Treasure Hunt

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Olympic Day June 23rd

The world celebrates the birth of the modern Olympics on Olympic Day, June 23rd. We celebrated at 'The Club by promoting the Olympic values and physical fitness. Tuesday was by far the hottest day of the summer so we spend most of our time indoors. We held our own track and field contests including a relay race around the gym, long jump, 50m dash, high jump, disc toss and softball toss. We talked about Chicago's bid for the summer Olympic Games in 2016. It would be pretty cool to have the greatest world stage for sports to be just 5 hours away. I also talked about my Olympic quest in cross country skiing and the importance of sportsmanship. It is fun to be back with the kids again after being in training camps and the Pacific Northwest the past six weeks

Adolfo, Dusty, Alex, Archie, Alana, Devon, Brian, Marie, Isaiah, Betty, Elianna and Paige

Devon, Kiera, and Adolfo

Devon and Dimitry getting ready for the relay

Adolfo, Archie, Devon and Me

Long Jump

Hailey working on her slip and slide Limbo

CXC Team Joins Minnesota Youth Ski League in Marine on St. Croix, MN

The CXC Elite and Junior Teams have been in Marine, MN for a two week training camp. In an impressive showing the entire crew joined the Minnesota Youth Ski League group for some ski specific drills, fun games and some ice cream. One of the kids couldn't have done a better job describing the event, "Perfect Day, Perfect Day."

Kicking the soccer ball and playing the name game as people arrive. It was fun to have as many CXCers as youth so we all had to work hard to learn names. It didn't take long for the circle to get really big.

Working on lateral hops

Karl getting after it in the Bouncing Ball Relay

Dead Ant Tag. This game was a new one for me, but it is awesome. We will play it at 'The Club' soon. One monster is it and when they tag someone they have to lie on the ground with their feet and hands in the air. Two or more 'alive' ants can free them by picking them up and carrying them to one of several safe spots (marked by a jersey on the grass).

Relays

Obstacle Course

Ski Racing in May: Ski to Sea 2009

Ski to Ski 2009- the most scenic venue that I have ever raced. This year it took a bit of work to make it to the 8km ski race that takes advantage of the heavy snowfall on Mt. Baker. At 10am on Saturday I finished my training ski at Mt. Bachelor, OR and before dinner I was previewing the course on Mt Baker, WA. Thanks to Jack Hart for the ride to the airport and Mom, Dad and Chad for picking me up in Bellingham. The 8km ski race is the first leg of the multi-sport race from the Volcano to Bellingham Bay. XC-Ski, Downhill Ski, Run, Road Bike, Canoe, Mountain Bike, Sea Kayak.

Previewing the Course: Chad, Mom, Brian, Dad

The race starts off with a blast from the avalanche gun

1.5km to go

Ski Leg Results Here. Times seem to be a bit off because I know that Jesse and Martin came in within a few meters.

I had good skis and a great race. The course is very challenging with a lot of climbing so I was happy to have fast skis. This was one of the first races I have been able to use my warm flex/base Salomon's and they climbed really well. I ran on a Nordic Ultratune 615b grind modified with some linear riling. The snow in western Washington is so wet that it is really nice to have fast skis. My mom had the same set up on her skis and had a great performance.

Dave Christopherson and Chad. Dave's 'Veterans' Team of old guys (Team Win or Die) did really well finishing an impressive top 10 in the overall classification

Chad and Mom Post Race

Cooling Down with Mt. Baker in the background

Chad Enjoying Nature's Playground. Martin Rosvall, Dave Christopherson, Chad and I had a great time cooling down.

Katy Barnes from the Bellingham Herald took some great photos (above). Check more of them out here.

Brian

Team ISLAGITT (It Sounded Like a Good Idea at the Time): Sergei-Downhill Ski, Eric-Kayak, Brian-Canoe Captain, Graham-Mtn Bike, Pat-run, Les-Canoe Engine, Greg-Road Bike, Brian-XC Ski

Bend On-Snow Camp

Bend, Oregon is the place to be right now. The weather is beautiful, the snow is plentiful and the training has been fantastic. I am taking advantage of the USST organizing grooming and training with the Methow Olympic Development (MOD) Team. This is one of the most valuable camps that I have been a part of and I am very thankful to be a guest of my hometown team. The last month has been a busy one and I regret that I have not posted and photos or updates of my adventures. More on that later. Today I enjoyed a fun crust ski with the Wenatchee girls.

Kristina and Laura scouting out a good route

The USST had a rest day today so the trails weren't groomed, but the crust was great.

Laura, Brian, and Kristina: We have been skiing in Bend together since we were J3s

I must admit that this was the first ski I have been on where we had to stop so that members of the party could gather moss so they could be 'Trolls' as we skied back to the car. The entire week has been very focused so it was fun to take the morning and enjoy skiing on the crust. It is hard to beat flying down a natural half pipe on a beautiful spring day.

Spring Cleaning

I really like snow. Obviously, as a skier I enjoy snow's slippery properties which allow me to glide around the woods. Beyond skiing I like that everything looks good covered in a fresh blanket of snow.

Spring has arrived and we have been doing our part at 'The Club' to keep our environment looking good." A ton of trash has accumulated on the playground, the Pow Wow grounds and the trails, so on Monday we took a trip to 'The Store' for a treat with a little trash pick-up on the way.

A Beautiful Spring Day in Hayward

Tamiqua, Trinity and Shanna were the top Trash Collectors

A Clean Forest is a Happy Forest

Can you Hula? Get outside and try it

Spring at 'The Club'

It is great to be back in Hayward, WI. I have spent the better parts of the last two months traveling, racing, training, and relaxing in Ontario, Alaska, and Hawaii. My first afternoon at the 'Club' we went on a hike. It felt really strange that the last time I was at the Club we skied on the same trails.

Training just once a day has been great, allowing me to be at 'The Club' everyday of the week. There were many times I wish I had my camera but didn't.

Double Decker Swinging

Shana, Bernice, Hilayna at the Spring Book Fair

Twister. The kids have way better flexibility that I do.

It's OK to yell on this Bus

Getting excited for the Run Series

Ready, Set, Go

A number of us chose to run the 2-mile. Congratulations: Trinity, Shaylena, Asile, Nimmer, Joey and the others