Home2010/03

2010 March 03

XCFeeds

A video for those having a tough time swallowing the results of…

Johnny KlisterMarch 3, 2010

object width="400" height="336"param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qybUFnY7Y8wrel=0egm=0showinfo=0fs=1"/paramparam name="wmode" value="transparent"/paramparam name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/paramembed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qybUFnY7Y8wrel=0egm=0showinfo=0fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="336" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent"/embed/objectbr/br/pA video for those having a tough time swallowing the results of the last month or so. (this too shall pass.) via BMAC/p

CONTINUE READING
XCFeeds

Looks like trouble!

FasterSkierMarch 3, 2010

a href="http://web.me.com/brorabaugh/iWeb/Becca%27s%20site/Blog/0EBC4485-D8B8-4017-AEDA-25D7439A584B_files/P1010571.jpg"img src="http://web.me.com/brorabaugh/iWeb/Becca%27s%20site/Blog/Images/P1010571.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:130px; height:130px;"//aThis is an excellent photo from Reese Hanneman, taken when we spent the night at his uncle’s house in Seatte enroute to Canmore. I need to get me one of these! I even got to goose the engine a littl

CONTINUE READING
XCFeeds

Off to Oregon

FasterSkierMarch 3, 2010

I want to help Nate out here with a little contribution since he does such a great job keeping the blog going:)br /br /First, if any of you haven't skied since the Birkie, Theo Wirth was in amazing shape (front and back 9) as of 11am this morning. It's great to have that kind of coverage and grooming in sunny 30 degree weather. br /br /Second, the Birkie was fun as per usual. Unfortunately I'm still unable to push to a good high max HR as things continue to heal post-sugery. But after really struggling up through OO or so (while very seriously contemplating a DNF), I found a little rhythm and hung on to a small group. I was at Mayo last week, and the surgeon said he believes everything seems to be healing (although they put me back on a rate control drug due to my 90-100bpm resting HR). Luckily, I snuck into a top 200 spot, so hopefully next year I'll be fully recovered ready to go again. br /br /Finally, next Tuesday I'll be defending my PhD thesis and then moving to Portland, OR to work as a circuit designer for Intel. Luckily there is good CC skiing one hour away at Mt. Hood (see pic below), and a little further than that in Bend. It's a bummer to move away from such a great city with so many trails, but such is life. If anyone finds themselves in Portland and is looking to roller ski or ski, email jkeane3@gmail.com.br /br /Thanks to everyone who has helped me work on my form or whipped my butt in intervals. I'll be following Vakava results from the Northwest!br /br /a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BHb-Q9fL1qI/S470miGvxeI/AAAAAAAACAg/eG5u6Ztnqt8/s1600-h/Teacup_Nordic_MtHood.jpg"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_BHb-Q9fL1qI/S470miGvxeI/AAAAAAAACAg/eG5u6Ztnqt8/s320/Teacup_Nordic_MtHood.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444557942364816866" //adiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1572647974447867713-4530955791857814753?l=vakavaraceteam.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

CONTINUE READING
XCFeeds

The Highs and Lows of the Olympics

doogiskiMarch 3, 2010

The Olympic are over and there’s a huge void in many of our daily routines now. To continue to live the glory I made a list of what I thought were the best and the most disappointing performances of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Top 5 1. Marit Bjørgen and the Norwegian women: Bjørgen was the Queen [...]

CONTINUE READING
XCFeeds

Da Birkie

nateMarch 3, 2010

img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444539648039306690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/S47j9qbpxcI/AAAAAAAAAHk/US3XntMOE7M/s320/birkie.jpg" border="0" / Now that was fun! If there is one thing that will help mask a little lack of fitness, it is blazing fast trails on wicked fast skis (thanks Devin!).br /br /divAs expected, the field was pretty dang impressive. Like most people, I was 15 minutes faster this year, and also like most people (it seems) I was 10 places further down in the results. 28th last year, and 38th this year. I don't think I could have finished any faster though. From the begining my legs were not feeling great. I was still with the lead pack through most of the power line hills, but I was not too focused on staying with them, and by the first feed stop I was off the back of the (very large) lead pack (side note: this was the first time in 4 years that I was able to get a feed at this first feed station, so that was one major benifit of having the classic skiers start first - it got the feed stations ready for us!). By the 7k mark I was caught by a good pack of skiers that included Bjorn Batdorf, Josh Korn, Matt Weier, and about 3 others. We worked together and caught Tyler Kjorstad and another skier that were a bit ahead of me, and from there we had a really nice pack that skied together for the rest of the race. I was very thankful for the pack. I skied most of the first 80% of the race at the back of this pack of 8 or 10 skiers just trying to get my legs to feel good. I always seem to have crappy legs for the first part of the birkie, but most years I am feeling good by OO, and feeling tired but very good by Bitch hill and have a good finishing kick. This year it took my legs until well after OO to feel ok, and still by Bitch hill I was not feeling like pushing the pace and was just trying to hold onto the group. In the hills after Rosie's field our group started to split up a little bit (I have heard that Bjorn may have had to take an unfortunate pit stop about this time), and I did have the legs to bridge a gap that formed and keep our pack together. On the last flats before the lake a skier from Canada (skiing his first Birkie) made a break, and once again I went to the front of the chase and brough the group together. Once we were on the lake the Canadian and another skier in his first Birkie (you can tell from the "1" written on the bibs) were pulling our group with my self in 3rd. I was perfectly content to let them switch off the leads, meanwhile trying to keep my left tricep from cramping. By the time we got off the lake and on to Main Street I knew that both of those guys were pretty spent. I pulled into the far right lane and sprinted hard to the line. I was the first guy in my pack to the finish (even though the results list Chad Tolbert in front of me).br //divdiv/divimg id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444539696958602450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hvZteNu0E40/S47kAgq6_NI/AAAAAAAAAHs/vFWmOMtB7NI/s320/birkie1.jpg" border="0" / divWhich brings up the point: Why is the starting sensor at the 300m mark in the race? Has anyone done a race that starts the chips part way into the race and not at the start line? This just seems stupid. Why not have the starting sensor at... the start!?! My other suggestion is that they instead move the start sensor to the 15k mark for next year, since that is when my legs usually start feeling good anyway. /divdivbr /But despite the timing quirks, this was probably one of the best (if not the best) Birkies I have participated in (this was my 7th). It truly is an experience that every skier should do once (if not once a year!). /divdiv /divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdivLooking at the results I think I can justify saying that I had as good a race as last year when I was 28th. Note: 9 skiers who beat me last year did not race (or were in the classic race). 19 of the skiers who beat me this year did not race last year (or were in the classic race). 3 of the skiers who I beat last year beat me this year, but I beat 3 skiers this year who were ahead of me last year. This seems to point to an extra 10 top elite skiers in the race, and I was 10 spots worse in the results. Makes since to me./divdiv /divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdivAnother side note: for the 3rd year in a row (every year they have had it), the U of MN - Twin Cities was victorious in the Birkie College Team Competition. This year all three scoring U of MN skiers also trained with Vakava: Myself, Bjorn, and Allie Rykken. /divdiv /divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdivThe Vakava team as a whole had a fantastic race (especially the ladies!)/divdivVakava skate finishers: /divdiv38 - Nathan Porath/divdiv67 - Derek Wallen/divdiv72 - Bjorn Batdorf/divdiv112 - Andy Schekel/divdiv154 - John Keane/divdiv160 - Dave Christopherson (age group win)/divdiv162 - Dave Bridges/divdiv171 - Paul Olson/divdiv296 - Brent Oja/divdiv /divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv5 - Jojo Winters (in the money)/divdiv7 - Mary Beth Tuttle (age group win)/divdiv14 - Angie Robinson (age group win)/divdiv19 - Kathleen Dewahl (age group win)/divdiv24 - Cheryl Dubois (age group 2nd, because Mary Beth was in it)/divdiv30 - Mel MacMillan/divdiv36 - Michelle Oja/divdiv43 - Katie Splan/divdiv101 - Nichole Porath/divdiv /divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdivClassic:/divdiv51 - Mark Ahlers-Moore/divdiv102 - Kevin Ivens/divdiv111- Pete Thurmes/divdiv /divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv11 - Margie Nelson (age group win)/divdiv19 - Allie Rykken/divdiv/divbr /divThis year I unfortunatly was unable to take part in any post-Birkie festivities due to my dental board exams the following day. They went well. I will find out the results in a week or two, and hopfully there will have been no consequenses to doing a 50k race the day before the board exams./divdiv /divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdiv/divdivNow it is time to soak up the great spring skiing here in Mn. I took the dog out skijoring yesterday, and today it is supposed to be 45 degrees and sunny. Fantastic./divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1572647974447867713-144373491200826882?l=vakavaraceteam.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

CONTINUE READING
XCFeeds

Big Brother

Garrott KuzzyMarch 3, 2010

Security at the Olympics is a top priority and in Vancouver, you didn’t have to look far to see signs of the tight security.  We were under a watchful eye for the entire duration of the Games.  Compared to Salt Lake in 2002, where everyone had to take a drink out of every water bottle [...]

CONTINUE READING
XCFeeds

The Real Thing

FasterSkierMarch 3, 2010

Well, the ice is broken on my first international biathlon racing experience! And it was definitely an interesting one. To begin with, it was a new type of race for me, what is called an individual race in biathlon. That means that you shoot 4 times—prone, standing, prone, standing—but instead of doing [...]

CONTINUE READING
XCFeeds

30,000 feet up and headed North!

Holly BrooksMarch 3, 2010

!--StartFragment-- br /div class="MsoNormal"(Just a warning – this is a long post – I hope that I don’t put too many of you to sleep….. sorry!) /divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"While getting to the airport (with 5 bags to check) was stressful, now that I’m mid-flight, I have some time to reflect on the past two weeks before hitting the ground (running) in Anchorage. /divdiv class="MsoNormal"I am one of the few athletes returning home after the Games.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanMost of my teammates are en route to Europe to compete at either the spring World Cups or The “OPA Cups.”.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanWhile I would have liked to continue racing, I know the limit of my body.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanI need some rest, plus I am going to coach Junior Olympics in Presque Isle Maine as part of Team Alaska’s coaching staff!span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanI made the commitment to coach in October and I want to keep my word.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanPlus, I’ve been missing all of the people back at home that I work with on a daily basis.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp;nbsp; /spanThere has been plenty of cheering and encouragement for me the past month.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanNow I look forward to reciprocating! /divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S44CTjd0GQI/AAAAAAAAA-A/Q6xAAFAUp9I/s1600-h/DSCF0485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S44CTjd0GQI/AAAAAAAAA-A/Q6xAAFAUp9I/s320/DSCF0485.JPG" //a/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"(With my sister, Robin at the airport...)nbsp;/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"The past month that I’ve been away, (including the 17 days spent at the Olympics) feel like they’ve gone by fast…. Yet, it also seems like an eternity.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanA LOT has happened since I stepped on the plane January 27supth/sup…… notably less than 24 hours after I was named to the 2010 USA Team.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp;/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"Here are some things I loved and learned: /divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-list: Ignore;"1)span style="font: 7.0pt quot;Times New Romanquot;;"nbsp;nbsp; 1) nbsp;nbsp;/span/span/spanHigh level skiing and International racers are no longer a “blackspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanbox” for me.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanWhile I wasn’t at the top of the Vancouver results sheet, I feel like I have a much greater understanding of what it takes to get there. This will benefit not just my future skiing career but hopefully everyone that I coach as well. /divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S44DQx_KMII/AAAAAAAAA-I/eMTo7Eu_IQs/s1600-h/DSCF0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S44DQx_KMII/AAAAAAAAA-I/eMTo7Eu_IQs/s320/DSCF0220.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-list: Ignore;"2)span style="font: 7.0pt quot;Times New Romanquot;;"nbsp;nbsp; 2) nbsp;/span/span/spanI LOVE the fact that every four years, the World seems to be become united over one thing – athletics and the pursuit of excellence. What other event has the power to bring so many people together?span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanI can’t tell you how neat it was my sport on TVs everywhere.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanThe morning of the 28supth/sup (the last day of the Games) I was running around the village trying to pack up.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanEverywhere I looked, the men’s 50-kilometer mass start event was on TV.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanSecurity guards were watching skiing, athletes from all sports were gathered around the television in the dining hall, the race was playing in the polyclinic.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanIt was everywhere and people were loving it!span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanThere is nothing that makes me happier than seeing folks being introduced to the sport that I love./divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"3)/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;3)nbsp;Don’t be afraid to share your goals with others.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanI think that telling people that I wanted to go the Olympics helped me get there.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanIf you have a “secret goal” consider verbalizing it.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanSometimes the help and encouragement that you receive from friends and family around you is the greatest gift you can receive. /divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S44A0LVigJI/AAAAAAAAA94/qqGEc6JK6iE/s1600-h/women+in+the+bobsled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S44A0LVigJI/AAAAAAAAA94/qqGEc6JK6iE/s320/women+in+the+bobsled.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"(Here are some of the great master's women that I coach that made the trip to Vancouver to cheer me on!)nbsp;/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-list: Ignore;"4)span style="font: 7.0pt quot;Times New Romanquot;;"nbsp;nbsp; 4) nbsp;/span/span/spanI have meet and re-connected with so many people by means of my Olympic experience. Whether it’s getting a “congratulations” facebook post from my high school tolo date or seeing Amy and Lib Rust, the set of twins that I “coached” with when I was 10 years old on the sidelines after my 30k race, it was wonderful.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanMy "39-year-old" Great Aunt even bought and learned how to use a computer so that she would be able to follow my blog (and my sister’s too – check out a href="http://rwsb.blogspot.com/2010/02/olympics.html"Robin’s blog here/a.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanShe’s on a long solo bike trip around North America!)span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /span/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S4361BYIIqI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/qbYTKkWnrj0/s1600-h/DSCF0482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S4361BYIIqI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/qbYTKkWnrj0/s320/DSCF0482.JPG" //a/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -24px;"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"Things that I won’t miss: /divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-list: Ignore;"1)span style="font: 7.0pt quot;Times New Romanquot;;"nbsp;nbsp; 1)nbsp;/span/span/spanOur first morning in Vancouver we had a welcome/inspirational speech from Olympic Speed Skating medalist Bonnie Blair.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /span(For those that don’t know, Bonnie is the most decorated female Olympian of all time) Over coffee and bagels, she told us that during her last Olympics she locked herself in her room and only came out for training, eating, and competitions.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanShe never even spoke to her family – she only saw a “bird’s eye” view of them at the speed-skating oval after races.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanAt the time I thought she was absolutely crazy.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanWhile I still think her method was a bit extreme, I understand the stress of the Games and felt first-hand, how much energy it takes to conduct the most simple tasks. I have always been a quick-moving, multi-tasker and I look forward to being able to be on my own schedule and spend time with family and friends without the burden of two buses and multiple security check points. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp;/spanIt frustrated me that I couldn’t spend more time with people that had come so far to see me. /divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-list: Ignore;"2)span style="font: 7.0pt quot;Times New Romanquot;;"nbsp;nbsp; 2)nbsp;/span/span/spanMy near-future races probably won’t require that I wear a cell phone sized remote GPS attached to my bib! /divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-list: Ignore;"3)span style="font: 7.0pt quot;Times New Romanquot;;"nbsp;nbsp; 3) nbsp;/span/span/spanCafeteria food.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanThe combination of tapering (fewer on-snow training hours) and eating in a dining hall make you feel sluggish to say the least. I look forward to eating my own food. /divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S439AZVc1UI/AAAAAAAAA9g/D9aK688BSj0/s1600-h/DSCF0403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S439AZVc1UI/AAAAAAAAA9g/D9aK688BSj0/s320/DSCF0403.JPG" //a/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-list: Ignore;"4)/span/span/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: xx-small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 9px;"br //span/span/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"span style="mso-list: Ignore;"span style="font: 7.0pt quot;Times New Romanquot;;"/span/span/span4) 4) The necessity of carrying a clunky credential everywhere I go/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S43_pv-hwiI/AAAAAAAAA9w/dpOxuE9Egy8/s1600-h/DSCF0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S43_pv-hwiI/AAAAAAAAA9w/dpOxuE9Egy8/s320/DSCF0202.JPG" //a/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"I nbsp; nbsp; It's been a busy six months for me.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanBetween my exertional rhabdomyoloysis injury in July, getting married one week later, deciding that I wanted to make the Olympic team, racing the early season, competing in US Nationals at home in Anchorage, starting my first world cup, and then going the Olympics (all while having a job) it’s been busy. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp;/spanWhile it would be fun to sit on a tropical beach for a week to recover, there is no time for that right now.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp; /spanAs my good friend Bill Pearson said in our wedding ceremony, “Holly, you are your best when you are juggling a million things at once.”span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp;nbsp;/spanWell, I suppose that the past 6 month and the next two will be no exception.span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"nbsp;nbsp;/span/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S438VDSZJHI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/DChyNek_8I4/s1600-h/DSCF0487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S438VDSZJHI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/DChyNek_8I4/s320/DSCF0487.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"A happy reunited family at the house on Alder Street!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S4397M8TK9I/AAAAAAAAA9o/7HJftxX5-YQ/s1600-h/no+coach+zone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S4397M8TK9I/AAAAAAAAA9o/7HJftxX5-YQ/s320/no+coach+zone.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Bill sent me this picture... the irony is great - a coach/athlete in the "no coach zone" racing at the Olympics!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"That's it for tonight. I have a busy few days ahead before I take off again - thanks for following and yet again, thanks for the all the support! nbsp;I had a great crew meet me at the Anchorage Airport today when I got in... they welcomed me home and helped carry my bags. If only travel was always that easy!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Good night/Sincerely,nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Holly :)nbsp;/divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"br //divdiv class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"br //div!--EndFragment--div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-9132059839321894221?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

CONTINUE READING