XCFeeds

It's been a long time in the making but a couple of weeks ago I officially became a full-time skier and a part time coach. That's right, I reversed my roles. I used to be a full time coach and part time athlete. nbsp;Now, it's the opposite. nbsp;I have to say, life is still as busy as ever but it's good. I'm not complaining!br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TIlTcUeIHdI/AAAAAAAABcs/ytUDMRrW708/s1600/Fall+Red.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TIlTcUeIHdI/AAAAAAAABcs/ytUDMRrW708/s320/Fall+Red.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv style="text-align: center;"Fall colors are already out in Anchorage. nbsp;This picture is from Glen Alpsnbsp;/divbr /I have many people to thank for helping make this change possible. nbsp;First and foremost, my husband Rob has been awesome. As an ex-ski racer himself, he knows "the good, the bad, and the ugly" of ski racing. My employers, Alaska Pacific University and my boss/coach, Erik Flora have been encouraging and flexible. nbsp;My co-workers, Eric Strabel and Dylan Watts have taken on larger responsibilities at work. While I used to be a head coach of two programs I am now an assistant coach. nbsp;I still get to interact with other athletes on a daily basis (which I love to do) but have handed the decision making and planning off to these two guys. br /br /And now the shameless plug to my sponsors..... why? Because they make being a ski racer possible physically, financially, emotionally, and logistically. nbsp;Financing your own athletic career and paying for everything from race entries to roller ski wheels and over-sized baggage fees is expensive and I'm happy to say that because of my generous sponsors I'm not accruing credit card debt in the process. nbsp;I know that not every ski racer has the support that I have and I am very lucky to be so fortunate. nbsp;I think the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child" relates to skiing 100%. nbsp;It certainly takes a community to raise an athlete. nbsp;Anchorage is a wonderful, vibrant place to be a ski racer and I hope that I can give as much back to the community as I receive. nbsp;But back to my sponsors - they are listed in the column to the right. nbsp;Some have supported me with cash donations, and others with in-kind support. nbsp;They have all been wonderful to work with and I appreciate their support immensely!!!!! nbsp;Please check out my sponsor's links by clicking on the company logo and (when applicable) help me by utilizing their services!!!br /br /What else?br /br /Its been a busy month .... honestly characterized by some less thannbsp;desirablenbsp;weather. nbsp;Here in Alaska we actually broke the record for consecutive rainy days, something like 34 (?) days straight of rain!? nbsp;Working outside is a blessing when it's sunny out but for the straight month plus of rain lets just say it was character building! :) br /br /Here are a couple of pictures from recent days....br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TIlURHCMAFI/AAAAAAAABc8/9v-SrBSV5wo/s1600/IMG_1723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TIlURHCMAFI/AAAAAAAABc8/9v-SrBSV5wo/s320/IMG_1723.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"A bunch of us went to the state fair for "Olympian Day" the friday before Labor Day. nbsp;The day was spent signing autographs, taking pictures, and answering questions/telling stories about the games. nbsp;Pictured are Callan (snow boarding) me, Kerry (hockey) and my APU teammates, James and Kikkan.nbsp;/divbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TIlS4cPqxgI/AAAAAAAABck/n3QMjbB01o0/s1600/cabbage+lifting!.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TIlS4cPqxgI/AAAAAAAABck/n3QMjbB01o0/s320/cabbage+lifting!.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Kikkan and I wandered around the fair after our event and found time for another workout with these cabbage weights! nbsp;I also saw the record breaking pumpkin weighing in at 1101 pounds!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TIlUwzwWdxI/AAAAAAAABdE/X1WL7K521sQ/s1600/IMG_1735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TIlUwzwWdxI/AAAAAAAABdE/X1WL7K521sQ/s320/IMG_1735.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"This picture basically sums up a lot of our weather...nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"And when its less thannbsp;desirablenbsp;its even nicer to have teammates to train with. nbsp;Here is an "after shot" of me, Katie, and Kikkan after a great (and dry!) three hour skate ski last weekend. nbsp;Training with others is the best. nbsp;Never underestimate the power of having a team!/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/TIlTuD6zitI/AAAAAAAABc0/YaLt-KkzuAk/s1600/teammates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TIlTuD6zitI/AAAAAAAABc0/YaLt-KkzuAk/s320/teammates.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"That's it for now - more to come so stay tuned!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Holly :)/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-4228010061423814940?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div