Here is a short list of the many items available at tonight’s silent auction.
There will of course be much more stuff available, be sure to bid early and bid often!
Classic Rollerskiing – Level 3 Intervals – Edina, MN
Pre-Season Ski Party and Birthday Bash/Fundraiser for Caitlin Compton
Please come to our Pre-Season Ski Party and Birthday Bash/Fundraiser for Caitlin Compton. Proceeds go to Caitlin’s Pathway to the Olympics – covering costs specific to training and competitions. Everyone is welcome; there will be lots of fun, food and drink (including some great homebrews). A silent auction will include goods from Caitlin and her journey this far, as well as items/services from ski companies and local businesses. Everyone will receive a free, limited-edition poster, signed by Caitlin.
When: 7PM – November 7, 2009 (Caitlin’s Birthday!)
Where: 20 Black Oak Rd, North Oaks (Cheryl and Jeff DuBois’ home)
RSVP: Please RSVP at evite.com: Brew-Ski for Caitlin
Questions? Call Cheryl @ 651-486-9585
If you can’t make it, but would still like to donate to the cause, click here for more information. (You can still get a signed poster, too.)
Co-Hosts:
Ahvo Taipale/Finn Sisu
Gear West
Andy Turnbull/Hoigaards
Piotr Bednarski
Ben Popp
Dave Christopherson
Hilary Patzer
Angie Robinson
Mary Beth Tuttle
Mary Vancura
Michele and Brent Oja
Kevin Ivens
In just under 2 weeks I will once again be moving. I have moved about 8 times in the past 4 years and I am hoping to stay put for a little longer this time. I am not moving very far from where I live now, only about two miles, but the area is quite a bit different.
I currently live in a part of Minneapolis known as Uptown. It is a vibrant area just southwest of Downtown that boasts tons of small shops, coffee houses, art galleries and restaurants. It is a fun place to live with so much going on all within walking distance. The only trouble with living in Uptown is the cost of living here. Ben and I don’t get to experience Uptown the way others do because we are always on a budget but it’s fun to be around it all.
Last year Ben and I were lucky to get our current apartment because they needed an on-site caretaker. We had a huge reduction in rent but the work was pretty hard and sometimes really gross. When we heard, after a year of living here, that they no-longer needed us to care-take we knew immediately that we couldn’t afford to live here! So it was time to move elsewhere.
Our budget is pretty tight so we ended up searching through tons of apartments and most were too much for us. I finally found the perfect spot last week! We had a list of criteria that we were looking for but most important was the price.
It is an upper unit in a duplex located in the Harrison Neighborhood of Minneapolis. We now have a big backyard, a huge basement, free laundry and the ski trails are a block and a half from my door! We will care-take at our new apartment too so we will be saving some on rent but doing some extra work too.
With Theodore Wirth Park (the site of the 2011 XC Junior Olympics) outside my back door there are countless recreational activities available. I will be contacting the local high school called Harrison Academy and will begin working with their students this fall. I will update soon about what the plans are for the upcoming weeks.
I am also happy to report that my symptoms have subsided and I am back to feeling like myself. Training has been going well and my energy has been great!
I have lived in Minnesota for almost 5 years now and except for the first year I have visited the fair every year.
My mother, who was also born in NYC and lived there most of her life, lives in MN now too and this was our first MN State Fair together! We laughed and joked about what was the most important part of the Fair if you are a true Minnesotan. We decided that just going was the most important part and now we had to schedule this in as a “must do” every year if we want to feel like true Minnesotans. We lived it up at the Fair and enjoyed good food, expos, games, and people from all over the state.
It was awesome! We walked forever and saw almost everything the fair had to offer! The biggest disappointment of the Fair was that the Cow, Pig, and Chicken barns were not open by the time we stopped by. We remedied the need for livestock by visiting the baby barn and got our fill of newborns from the farm world! Everything from bunnies, piglets, new born calves and baby chicks. This was by far my mom’s favorite part of the fair!
My mom was pretty exhausted by the time the evening was over and I was a little worried about her. When I called to check on how she was feeling the next day she said she was in the best mood she had been in for months! It’s great that a simple Fair can bring so much happiness to so many people this time of year. Even Lahti was psyched to get his new chew toy octopus when we got home.
The Octopus was such a hit he only lasted about 5 minutes before the apartment was covered in stuffing and tentacles.
US Nationals, Anchorage, AK.
Sprint Sk – Jan 2 – 3rd Qualifier, 5th through the heats
10K Skate – Jan 4 – 2nd overall – fastest first lap
5K CL – Jan 6 – 3rd
Sprint CL – Jan 8 – 13th Qualifier, out in heats
My training camp in Bend was very successful. The US Ski Team was great with helping me find a place to stay and offering training opportunities while I was here.
After 7 beautiful and 1 cloudy/snowy days of skiing I couldn’t be happier with the progress I have made and the new focus of my training for the next year. The skiing was almost perfect (especially if you like klister!) and the trails were filled with skiers from all over the country so the company was great too. The focus of the camp for me was on testing skis and getting in some early season volume. I was able to participate in a few interval and testing sessions with the Methow Valley Olympic Development Group and the US Ski Team which was great! It is always great to hear feedback from a different perspective from time to time.
Towards the end of the week an old NMU teammate, Melissa (Orem) Shwartz came to visit with her growing family. It was great to catch up with her and laugh about the “good old days.” I hope to see her again this year and especially come race season!
Yesterday I took a hiatus from Mt. Bachelor and traveled north to Smith Rocks. This is a beautiful State Park that is a rock climbers paradise! I brought along some bounding poles and found the nice paths perfect for some bounding work!
I quickly realize how much of a city slicker I really am! Cruising around the city alone at night… not a problem! Running alone with Cougar and rattlesnake signs…Big Problem!
I asked a few people if there were really rattlesnakes and cougars in the park and everyone seemed to think the signs were not necessary, but as I ran along the path I couldn’t help but think how perfect the dry dessert landscape would be for a backdrop to a snake!
I followed the path (headphones off! so I could hear if something was nearby) and made my way up and over the ridge! I met some great folks and saw some amazing scenery! The skiing was probably great again but I had the best time cruising through the volcanic cliffs and river valley.
Just when I was happily cruising along the trail near the river, a man ahead held his hand up to stop me. “Rattler he said!” Of course as frightened as I was to encounter one unexpectedly this was a great opportunity to see one up close. So I carefully walked over and stood next to him as we watched the beautiful snake slither away. It was AWESOME. I tried to snap a few photos but they do not capture how cool the snake was. The man told me it was coiled on the side of the trail just moments before.
So now I am leaving Bend, which has become my new favorite training place, for the concrete jungle of Minneapolis!
Bend, OR
On snow camp with USST
May 16 – May 30
On Sunday after almost 70K of racing in one week for the woman and over 100K for the men at the Birch Hill Cross Country Ski Trails in Fairbanks, AK the 2008/2009 competitive ski season came to an end. A lull in Mt. Redoubt’s volcanic activity on Monday gave my flight from Anchorage the opportunity to take off, just before the volcano spurted another ash cloud. This was the first flight to Minneapolis since the volcano began erupting a week earlier. I was so relieved when we finally got off the runway.
On Wednesday morning I joined the second through fifth graders at the Bryn Mawr Elementary School to hand out medals and certificates to every kid who completed The President’s Fitness Challenge. Each student was required to partake in healthy activities and eating habits while keeping track of their choices for the previous 6 weeks.
The best part about Anita Chavez’s P.E. class is that she has almost all of them XC skiing during the winter! The Theodore Wirth and City of Lakes Loppet Trails run right through the school playground and the trails behind the school are where I train the most when I am home during the spring, summer, fall and winter. Almost 80% of the 180 kids in the assembly had skied in the City of Lakes Mini-Loppet. AWESOME!!!
I spoke to the kids about my XC skiing training regime leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics and how much I love training in the Minneapolis parks all year. We talked about many of the different parks in the area and all of the different types of activities we can do in the parks and on the bike paths, like running, biking, rollerblading, soccer, baseball and tag. The kids had lots of questions about Skiing, Alaska, Big Mountains and my new training partner Lahti the Husky!
General Mills was also an integral part of the presentation offering prizes and info about good healthy food choices. The kids did a great job answering the trivia questions about the food groups and serving sizes!
I look forward to working more with Anita Chavez and the kids at Bryn Mawr this summer during their summer school programs and with the support of General Mills for the Tri-Loppet program that is being offered to the Anwantin and Anderson Elementary Schools.
It’s now April and the sun is shining more than the snow is falling. I will say that towards the end of the final week of racing I wasn’t quite ready for the season to be over. When I left Minneapolis on the 22nd of March the sun was shining and it was almost 60 degrees. I had just finished a rollerski hill workout and I was hoping the temperature would rise from below zero for my arrival in Fairbanks. The temps rose perfectly and Mt. Redoubt the volcano waited to erupt until just after my bags arrived a few hours behind me. The snow and trails were impeccable and most of the Elite ski community was together once again which always makes me happy.
The CXC Team could not afford to support us for the U.S. Distance Nationals so it was nice after purchasing the expensive ticket to get to Fairbanks that we could stay with some local families, many of whom were not a part of the ski community yet welcomed us with open arms and even cheered for us at the venue on race days 
I was amazed how badly I wanted to race each day. I think staying in Minneapolis with the sunshine and warmth was a great approach since I was more than eager to get back on snow. The truth is I really couldn’t afford to leave any sooner than a day before the first race. I had a great 5K classic race, breathing like a freight train the whole way, and ended up 5th overall, just off the American Podium. A few juniors were ahead of me which was fantastic!!! I really enjoy how strong the junior racers are becoming here in the US and keeping all of us senior racers on our toes!
The rest of the week was solid as well. I had one hiccup in the pursuit race with some bad cramps on the second lap but rebounded for the third and forth. My favorite race of the week was the Skate Team Sprint. I would say that this is by far one of my favorite races. It can hurt so bad and yet be so much fun. My CXC teammate Maria was by far the highlight of the day skiing incredible in every leg against some serious competition (Kikkan Randall and Liz Stephens!). Maria skied the fastest time on her final leg hanging on to the relentless pace of Liz ahead. I was inspired by her all out effort! Winning a Silver Medal was a great result for us and I am so proud of Maria.
The week ended with a 30K Classic race that utilized most of the steepest climbs in the Birch Hill trail system. This was probably one of the greatest courses I have ever skied. The snow was perfect, the temperature was perfect, the courses were flawless and the crowds of supporters were amazing! Fairbanks is an awesome place for ski races in March!!!
The major element that was so integral throughout my season while racing on the domestic circuit is the awesome wax support I received from CXC! My skis could not have been anymore perfect for the 30K Classic race!!! Bryan Fish, Bill Pierce and Wayne Fish worked like crazy for all of us racers and I hope they realized how much their efforts were needed and appreciated.
Goals for next season are starting to enter my mind but for now I will continue to relax, get some work done and absorb a fun season.