Waiting and Working and Training....

Well this is a first for me... It mid-January and my race season is about to start in earnest. Typically, this time of year I am in a mid season training block, scrambling to recover from the many early season races that populate the North American race schedule and simultaneously trying to get in some long workouts that will allow me to race 50kms weekend after weekend.

This year has been a bit different as funds have been tight in the ski world and upon the conclusion that I was to have no mathematical chance at making the 2010 Olympic Team. I have focused heavily on marathons this season and soon I will find out whether my plan has paid off.

These past weeks have been tough in many respects. Many of my friends are preparing for World Cups and waiting to hear about Olympic selection. At times I really wish I was in their camp. But I've gone a different route and I feel confident in my decision. Especially after many long hours on the bike this summer, I feel well prepared for the long events ahead.

Additionally, I've had a heavy load on my back in preparation for the upcoming Outdoor Retailer Show, here in Utah. I will be on hand to help out my ski sponsor, Rossignol, as well as to promote my own team, Steinbock Racing. In the past four days I put in something like 50 hours redesigning our Program Overview.... I'm an all or nothing kind of guy and this was definitely an "all" situation. I'm excited to present it later this week.

This coming Saturday I will race the University of Utah Invitational, at Soldier Hollow, which will be my last tune up before I head out to some bigger events... The following weekend I will be in Winter Park, CO, for the Governor's Cup– which from what I understand is the longest running ski race in Colorado. After that I head up to Sun Valley to defend my Boulder Mountain Tour title. The following weekend is a 10km classic race and the Owl Creek Chase in Aspen, CO. The weekend after that is the Minnesota Finlandia, a 50k, on Saturday and a sprint race in Madison, WI, on Sunday... And the weekend after that is the American Birkebeiner. The next two weeks are up in the air, I may head over to do the Engadin Marathon again or maybe ski the Yellowstone Rendezvous. The week after the Rendezvous is the Great Race in Truckee, California.

And this is where things get blurry.... After the Great Race I may head to the coast (of California) to ride my bike for a few days and hit the San Dimas Stage Race. That would be abruptly followed by the Califonia Gold Rush, another ski race... And then back to the coast for some more riding and likely the Redlands Classic and Sea Otter Road Races...

And then likely back to Park City for May and June to finish out the school year with my crew at Ecker Hill Middle School.

I can't wait for the races to start. I love to be in the mix– banging elbows, as they say– and fighting for position in the last kilometers of a race.

I'll be sure to keep you posted on how things unfold...