Today was a full day off of training for me, and my physical therapist decided it would be a good idea if I took the day off from shoulder work as well. He believes, along with my coaches, that it is good for me to take some time away from the U.S. Ski Team’s Center of Excellence every once in a while.

The sun was out and it felt like summer. I slept in then did some computer work this morning. I also made cookies for tonight’s dinner. In the afternoon I went to my friend’s Alex Moore and Carly Debenham’s to babysit for a little while so Carly could get some time for herself. Their daughter Charlie was the only one around as one of their other daughters was asleep the entire time I was there and their third was at preschool. Charlie and I had fun jumping on the tramp in the sun.

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My legs weren’t nearly as sore as I thought they’d be this morning after my hour long run yesterday. The way they felt yesterday afternoon I wasn’t sure I would be able to run for forty five minutes this morning as planned. However, it wasn’t an issue. After the run I spent an hour and fifteen minutes on the elliptical.

Dr. Jim Stray-Gundersen, a world renowned physiologist and one of the innovators of the live high, train low altitude maximization method, works for the U.S. Ski Team as an adviser, primarily for the endurance athletes (cross country and Nordic combined). His new project is working with a very sophisticated heart rate variability monitor to asses an athlete’s fatigue levels and training adaptation over time. The Nordic combined athletes and women’s ski jumpers have already done a test run of the project. Now it’s my turn. I’ll wear this monitor twenty four hours a day for three days to get some baseline data. Then Jim, my coaches and I will discuss the data and decide if it’s something I want to work with long term. So far (half a day), the monitor hasn’t bothered me at all:

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I went for an hour run outdoors this morning. I am still limited to running on pavement, and will be for several more weeks, because my doctor and physical therapist are worried about me stumbling or falling and tweaking my shoulder. My legs are still getting super sore every time I run. I’m having trouble walking up and down stairs this evening.

In the middle of the day I thoroughly cleaned my bathroom. It was long overdue. It feels really good to have a spotless bathroom. Now I don’t want to use it.

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It was a fairly gloomy day here in Park City with the snow line pretty low on the mountains.

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Today was all about food for me. It was a recovery day, which was necessary for my legs. My only workout was a thirty minute run around the neighborhood with my teammate Liz Stephen. I started the day off with waffles made by Greg Adams, the father of the family I live with here in Park City.

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I struggled through my morning session today. I ran outside for thirty minutes, which was great, but my legs are super sore from my first run, hard strength and treadmill hiking. I then did the remaining two hours of the session on the elliptical. It was tedious, and I was watching the seconds tick by. In case you don’t feel like doing the math, there are 7200 seconds in two hours. I did contrast baths (one minute in a cold tub (10 degrees Celsius) followed by one minute in a hot tub (37 degrees Celsius) repeated eight times) after my morning session because my legs were so sore.

I had lunch today with my coaches from Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, Dan Weiland and Eric Pepper. They are in town for the USSA coaches conference. It was great to see them and talk about some logistics.

I was back at the training center in the afternoon for physical therapy and strength. Athletes at the center can sign up for private Pilates classes on a reformer in the gym. So far I’ve only seen women taking advantage of this perk. Here is a really bad picture of Olympic Alpine skier Resi Stiegler on the machine:

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I was back into my usual schedule today at the U.S. Ski Team’s Center of Excellence. After my first day of running outdoors yesterday, I didn’t go out again today. I’m looking forward to getting outside again tomorrow. This morning I set a new personal record for longest consecutive indoor workout. I hiked for four hours uphill on the treadmill. I did mix it up a little bit with some micro pace changes. My base pace was 4 mph and 15% grade. I then did four 20 minute blocks at 4.3, 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6 mph. For entertainment I watched the entire men’s 50 kilometer mass start from this past season’s world championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Because I was racing, I hadn’t seen how the race unfolded up front, namely Johan Olsson staying off the front for 35 kilometers. It was a very impressive performance. I also watched the men’s and women’s sprint races from the World Championships. There were lots of people in the gym for me to socialize with during my session. Here are ski jumper Abby Hughes (on the treadmill) and alpine racer Steven Nyman (stretching):

After the long session I did physical therapy followed by a nice meeting with the Aspen Valley Ski Club’s Walt Evans. My legs are quite tired and sore from a combination of hard strength yesterday, my first time running in several months and treadmill hiking.

Mike Engel, a friend and supporter from Park City, left his car for me at the airport when he flew out on Monday. When I arrived in Salt Lake late last night, it was so nice to have a car waiting for me.

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Today was a beautiful day in Putney! This is outside Chris and Mary Osgood’s place (whom I stayed with).

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Yesterday afternoon I drove with my coach, Zach Caldwell, from New York City to Putney, Vermont. Zach’s nine year old son Gunnar and his mother, Sherry Bartlett, drove with us. The drive was only three hours, which seems amazingly short to me considering we went through four states. In New York I was hanging out with Brayton and Emily Osgood; I am now staying at their parent’s (Chris and Mary’s) house. It’s a chilly day here, and it’s wonderful to have the wood stove lit. It’s quintessential Vermont.

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