After my skate session and kids clinic yesterday, Emilia made a delicious dinner and we had a relaxing evening.
Maloit Park
Yesterday afternoon my parents headed back to their home in Durango, Colorado after a short trip to Breckenridge. I’m so glad they came to see me before I head back to Europe!
Today, the U.S. team was named for next month’s Nordic World Championships in Falun, Sweden. I am honored to be a member of this team and to be a teammate of some incredible and inspiring athletes. You can read more about the team that’s headed to Falun in the U.S. Ski Team press release here.
I had a busy but productive day. Once again, I’m driving to Vail every day from Emilia’s house in Breckenridge for physical therapy (PT) because our team physical therapist, Ana Jeronimus-Robinson, is back from her vacation in Japan. Today was gorgeous and the driving was easy.
Double Pole Clinic
Yesterday afternoon Emilia, my parents (who are in town visiting for the weekend) and I went to the Breckenridge Rec Center to do a strength workout. I’m doing a new strength program that’s designed by my U.S. Ski Team strength coach Tschana Schiller to help me peak for the World Championships. Yesterday’s session was explosive and power based. I did exercises such as clapping push-ups and release-the-bar pull-ups. I also did weighted plank. Instead of putting weight on my back, I had Emilia stand on my back.
Frisco Nordic Center
Yesterday afternoon I was off of training after a hard interval set in the morning. Emilia was also off, and we just relaxed at home, watching some of Emilia’s friends and teammates competing in X Games. Emilia’s cat Mia was chilling with us.
Liz Second
My good friend and teammate Liz Stephen earned her first World Cup podium today! She previously had the third fastest time-on-day in a tour event (last year’s final climb of the Tour de Ski), but it’s another level to do it in a stand-alone World Cup. I’m super excited for her! Today’s event was a 10 kilometer individual start skate race in Rybinsk, Russia. She finished in second place, 14 seconds behind Norway’s Astrid Jacobsen. Liz is continuing to build on her incredible Tour de Ski finish. Today’s race is a preview for the same event that will be held at the World Championships next month. This will be a super confidence-inspiring result for Liz going into the championships. Our teammates Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan also had impressive finishes today. They ended up in 12th and 13th places respectively. Full results are here. I continued to be inspired by my teammates, and I can’t wait to get back to Europe to join them!
Yesterday afternoon Emilia and I drove back to Breckenridge after our two-day getaway in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. When we made it back I had a physical therapy appointment then we had a low key evening.
This morning I did a hard intensity session on the SkiErg. I did a five minute warm-up interval then 10 by 2 minutes at race pace. Here’s my data from the session:
| Interval # | Time | Pace per 500 meters | Average HR | Max HR |
| Warm-up | 5:00 | 01:57.0 | 147 | 158 |
| 1 | 2:00 | 01:49.1 | 149 | 163 |
| 2 | 2:00 | ——- | 149 | 163 |
| 3 | 2:00 | 01:48.5 | 152 | 166 |
| 4 | 2:00 | 01:48.4 | 154 | 169 |
| 5 | 2:00 | 01:49.9 | 151 | 167 |
| 6 | 2:00 | 01:49.4 | 152 | 167 |
| 7 | 2:00 | 01:49.7 | 153 | 169 |
| 8 | 2:00 | 01:49.3 | 154 | 169 |
| 9 | 2:00 | 01:47.9 | 157 | 170 |
| 10 | 2:00 | 01:48.7 | 156 | 170 |
Slopestyle Skiers Cross Country Skiing
For my second session yesterday here in Steamboat, Colorado, after a high quality interval set in the morning, Emilia, her teammate Jess Breda and I went to the brand new Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC) strength room at Howelsen Hill. The facility is run by Dave Zink, who was instrumental in getting the facility revamped this past summer. It is now a world class gym. We owe a huge thank you to Dave, SSWSC cross country coach Josh Smullin and the entire club for letting us use the facility.
Steamboat
This Sunday, January 25th, at 10 a.m. I’m putting on a double pole clinic at the Gold Run Nordic Center. The clinic is open to anybody 15 years of age or older. We’ll be doing some basic double pole drills and I’ll be sharing some of the cues that I focus on when I double pole. (I’ve got a lot of cues because double pole isn’t my strong point, so I’ve worked on it a lot over the last five years). The clinic costs $10. All proceeds go to support the Nordic Center. If you’re in Summit County, I’d love to see you out there on Sunday! You can sign up here.
Yesterday after physical therapy for me and skiing for Emilia, we drove from Breckenridge to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Amazingly, it’s only a two hour drive to get here and it’s a super easy.
Our friends Jess Breda (Emilia’s teammate on the U.S. Freeskiing Team) and Jackson Bodtker drove to Steamboat from Park City to hang out with us for a couple of days.
My friend Jon Schafer (who’s out of town in Japan) generously offered us the use of his gorgeous home.
Lots of Double Pole
My back-to-snow double pole (arms only technique) progression allowed me to do two hours of skiing yesterday afternoon and three hours this morning. It’s the first time since arriving back in the U.S. that I’ve had an outdoor workout that’s long enough for me to need to carry a drink belt. I had to dig it out of my suitcase.
Burrito Making
I mentioned yesterday that Emilia and her teammates Darian Stevens and Julia Krass were putting stickers of their sponsors’ logos on their skis to give their sponsors exposure when they train and compete. After they were finished applying the stickers they heated them up with a flame to get them to adhere better to the ski. It was a cool process to watch. Here’s Emilia.
SkiErg Pace Workout
This morning I did a hard pace workout on the SkiErg. A pace workout is a consistent level 3 (aerobic threshold, sustainable pace) effort. Unlike intervals, the on time in a pace workout isn’t split up. Today’s pace session included a 20 minute warm up on the spin bike, 45 minutes of on time on the SkiErg then a 15 minute cool down on the spin bike. It was challenging. My coach Zach Caldwell wanted me to start hard, under my pace of 1:59.1/500 meters from last week’s level 3 intensity session. He wanted to see if I could hold that pace. I did what he asked; halfway through the effort I was averaging 1:58.9/500 meters. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hold it. During the second half I was struggling to get under 2:00/500 meters. My average pace for the whole 45 minutes was 1:59.6/500 meters. The effort of starting hard and trying to hold the fast pace spiked my heart rate. My level 3 training zone is generally 150 to 160 beats per minute (bpm). For today’s effort I average 162 bpm and maxed at 166 bpm. Those are similar to heart rates I would see in a race; they are level 4 heart rates. Neither Zach nor my coach John Callahan are concerned that I went over level 3 today. They are happy with the consistent quality effort.
After the pace workout I went to physical therapy (PT), again at Axis Sports Medicine here in Breckenridge because Ana Jeronimus-Robinson, who I’ve been working with for most of my rehab, is still out of town.
After PT I went back to the Gold Run Nordic Center to continue my progression of on snow training. Today I was cleared to ski for an hour.
