saturday morning. What a beautiful way to start the day!!!!

The Tri was on the Air Force base, which added some interesting issues for the day. We were told to go to Gate 2 but they didn't know anything about us there so we had to go to Gate 1 to the VVC to get a VP, or something to that effect.

When we arrived at the VVC it became clear that we were going to struggle to get to the race in time. It was supposed to start at 7am and at 6:30 only a few of us had even began getting our visitors passes. These passes consisted of background check, fingerprints, photos and a lot of typing and printing.

Rachel, Becca and I got to the start at about 6:45 and still have to unload and setup. Rachel and Becca were in the first wave and it was a rush!

They made the start but neither of them had any idea where they were going on the bike, which was a problem since Rachel left the transition area first! Rachel had multiple problems, first the brake was on for the first half the race and then she got lost... She was chased down by a private in a car and got back on track but it was a major problem. Becca faired much better and had a great race!

Elise, Sindre, Taylor, Kristy and I all started in the 3rd wave and Kyle in the 4th. It was still a little interesting to find the bike course but I LOVED it! So interesting, beautiful and variable. Fairly often bike courses are out and back but this one wound around everywhere!

Everyone raced so fast and well! It was exciting to watch them all crank around the course. Both Taylor and Kyle got a little lost on the bike and Kyle got a flat at the end of the bike!

We all had a fantastic time and are looking forward to the Riverside Tri in Casper next weekend!

SUMMER 2014

Summer in Laramie has been amazing so far. The weather has been in the 60's and 70's with awesome afternoon rain storms almost every day. Practices are carrying on as usual. Mondays are an OD workout or recovery day, Tuesday and Thursday are strength and yoga, Wednesday is a fantastic OD, and of course Friday morning BREAKFAST CLUB. I have heard rumors of new Breakfast Club shirts!

I think the highlight of training so far was crust skiing in the Snowies. There is still snow up there, but I have not been up for many weeks. We had one really amazing crust ski day toward the end that included some upside down yoga poses. I still get chills when I think of how beautiful Med Bow peak looked upside down!

Last weekend was the first triathlon, but I will let someone else who actually did it tell that story. I was on the mend after appendicitis a couple of weeks ago. I mostly recovered now, but am going to sit the Casper triathlon out to be safe. Mason and I (and I hope others) are headed up to Arlington for a day this weekend for a run up Rock Creek and to check out the site I adopted for surveying amphibinas this summer. I am excited to see if the snow is gone and if the mating has begun.

We are also getting stoked for a trip to Jackson Hole over the 4th of July. We will finally get to hang out with Yara and Sam. Hopefully the Sprinter (its going to need a name) will be here in time for the adventure.

That's all for now! Please post about your adventures.

LETS KEEP 365 STOKED GOING.

Trentino

 The following link is for a Glimpse of Trentino
The travel, competition, and scenery

ItalyTrip

Having had the chance to rest on the travel to Italy I can take away from the experience a more refined perception of place and a greater knowledge of competition. In the same way that living in Wyoming after being an East Coastie inspired me through such a drastic change in landscape one of my favorite parts of traveling to this part of Italy was being immersed in the giant canyons that clawed their way into sheer rock faces of the Dolomites and the little towns that dotted their way up along the valleys. As in the Western States I knew that I could stay here simply to explore.
    Another part of the travel that I thought to be fascinating though simple was the similarity in the nature of interactions with people from so many places all over the world. The humorous stories of the Kazakhstan Hockey team from an Italian Attaché, two Finnish skiiers trying to explain their schooling, and the witty remarks from the Great Britain Women’s Hockey Team inquiring a Canadian Biathlete about exactly what his sport entailed. Human nature was so similar across cultures often incorporating extended bouts of humor. While the language barrier turned some exchanges into hand gestures the majority of athletes and Italians spoke English which made for an ease of communicating and gave me incentive to learn before I travel next time the language of the area that I would be traveling to.
     The knowledge I took back from the competition part of the experience was invaluable. Being part of competition represented by all parts of the world at such an elite level radiated a mesh of cultures that combined to create a global nordic culture. In this I found the familiar  mindset of a racer amidst methodical warm-ups and the intense focus on performance. I took back things I know I have to work on like tempo, power in double poling and ankle bend along with a better understanding of how to prepare my body for transitioning into racing. I also was reminded, however, of the transient nature of a race. How this experience was intertwining itself into the future goals of the other athletes I could only conjecture. I often wondered at how a race might feel if it determined support in life. Skiing as a job I could see as being quite stressful if performance was on the struggle bus.
    As I had known before this trip, the greatest part was experiencing it with a wonderful group of people. In a way it reminded me of the importance of new experiences in building long standing relations with others that often constitute an individual’s satisfaction with their current position in their life. In this case, I know that the novelty of this trip will always be maintained in the memories that I shared with this group in the solitude found among the valleys of Trentino and the thrill of racing that the wildly fun Lago di Tesero nordic venue brought.

WUG Reflections

We are relaxing at our house in Bozeman, MT. The boys bounce a lacrosse ball in the next room and the faint smell of wax is in the air as people finish grooming their skate skis for tomorrow's battle. The sun sets on the huge peaks above us that have survived another day of avalanche blasting. The wind howls outside, causing us to hide within this building that quickly became home.

Just two weeks ago we exchanged white elephant gifts in Florence, hugged coaches goodbye, and made the mad dash back to the U.S. The travel seems like a dream now though the feeling of the return is fresh in my mind. I find home coming uncomfortable. I suddenly remember the life that is my reality, the good and the bad, the triumphs and fears, the responsibilities. All of these things mix with the experience. This return was even stranger as I returned to my first alternate reality, college, and then my second, back home with my family. I found myself dreaming of the Italian trails and wishing for another chance on the course as I skied my home trails again. As required, I had memorized the Val di Fiemme trails, making it even easier to mentally remain in Italy. 

Today the women battled a 5k classic and the men battled a 10k classic in Bozeman. I say battle because it was. We may have left Italy, but we did not leave the challenging competition. It was an honor as usual to start a race with these D1 women. They are so strong and skilled in their art: each movement of the leg, a powerful pendulum and each strike of the arm drives the momentum infinitely forward. I am again reminded of my vulnerability and of the weaknesses in my ski technique. My mind fights to stay positive as we all line up behind the start line. Electronics wrapped around our ankles and bib adorned, we challenge ourselves once again against the elite.

Italy sticks with me now as an amazing chance at international competition. But more than that, the desire to keep improving and keep pushing into the next level is strong and it will be hard to smother. Elise’s amazing performances continue to give me hope that we are on the cusp of a breakthrough. Just waiting now for the alignment of my health, strength, and desire. Meanwhile, I will be visualizing the trails of the Val di Fiemme.