I know my updates have been a little sparse lately, but as you can imagine I have been pretty focused on my training.  I spent the last 10 days training on Vancouver Island, which is just a short 20-minute flight from the mainland.  We decided to train there because of the reliable snow conditions and the close proximity to Whistler.  We were definitely not let down by the snow, as it snowed nearly all day for the 10 days of our camp.  By the time we left this morning, the training venue had 10 feet (3 plus meters) of snow.   I don’t think I have ever seen so much snow.  Although the snow was a bit much at times, training went well and I feel prepared for the next few weeks.

This morning I flew back over to Vancouver for team processing.  Team processing is where all of the athletes and coaches receive the Olympic clothing and go through some last minute media training.  I was shocked by the amount of gear that we received here and I am now a little embarrassed by the amount of bags that I am traveling with…

Lowell and Wynn getting started

Tomorrow morning we will travel up to Whistler and check into the athletes village.  I am really excited to get up there and settle into my normal pre-race training routines.  I am now only a week out from my first competition and I can’t wait to get things started!

Thanks for checking in!

The view from our hotel deck

I just arrived in Antholz, Italy after a tough week of racing in Ruhpolding.  Racing did not go exactly as planned in Ruhpolding, but I am hoping to get back on track this week in Italy.

I knew going into Ruhpolding that I had my work cut out for me because Ruhpolding is by far my least favorite course on the World Cup.  The course is comprised of complete flats leading into steep uphills.  Basically, you have to jump skate the uphills and then recover for the next sprint.  I am not a great sprinter and I have always struggled in Ruhpolding.  In fact, before this year I had never scored a World Cup point in Ruhpolding.  Needless to say, I was a little disappointed with my individual results there, but I was pleased to walk away with some points in the bag.

The relay, however, was a really solid result for the team, but I wish I could have been more solid on the shooting range.  Lowell, Jay, and Jeremy had fantastic races but I was not able to back them up.  I was so tired heading into this race from the previous two weeks of racing that I simply did not have much in the tank.  If this had been a training day, I definitely would have taken a day off.  Unfortunately, we have a pretty small team, so when the relay rolls around its time to step up, whether your tired or not.  On the positive side, I think this result was really encouraging in that we were 6^th place despite a weak leg from me.  It definitely makes me wonder where we will be when everyone pops a race.

I am really looking forward to the races here this week.  I have had some of my best races here in the past and this is definitely my favorite course on the World Cup.  Unlike in years past though, I will be training through these races in order to best prepare for the Games.  Because of this, I am a little unsure of what my form will be like, but from here on out, it’s all about the Olympics.

First off, I want to give a big thanks to everyone for all of the support over the last week.  I have been overwhelmed with calls and emails and I am very thankful for all of the support! I am crazy busy right now and I promise a real update soon.  Check out my teammates Jeremy’s website for some cool video of the mass start in Oberhof.

I just arrived in Ruhpolding and am getting settled in here.  I plan on racing all three races here this week and I look forward to the enthusiastic crowds that Ruhpolding always provides.  Thanks for checking in and check back soon for a better update.  I am off now to go over some technique work with Per and Armin.

The first period of World Cup racing has come to an end and I could not be happier with the result.  Taking over the Yellow bib in the last race really was a dream come true for me.  I am honored to be the first American to reach the top of the World Cup rankings.  I am also extremely thankful to all of the people who have helped me get this point.  This truly was a team effort and I can’t emphasize enough what an important role the entire team has played.

I am now in Oberhof, Germany enjoying a little down time for the Holidays.  I decided to stay in Europe over Christmas this year in order to minimize my travel time.  By doing this I gain a both recovery and training time, which will hopefully pay off when the World Cup continues and for the Games later this season.

After taking a few days to completely recover, I am now back to my normal training routine.  Oberhof received a nice Christmas present in the form of a snowstorm, so the conditions here are quite ideal for training.  I still have some improvements that I want to make before the Olympics so this is definitely not a time for me to rest on my early season success.  Of course I am still enjoying the Holiday season and I have been happy to test every German Christmas cookie that I can find!

Happy Holidays!

I arrived in Slovenia two days ago for the third stop of the World Cup.  We have three more races here and then we get a little break for the holidays.  I am definitely starting to feel the effects of all of the racing over the past two weeks and I am looking forward to getting a little recovery time soon.  This year I will be staying in Germany for the Holidays so that I can spend more time with Andrea and also minimize my travel time.

The first two weeks of racing went really well for me and I hope to keep that momentum going here in Slovenia.  Unfortunately, I have not been feeling 100% the past few days and I had to skip my training session yesterday.  I will train this afternoon and hopefully I will feel good enough to start tomorrows Individual.  I feel like my form was getting better and better with each race but I am really not sure where I am at now.

Thanks for checking in!

Yesterday was a huge day for me and it felt great to finally step onto the podium!  I had a really strong feeling over the last week that my form was good but I did not want to jinx myself by talking about it.  I was definitely excited after the race but I also felt pretty reserved.  I had been on the podium so many times before in my head, that it felt really normal once it actually happened.

I want to give a huge thanks to everyone on the team who made this possible.  I truly believe that I am surrounded by the best staff in the world.  I can’t say enough about Max, Per, Armin, Bernd and our ski technicians.  Without these guys, a result like this would not be possible.

I also want to give a big thanks to all of my sponsors for allowing me to focus 100% on racing to the best of my ability.

Now it’s time to focus on the next race!

I am currently in Ostersund, Sweden waiting for the start of the World Cup in a few days.  Another training season has flown by and now it’s time for the fun to begin!  These last few days are pretty relaxed for me, as I need to be completely rested for the first block of World Cup action.  Over the next three weeks we will compete in Sweden, Austria, and Slovenia before taking a short break for Christmas.

Going into the season this year I have made some small training adjustments with the hope of getting a better start to the season.  During the last two seasons, I really struggled with health issues during this time and I was unable to have any consistency before Christmas.  With the few small changes we have made for this year, I am feeling quite a bit more relaxed and recovered than in previous years.  I am not sure if this has more to do with experience or to the training adjustments.  Either way, I am looking forward to putting the new program to the test in a few days!

Conditions in Ostersund have been unseasonably warm over the last week.  The racecourse here is made up of 100% man-made snow, with little to no natural snow surrounding the track.  It looks like the temperature should drop over the next few days, so hopefully we will get enough snow to at least make things look a little more like winter.

Despite the lack of natural snow, the organization here has done an incredible job of putting the course together.  The snow that will be used for the races was actually snow that was made last winter and saved in huge piles in the woods.

I’m off to dinner now of more boiled potatoes and fish….

Thanks for checking in and look for more race updates soon.

I arrived in Bruksvallarna, Sweden two days ago for our World Cup prep camp.  The trip over was really smooth and I feel that I am adjusting well to the time change.  The ski conditions are super here and they have over 30 k of well-groomed trails.  It feels great to get back on snow!

I will be here until Saturday and then we will head to Ostersund for our final training week before the start of the World Cup.  I am definitely excited to start the season!

We now have less than 100 days until the start of the Games in Vancouver and under a month to the start of the World Cup!  It’s crazy how fast time has flown by.

The last few weeks have been super busy for me.  I was out in Utah at our fall training camp for three weeks.  After that, I was home for a day and then down to NYC for two days and finally I am back home now for another week.

My camp in Utah went really well and I was able to stay healthy and injury free for the entire three weeks, which is something I did not do the past three seasons.  I ended up putting in a lot of quality hours there and I am feeling on track for the start of the season.  As in the past, Utah was a great place to spend October with really warm weather and lots of sun.  While most other skiers were getting rained or snowed on, we were training in shorts!

After Utah I was home for one day and then I went to NYC for the 100 Days to Vancouver Celebration at Rockefeller Center.  This was a great event that brought together a lot of athletes, US Olympic Committee staff and media.  It was fun to catch up with other athletes and to feel everyone’s excitement about the Games.  While I was there I had the opportunity to go on the Today Show to sport some of the Ralph Lauren Olympic gear.  This was a really fun experience and it was definitely a lot different than my normal day-to-day routine.  Mixing it up once in awhile and doing something different is really important for me and helps me have a better focus when I’m back training.  You can check out the video here and also see another interview and some more Olympic gear here under “meet the athletes”.

Now that I am home, I am back to my normal training routine.  I will be here for another week before heading to Sweden for the start of the World Cup.  I am taking this opportunity to catch up with my family and friends because once I leave next week I won’t be back until after the Games in February.  This is definitely one of the disadvantages of being an American athlete competing in a European sport.   Hopefully in the future the US can attract more international competitions so I can spend a little more time at home!