Spring Series

We have finally dried off from our first race at Spring Series. We were welcomed to California with two days of sunshine on Tuesday and Wednesday. The majority of the SMS crew flew in on the 31st and after staying the night in Reno, we drove up to Tahoe on Monday. Friends of Jordan Fields have very generously let us stay in their beautiful condo in King's Beach, about a 10 minute walk from Lake Tahoe! If you are ever in the area and need a place to stay, definitely check it out here http://www.lake-tahoe-cabins.com/Unit.mvc/Details/64437.

Afternoon jog to check out the lake

After our first morning of skiing, we had an afternoon filled with a Fast and Female event! It was a huge success and the weather gods cooperated, leaving us with plenty of sunshine so we were able to enjoy the outdoors. After an afternoon of dancing, games on skis, Q&A, and lots of autograph signing, we were pretty exhausted and were able to unwind at a nice BBQ with all the other athletes. Here are a bunch of photos from Fast and Female!

downhill practice

Getting into the dancing station

Jessie and Liz were the dance leaders

downhill practice!

the crew!

Crystal Globe filled with jellybeans (my favorite food)!

mini Sadie and Sofia (Sodie)

Hands in!

We had a more relaxing day yesterday and after doing some pre race prep and ski testing in the morning, we spent the afternoon waxing and soaking up the sun. It was only about 60 degrees but the bathing suits may or may not have made an appearance.

enjoying the California sunshine

Another water shot

The races are being held very early so the snow doesn't get too sloppy and slushy. The women went first today at 9 AM and it was REALLY raining. I've been struggling a little with the altitude the past couple days but I'm hoping each day will feel a little better. I thought my race today was solid - not great but not bad. My plan was to ski smooth and relaxed and to try not to blow up because once you cross that line at altitude, it's very hard to recover. I executed my plan very well on the first flats of the course and was so proud of myself that I think I rewarded myself a little too much and went to hard up the huge hill on the climb, resulting in a minor blow up. It wasn't disastrous but I definitely wasn't able to ski the final section like I had wanted to. I ended up 10th and Erika tied to the tenth so we were pretty excited about that! Luckily we still have 4 races to try to nail down the proper pacing and hopefully I'll finish those ones looking like a sun goddess (or sun burnt skier) rather than a wet rat!

loving out T2 sweatshirts!

Big Gus helps Andy warm up

beautiful day at Truckee

Also, big thanks to Lori and Marc Horn for having us over for dinner last night. It's always nice to go to have a home cooked meal on the road and it's fun to have Stratton connections all over the country.

Their dog, Chance, was one of the most relaxed pups I've seen 

Thanks Lori and Mark!

Tomorrow we have a 10k classic mass start, followed by a classic sprint on Saturday. We have a rest day on Sunday, the skate hill climb on Monday, another rest day on Tuesday and then a 30k classic on Wednesday. It will be a busy and exhausting week but it should be fun!