Nationals, Snowmaking & the Snowpocalypse

Sitting in Kaladi Brothers Coffee, using their superior internet and getting a few things done, I have just begun to experience the dreaded free-refill-rabies. Fitz has told me of such things before, but I am sure she drinks about a gallon of coffee before exhibiting symptoms. My approx. 19oz of decaf shouldn’t cause such a reaction in any normal human, but I suppose normal can be considered a relative term. The free-refill-rabies, a term coined in the midst of my current caffeine overload, is merely the result of a bottomless cup of good coffee. Kaladi Brothers on Northern Lights is a great place to sit and use the internet, and they also serve some superb coffee and pastries. Not being a coffee drinker myself, I thought decaf would be a good option for a hot drink while I caught up on my long-overdue training log. As I began to work, my focus became more and more acute, my brain function increased exponentially, and then… it hit. I started to lose my train of thought in the attempt to do 20 different things at once and was overwhelmed with a need to use the bathroom. My typing speed has reached a level so ridiculous, it is rivaled only by the percentage of typos that I am having to fix. In a way, it’s quite entertaining to be moving at this level of speed. However, it really isn’t worth the number of mistakes that I am making. Hopefully I don’t progress to the point of foaming at the mouth, but if you’re in Kaladi Brothers right now, I would not approach the furious typing fiend in Carhartts by the door.

However, I digress. The purpose of this blog is to be a source of skiing and adventure updates, not a spillway of chemically induced mental overflow. Thus, I shall begin to bring any semi interested readers up to speed. About three days ago I returned from the US National Championships in Rumford, ME. Due to low-snow, last year’s races were held by the skin of the organizer’s teeth. This year boasts even less natural snow in Maine, but with a huge stock pile of fake stuff the races were held as planned. We were even able to race up the infamous ‘high school hill’, a behemoth of biblical proportions that resides out on the longer 3.5k loop. It is now dubbed ‘preschool hill’, by those fearless and daring. Since I laugh in the face of fear, that’s what I call it. Really though the trails were great. The conditions were fast, the terrain flowing, and the atmosphere fabulous. That’s one of the real perks of skiing lap courses: the cheering is almost constant! It’s funny, after racing nationals for a few years now, it seems that quite a few people know my name. Either that or it was all my Aunt. She was great, I heard her yelling at least twice every lap… which is a lot in a 6-lap 20k!

Here are a few other fantastic things from Maine:
– Dasha Gaiazova was my roomate, and she is awesome! I have been having some very good luck with meeting super cool Canadians this year… She and Chandra are really great to talk to about skiing. They’re super motivating. Also, I got to see her OWN the classic sprint last week, and tell everyone that she is my roommate- awesome!
– FItz had a GREAT week. She was on the podium twice, and outsprinted Ida Sargent in a double pole finish of a classic sprint (no mean feat!)

– We finally got our new E’Klaar headwear from Erika! Not only did we get fleece-lined headbands that will stay on my head, we also got some fun casual hats. It’s really cool, I never thought I could pull off a hat like this, but now that I have been practicing I think I have it down:

Obviously there are lots of ways to wear them, that’s just my personal fave. APU girl’s team below shows off different approaches to the new hat (yes, FItz and Lauren are wearing the same hat, it’s just folded up at the bottom)

– I did, by the skin of my teeth, make it to U23 world championships. That means that I get to race in Erzurum, Turkey! My racing tour of Europe will start February 4th and include races in Latvia, Estonia, Turkey, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Spain. I am in Alaska right now, recuperating from a post Nationals bug and getting stoked to travel again!

This photo was taken by my friend Willie Via, who visited Erzurum for the world University games a couple of years back. To hear it from him, it is going to be one awesome place to see!

Thanks for reading, now I am going to head out to enjoy more of this amazing Anchorage Snopocalypse. About 8 inches fell yesterday again, so there is lots of fun to be had!

(photo- Katie Ronsse)