Tazlina Mannix
Age: 20
Hometown: Talkeetna, Alaska
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<p><b>Taz, what did you do when it came time to put away the race boards?</b><br />
I love ski racing, but after a long season I always look forward to some spring<br />
adventures. This past spring I spent two weeks in the Alaska Range on the Pika<br />
Glacier in Little Switzerland on a mountaineering course. After growing up in<br />
the shadow of Denali in small climbing community of Talkeetna, I finally was<br />
able to spend some time in the Alaska Range. I acquired so many new skills,<br />
from learning how to travel safely on a glacier to building anchors and rescuing<br />
a team member from a crevasse. Although we didn't get to bag any peaks, because<br />
of extremely high avalanche danger, I feel like I now have the skills to spend<br />
every spring climbing. Some of the peaks on my list include Tazlina Tower and<br />
Denali!</p>
<p><b>For us 48ers, what is it about the Alaskan summer that is so good for training?</b><br />
Alaska is the best place to be in the summer. The days never end, the training<br />
opportunities are endless, and it's seldom too hot! The Chugach Mountains are<br />
minutes from Anchorage and the network of trails is amazing. The goal every<br />
summer is to not to the same overdistance workout twice. Lots of talented<br />
skiers train in Anchorage in the summer, so training partners aren't hard to<br />
come by. In addition to this, there's an awesome calendar of running races, so<br />
every week there's an opportunity to jump in a race if your plan is calling for<br />
some higher intensity workouts. Kikkan and I train together for the most part,<br />
but we're looking forward to meeting up with other girls as well for some fun<br />
adventures! </p>
<p><b>Goals for this year:</b><br />
Performance goals include a top 10 at U-23s and a top 5 in the freestyle race<br />
at Nationals. I'm also looking forward to stepping it up in the OPA Cups. I<br />
hope to achieve these results by working on specific things/having specific<br />
workout goals for every workout. In addition to this, I will be working a lot<br />
more on my mental game. </p>
<p><b>Why is APU the right place for you?</b><br />
Alaska Pacific University has an incredible infrastructure of support for<br />
student athletes. The close-knit university community is extremely supportive<br />
of skiers, and the professors are amazingly flexible and willing to work with my<br />
crazy schedule. Few other universities care enough about their students to work<br />
with them in such a way that they can be on the road as an elite ski racer while<br />
taking independent study classes. The education is high quality, and the<br />
classes exciting. In addition to this, APU is located in Anchorage, Alaska,<br />
which, in my opinion, is one of the best places to live and be a nordic skier.<br />
Anchorage has great trail systems and an large, active ski community and support<br />
system. </p>
<p><b>Tell us what its like to work with Jim Galanes?</b><br />
Jim Galanes has been extremely instrumental in my success as an athlete. He<br />
knows an incredible amount about skiing and has taught me a lot about what it<br />
takes to be a successful athlete. In addition to this, he has provided me with<br />
many opportunities that have helped me develop as skier. I am extremely<br />
appreciative of what he has done for me as an athlete. Jim doesn't follow what<br />
other people are doing. He thinks outside the box and dares to try things that<br />
other people aren't doing.</p>
<p><b>In regards to training, you trying anything new?</b><br />
I'm training pretty similarly to past years. Of course, I've increased my<br />
yearly hours, but I'm also paying more attention to my speed in all workouts.<br />
I'm constantly working on technique, but also thinking about teaching my body<br />
how to train at a faster speed, while staying in the right zone, so that I can<br />
ultimately race faster. </p>
<p><b>In what area will you see the most improvement?</b><br />
I feel that I can improve in every area of my training. I'm really working on<br />
integrating my core muscles in both double poling and skating, so that I am a<br />
more efficient skier. Also, since I'm a psychology major at APU, I'm really<br />
focusing more on sports psychology concepts, such as visualization and<br />
relaxation.</p>
<p><b>What are your thoughts on now having the opportunity to team up with the USST?</b><br />
I am really fired up about working with the USST. I think that the newly<br />
restructured program has so much to offer. The May camp went really well, but<br />
what struck me the most about it was how positive the atmosphere was. Every<br />
athlete and coach is not only super dedicated, but really excited, and I could<br />
feel us coming together as a team. I'm looking forward to seeing our<br />
improvement come July. </p>
<p>Random facts about Taz….Dog's name: Dexter….Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Ben and<br />
Jerry's Chunky Monkey….Right now I'm super fired up about packrafting, these<br />
super light Alaskan-made rafts that you can use to raft some really remote (and<br />
otherwise inaccessible) rivers.</p>
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Tazlina Mannix
Age: 20
Hometown: Talkeetna, Alaska