Holly Brooks

span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"This post isn't about ski racing per say, and it isn't about me. It's about my sister, Robin, who just completed an epic journey, all 16,184 miles of it. nbsp;/span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TJg9IERJ_aI/AAAAAAAABdU/3sEhIpD0pjM/s1600/DSCF1094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TJg9IERJ_aI/AAAAAAAABdU/3sEhIpD0pjM/s320/DSCF1094.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://rwsb.blogspot.com/"http://rwsb.blogspot.com//a/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"br //divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"Last week she completed her "year of biking." nbsp;She started at our family home in Seattle, biked down the west coast, (took a break to fly back for the Olympics!) then across the US/Mexican border during the winter months, zig-zagged across the East Coast, and returned West through Canada. nbsp;She had no plans, no steady biking companions, and spent most of her nights "stealth camping." nbsp;Yep - she's a 25 year old female that did it all by herself! nbsp;And if you're wondering, stealth camping means sleeping in places that you don't pay for ie, the side of the road behind the camouflage of bushes or one of her last nights, a baseball dugout. During her travels she kept an awesome blog. You can read Robin's final post about her adventure and the other 56 posts if you are so inclined./span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TJg-IFJNZDI/AAAAAAAABdc/KvPBjJ8LYRs/s1600/DSCF1085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TJg-IFJNZDI/AAAAAAAABdc/KvPBjJ8LYRs/s320/DSCF1085.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Robin had (and still has!) a wicked tan line from her bike shorts.... she's currently growing the helmet hair out and yes, she rocked the APU training shirt all over the country!/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"br //divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"br //span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"In the meantime, here are some of Robin's stats, taken directly from her blog:nbsp;a href="http://rwsb.blogspot.com/"http://rwsb.blogspot.com//a/span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"br //span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"The Final Tally for 365 days on the road:br /br /Miles: 16,184 (26, 045 km)br /Flats: 41 (none since way back in Vermont!)br /Tubes: 15br /Tires: 7br /Jars of Nut Butter: 38br /Nights under a roof: 128br /States: 30br /Provinces: 4br /National Parks, etc: 38br /Bike-free days: 58br /100+ mile days: 21br /Rain: 87br /Riding in Rain: 48br /Riding with companions: 29br /Books: 24br /Spontaneous hosts: 6br /Ferries: 8br /Farms: 2br /Rear Wheels: 3br /Warmshowers/Couchsurfing hosts: 17br /Bike shorts: 3br /Tubes Chamois B'tter: 3br /Sicknesses: 3br /Sunglasses: 3br /Nights paid for: 13/span/span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"br //span/span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"Call her crazy, call her brave, call her adventuresome. nbsp;As her older sister, I am incredibly proud of her independence, her ambition, and her sense of adventure. She had an amazing year, met absolutely fantastic, genuine people, and had an experience that many of us will never dream of. nbsp;Let her be an inspiration. I know that I will - and do! nbsp;Congratulations Robs.... so glad you're back safe!/span/span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"br //span/span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"You may ask, "Now what?" nbsp;Well, I'm happy to say that there's going to be another Brooks in West Yellowstone this year! nbsp;Yep, my sister took a job as the head coach of Glacier Nordic based out of Whitefish, Montana. nbsp;nbsp;/span/span/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"br //span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TJg_B6xgcjI/AAAAAAAABdk/OqyucTt1Dck/s1600/scan0019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" height="202" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TJg_B6xgcjI/AAAAAAAABdk/OqyucTt1Dck/s400/scan0019.jpg" width="400" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Sweet pic of our family in 1993. Robin's in the front, left and I'm in the middle of my parents wearing one of those sweet fleece barrets that were so cool!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"In other news, fall is definitely here in Anchorage, smell of rotten leaves and all. More on that and the upcoming ski racing season to come - stay tuned!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Holly :)nbsp;/divdiv style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"br //span/div/spandivbr //div/span/span/spandiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-1032321273891116859?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

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

div style="text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"i"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"bIt's amazing how bad one must feel in order to feel good"/b/span/i/span/divspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"i /i/span/spanbr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"I've thought about this quote or idea a couple of times in the last month. As athletes we spend annbsp;amazing amount of energy training and pushing our bodies and minds. The end goal is to be strong, fit, and preform at a high level. In order to cross that finish line first in December I must be so tired that taking out the garbage in August feels like a major endeavor. There is a saying that skiers are imade in the summer/i and those are the hours and efforts I am feeling today as I type this blog. /span/spanbr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;" /span/spanbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDgi_b3yTI/AAAAAAAABbE/syll5edUnr8/s1600/IMG_1338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDgi_b3yTI/AAAAAAAABbE/syll5edUnr8/s320/IMG_1338.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"ispan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"The Thomas Training Center which sits on the edge of Eagle Glacier, over looking /span/iispan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"Girdwood/span/i/divspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;" /span/spanbr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"I just returned from a week-long on-snow camp on Eagle glacier where I trained 25 hours last week. Life was simple and it was great to be in a place where skiing was the focus - and the only focus. At Eagle cell reception is poor at best and there is no Internet. Days are spent skiing twice, resting, fueling the body (eating) performing camp chores, taking care of equipment, and spending valuable time watching and assessing videos of ourselves skiing in past training sessions. It's restful in the sense that there are few distractions and tiring in the sense that the training is hard. Eagle glacier sits at 5500 feet so there is a slight altitude effect but perhaps the bigger factor is that the snow is often extremely slow due to the high moisture content. (This is a nice way of saying that it rains a lot!) The living accommodations are plush - we have good food, hot showers, and endless pots of coffee but there isn't a lot of living space. Twenty five people share one building: one kitchen, two toilets, and sleep in bunk beds. If you're the claustrophobic type, Eagle Glacier is not for you. Besides skiing at designated times there is no where to go. One night I got antsy and resorted to walking laps around the building to stretch my legs in a non-ski specific way. /span/spanbr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"br //span/spanbr /div style="text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"Here are a couple of pictures to tell the story of the past week: /span/span/divspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;" /span/spanbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDns4M-vXI/AAAAAAAABb0/sZsbI4U4VFk/s1600/IMG_1228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDns4M-vXI/AAAAAAAABb0/sZsbI4U4VFk/s320/IMG_1228.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"ispan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"Athletes fly rather than hike the 5,000 feet to the glacier to optimize training for the week/span/i/divspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;" /span/spanbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDRHiFpYDI/AAAAAAAABZc/FvUK5BMstUA/s1600/IMG_1231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDRHiFpYDI/AAAAAAAABZc/FvUK5BMstUA/s320/IMG_1231.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iKeith taking us up valley/i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDS9apE5VI/AAAAAAAABZk/tQdnuPaeLEM/s1600/IMG_1244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDS9apE5VI/AAAAAAAABZk/tQdnuPaeLEM/s320/IMG_1244.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iWe had four guest skiers attend August camp, visiting from other top programs in the country. nbsp;Here Brian Gregg, a childhood friend from Winthrop, Washington is psyched about the first day of skiing!/i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDTtWnIyjI/AAAAAAAABZs/c184NDKTYNo/s1600/IMG_1259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDTtWnIyjI/AAAAAAAABZs/c184NDKTYNo/s320/IMG_1259.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"ispan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"Not bad for the first ski of the week.....nbsp;/span/i/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/TGDUY3hhIII/AAAAAAAABZ0/fXGdO_3PXiY/s1600/IMG_1264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDUY3hhIII/AAAAAAAABZ0/fXGdO_3PXiY/s320/IMG_1264.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iThis picture is a personal favorite and also my computer desktop right now. nbsp;The black dots you see near the horizon are skiers. nbsp;When Eagle Glacier is nice, it's heaven on earth - or heaven in Alaska!/i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDW9gfHZpI/AAAAAAAABaE/sV7hFQqZU3U/s1600/IMG_9469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDW9gfHZpI/AAAAAAAABaE/sV7hFQqZU3U/s400/IMG_9469.JPG" width="400" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iErik Flora took this picture of Bart. He did NOT use photo shop. Personally I think it's worthy of being in the next /i/spanspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iSwix/i/spanspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"i catalog!/i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDVdPxRG1I/AAAAAAAABZ8/V-nSvPx1bZw/s1600/IMG_9558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDVdPxRG1I/AAAAAAAABZ8/V-nSvPx1bZw/s400/IMG_9558.JPG" width="400" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iAPU/i/spanspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"i Girls team plus Nicole /i/spanspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iDeyong/i/spanspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"i. Left to right: Greta, Katie, Nicole, /i/spanspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iKalysta/i/spanspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"i, myself, /i/spanspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iTaz/i/spanspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"i, Sadie, Becca, Fitz, and Morgan!/i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDX8yJy1kI/AAAAAAAABaM/aZHDRAQD4Yg/s1600/IMG_1296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDX8yJy1kI/AAAAAAAABaM/aZHDRAQD4Yg/s320/IMG_1296.JPG" //abr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iDon't let Eagle Glacier fool you. nbsp;For every blue-bird t-shirt wearing ski we had we had two or three skis in complete fog, wind, rain, or a combination of the three. nbsp;Eagle glacier never lets you forget what it is - that is, a true, live and active glacier. nbsp;The weather can change in five minutes and sometimes the visibility is non-existent. nbsp;I've skied laps of our 6 kilometer course based on memory of the turns and guided by the orange wands that are every couple hundred of feet./i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDZ9Yk6s_I/AAAAAAAABac/ygq7L31BkO8/s1600/IMG_1295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDZ9Yk6s_I/AAAAAAAABac/ygq7L31BkO8/s320/IMG_1295.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iDue to conditions like the picture you see above the drying room is an ESSENTIAL element of the training facility. Basic protocol is to step inside the building after a ski and strip all the wet layers off to hang (and theoretically dry) for the next workout. nbsp;It's not unusual to see teammates leave the drying room wearing only wool underwear - stop to get a granola bar from the kitchen, and retreat to their rooms to change into dry sweatpants....nbsp;/i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDZap8Up4I/AAAAAAAABaU/J3y96iyw6jg/s1600/IMG_1299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDZap8Up4I/AAAAAAAABaU/J3y96iyw6jg/s400/IMG_1299.JPG" width="400" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iIn the week that we were on Eagle the snow changed considerably. nbsp;August is often the last month that the glacier doesn't get considerable amounts of new snow. Therefore, by the last day of camp the snow is dirty. nbsp;Here's a close up of the snow directly off the ski trail. nbsp;Every day and every ski there was more snow algae and what could possibly be leftover volcanic ash from last year's explosion of Redoubt?/i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDalmVU5sI/AAAAAAAABak/aIX9anzlQqw/s1600/IMG_1313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDalmVU5sI/AAAAAAAABak/aIX9anzlQqw/s320/IMG_1313.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iHere Katie and Morgan cut peppers for Fajita night. nbsp;Athletes are divided up into work crews and have camp chores every day. nbsp;Group dinners are often a team highlight/i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDbK0km3vI/AAAAAAAABas/xXVYMb87C6I/s1600/IMG_1280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDbK0km3vI/AAAAAAAABas/xXVYMb87C6I/s320/IMG_1280.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"ispan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"Erik and Casey work hard at these camps to ensure that everything goes smoothly for the athletes. nbsp;I know this first hand as I am one of the few athletes who has been on Eagle to work and has also been on Eagle to train. nbsp;They groom during the night so we have good skiing in the morning and spend the days setting tracks, taking video at sessions, completely endless hours of technique review with athletes - all of this on top of making sure all of our remote systems are in working order. nbsp;It's impressive./span/i/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Ispan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"in the photo above Erik demonstrates the end of a skate motion to Jack, one of our top junior athletes that came to his second glacier camp of the summer! nbsp;Erik has an amazing eye for technique detail and can dissect your every movement. nbsp;He has concrete suggestions for improvement and is happy to show you example after example in World Cup and Olympic footage. nbsp;He doesn't mess around./i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDdNKneAkI/AAAAAAAABa0/PmAnmqXcQP8/s1600/IMG_1319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDdNKneAkI/AAAAAAAABa0/PmAnmqXcQP8/s320/IMG_1319.JPG" //abr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iHere Erik and Casey get to enjoy a rare ski (theynbsp;arenbsp;oftennbsp;toonbsp;busynbsp;tonbsp;putnbsp;onnbsp;skisnbsp;themselves!)/i/spanbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDfkjizDkI/AAAAAAAABa8/LYs93u7qpL8/s1600/DSC00041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDfkjizDkI/AAAAAAAABa8/LYs93u7qpL8/s400/DSC00041.JPG" width="400" //abr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"ispan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"Not bad...../span/inbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDmm9t39MI/AAAAAAAABbs/jSRzk5w0BBQ/s1600/IMG_1336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDmm9t39MI/AAAAAAAABbs/jSRzk5w0BBQ/s320/IMG_1336.JPG" //abr /ispan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"/span/ibr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDjUp7fyuI/AAAAAAAABbM/VlOU8anzGPk/s1600/IMG_1352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDjUp7fyuI/AAAAAAAABbM/VlOU8anzGPk/s320/IMG_1352.JPG" //abr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iAt the end of the week most athletes opt to hike down from the glacier.... it's a good experience and saves the cost of an additional helicopter ride. nbsp;You can expect to be sore from the 5000 foot decent. I am./i/spanbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDlD6gPjII/AAAAAAAABbk/ZtQFJcOeNl8/s1600/IMG_1357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDlD6gPjII/AAAAAAAABbk/ZtQFJcOeNl8/s320/IMG_1357.JPG" //abr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iAlpine flowers/i/span/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDkakHhmmI/AAAAAAAABbc/n-7m5GKGzUA/s1600/IMG_1367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDkakHhmmI/AAAAAAAABbc/n-7m5GKGzUA/s320/IMG_1367.JPG" //abr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"iThe hike involves some sensory overload, especially with the vibrant colors of the foliage. nbsp;The wildflowers and lush nature of the vegetation are always a welcome sight!/i/spanbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDjuNLgX5I/AAAAAAAABbU/bah3Cu0R7bs/s1600/IMG_1331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TGDjuNLgX5I/AAAAAAAABbU/bah3Cu0R7bs/s320/IMG_1331.JPG" //abr /br /All in all, the camp was incredibly productive. The training was great, I received tons of valuable feedback and technique adaptations from Erik, and I feel as though I put some serious "money in the bank." nbsp;(Meaning, the work from the last week will pay dividends come winter race season.) nbsp;Now it's time to make sure that I get the proper recovery before jumping back on the horse. nbsp;It's difficult while work, emails, and phone calls have piled up but I'm doing my best to prioritize rest. nbsp;That said, if I haven't returned your call yet, I will soon! Thanks for being patient!br /br /Thanks for reading.... more to come,br /Holly :)br /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"br //span/spanbr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"br //span/spanbr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"br //span/spandiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-5655097058717673364?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

One of my juniors girls made a valid point yesterday. She said, "people that read your blog don't even know if you crossed the finish line of Mt. Marathon successfully." nbsp;She is right, I haven't had a post since BEFORE the race. So, here's what I've been up to:br /br /1)nbsp;A successful Mt. Marathon race where I came up short by 10 seconds (meaning I was leading the race until the last block when my legs absolutely died - I got second place.)br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTS0IZEloI/AAAAAAAABWE/eFf7-ePCj7g/s1600/Mt+Mara+Jim+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTS0IZEloI/AAAAAAAABWE/eFf7-ePCj7g/s320/Mt+Mara+Jim+1.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Going up: Cedar, me amp; Kikkan - exactly the order we finished in/divbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTR5KYI0cI/AAAAAAAABV8/YtpU8IrTPEM/s1600/Mt+Marathon+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTR5KYI0cI/AAAAAAAABV8/YtpU8IrTPEM/s320/Mt+Marathon+2010.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Coming down... unfortunately my big uphill lead wasn't enough to sustain me on the downhill. Cedar had a top ten downhill time for the men's field!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTT-hmV0jI/AAAAAAAABWM/_j5z7tsDEZE/s1600/Being+Passed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTT-hmV0jI/AAAAAAAABWM/_j5z7tsDEZE/s320/Being+Passed.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Here's where she passed me with one block to go in front of thousands of people!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //div2)nbsp;Extreme post-race soreness (since I had not been able to train the downhill due to an ankle injury)br /br /3)nbsp;A mid-summer sickness (flu/bronchitis/extreme fatigue)br /br /4)nbsp;The celebration of my one year wedding anniversary!br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTm_n_cwAI/AAAAAAAABX8/T_Z4GqB16-k/s1600/IMG_0722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTm_n_cwAI/AAAAAAAABX8/T_Z4GqB16-k/s320/IMG_0722.jpg" //a/divbr /5)nbsp;A trip to Denali with the intention of climbing Mt. Brooks with Rob and my dad - at least until we were turned around due to bad weather. (This was planned as my only "vacation" for the summer - from both work and organized ski training.)br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTnJqN1i2I/AAAAAAAABYE/2RYNBINr5j8/s1600/IMG_0742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTnJqN1i2I/AAAAAAAABYE/2RYNBINr5j8/s320/IMG_0742.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Pointing to Mt. Brooks with my dad, Don Brooks!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTnQg6LyrI/AAAAAAAABYM/wb-SMpxtWhY/s1600/IMG_0747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTnQg6LyrI/AAAAAAAABYM/wb-SMpxtWhY/s320/IMG_0747.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"We had a gorgeous approach day with a full view of Denali and the Alaska Range/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTncln7d0I/AAAAAAAABYU/QKrXdiYeRJc/s1600/IMG_0809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTncln7d0I/AAAAAAAABYU/QKrXdiYeRJc/s320/IMG_0809.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Lots of stream crossings and wet feet! I was happy to get in a great day of "non-specific" training! (Fifteen hours on our feet)/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTnosBc2uI/AAAAAAAABYc/15W6-oGYCz0/s1600/IMG_0826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTnosBc2uI/AAAAAAAABYc/15W6-oGYCz0/s320/IMG_0826.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"In fact it was such a long day that we stopped for a "dinner break." nbsp;Here Rob took full advantage!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTnumovZEI/AAAAAAAABYk/EGJ91p_UNig/s1600/IMG_0863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTnumovZEI/AAAAAAAABYk/EGJ91p_UNig/s320/IMG_0863.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"After the first day our weather turned. We spent two days in our tents listening to the rain and wind waiting for it to clear. When it didn't, we had to retreat. I suppose that's mountaineering for you. I'm definitely going back to climb this beautiful mountain! nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTpnc41jvI/AAAAAAAABYs/w_LmyKED6oI/s1600/IMG_0884.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTpnc41jvI/AAAAAAAABYs/w_LmyKED6oI/s320/IMG_0884.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Lucky for us, my dad had the foresight to insist that we bring along a boat. Due to all the rain we had to use it to ford multiple braids of McKinley Bar due to all the recent rain. nbsp;Take a close look at the picture - both my dad and Rob are in the boat!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTp1nK8hjI/AAAAAAAABY0/wJlz-sdMYkM/s1600/IMG_0933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTp1nK8hjI/AAAAAAAABY0/wJlz-sdMYkM/s320/IMG_0933.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The consolation prize for retreating from Denali early was a gorgeous run on Crow Pass with my dad. Here he is in front of Raven glacier.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTqi3xW8uI/AAAAAAAABY8/lw7v-futM2w/s1600/IMG_0936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTqi3xW8uI/AAAAAAAABY8/lw7v-futM2w/s320/IMG_0936.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The wild flowers were alright too./divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTqvMq-OVI/AAAAAAAABZE/1zYJHAXY5VU/s1600/IMG_0972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTqvMq-OVI/AAAAAAAABZE/1zYJHAXY5VU/s320/IMG_0972.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"After Crow Pass we went dip netting on the Kenai with thousands of other Alaskans. nbsp;Here is an action shot of Rob and a fish that appears to still be alive in his hands!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFT3yw4I4pI/AAAAAAAABZM/qNMJuOtVahc/s1600/IMG_0982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFT3yw4I4pI/AAAAAAAABZM/qNMJuOtVahc/s320/IMG_0982.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Our coolers full of "bounty" for the day. nbsp;This year Rob built a smoker and we experimented with smoking fish for the first time. The outcome was great!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFT47vedB-I/AAAAAAAABZU/ticfB1hhvl0/s1600/IMG_0995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFT47vedB-I/AAAAAAAABZU/ticfB1hhvl0/s320/IMG_0995.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Getting this much fish is definitely one of those "OIA" (Only in Alaska) experiences. The cost of living here might be high but at least we get to take home and store LOTS of wild, organic fish for the winter!nbsp;/divbr /Moving on.......br /br /6)nbsp;Inbsp;recentlynbsp;hadnbsp;the biggest week of training I've had in my recorded, training-log life. nbsp;It still amazes me how often I have to feel bad to feel good - meaning that to be in top form for skiing at a certain time, I have to spend a lot of time really, really tired. It's always a balance. How much is too much and how much is not enough? (That IS the question!) br /br /7)nbsp;Mynbsp;bignbsp;trainingnbsp;weeknbsp;wasnbsp;followed by leading a junior dryland training camp in Talkeetna:br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTU6nVi_1I/AAAAAAAABWU/NdoQuTtApwg/s1600/IMG_1010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTU6nVi_1I/AAAAAAAABWU/NdoQuTtApwg/s320/IMG_1010.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Junior skiers skiing up Hatcher's Pass! Here is Thomas receiving some technique advice from Katie Ronsse/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTX7TJDpXI/AAAAAAAABWc/0qiZspu3HeA/s1600/IMG_1047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTX7TJDpXI/AAAAAAAABWc/0qiZspu3HeA/s320/IMG_1047.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Our group at the end of the ski/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTZF9CsbiI/AAAAAAAABWk/rz_Uh9PGMB8/s1600/IMG_1066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTZF9CsbiI/AAAAAAAABWk/rz_Uh9PGMB8/s320/IMG_1066.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Thomas and Doug tearing it up in an intense bounding workout/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTlmDXf8wI/AAAAAAAABX0/AUtI4AiWv44/s1600/IMG_1103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTlmDXf8wI/AAAAAAAABX0/AUtI4AiWv44/s320/IMG_1103.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Forest getting after it!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTZ4VEB0II/AAAAAAAABWs/xsjkSjJCrnM/s1600/IMG_1070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTZ4VEB0II/AAAAAAAABWs/xsjkSjJCrnM/s320/IMG_1070.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Those that have injuries opted to bike instead./divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTaq6mTVjI/AAAAAAAABW0/6OzPy-kVWr0/s1600/IMG_1131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTaq6mTVjI/AAAAAAAABW0/6OzPy-kVWr0/s320/IMG_1131.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"A sweet core routine on the dock - not bad!/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/TFTbex8VsgI/AAAAAAAABW8/1kX33HdrCQ0/s1600/IMG_1165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTbex8VsgI/AAAAAAAABW8/1kX33HdrCQ0/s320/IMG_1165.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"At junior camp we train a lot (three times per day!) but we also emphasize fun. nbsp;The Mannix family was kind enough to have us over for a bonfire. Karen challenged all the boys to hula hoop. nbsp;If they were successful, they "won" a snickers for the OD (over distance workout) the next day. Every single boy in our group did it the first time they tried! nbsp;I have to admit - I think they were better than the girls! nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTcMXbBl3I/AAAAAAAABXE/UQMNYk2c4ks/s1600/IMG_1187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTcMXbBl3I/AAAAAAAABXE/UQMNYk2c4ks/s320/IMG_1187.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Troy loving the snickers 4 hours into the run/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTdKUSOz8I/AAAAAAAABXM/mEe4JFYnGlA/s1600/IMG_1189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTdKUSOz8I/AAAAAAAABXM/mEe4JFYnGlA/s320/IMG_1189.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The next day we did a 5.5 hour ridge run/hike on Kesugi Ridge. We hadnbsp;mediocrenbsp;weather and it was still beautiful. I can only imagine what it must be like in clear, sunny weather!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFThVUNSzZI/AAAAAAAABXc/ptFLPWRr13c/s1600/IMG_1198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFThVUNSzZI/AAAAAAAABXc/ptFLPWRr13c/s320/IMG_1198.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Every year we end the Talkeetna Camp (compliments of the Knapp family - thank you Alice!) with a multi-sport relay. Here is Eric Strabel giving directions.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTgcsXeA9I/AAAAAAAABXU/iooYgBhCLf0/s1600/IMG_1197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTgcsXeA9I/AAAAAAAABXU/iooYgBhCLf0/s320/IMG_1197.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The teams are lined up at the start. nbsp;Luckily these kids are skiers and not rowers becausenbsp;admittedly, they aren't very good! (Sorry guys!)/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTi-exkJvI/AAAAAAAABXk/B2ZthE6gS74/s1600/IMG_1219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTi-exkJvI/AAAAAAAABXk/B2ZthE6gS74/s320/IMG_1219.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"A team shot/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTkNPILdVI/AAAAAAAABXs/xVzSb2F_HpM/s1600/IMG_1223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TFTkNPILdVI/AAAAAAAABXs/xVzSb2F_HpM/s320/IMG_1223.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Another team shot/divbr /Tomorrow I (potentially) head to Eagle Glacier for a week-long on snow camp - weather depending. nbsp;I'm hoping for a bit of sunshine, some good skiing, and some sleep! nbsp;My next post will be a glacier report. Thanks for reading!br /br /Holly :)div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-1721112424993762420?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

The countdown is almost over - I'm headed down to Seward within the hour. nbsp;July 4th is always an exciting time of year.... luckily it isn't quite as hectic as last year. (I'm not getting married next week, rather celebrating my one-year anniversary!) br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-SXhOCXPI/AAAAAAAABUI/scu3plEBlgQ/s1600/IMG_2642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-SXhOCXPI/AAAAAAAABUI/scu3plEBlgQ/s320/IMG_2642.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Me and Cedar on the way up...nbsp;/divbr /There is always a lot of hype around this race - more so than any other race in Alaska. nbsp;Maybe it's because a ton of 3,000 swells to over 30,000 for the weekend or maybe it's because the race truly epitomizes Alaska. Racers, myself included climb 3022 (to be exact!) above sea level in less than an hour and descend down a series of steep pitches, cliffs, and waterfalls in less than 15 minutes. I'll admit - I'm excited, and a bit nervous too. After last year, my goals include #1 to get down the mtn safely. I can stand pain - I don't mind blood, bruises or falls. I just don't want to withstand an injury that will keep me from training in the days, weeks and months after the race. My second goal (which is always very important to me) is to have FUN. Racing is fun. nbsp;If I can accomplish these first two goals, I believe that a good result will follow!br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"/divHere are a couple of pictures from last year:br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-Tac-f7hI/AAAAAAAABUQ/r_22dt72vSQ/s1600/IMG_2632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-Tac-f7hI/AAAAAAAABUQ/r_22dt72vSQ/s320/IMG_2632.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"A view of (part of) the downhill/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-USDUrDFI/AAAAAAAABUY/B-G4vbHR-Jc/s1600/IMG_2633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-USDUrDFI/AAAAAAAABUY/B-G4vbHR-Jc/s320/IMG_2633.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"To show the steepness of terrain/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-Voh9kjJI/AAAAAAAABUo/32pcSO5ZomI/s1600/IMG_2664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-Voh9kjJI/AAAAAAAABUo/32pcSO5ZomI/s320/IMG_2664.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"An ambulance waiting at the bottom/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-U7Y-7FEI/AAAAAAAABUg/a0hz8aUoFZE/s1600/IMG_2689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-U7Y-7FEI/AAAAAAAABUg/a0hz8aUoFZE/s320/IMG_2689.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Looking pretty happy in the ER?/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-WM7_gsKI/AAAAAAAABUw/PrxsZd1_NJ4/s1600/IMG_2714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-WM7_gsKI/AAAAAAAABUw/PrxsZd1_NJ4/s320/IMG_2714.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"I checked myself out to cross the finish line before going back for more IV fluid and the Drs clearance/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-WvZqib0I/AAAAAAAABU4/_7FwyPUrtwo/s1600/IMG_2776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TC-WvZqib0I/AAAAAAAABU4/_7FwyPUrtwo/s320/IMG_2776.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Final ER discharge - 7pm/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"There was an article in the ADN this morning..... a href="http://www.adn.com/2010/07/02/1352045/dehydration-felled-two-of-mount.html"check it out here/a if you're interested.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Good luck to all the racers!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Sincerely,nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Holly :)nbsp;/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-3877885470375100476?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

First and foremost, happy 60th Birthday to my Mom, Chris! br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbVFPYKbWI/AAAAAAAABQU/Qwww2YTeOho/s1600/Holly+and+mom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbVFPYKbWI/AAAAAAAABQU/Qwww2YTeOho/s320/Holly+and+mom.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"We just crested the longest day of the year in Alaska and now that we're on the tail end of Solstice it means only one thing: the days are getting shorter. nbsp;While we still have plenty of light, post June 21st makes the upcoming ski season seem like it's encroaching slowly but surely.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The sixteen to twenty hours of day light in AK makes it hard to sleep, especially when the weather is good. nbsp;People up here often joke that you can "rest in the fall" which leads to people running themselves ragged when it's nice out, myself included. nbsp;June has been a hectic month for me hurrying from one thing to the next. This weekend it's finally caught up with me and I'm having a hard time peeling my tired body off the coach. Luckily the sky is grey so I don't feel bad about resting (or "wasting the day") and Rob is out of town on a trip which I'll admit, allows me to be lazy.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Here is a recap of why I am so tired:nbsp;/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/TCbaS2LXGyI/AAAAAAAABQc/qvKiIxEBTLw/s1600/holly+on+eagle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbaS2LXGyI/AAAAAAAABQc/qvKiIxEBTLw/s320/holly+on+eagle.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"I spent the second week of June at the APU training camp on Eagle Glacier. This was my first time at the facility as an athlete rather than a coach. It was awesome to be able to sleep at night and boy did I need it! nbsp;Skiing four hours a day on the glacier is tiring. We have a great write-up of the camp on the APU/Fasterskier blog - a href="http://blogs.fasterskier.com/apu/2010/06/15/glacier-camp-success/"check it out here/a.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"I left Glacier Camp two days early because I had previously committed to leading an APU team at the annual a href="http://www.akrfw.org/"Run for Women/a. I was also really excited to be the "honorary starter" for the race which had more than 7,000 participants this year!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbcXRfqOdI/AAAAAAAABQk/5vTcR0pwHdg/s1600/Run+for+Women+team+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbcXRfqOdI/AAAAAAAABQk/5vTcR0pwHdg/s320/Run+for+Women+team+pic.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"That night I went to Lee and Colleen's wedding which was a great reunion of friends. Congrats you two!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The next morning was the start of ............... DEATH CAMP 2010! nbsp;Death Camp isn't as knarly as it sounds. The first rule of death camp is actually "no dying." nbsp;It's a reincarnation of a camp that existed when my peers were in high school. nbsp;Basically its a tough training camp where the athletes train 3-4 times per day and have a ton of fun. As Charlie Renfro (one of my co-workers/coaches) says, "Death Camp is where he decided he wanted to be an endurance athlete. nbsp;Camp is based in Girdwood at the base of Alyeska ski resort and kids and coaches alike have a ball.....nbsp;/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/TCbeef_t6KI/AAAAAAAABQs/FKBl3j-OUpg/s1600/IMG_0126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbeef_t6KI/AAAAAAAABQs/FKBl3j-OUpg/s320/IMG_0126.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Here's our group crossing the river on the tram...nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbfKTtE-mI/AAAAAAAABQ0/YS-j644H1Vw/s1600/IMG_0128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbfKTtE-mI/AAAAAAAABQ0/YS-j644H1Vw/s320/IMG_0128.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Jack and Forrest lovin Death Camp - and representing!/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/TCbf2Ce2UCI/AAAAAAAABQ8/tqh7UKgh1sM/s1600/IMG_0133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbf2Ce2UCI/AAAAAAAABQ8/tqh7UKgh1sM/s320/IMG_0133.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"BK came to join us for a day of workouts. Here he shows us the weather forecast on his iphone. The mediocre weather didn't keep us from having a great time.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Every night at dinner, our team goes around the circle and everyone announces a "highlight" and "lowlight" from the day. nbsp;When it came time for Brent to share his, he said that his highlight was seeing how FIT and TOUGH our athletes are. nbsp;He acknowledged that the athletes were way ahead of his development curve when he was their age and that he was impressed. nbsp;I thought that was REALLY cool to hear - and cool of him to share!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbgsnh17eI/AAAAAAAABRE/lC4CHFRKs1E/s1600/IMG_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbgsnh17eI/AAAAAAAABRE/lC4CHFRKs1E/s320/IMG_0141.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The Junior team hiked up to Crow Pass when fish scale skis on our backs for some sprint practice!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbhSyeKbqI/AAAAAAAABRM/WSJ8qy3KlJ8/s1600/IMG_0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbhSyeKbqI/AAAAAAAABRM/WSJ8qy3KlJ8/s320/IMG_0229.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"I'm pretty sure Celia thought it was awesome.nbsp;nbsp;PUREnbsp;AWESOMEnbsp;-nbsp;suchnbsp;wasnbsp;thenbsp;themenbsp;ofnbsp;thenbsp;camp./divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbiIGSAM7I/AAAAAAAABRU/WWmaxZj-ex0/s1600/IMG_0288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbiIGSAM7I/AAAAAAAABRU/WWmaxZj-ex0/s320/IMG_0288.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"We ended a tough training camp with a tough race. nbsp;Bird Ridge is 3400 feet of gain in just 3 miles. Here is APU athlete and new coach Katie Ronsse rippin it up! nbsp;The weather was perfect mtn running weather: sunny at the base and foggy and cool on top.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbipXeFteI/AAAAAAAABRc/q3v5QjqiTyc/s1600/IMG_0326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbipXeFteI/AAAAAAAABRc/q3v5QjqiTyc/s320/IMG_0326.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The APU junior girls had awesome races - especially considering the hard training they'd done the days prior. nbsp;Many of them PR'd by 3-4 minutes..... although they werenbsp;disappointednbsp;by not running QUITE fast enough to get Eric Strabel to shave his moustache. It seems to be a constant source of motivation for the girls so I suppose I'm glad he kept it. (There was a bet that 4 of the 5 juniors girls had to break 55 minutes... they were close but not quite there.)nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbjdOrQd9I/AAAAAAAABRk/QedG-V-LcVE/s1600/IMG_0330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbjdOrQd9I/AAAAAAAABRk/QedG-V-LcVE/s320/IMG_0330.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The Bird Ridge decent complete with Lupine/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Not only was the week busy but while I was coaching camp Rob and I became annbsp;auntnbsp;andnbsp;uncle!nbsp;nbsp;Congratulationsnbsp;tonbsp;Rob'snbsp;oldernbsp;sisternbsp;Erinnbsp;andnbsp;hernbsp;husbandnbsp;Franknbsp;fornbsp;thenbsp;birthnbsp;ofnbsp;anbsp;healthynbsp;8nbsp;poundnbsp;baby,nbsp;Rienzinbsp;Mae!nbsp;I hope that I can see her someday sooner rather than later!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbmDnTD1pI/AAAAAAAABRs/ji5ucZIlyRM/s1600/New+fam+member.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TCbmDnTD1pI/AAAAAAAABRs/ji5ucZIlyRM/s320/New+fam+member.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Last but not least, the most unpleasant part of the last three weeks was the gum graft that I had yesterday. The Periodontist cut a piece of skin from the roof of my mouth and sewed it to my gum at the base of my front, lower tooth. I'll spare you pictures but just trust me: it's not pleasant to have two sets of stitches in your mouth.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Thanks for reading/more to come soon!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/6401505974719455979-5763253054019622060?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"/divWell, today is June 6th and in just a couple of hours I will be headed to my first Eagle Glacier training camp as an athlete. Yes, I've been to Eagle before but only in the capacity as a coach or a worker for a pre-glacier work camp party. The APU team will go to Eagle to ski on snow for a week once a month during June, July, and August.br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwGzBmaMEI/AAAAAAAABPU/48Ac9keTkWo/s1600/IMG_0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwGzBmaMEI/AAAAAAAABPU/48Ac9keTkWo/s320/IMG_0202.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"A picture of the Alpine Air helicopter hovering over the training facility/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwHLGpWndI/AAAAAAAABPc/sr0B_qUFKoU/s1600/IMG_0098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwHLGpWndI/AAAAAAAABPc/sr0B_qUFKoU/s320/IMG_0098.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The view from the edge of the glacier over looking Girdwood.... at 5500 feet sometimes we are above the clouds!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"I am looking forward to this training camp for many reasons. Skiing on snow and groomed tracks first and foremost.... but, I am also going into this with a plan of sleeping a TON. nbsp;Summer in Alaska is always crazy but the recent good weather combined with my tasks of a coaching and training (on top of other life responsibilities) has left me feeling quite tired. nbsp;During my regular in town life, I participate in "active recovery" meaning that I never have time for a nap or even to put my feet up. However, I know that my lack of rest has left me a bit deprived and I am looking forward to a skiing/sleeping camp!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"While I am sad to be missing a couple days of junior and master's practice, I am happy to say that I am coming down from the glacier early to lead an APU team for the a href="http://www.akrfw.org/"Alaska Run for Women/a, a great event to promote breast cancer awareness in Alaska. nbsp;Last year the race had over 5,000 participants and I am hoping that the "APU Nordic Ski Center Girls" team will draw a big crowd. nbsp;Girls - if you haven't signed up yet, do it TODAY!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwLdyy5f8I/AAAAAAAABPk/CUg16zHutdw/s1600/womens+run.girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwLdyy5f8I/AAAAAAAABPk/CUg16zHutdw/s320/womens+run.girls.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Otherwise, life has been good and busy. nbsp;I often view May as a great time to get in some back country touring style training to rebuild my base and endurance. nbsp;Long skis are a good platform for the higher intensity, more structured training that comes with the rest of the summer. Here are a couple of pictures from my recent Alaskan training adventures:nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwMcTzhEPI/AAAAAAAABPs/9os66RZxWDw/s1600/P1010282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwMcTzhEPI/AAAAAAAABPs/9os66RZxWDw/s320/P1010282.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Rob and I on top of Goat Ridge over looking the Turnagain Arm on our Eklutna Traverse crust ski. We started hiking at 4:45am and this trip took 14 hours car to car. nbsp;Good 30/50k training!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwNKuRT6WI/AAAAAAAABP0/WYBxkpaLnZo/s1600/P1010365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwNKuRT6WI/AAAAAAAABP0/WYBxkpaLnZo/s320/P1010365.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"This is what I call "good training." nbsp;It's all about keeping the joy and passion alive. In order to succeed, I believe you must love what you do. As a ski racer and coach, I absolutely adore skiing and Alaskan trips such as this are a big part of it. It's those rainy roller ski days in October that provide my with the fitness and strength to ski hard all day - and vice versa.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwNxy_oDhI/AAAAAAAABP8/dCYM7ZNXRng/s1600/IMG_0927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwNxy_oDhI/AAAAAAAABP8/dCYM7ZNXRng/s320/IMG_0927.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Here's a picture from a backcountry training trip where the weather didn't cooperate. Have you ever skied in full rubber ... the kind you would use for fishing? nbsp;It may be novel but isn't highly recommended!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwOSvmAi2I/AAAAAAAABQE/ZAX9JIcQtj0/s1600/IMG_0637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwOSvmAi2I/AAAAAAAABQE/ZAX9JIcQtj0/s320/IMG_0637.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Memorial Day weekend Katie Ronsse (my APU teammate), Rob, Bill Pearson and I got out for a long tour above Whittier. nbsp;We had a great day on our tele skis (the snow was too "corny" to use anything skinnier) nbsp;and we decided to capture the moment with a sweet ski-guitar shot!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwPz2I3VDI/AAAAAAAABQM/uE44PO1Hm4M/s1600/DSCF1105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/TAwPz2I3VDI/AAAAAAAABQM/uE44PO1Hm4M/s320/DSCF1105.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"On another note, May featured the end of school for the Anchorage School District. I was happy to fit in a couple of school visits including some time at Chugach Optional Elementary school. nbsp;It's fun telling stories about the Olympics and discussing goal setting. nbsp;Kids always come up with great questions too!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"If you're reading this I hope that you're enjoying your summer and taking the opportunity to get outside and take care of yourself. Have fun, be careful, and thanks for reading!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Sincerely,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/6401505974719455979-2900378474678421027?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Spring has been busy. But I am always busy. nbsp;The real reason there's been a lack of blog postings recently is because I can't get my iphoto to work. My pictures are in essence "stuck" on my camera and I can't access iphoto at all - although I know I didn't erase all my pictures. When it comes to fixing technical problems I'm about as worthless as anyone or anything..... I personally don't like blogs without photos so I will do my best to post with some haphazard photos that have been given to me by others while I find someone to help me fix my computer! br /br /Meanwhile, this past weekend in Alaska was amazing. I got out for some much needed adventures - the kind that are good and restful for the soul and mind but not for the body! I'm tired and paying for it this week in training! On Saturday, my teammate Katie Ronsee and I skied/hiked from the South Fork of the Eagle River to Glen Alps. nbsp;Conditions were perfect and the trip took us 6 1/2 hours. If that wasn't enough, we decided that that wasn't enough and we ran into town carrying our skis in hands which took another 2 hours.br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-up_iajCEI/AAAAAAAABOs/OJK-laac1AY/s1600/IMG_1087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-up_iajCEI/AAAAAAAABOs/OJK-laac1AY/s320/IMG_1087.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Hiking up Ship Lake Pass with skis on my back... we skied from the far left end of picture...nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"(Thanks to Katie for sending! I have some awesome ones of her once I can access them)/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Sunday was just as nice of a day and Rob and I skied above Whitter, AK - something that we've always wanted to do. The day was bluebird with no wind. It's days like these that make me think that Alaska is the best place on earth (when it's nice!) It was a four hour HAUL to get to our skiing starting point but the views down to the ocean and Blackstone Bay in Prince William Sound made it well worth it. Besides, I'm a complete nordic dork in that I like skinning up just as much if not MORE than skiing down. Can I admit that?nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-urCKJf9xI/AAAAAAAABO0/3a11NmQqEBQ/s1600/IMG_0786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-urCKJf9xI/AAAAAAAABO0/3a11NmQqEBQ/s320/IMG_0786.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The four hour haul....nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-ur9lb6PQI/AAAAAAAABO8/A4c6FzdiwO8/s1600/IMG_0815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-ur9lb6PQI/AAAAAAAABO8/A4c6FzdiwO8/s320/IMG_0815.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Olivia checking out the view/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/S-usQcKk0NI/AAAAAAAABPE/1R7CGBHrOM0/s1600/IMG_0847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-usQcKk0NI/AAAAAAAABPE/1R7CGBHrOM0/s320/IMG_0847.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Finally! A good day in the backcountry with Rob! (It was really bright looking into the sun!)/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br /a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-usokrfF8I/AAAAAAAABPM/F4CoTyl_k0k/s1600/IMG_0903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-usokrfF8I/AAAAAAAABPM/F4CoTyl_k0k/s320/IMG_0903.jpg" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Every good long back country day ends with a ski boot hike!/divdivbr //divbr /On another note,br /br /The visit to the White House in late April was awesome. We met the Obamas and the Bidens - pictures are apparently in the mail as they didn't support taking pictures with our own cameras. nbsp;All four leaders (Barack, Michelle, Joe, and Jill) were impressive and genuine in person. I had to pinch myself that we were getting to meet possibly the most famous person in the world right now, Obama. Regardless of what you may think of his politics his smile is even more electric in person and he looked at us with the proud eyes of a parent rather than a big political leader going through the motions. Michelle gave each and every one of us a hug!!!! br /br /After the White House visit and USOC trip I stayed in DC two additional days to spend time with my sister who is biking AROUND the country. It was great to spend time with her and get a better idea of her trip. I learned about "stealth camping" which literally means that "she can camp anywhere and everywhere." nbsp;Robin is biking around the country with no itinerary and staying in a tent between houses of friends, family, and people she meets along the way. Her blog is called, a href="http://rwsb.blogspot.com/""On the Road."nbsp;/abr /br /(I will post pictures from these events as soon as I figure out my IT problems!)br /br /In the meantime, here is a blog post that I wrote on the plane from Washington State to Washington DC, still missing some of the intended photos.br /br /Washington to Washington …………br /div class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"Well, I’m in the air (flying) again. This time the travel isn’t to compete in a race but to visit the White House and meet the President with the rest of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic squad!!!!!!nbsp; I’m really excited as this will present a great opportunity to spend some relaxed time with the other athletes – something I didn’t have time for with five separate races in Vancouver.nbsp; nbsp;/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"The past couple weeks have been crazy busy.nbsp; APU community program practices ran through the 9supth/sup of April and we had some great skiing. April can be awesome in Alaska and the skiing opportunities are plentiful.nbsp; For those that aren’t sick of track skiing, Nordic groomers are out every day, we hit up the single track and Tussock-skiing in a big way, (almost to a fault in this situation)/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-rpaEtmTjI/AAAAAAAABOc/Gc2HXGUCCqc/s1600/DSCF0800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-rpaEtmTjI/AAAAAAAABOc/Gc2HXGUCCqc/s320/DSCF0800.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Forrest and his REALLY broken ski/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"The back country is loaded with snow, everyone is constantly checking the Alaskan Highway webcams and 24-hour weather stations in hopes that the crust skiing will set up.nbsp; (Skiing to the face of a glacier is an alright thing to do early morning before work!) (show pic from Portage last year) Alyeska, the local downhill resort has a ridiculous base of I don't know how many inches and they announced they’ll go strong through Memorial Day.nbsp; The skiing options are just one reason why I like to call Alaska home…. /divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"But, time to rewind – I shouldn’t get ahead of myself! Each spring we (the APU program) celebrates the end of the season by having a program-wide BBQ and relay race.nbsp; Young skiers pair up with (older) racers and ski a course often filled with fun obstacles and jumps.nbsp; There are no times, no egos – and at the end of the race, no one is really sure who won.nbsp; It’s great and chaotic…. A fun end of the season event for the different members of our diverse program to get together and exchange stories……/divdiv class="MsoNormal"This picture features APU girls from three different levels – Devo girls in front (our middle school program) Junior girls sandwiched in the middle (our high school program) and University Elite girls lining the back. It’s fun to all be on the same team and it’s good exposure both up and down. The younger girls are exposed to “faster, older girls” and they remind us that snowball fights, making hand-made spandex, and beating up on the boys keep skiing fun and fresh.nbsp; /divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-rlBiKJ8QI/AAAAAAAABOE/IaVc8NdCgH4/s1600/DSCF0851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-rlBiKJ8QI/AAAAAAAABOE/IaVc8NdCgH4/s320/DSCF0851.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"APU girls: front row: Devos, second row: Juniors, third row: Uni/Elite, top row: Morgan Flynn :)nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-rlbXtWfGI/AAAAAAAABOM/TLPOYf2oRaA/s1600/DSCF0844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-rlbXtWfGI/AAAAAAAABOM/TLPOYf2oRaA/s320/DSCF0844.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"APU Junior Boys: Ray, Thomas, Doug, Forrest and Jack/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-roVEPHD2I/AAAAAAAABOU/CeAw9n8KjY4/s1600/DSCF0838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-roVEPHD2I/AAAAAAAABOU/CeAw9n8KjY4/s320/DSCF0838.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"APU Masters, Sam and Berit Floranbsp;/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"The month of April represents a “changing of seasons” for anyone involved in skiing.nbsp; Our year isn’t based on the calendar but of course, the season of winter….This time of year coaches are usually frantically busy in the office planning the next season and athletes scatter near and far for some well-deserved Ramp;R. This is the one time of year when it’s really “OK” to let your guard down and not train if you don’t feel like it (Otherwise, we’re busy training daily 54 weeks per year.)nbsp; As an athlete and a coach, the past couple of weeks have been crazy as I have my planning obligations as a coach combined with the body-fatigue of an athlete that needs a break!nbsp; /divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-rqlse2FgI/AAAAAAAABOk/Fk4wKx7mO_E/s1600/DSCF0820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S-rqlse2FgI/AAAAAAAABOk/Fk4wKx7mO_E/s320/DSCF0820.JPG" //a/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"Kikkan, James, and I did a "Ride and Ski with the Alaskan Olympians" event free to all Alaksan kids. Here we are signing posters..... (Thanks to Lars Flora for organizing!)/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"Last year Rob and I rested up from the season on the north shore of Kauai. This year, instead of beaches and bikinis I opted to visit my family in Seattle enroute to Washington DC.nbsp; Spring time is often my favorite time of year in Seattle. I think my eyes and brain where on sensory overload as the flowers and flowering trees were out in full force, aroma, and color. While Anchorage may hold skiing over Seattle, Seattle definitely holds the cards for growing season and spring time beauty.nbsp; /divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"Between nights in Seattle I was able to spend some time at my family’s cabin at Snoqualmie Pass where I learned to ski.nbsp; It was really special to spend some quality time with my parents, brothers, and uncle.nbsp; One day we even took a day trip to the Columbia River Gorge for a desert hike to see the flowers in bloom.nbsp; This involved skiing out of the cabin, driving to Vantage to visit i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Petrified Tree State Park/i, hiking and running in 70 degree weather, then driving back only to ski back into the cabin in my shorts.nbsp; Cell phones and internet don’t work once we’re there so evenings are often filled with dinners aided by the light of the fireplace and Willie Nelson in the background. It’s nice to un-plug and focus on good dinner conversation rather than new email updates on my Anderiod span style="font-family: Wingdings;"J/span /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Wingdings;"br //span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"Well, that’s it for the pre-WA DC update. I’m excited to see the other athletes and equally excited for my two additional days in DC.nbsp; My sister has been biking her legs off to meet me in the capital.nbsp; Also, one of my best friends from college will be in DC Friday night so we get to go to dinner!nbsp;nbsp;/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br //divdiv class="MsoNormal"Until next week and thanks for reading, /divdiv class="MsoNormal"Holly span style="font-family: Wingdings;"J/span /divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-993402900316601311?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

div style="font: 16.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"/span/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"bSpring time for skiers is time for rest, reflection on the past year, the beginning of the NEXT training year and of course, some fundraising efforts. nbsp;The APU team is hosting the first annual celebration/fundraiser event on Tuesday evening on the APU Campus. nbsp;Funds raised will be used to offset ever-climbing travel expenses for young and aspiring athletes. If you're in Anchorage, we would love for you to join us. nbsp;If you are outside of Anchorage but still wish to send a donation, that can easily be arranged. There is no cost to attend the event and we are going to have some awesome items up for bid. nbsp;Just annoucned today is a training trip up to Eagle Glacier via Alpine Air Helicopter ride to ski with us during one of our summer glacier camps!!!!! nbsp;Additionally, the APU Board of Trustees will be MATCHING EACH DONATION AT 100%!!!!!! nbsp;Your donations are tax exempt and we hope you'll consider it! nbsp;If you would like more information or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. nbsp;Last but not least, please help us spread the word about the event by letting others know it is happening. Thank you! Sincerely,nbsp;/b/span/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"bHolly :)nbsp;/b/span/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"bbr //b/span/span/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"span style="font: normal normal normal 19px/normal Georgia;"bSneak Peeknbsp;into a few Auction Items....../b/span/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"bbr //b/span/span/divbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S90PeyHeKgI/AAAAAAAABNY/nIsIo7IkbUg/s1600/IMG_6039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S90PeyHeKgI/AAAAAAAABNY/nIsIo7IkbUg/s320/IMG_6039.JPG" //a/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 16px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"br //divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 16px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"APU Nordic Skinbsp;Centernbsp;Celebration amp; Fundraiser nbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 16px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"br //divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"A few of the live and silent auction items for fundraiser benefittingnbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"the Competition Fund of the APU Nordic Ski Center are listed below.nbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"br //divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"Weekend stay at Alaska’s Fishing Unlimited Lodge on Lake Clarknbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"Weekday Powder Passes for 2 at Alyeska Ski Resortnbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"A Talkeetna getaway (includes a flightseeing trip/glacier landingnbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"for 2 in the Alaska Range with Talkeetna Air Taxi AND lodging atnbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"the Talkeetna Roadhouse)nbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"Nordic ski packages (including boots, bindings, and skis) fromnbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"Rossignol AND Salomonnbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"Lessons with APU Olympic skiers Holly Brooks and Kikkannbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"Randallnbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"A weekend of Cat skiing for two with Chugach Powder Guidesnbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"Skiing and lessons in Bend, Oregon with Olympian Lars Floranbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"(includes airplane tickets for 2 from Alaska to Bend, Oregonnbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"bbr //b/span/span/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"Please join us!nbsp;/span/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"May 4th, 2010 7-9p.m. nbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"APU Atwood Centernbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"Hors d’oeuvres, desserts, drinks will be provided.nbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"RSVP to Phyllis Gross at pgross@alaskapacific.edunbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"or at (907) 564.8250nbsp;/divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"br //divdiv style="font: normal normal normal 11px/normal Georgia; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"We look forward to sharing a season's worth of skiing nbsp;/divdivspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"br //span/span/divdivspan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-large;"span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"bbr //b/span/span/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-177705080639109410?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"I've been home for less than a week after 24 straight days in Northern Maine.... I coached at JOs, hung out in the "county" for a week, and then raced in the US Nationals 30k and Super Tour Finals. The season is finally over. I say "finally" not because I'm burnt out but just because my first Super Tour race of the season seems like two life-times ago. nbsp;A lot has happened between West Yellowstone in November and my return to Anchorage March 30th. I'll let the photos tell most of the stories......nbsp;/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/S7knDBNfdsI/AAAAAAAABIg/q8hzSOv6KJc/s1600/DSCF0657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7knDBNfdsI/AAAAAAAABIg/q8hzSOv6KJc/s320/DSCF0657.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"After two weeks of sunshine in the county we raced the 30k in fresh, falling snow. I ended up third in a 4-way battle for the podium. After the 30k, we had one "off-day" before the start of Super Tour finals - three races in three consecutive days.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"What did we do? Fast and Female Madawaska!!!!!! nbsp;a href="http://fastandfemale.imworks.biz/"Fast and Female/a is originally Canadian and FF Maine was the only place in the US to host other than Anchorage. Reno Deprey, one of the APU Master skiers helped sponsor the event with his wife, Becky Manley. nbsp;Reno grew up skiing and coaching in Madawaska so they had signs (and even ski trails) honoring him. For those that aren't familiar with Fast and Female it's an "empowerment through sport" event that brings top female skiers in the country to give all-day clinics to girls ages 9-19. nbsp;Skiers are broken up into groups, spend time skiing and learning skills from top female athletes in the country, eat lunch together, story time plus Qamp;A, and then it's followed by a poster signing session. nbsp;It's a FABULOUS program and this is my third Fast and Female event. I hope that other locales are able to host FF as I feel like it's a really effective program for communities.nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7knfklj33I/AAAAAAAABIo/YZ7sGEhZTH8/s1600/DSCF0662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7knfklj33I/AAAAAAAABIo/YZ7sGEhZTH8/s320/DSCF0662.JPG" //abr /br /Pointing to Reno who by the way just celebrated his 80th Birthday.... he just won his age group in the Birkie by MINUTES. Very cool to have a ME-AK connection!br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lBGt7llXI/AAAAAAAABJw/54Pef-xEqJo/s1600/DSCF0674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lBGt7llXI/AAAAAAAABJw/54Pef-xEqJo/s320/DSCF0674.JPG" //abr /br /Here is my group of girls posing with the Fast and Female logo. nbsp;Left to right is Alice, Hallie, Amanda, myself, Vanessa, Shelby, Danni, Cassie, and Vicky. nbsp;These girls were so much fun!!!!br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k7jroHWUI/AAAAAAAABIw/SlyXf9kHCEg/s1600/DSCF0682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k7jroHWUI/AAAAAAAABIw/SlyXf9kHCEg/s320/DSCF0682.JPG" //abr /br /Part of Maine Winter Sports Center's outreach programs includes mobile trailers with ski equipment to outfit those that don't have their own gear. nbsp;These guys were efficient in getting everyone outfitted - plus the trailer were sweet. I think more places could benefit from a project like this. If kids never try skiing they don't know what they're missing right?br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k8TUDsDlI/AAAAAAAABI4/UlIFT3HBJY0/s1600/DSCF0686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k8TUDsDlI/AAAAAAAABI4/UlIFT3HBJY0/s320/DSCF0686.JPG" //abr /br /After skiing we had lunch in the cafeteria. The food was awesome and the event volunteers had a slide show of the ski stations already playing on the wall with a soundtrack and everything. They did a phenomenal job organizing - top rate! Taz is pictured above excited about her tray with at least eight separate compartments!!br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k8yeyxuaI/AAAAAAAABJI/9ks7wfyCXlM/s1600/F%26F+group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k8yeyxuaI/AAAAAAAABJI/9ks7wfyCXlM/s320/F%26F+group.jpg" //abr /br /Here is a group FF shot taken from the roof. nbsp;The even actually happened on a Thursday and girls from the Madawaska schools were excused from classes to attend. nbsp;(They told me the boys were super jealous!)br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The following day we had our first of three super tour races. nbsp;The women's race was a 7.5k classic mass start with three "preem" stations at 1k, 3k, and 6k. nbsp;Rebecca Dussault and I continued our close finishes at the line with this lunge at 1k. nbsp;It's funny because I'm not used to lunging for a line, then continuing to race. nbsp;I had to be careful not to lunge so far that I would fall over. (That happens quite often!)/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k9KAgWQYI/AAAAAAAABJQ/gJ7LcurxE9c/s1600/Rebecca+and+Holly+at+preem+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k9KAgWQYI/AAAAAAAABJQ/gJ7LcurxE9c/s320/Rebecca+and+Holly+at+preem+1.jpg" //abr /br /Preem winners received time off their overall time and Kikkan received 250 bucks for being the first women to 1kbr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k9qMDBqjI/AAAAAAAABJY/2Dxs5uEt_mU/s1600/DSCF0696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k9qMDBqjI/AAAAAAAABJY/2Dxs5uEt_mU/s320/DSCF0696.JPG" //abr /br /Here is a picture of the men's mass start. nbsp;I think there were close to 100 men starting this race on fast tracks with some fun corners. nbsp;This format made for some fun spectating.br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k9qMDBqjI/AAAAAAAABJY/2Dxs5uEt_mU/s1600/DSCF0696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"/aa href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k-nKr7iEI/AAAAAAAABJg/3re7gc_n7wU/s1600/DSCF0702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k-nKr7iEI/AAAAAAAABJg/3re7gc_n7wU/s320/DSCF0702.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Kate Fitz's (an APU teammate) extended family made the trip to Madawaska to watch her race - they brought this sign to cheer her on!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k_-c1Li0I/AAAAAAAABJo/UpgYcJw9iDY/s1600/DSCF0705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7k_-c1Li0I/AAAAAAAABJo/UpgYcJw9iDY/s320/DSCF0705.JPG" //abr /br /I met two local girls that attended Fast and Female and were out at the races to watch. nbsp;Coincidentally their names were "Holly" and "Brooke" so we had to get our picture taken together!br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lCLh050MI/AAAAAAAABJ4/6tZq6TDyirA/s1600/DSCF0710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lCLh050MI/AAAAAAAABJ4/6tZq6TDyirA/s320/DSCF0710.JPG" //abr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Some of my Fast and Female girls came out to the races and brought their friends - thanks for cheering girls!!!/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lCt3QWSrI/AAAAAAAABKA/MG9Wym6MgL4/s1600/DSCF0712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lCt3QWSrI/AAAAAAAABKA/MG9Wym6MgL4/s320/DSCF0712.JPG" //abr /br /The APU coaches worked extremely hard during our time in Maine. We had four races in five days and there were two venues approximately 1 hour apart. nbsp;It made for some long hours and complicated logistics for them... plus some sticky klister conditions. (This is head coach Erik Flora's hand after the race)br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lDSaiN1qI/AAAAAAAABKI/lOeVYxBxDAc/s1600/DSCF0716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lDSaiN1qI/AAAAAAAABKI/lOeVYxBxDAc/s320/DSCF0716.JPG" //abr /br /Here is the sprint podium. I was third again! nbsp;This time to Ida Sargent and Kikkan.br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lEB-8FOCI/AAAAAAAABKQ/VSeGtvjqrQ8/s1600/DSCF0721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lEB-8FOCI/AAAAAAAABKQ/VSeGtvjqrQ8/s320/DSCF0721.JPG" //abr /br /After the sprint it was time to re-fuel and get ready for the next day's hill climb. nbsp;Becca choose some "poutine" which is a Canadian and Northern Maine specialty. nbsp;Yes, that's french fries with cheese curds covered in gravy. nbsp;I don't think there is any lack of "energy" in that plate of food!br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lGTzI7fCI/AAAAAAAABKg/_zb0Ld2ETmU/s1600/DSCF0728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lGTzI7fCI/AAAAAAAABKg/_zb0Ld2ETmU/s320/DSCF0728.JPG" //abr /br /Here is the final podium after three days of Super Tour racing following the last race - the "hill climb." I was third again!!!!br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lFkTzfqTI/AAAAAAAABKY/YeANxJh9Ulc/s1600/DSCF0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lFkTzfqTI/AAAAAAAABKY/YeANxJh9Ulc/s320/DSCF0731.JPG" //abr /br /Here is a fun shot of Brian Gregg with his Super Tour cash winnings. nbsp;After USSA didn't pay the series winners last season they decided to try and salvage the reputation by giving this year's winners hard, cold cash. nbsp;Brian won the distance title after an entire season of racing. I think he bought a used Volvo with it.... right on Brian!br /br /The following day I started my long trip home. nbsp;Four flights and approximately 24 hours later I met Rob at the Anchorage Airport baggage claim. nbsp;Coincidentally he had arrived from Colorado at a similar time. (It's sweet to carpool home from the airport with your husband - especially after you've been traveling different places!) nbsp;Since it was 2am in the morning it was technically Rob's birthday. nbsp;I brought him what was a beautiful, authentic Boston Cream pie which had melted on the subsequent flights. nbsp;I had candles but no lighter due to TSA. It still tasted good - and for those of you that know Rob, he isn't picky!br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lkVs7d2NI/AAAAAAAABKo/yOwNNRHW5Ds/s1600/DSCF0742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lkVs7d2NI/AAAAAAAABKo/yOwNNRHW5Ds/s320/DSCF0742.JPG" //abr /br /After we arrived home at 3am, it was straight to work the next day for both of us. No rest for the weary! It's been GREAT to be home and reconnect with friends, family, and all the people that I coach that have been so supportive of me over the past couple of months. br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lk349eqJI/AAAAAAAABKw/xMnZK4skPLw/s1600/DSCF0753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lk349eqJI/AAAAAAAABKw/xMnZK4skPLw/s320/DSCF0753.JPG" //abr /(The kids are spelling "APU" with their bodies.... if it wasn't completely obvious!)br /br /On Friday Charlie Renfro and I took the APU devo and junior skiers down the old "Flat Top Flyer" course. nbsp;This was an old race that is completely downhill - Glen Alps to Hilltop on Nordic Skis. nbsp;It only lasted three years (?) and was finally cancelled due to too many broken bones including Kikkan's back. nbsp;We didn't race it but we sure had a good time.....br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7llSw9ULVI/AAAAAAAABK4/Pi_L5PeD9MA/s1600/DSCF0758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7llSw9ULVI/AAAAAAAABK4/Pi_L5PeD9MA/s320/DSCF0758.JPG" //abr /br /This year our only casualty was Ana's ski. nbsp;It was a huge bummer but at least it wasn't her arm or leg :)br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7ll6kJQxaI/AAAAAAAABLA/9LMRjaKb0h8/s1600/DSCF0761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7ll6kJQxaI/AAAAAAAABLA/9LMRjaKb0h8/s320/DSCF0761.JPG" //abr /br /After our downhill ski, one of the APU juniors that I coach, Mackenzie made the special trip to deliver a gift..... apparently she painted this in art class during the Games - she got an A. I have to say, it's one of the nicest, most thoughtful gifts I've ever received. nbsp;I'm truly honored by her efforts and will cherish the painting. Thanks so much Mac!!!br /br /I've been home for almost a week now and it's been crazy - but fabulous. nbsp;I love being in Alaska, looking out at the mountains each morning, sleeping in my own bed, talking to my husband in person rather than over the phone or texting. nbsp;Life has been high-paced with work, catching up on "life" and all the additional responsibilities of an Olympian. nbsp;I have tons of requests and plans for speaking engagements/appearances, classroom visits, ski clinics, non-profit auction donations, thank yous... I'm excited because this is my turn to give back to a community that has done so much for me.br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lmZi6OpCI/AAAAAAAABLI/pLOulTuy3Jg/s1600/DSCF0767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lmZi6OpCI/AAAAAAAABLI/pLOulTuy3Jg/s320/DSCF0767.JPG" //abr /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Amongst all the craziness I carved out some time to spend with Rob this past weekend. nbsp;We did our second annual back-to-back uphill/downhill ski races at Alyeska and Alpenglow. nbsp;This shot was taken on the chair lift at Arctic Valley. nbsp;This was our first time back since getting married there in August. nbsp;Sweet day, blue sky, good snow, BBQ on the deck. No complaining here....nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //diva href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lm4jSkpwI/AAAAAAAABLQ/zBRW9BhL6os/s1600/DSCF0776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S7lm4jSkpwI/AAAAAAAABLQ/zBRW9BhL6os/s320/DSCF0776.JPG" //abr /br /I've also taken up a new sport thanks to Greg Matyas at a href="http://www.speedwaycyclesak.com/"Speedway Cycles/anbsp;-nbsp;Winternbsp;Biking!nbsp;nbsp;Yep,nbsp;thisnbsp;isnbsp;mynbsp;newnbsp;"FATBACK"nbsp;bikenbsp;completenbsp;withnbsp;widenbsp;tiresnbsp;thatnbsp;floatnbsp;onnbsp;topnbsp;ofnbsp;thenbsp;snow.nbsp;Inbsp;tooknbsp;itnbsp;outnbsp;fornbsp;mynbsp;firstnbsp;timenbsp;thisnbsp;morningnbsp;andnbsp;hadnbsp;anbsp;blast.nbsp;nbsp;I'venbsp;envisioningnbsp;anbsp;sweetnbsp;combinednbsp;crustnbsp;tripnbsp;completenbsp;withnbsp;winternbsp;bikenbsp;andnbsp;skatenbsp;skisnbsp;-nbsp;staynbsp;tuned!nbsp;br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Thanks for reading - Enjoy Spring!nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Sincerely,nbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Holly :)nbsp;/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-954118199049020846?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"I'm sorry for the infrequent posts lately.... while I sometimes wish that life was as interesting as it was everyday at the Olympics, a big part of me is thankful that for the meantime, life has calmed down for a couple of days.nbsp;/spanbr /span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"/spanbr /divbr //divdivdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6dhEF0zgYI/AAAAAAAABHM/nAOsfBR1R-U/s1600-h/DSCF0568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6dhEF0zgYI/AAAAAAAABHM/nAOsfBR1R-U/s320/DSCF0568.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;""Team Alaska" in Presque Islenbsp;/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6diLw_hUlI/AAAAAAAABHU/5AfiuXoVh_8/s1600-h/DSCF0575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6diLw_hUlI/AAAAAAAABHU/5AfiuXoVh_8/s320/DSCF0575.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"The kids wrote "Go Alaska" on their stomachs/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"br //divI am currently in Northern Maine waiting. nbsp;There is really no better way to put it. nbsp;Last week, I coached Team Alaska Junior athletes ages 15-19 at Junior Olympics in Presque Isle Maine. nbsp;It took me four plane rides and a 1500 dollar plane ticket to get here so needless to say, going back to Alaska just to turn around wasn't in the cards. nbsp;Next week is the National Championship 30k Skate race followed closely by Super Tour finals. nbsp;That means four races in five days, "Tour De Ski" style. If you're interested in following the races or reading about the event the website can be a href="http://www.supertourfinals2010.com/Welcome.html"found here/a.br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6dpBQvuDEI/AAAAAAAABHc/7k_eDTA9Qas/s1600-h/DSCF0614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6dpBQvuDEI/AAAAAAAABHc/7k_eDTA9Qas/s320/DSCF0614.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Crust skiing in the potato fields/divbr //divdivdivLots of people give Northern Maine a hard time. nbsp;It's rural,nbsp;it'snbsp;economicallynbsp;wbr/wbrdepressed,nbsp;andnbsp;theynbsp;grownbsp;lotsnbsp;wbr/wbrofnbsp;Potatosnbsp;aroundnbsp;here.nbsp;The pace of life is slow but to be totally honest, that is exactly what I needed. nbsp;My life is anything but slow at home in Alaska and sometimes a forced break is exactly what the Doctor called for. nbsp;(Actually, my Dr literally gave me a gift of fleece Pajamas after the Olympics with a note saying, "These are intended for you to get some rest in!")br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6duRarEJhI/AAAAAAAABHs/eRx5tYY_sts/s1600-h/DSCF0633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6duRarEJhI/AAAAAAAABHs/eRx5tYY_sts/s320/DSCF0633.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Crust skiing with some local girls - their first time!/divbr //divdivI am currently staying innbsp;anbsp;housenbsp;ownednbsp;bynbsp;anbsp;localnbsp;wbr/wbrskinbsp;enthusiastnbsp;namednbsp;Carl.nbsp;nbsp;wbr/wbrAsnbsp;farnbsp;asnbsp;Inbsp;cannbsp;tell,nbsp;peoplenbsp;wbr/wbrlikenbsp;Carlnbsp;makenbsp;lifenbsp;more enjoyable for everyone but specifically skiers. Henbsp;wbr/wbrhasnbsp;donenbsp;lotsnbsp;ofnbsp;reallynbsp;coolnbsp;wbr/wbrprojects innbsp;thenbsp;countrynbsp;includingnbsp;buildingnbsp;anbsp;wbr/wbrdownhillnbsp;skinbsp;hillnbsp;(literally)nbsp;wbr/wbrbynbsp;bulldozingnbsp;anbsp;bunchnbsp;ofnbsp;dirtnbsp;wbr/wbrintonbsp;anbsp;bignbsp;hill,nbsp;purchasingnbsp;wbr/wbrsnownbsp;makingnbsp;guns,nbsp;andnbsp;thennbsp;anbsp;wbr/wbrt-barnbsp;sonbsp;kidsnbsp;at the localnbsp;wbr/wbrCaribounbsp;schoolnbsp;couldnbsp;learnnbsp;tonbsp;wbr/wbrdownhillnbsp;ski!nbsp;Hisnbsp;cabin (they call them "camps" in Maine) thatnbsp;wbr/wbrwenbsp;arenbsp;currentlynbsp;staying innbsp;wbr/wbrisnbsp;deckednbsp;outnbsp;innbsp;picturesnbsp;andnbsp;wbr/wbrthank yousnbsp;fromnbsp;folksnbsp;he'snbsp;wbr/wbrhosted over the seasons. Carl and family have been really generous and hospitable towards us and we are very thankful.br /br //divdivdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6dq0hlHuMI/AAAAAAAABHk/pFu6r7ih2Hs/s1600-h/DSCF0632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6dq0hlHuMI/AAAAAAAABHk/pFu6r7ih2Hs/s320/DSCF0632.JPG" //a/divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"Nicole De Yong, Caitlin Compton, Becca Rorabaugh, me, Sarah Dominque/divbr //divdivThis morning we went to Eureka Hall, a local diner in Stockholm, Maine where you can get a great homemade breakfast for less than five dollars and homemade pastries for a dollar each!?!?! Afterwards, we took Carl's daughter, Anna and friends out crust skiing for their first time. Crust skiing is a great thing and it was very cool to take them for their first time.br /br /div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6dvXEH9giI/AAAAAAAABH0/_A8fri3HAck/s1600-h/DSCF0625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S6dvXEH9giI/AAAAAAAABH0/_A8fri3HAck/s320/DSCF0625.JPG" //a/divbr //divdivFrom herenbsp;thenbsp;pacenbsp;willnbsp;startnbsp;tonbsp;increasenbsp;anbsp;bit.nbsp;Thenbsp;restnbsp;ofnbsp;thenbsp;APUnbsp;teamnbsp;showednbsp;upnbsp;andnbsp;isnbsp;enroutenbsp;tonbsp;picknbsp;usnbsp;upnbsp;now.nbsp;We'llnbsp;movenbsp;intonbsp;thenbsp;rentednbsp;"teamnbsp;house"nbsp;andnbsp;startnbsp;tonbsp;officiallynbsp;preparenbsp;fornbsp;thenbsp;races.nbsp;nbsp;/divdivbr //divdivMorenbsp;tonbsp;comenbsp;soon.nbsp;Thanksnbsp;fornbsp;reading!nbsp;/divdivbr //divdiv~Holly :)nbsp;/div/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-6286977021391728009?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div