The Season Begins

Finally I am in the home stretch to the beginning of my race season. The truth is our training season never really ends but skiing and racing on snow is always a fun new beginning. The CXC Team and I arrived last week here in West Yellowstone, MT. West Yellowstone is a sleepy little western town this time of year, which lies directly at the western access road to Yellowstone National Park. When we first arrived there was a little snow on the sidewalks, but our hopes were a little diminished when we saw the mud pit at the entrance to the ski trails. Amazingly, once we moved to a different trail head, there was enough snow for us to actually ski! There were bits of grass sticking through but the skiing was great!

As the week progressed the snow became thinner and thinner but our spirits and drive remained high. The entire CXC Team put in some huge training hours with lots of intervals and strength sessions! We made what little snow or un-groomed snow we found work, and we even took the opportunity to rollerski into Yellowstone National Park. The park was absolutely incredible but I will admit I was more than a little afraid of the Bison and Elk.

The Yellowstone Ski Festival is held every year during the Thanksgiving week. Not only does this festival serve as the opener for the Super Tour, but it also brings people from all over the country who are in search of early season snow. The Nordic Ski Industry uses this event to have a ton of demos and expos to keep people entertained and excited about the sport of Cross Country Skiing. I am always excited to see familiar faces again and catch up with people I haven’t seen since last March.

The first races start the day after Thanksgiving with a 10K Classic on Friday and a 5K Skate race on Saturday. I am really looking forward to seeing how the entire CXC Team does. We have all been working hard and I know it will pay off. I will send another update after the first races are over.

Afternoon at Sibley Park

I spent last Monday afternoon with multiple groups at the Sibley Recreation Center. The fun began with the younger kids who belong to the Rec Plus crew! We took a lot of video where they showed me their new personal cell phones. Since the girls didn't have their own cell phones they decided to make some out of construction paper. Unfortunately I could not get the video to upload. I will keep trying though! After the Rec Plus kids left the Youthline group arrived.

Everybody was pretty happy about the beginning of winter being just around the corner, which is great considering can get pretty cold here in Minnesota, and the temperatures have been dropping fast! Some kids who are a part of the Antwadin School and the City Of Lake Loppet new Skier Development Group had the opportunity to try Ski Walking on the trails at Theodore Wirth. Ski Walking is a little like Cross Country Skiing but without skis and snow. Hopefully the Sibley Crew will be able to get out and join the Antwadin group this week to try Ski Walking themselves before the snow falls. I am working really hard on getting some skis for Sibley Park so that everyone can enjoy snow skiing this winter at Theodore Wirth.

We concluded the evening with personal ice cream makers. Using cream, sugar, flavorings, and coloring, we placed the ingredients in one plastic bag and then dropped it into another bag filled with rock ice. Rock is insanely cold, which is why it works so well for quick ice cream. You shake the bags and the cream mixture begins to freeze into Ice Cream!

I even had the opportunity to brush up on my math facts and lend a hand in some decimal multiplication. Despite everyone else starting their ice cream, Juan was incredible diligent and finished all his work which made the ice cream even better!