Skiing on Snow in July

The other day I only made it to 'The Club for our quick Treasure Hunt. I had to take off early though in order to catch a plane to Canada. My teammate, Matt and I are joining a group of Canadian skiers to the Haig Glacier where we can cross country ski during the summer. We are looking forward to a great volume block with eight days on snow.

Thanks to Steve for putting us up in Canmore. It is great to get to know your family. Your alligator is pretty cool too, I wish we could take him with us to go sledding on the Glacier.

Kit and Matt at the trail head ready to run in. We dropped our gear off to be flown in by Helicopter so we only had to carry water and a light jacket for the 18km run in to base camp.

The Canadian Rockies are beautiful

Matt Ready To Ski on the Haig Glacier (background)

Our home for the next week. 45 minute hike to the trails/snow.

We have a 45 minute hike to get to the snow each morning. This is a long hike to do before the real workout even starts.

Beautiful Conditions and Excellent Training.

Matt testing out this years new Salomon boots

We are skiing nice and easy up here. I have been trying to keep the heart rate low. The altitude (2700m) makes it feel really hard up here. We did some lactate testing today and I am pleased to be at 1.0mmol for 130bpm. We are looking to stay under 1.5-2mmol.

The afternoon the weather really cleared up and we enjoyed a nice run followed by a stretch on the heli pad.

Thanks John and Joel for the excellent grooming

The trail loops back and forth on the glacier for 7.5km

Prepping skis for tomorrow

This has to be the coldest water I have ever iced my legs in

John prepping the mussels for dinner.

John and Joel have been treating us really well. I have never eaten so well at a training camp. My appetite has been suppressed with the altitude but everything is so good that I have been getting enough still. It is luxurious up here with great food and warm showers. I am off to see which movie is playing tonight. Let me know how what you all are up to at 'The Club.'

The Minnesota Zoo

I caught the school bus with about 30 kids on Monday for the long ride to the Minnesota Zoo. I really like going to the zoo especially to watch the bears. This trip I found a bond with a new animal, Giraffes.

Giraffe's have 18 inch purple tongues

Larry and Connor feeding the Giraffes.
Thanks Corey for hooking us up with the Giraffe feeding.

Jaden and Jazzy working on their knot tying skills

Darien, Connor, Kayliegh, and Larry.

Our first stop at the zoo, my favorite exhibit Russia's Grizzly Coast. Unfortunately the long drive meant that we missed the bears morning activity so they were napping. We did make several trips back to the exhibit and were able to catch Sadie, the biggest bear, swimming in the afternoon. Last year all three bears were playing tag when we visited, check out the archives for those pictures.

"Sadie" taking a bath

The Big Pig

It was a great day at the Zoo

Oh Yeah, look for the next Treasure Hunt clue at the picnic table north of 'The Club'

What's the Best Thing About Summer

My favorite part of summer is the delicious inexpensive fruit. Growing up in Washington I became accustomed to having a big box of cherries, peaches and or nectarines around. While you can't buy a 40lbs box of nectarines for $20 from a roadside stand the grocery store has had a great selection. These are my favorite snacks by far. A good cherry, peach or nectarine is even better than candy and I have quite the sweet tooth. The great thing about fruit is that it is good for you.

The last week was a large volume week of training and I have been refueling with lots of fruit. I did enjoy my recovery day on Monday at 'The Club.' I joined the garden club for the first time. The group is working hard on a plot about a mile away. I am looking forward to some great fresh broccoli and spinach soon.

I need to do a better job of bringing my camera to a few workouts during the week. This was perhaps my favorite workout of the week. Skate Threshold Intervals 4*8min at L3 on Cty OO. Previewing next weeks time trial course. Jay from ActivEdge passed by on his way to pick strawberries and left a box on Kuzzy's truck. Awesome.

Thanks Jay for the Strawberries, what a great way to finish a workout