First time on snow. High Volume. and Readjusting.

I have arrived in West Yellowstone and so has winter. I have been out skiing one time so far and the conditions were excellent for how little snow there is here. It is always so nice to get on snow again after the summer. Rollerskiing just can't compare to the real thing.

Today I was out for 3.5 hours of skating. I felt pretty good though my skis felt a bit long as always. I am still dealing with a pretty jacked up foot, after twisting my ankle last week while running. I feel as though time is starting to catch up with me as well, and by time I mean age, as my elbows got a bit sore from the different impulse of snow as opposed to asphalt. These minor ailments seem to be happening with greater frequency lately and I can't help but think it has something to do with the fact that I'm not 20 anymore. But I'm not 30 either, so I am confident that neither issue will hold me back from having a good week.

With recent news of our Olympic quotas being cut back from 10 men in the past, to just 4 this year and tighter than usual budget constraints thanks to the general state of the economy, I have had to readjust my goals for this season in order to give myself the greatest chance to come away with some measurable success. I entered this training year with the goal of making the Olympic team, everything else was secondary. Though given my luck last year with Giardia, I enter this year slightly behind points-wise and have had to come to grips with the fact that it is mathematically impossible for me to climb into the top 4 by the time the olympic selection happens. In the past I've been afforded the opportunity to travel to whereever i've seen fit. This season, funds have been clamped down and I have to pick and chose my way through the season in order to make it the whole year. After talking the situation over with teammates and sponsors, I have made the decision to aim for the races that I am best at - marathons. So while my peers here in Yellowstone are putting the final touches on their training before the first races, I am hitting the peak of my volume in order to come out of the New Year swinging in the long races.

Such is life. Especially life as an athlete. Goals are set and some of those goals are achieved. We never really know which ones and that is the beauty of competition. Some times goals are not reached and its importat to readjust in accordance. And while I am a bit jealous of my friends here who are still within grasp of Vancouver 2010, I am confident that the route I am taking is the one that give me the best chance of walking away from this season as a success.

Good luck to everyone here in Yellowstone this week. See you out of the trails.

Here is a look at what this week will look like for me training -wise:

Sun: 3.5hr skate
Mon: 4 hr skate, 1 hr no poles
Tues: 3x20min L3 int, 2.5 total. pm: 1.5 hr
Wed: 4 hr classic
Thur: 2.5 skate/ 1.5 classic
Fri: 3.5 skate
Sat: 6x10 min L3, 2.5 hrs total. 1 hr classic
Sun: 3 hr skate, 1 hr ride on trainer

Winter In The Air

Its an exciting time of year. Transition is imminent as snow looms on the horizon, both figuratively and literally. The mountain tops are white here in Park City and it seems that, week after week, a new weather forecast promises snow. October snow in the mountains is a certainty, but there is a hardly a chance that it will stay for long. In November, all bets are off. The first day of winter can be any day.

I have been extremely busy lately between training, continuing to develop my new team, spending lots of time in the school before heading off to the West Yellowstone later this month, a few short trips to California to catch up with Crystal and the list goes on... But I am enjoying having plenty to do and I feel productive, which is huge for my general being.

Last week I got sidetracked a bit by a heavy dose of John Paul Sartre and Pink Floyd. I don't recommend the two together. The Dark Side of the Moon is dark and unless you feel the need for extreme introspection, steer clear. This week I'm pushing forward into a bit of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard but combating the effects with the ultra pop sounds of Julian Casablancas's new album.

Yesterday I had one of the best road rides of the entire summer. I was out for almost 6 hours and managed an extremely high level of energy the entire time. It was awesome, I was jamming. I really didn't want to stop but there wasn't any need to ride more. But I did lift some weights later in the evening just to keep the mojo rising. I'm not sure where this energy is coming from though I haven't been on my bike for almost a month now and it feels good to be back on two wheels. I might need to ride more.

School has been fun lately. Some classes are playing volleyball, some are ballroom dancing, some are learning about fitness training. I've been lending my expertise in the fitness training realm whenever possible. Trying to fit 30 kids with heart rate monitors is quite a task, I have enough trouble just trying to keep my own in working condition. On Friday I spent a good deal of time trying to relate the importance of staying within certain 'zones' while training and how each zone has a different effect. Later in the class we went out and ran 1.5 miles trying to stay within our aerobic zones. Some of the kids did great, others didn't get the memo and ran as fast as they could. Either way we were running, so it was a success. And pretty cool to see 12 year olds learning about heart rate based training.

I think Badminton is next for some classes, for others its swimming. I'm not sure what I have to offer to those sports but the message is usually the same - just try hard and have fun. That's what its all about anyways. And exactly what I'll be doing in the next few weeks.