Biking and Rollerskiing

The City of Lakes Tri-Loppet is only two months away and there is a lot of training to get in before then. During the past two weeks the kids at Anderson and Anwatin Middle school have been working very hard.

On Monday the Anderson group which is almost 20 strong ventured on foot to the nearby Midtown Greenway Coalition (MGC). The Midtown Greenway is a great asset here in South Minneapolis because it bisects the Grand Rounds route, which circumnavigates Minneapolis, in half allowing for quicker commuting across town.

The Coalition Vision:
We envision a green urban pathway that provides the anchor for a regional, sustainable transportation network; and encourages healthy diverse communities to prosper, participate, and connect to the region.

The path is built along the old railroad grade and thus is recessed below street level with many unique bridges along the straight path.

The group was given bicycles and helmets to use for the afternoon from the MGC. They also provided a guide who lead us in safety and etiquette along the trail. We biked to Lake Calhoun and back and despite the rainy weather had a great experience.


On Wednesday the Anderson Elementary kids had the opportunity to Rollerski. This was awesome! The Rollerskis are a part of the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation and are used for kids groups in the community.

We had just enough boots and skis for all 10 kids to participate at once. For most of the kids this was their first time on Rollerskis and they were incredible! We focused on balance, turning and accelerations in our relay races.

After the Rollerskiing we progressed to the woods where we held a mini time trial to get baseline times for everyone. Everyone left at 15 second intervals and their times will serve as a benchmark as we continue training through the summer!

Kid's Tri-Loppet Training Group

Tomorrow is the first day of my new program for the summer with In-The-Arena and the City Of Lakes Loppet Nordic Ski Foundation. The Tri-Loppet is an off-road urban triathlon here in Minneapolis consisting of canoeing Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake and Brownie Lake, running the hilly trails at Theodore Wirth Park and then Navigating the single track Mountian Bike trails at Theodore Wirth Park.

My first day begins with Anderson Middle School in South Minneapolis. We will be working towards the goal of completing the triathlon at the end of June. Last year I coached a similar program, but this year there will be a higher focus of getting all of the kids to participate in the triathlon either as a team or solo. The program will also incorporate nutrition and other healthy lifestyle advice. Wednesday will be the first day of the program at Anwatin Middle School which is adjacent to Theodore Wirth Park and allows us to train on the race trails when we meet. The kids at Anwatin are really lucky to be so close to such a great park!

During the two and a half months of the program I will be working with both Anderson and Antwatin schools on a weekly basis, rotating between Canoeing, biking, and running! We will be supported by many local Minneapolis companies who will be providing the canoes, bikes and even donating running shoes.

I am so excited to finally get this program started and to meet the kids (hopefully a few returning faces from last year).

President’s Fitness Awards presentation at Bryn Mawr Elementary School.

On Sunday after almost 70K of racing in one week for the woman and over 100K for the men at the Birch Hill Cross Country Ski Trails in Fairbanks, AK the 2008/2009 competitive ski season came to an end. A lull in Mt. Redoubt’s volcanic activity on Monday gave my flight from Anchorage the opportunity to take off, just before the volcano spurted another ash cloud. This was the first flight to Minneapolis since the volcano began erupting a week earlier. I was so relieved when we finally got off the runway.

On Wednesday morning I joined the second through fifth graders at the Bryn Mawr Elementary School to hand out medals and certificates to every kid who completed The President’s Fitness Challenge. Each student was required to partake in healthy activities and eating habits while keeping track of their choices for the previous 6 weeks.

The best part about Anita Chavez’s P.E. class is that she has almost all of them XC skiing during the winter! The Theodore Wirth and City of Lakes Loppet Trails run right through the school playground and the trails behind the school are where I train the most when I am home during the spring, summer, fall and winter. Almost 80% of the 180 kids in the assembly had skied in the City of Lakes Mini-Loppet. AWESOME!!!

I spoke to the kids about my XC skiing training regime leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics and how much I love training in the Minneapolis parks all year. We talked about many of the different parks in the area and all of the different types of activities we can do in the parks and on the bike paths, like running, biking, rollerblading, soccer, baseball and tag. The kids had lots of questions about Skiing, Alaska, Big Mountains and my new training partner Lahti the Husky!

General Mills was also an integral part of the presentation offering prizes and info about good healthy food choices. The kids did a great job answering the trivia questions about the food groups and serving sizes!

I look forward to working more with Anita Chavez and the kids at Bryn Mawr this summer during their summer school programs and with the support of General Mills for the Tri-Loppet program that is being offered to the Anwatin and Anderson Elementary Schools.

New Addition to the Family!

We have a new member of the household here in Minneapolis. His name is...well he doesn't have an official name yet! We have been calling him anything from "dog" to "sable" to "Kate Moss."

He is a 3 year old Alaskan Husky that Ben, my boyfriend, and I rescued from the Minneapolis Animal Humane Society. He was a transfer from another agency and arrived with a few other Huskies that were all rescued together. He is going to make a great running and skiing companion someday. Right now though he is very skinny and extremely shy. The goal will be to start him with a few walks a day and gradually increase to short runs once he starts to gain weight and get adjusted to being on a leash. Hopefully we can get him out in the woods, although still on a leash, by early summer!

We are excited to give him a second chance and hope he enjoys living with us.

When does Exercise become Training?

My friend and teammate Jojo Winters and I were driving to the YWCA to teach a Nordic Walking Clinic earlier today, and we were discussing ways to get the group excited about getting out and doing Nordic Walking within a continuous exercise plan. As we were talking to the group I accidentally slipped the word “training” into the conversation, and realized that not everyone who exercises is necessarily “training” for something. Or are they?

When does “Exercise” become “Training”?

Whenever I go out for a ski, run, or to the gym I call it training, regardless of duration or intensity, it’s all training. I call it training because I have a goal in mind, and every session gets me closer to that goal. Jojo and I came to the realization that many people go for skis and runs, and to the gym with a much different goal. They simply want to live healthier lives, and enjoy their daily workouts, or escape from the stresses of life. Would you call that training, or simply exercising? Do more people say, “I’m heading out for exercise.”, or “I’m heading out to train.” Exercise and training are not really any different. They are different in scope of what they might hope to accomplish, heading to the Olympics, or completing a 5km run/walk, or simply losing a few pounds of weight.

When we were speaking to the group, we thought that using the word training might be somewhat intimidating to the group, but as we walked around the indoor track with the group, I realized that although this isn’t a part of training specifically for anything, this is still exercising, and everyone at the clinic who was talking part, was exercising, and just as focused and determined as I am training.

I also realized how much fun I was having, and although I would not log this time specifically in my training log, I hope to bring the “fun” into my other tough workouts I might have, and remember that it is all exercise.

Rollerskiing

Despite the warm weather and rain last week that melted all of the natural snow here in Minneapolis, I was extremely excited to Rollerski! Rollerskiing is the form of training that most Nordic Skiers use during the months when there isn't any snow to ski on (usually spring, summer and early fall, but sometimes February as well!). Rollerskis are made of a wooden or metal shaft and two polyurethane wheels. They are designed to be used on paved roads and paths but I have had to use them on some hard packed dirt roads in Vermont.

So when all of the lakes melted and the trails near my house began to resemble the lakes, I had to migrate Northwest to Elm Creek Park Reserve for some loops on their man made loop. The skiing at Elm Creek is incredible. The man made loop is almost 5 feet deep and the trail is 2.5K of varying terrain.

I sometimes enjoy skiing through the woods or across the lakes and not seeing anyone else but I also love gathering at Elm Creek with all of the other Twin Cities' skiers who are preparing in the final days before the American Birkebeiner!!! Elm Creek provides the opportunity to catch up with over 20 people in one 2 hour workout and get the opportunity to ski with each of them!

After many loops, boredom began to sink in and more importantly my schedule began to fill. I could no longer drive the 30 min each way to ski and I had to make some decisions about what to do for my specific training two weeks from the World Championships. I realized that Minneapolis has one of the largest bike commuting population in the country and this is incredible considering the weather we can have. I checked out the bike paths and sure enough they had all been plowed and were mostly free of ice.

Some people say they wait until June to start rollerskiing but I have to admit that I really like rollerskiing. With so many bike paths and fun neighborhoods to explore I could ski a different route everyday for weeks! I love exploring different areas of the city and I love that I can live two blocks from downtown and rollerski from my door!

The rollerskiing was pretty good a few days ago but I realized that there is still not quite enough daylight, especially when there is still a few slick spots on the trail. I did have the chance to enjoy some of the most beautiful views of the downtown Minneapolis skyline. I'll be heading out to the Czech Republic Monday for World Championships, but I won't be bringing my rollerskis with me. I hope you have enough snow where you are or where you are going to keep the ski season going!

A few Questions from Matt Chisam

1. What is the athletic background of your parents and family?
My parents and family were very athletic and active when I was young. My parents met at a bike/ski shop in Manhattan and ran the shop’s weekend ski trips to Vermont together. I grew up downhill skiing in the winter and windsurfing and hiking in the Green Mountains in the summer.

2. When did you begin participating in your sport? I began participating in my sport in High School. I was 16 years old when I started cross country skiing.

3. What was your early experiences with sport like? My early experience with sports was very positive. I can remember looking forward to recess and PE everyday!

4. How instrumental were parents and coaches in the early part of your development as an athlete? My parents were very instrumental in the early part of my development as an athlete. I learned how to ice skate, swim, and I did gymnastics early on in the city and was skiing from age two up in Vermont. As I grew older my coaches became amazing role models who definitely encouraged and inspired me to pursue an athletic path.

5. How were you introduced to your sport and how many other sports did you seriously participate in? During high school friends were a very important role in sports and fortunately some of my closest friends were as active as I was. My best friend, who I met alpine skiing in 5th grade switched to Nordic and she had so much fun she encouraged me to try it.

6. Is your success a product of nature or nurture? I think my success is a combination of both. I am the only sibling in my family who has pursued sports throughout school. I know that my little brothers and sister in California will never be cross country skiers because they simply don’t have access to snow. When I was born my parents were younger and were active themselves which was very influential for me. My parents no longer have the staminia to do the type of activities they used to and so my younger siblings are being raised much differently. I will say that I was extremely impressed when my little sister ran a 5k running race with me though.

7. Are you an expert in your field? (by your own definition)NO. I think that is what intrigues me so much about pursuing a sport. There are so many components to “master” and there will always be new and unexpected obstacles to overcome. I hope to gain enough knowledge and experience in the sport of cross country so that I could one day pass on what I have learned.