Winter Approaches

With winter approaching, I thought it might not hurt to convince the junior high cross runners to help stack a cord of wood. I tried telling them this made for a great core strength. I think they were a bit more motivated by the ice cream that awaited after.



The last two weekends I've also pinned on the racing number, for a very low-key farmer's market 5 km in the heart of the Okanogan Valle, and this four mile hill climb last Sunday, on the eastern edge of the North Cascades National Park.



In just over a week, though comes the time to say goodbye to the Evergreen State. It's winter and skiing - and ski racing - that I'm after. The stoke is high. The form feels solid. I have a ticket saying I'm headed to Oslo next Saturday, and a cabin in the woods of Sjusjoen, Norway that awaits. The adventure continues...



...next time, from one North Country to Another. This time the Norwegian Ski Scene - and the days of midnight darkness await. And I can hardly wait.

Progressive Weight Vest Training

Adventures in Sunny Valley

MOD Squad

"Poppa said 'Son you're going to drive me to drinking if you don't stop driving that hotrod Lincoln."'



I rolled into Sun Valley for a little mix in the training scene. I had to visit my friend Max, who has just begun to call the Wood River Valley home. Heading into the drive I ran into Max and this sweet '63 Lincoln. The old school Continentals have always had a certain appeal. I couldn't resist getting behind the wheel of this 4,500 pound beauty of Detroit chrome, steel, suicide-door style and big block muscle.

Racing & Grinding

It might still feel like summer, but I'm already starting to dial in the little parts of the ski racing equasion. Mark Waechter of Ultra-Tune has been showing me the ropes in getting a better handle on my racing boards. Between the morning and afternoon sessions my coach Scott Johnston and I were cranking on my fleet of skis; first scraping, followed by flex testing, then finishing with waxing. At the next Ultra-Tune session I'll take this information and plan out a lil grinding plan with Mark to have both my old and new Rossignol's running better than my competitors. Watch out...



The past weekend made for an altogether different kind of grind - the 11.5mile Cutthroat Classic. It's a classic trail run that crosses from Rainy Pass on the Western side of the North Cascades, that then drops down from the high alpine setting into the sunny side of the state. With three miles of climbing remaining, I decided to set off solo and put about four minutes on the closest pursuer by the time we reached the valley on the other side, who came all the way from Track Town USA (Eugene, OR) to defend his Northwest trail running title. It felt good to race and be so in control, especially in longest running race of my life.

Getting Strong with the Methow Olympic Development Program

A Sunday afternoon with the MOD Squad