Park City Testing

We've been in Park City for one week now and it's flown by. The first four days were a whirlwind of testing, but since then, we've been enjoying the near perfect weather we've been lucky to have every day. I had done one treadmill test last October when SMS T2 came to Park City for a camp and this week I added my 2nd and 3rd rollerski treadmill tests to my list! The testing days were long days at the Center of Excellence that usually began around 8 and lasted until 5 or 6. The idea of rollerskiing on a treadmill is exciting for the first 3 minutes, but just like any other indoor machine, I got tired of it pretty quickly. Luckily, the tests only last 10-15 minutes and you're going until failure so it goes by quickly, similar to the way a race does. Breathing into the big plastic tube is also a little uncomfortable and will leave you with a sore mouth for a few days, but it's pretty incredible how much information can come out of the test. In addition to VO2 max testing, we did tests such as blood tests, strength tests, and body composition. I don't like to get too hung up on numbers like VO2 max because I know there are so many other factors that go into ski racing, but it was fun to be a lab rat for a couple days and now I'm happy to be back outdoors.

When you're going till failure, it's not always pretty

Erik B. strength testing

classic max test

Jessie keeping it fun in the COE :)

Our first day free of testing, Jessie and I went for a beautiful classic ski all around Park City and were accompanied by Cork on the bike. We had the afternoon off and planned on resting and doing a little yoga, but when we finally sat down at 9:30 that night, we realized we had been on our feet all day! We visited the Park City Farmer's Market and petted some cute puppies and bought some fresh food for the feast we were planning that evening. It was Matt Whitcomb's birthday the following day so we had some people over and made a tasty risotto and special birthday dessert. I think we cooked and baked from 3:00-7:30 straight. It was a busy day, but it was worth it!

waiting for the cookies to bake

ready!

the final product - chocolate cupcakes in a chocolate chip cookie shell!

Farmer's Market friends

Jess showing off her fanny pack on our ski

We had L3 skate intervals yesterday morning and drove to East Canyon to do them. It was a warm day at altitude so it would have been easy to push it too hard, but Jessie, Holly, and I had a great workout with some beautiful views! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Jessie, Sophie, Holly

The crew on top

Andy, Sim, and Nick

Yesterday afternoon we had a tough strength session and then headed down to Salt Lake. The rest of the team went to a baseball game for Matt's birthday and I visited Parker and went to  BBQ at her house. It was a very nice evening and we all got to sleep in this morning since we have an off day today!

Jessie and me out to dinner!