snowy daze

noooooo

2009-11-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

yeah, I did it! I FINISHED my website!

Http://www.Ilkevg.com

Rain Rain go AWAY!

2009-07-22T12:32:00.001-07:00

Will it ever get nice this summer in Vermont?

Late Afternoon: Isolated showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. North wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight: Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Light and variable wind.

Thursday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. North wind between 5 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind between 6 and 9 mph becoming calm. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 70. Calm wind becoming north between 6 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Saturday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 80. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 62.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.

Tuesday Night: A chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Wednesday: A chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a high near 83.

CLOUDY, RAINY, COLD...JUST AN AMAZING SUMMER!

errrrr whoooops!

2009-06-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

Again, it has been a long time...I preach social networking everyday and I am failing on my own front! It's a good thing I don't do this for a living or for a few extra sales every month because my competitors would be way ahead of me!

I am not much of a writer, I am more of a visual person. I get National Geographic every month, and I am going to be very honest here and lay it out on the table...I ONLY LOOK AT THE PICTURES about 90% of the time, and 10% of the time I read an article...ONE ARTICLE ;-)

So I am not going to write much here but will include some wedding photos since I just started shooting weddings.

You can see my wedding gallery here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilkevg/sets/72157618962419935

Bikram Yoga

2009-05-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Imagine sitting in a room that is full of sweating people, and the space is intentionally overheated. At first I thought this ways just way too much sweat dripped and flicked around a bunch of people who you have never seen in your life or might pass in the office Monday thru Friday.

The part I hated most about my Bikram yoga experience was towards the end, when you lie down and have to tuck your slimy wet legs to your chest and wrap your slippery wet arms around your wet legs. Forget an easy holding pose, when you have been sweating for almost an hour and are so wet that your fingers are starting to prune up!

Bikram or On fire yoga is ideally practiced at 105 degrees F with 26 postures and two breathing exercises, and the classes are around 90 minutes. This vigorous yoga session with insanely hot temps promote profuse sweating…making you feel like a wet slimy fish that becomes more and more flexible through the class as your body melts away all toxins and melts away at your muscles.

I do have to say after the class I felt very rejuvenated…I felt high and was moving in slow motion. Feeling restored and great, as I though every muscle, joint and organ in my body had been replaced and was brand new.

After my love and hate experience on Saturday I decide I am going to continue…I’m going to start out going once to twice a week. You might be asking yourself why I like to torture myself so much…it’s quite simple…we always yearn to feel to feel calm, loose and energized. This is the way I felt after the class, not to mention more powerful and for the rest of the day I was standing straight rather than hunched over as though I am typing on a computer 24 hours a day!

I will continue this punishment, and keep you posted…maybe in a few months I will be able to touch my toes with out bending my legs. I haven’t been able to touch my toes since sixth grade, lets just say I have always preferred wrecking my body biking and running and never taking the time to stretch.

Fletcher Allen Health Care

2009-04-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

Lots has happened since I last wrote. Ski season officially ended here in Vermont, I have been on some mad bike rides and got a sweet farmers tan. More on that in another post. I signed up for some crazy ass Bikram Yoga through work, went and saw a few good movies and have drank way to many margaritas…More on this in another post as well. Other than that things have been very slow for me the past few months.

Back in March I got sick with an infection and the other day was my millionth trip to the Doctors, mind you this could have all been avoided and everything could have been resolved on the first trip. I am going to play out my last trip to the doctors:

Mrs. Doctor “hi Ilke, how are you today?”

Me (with a puzzled look on my face) “why do you ask me this question? If I was good I wouldn’t be here right now and no one ever likes to hear you are doing badly…next time can you just say Hello Ilke, HOW CAN I HELP YOU TODAY?”

So we had a bad start…

It only gets better. I of course go into my rant that I have told them several times, and talk way more than I want to about the stuff going on in my body when they have me do all the same tests I did last time.

The end conclusion is they gave me the wrong antibiotics…THREE TIMES! And that now I need to try a fourth.

I am not sure at this point what to think or what to do, I am guessing it’s not very good to be in antibiotics for two months and on top of that…how does Mrs. Doctor know if this is going to be the one to cure me? Than my doctor says: “You should feel better tomorrow.”

BING…I SNAPPED! How many times have I heard that? Every single time I got handed a prescription I was told “you will feel better tomorrow!” What? You just randomly shooting me with antibiotics? When you left to go look at the test results, did you open up the cabinet, close your eyes and randomly pick another drug? OR...Fletcher Allen, do you just sell the drug of the day?

Let me tell you something Doc…I better feel better tomorrow, otherwise I will be hunting down your practice for the 2+ grand this has cost! So much money for no resolve…how can this be…how can this be ok?

If I were to have performed the same level as my doctors have been I would've gotten FIRED!

2009-04-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Visit VT Photographers

Shane McConkey

2009-04-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

One of the best athletes of all time!

Biathlon and EABC in the New York Times

2009-03-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

Have Rifle, Will Travel (on Skis)
By KATIE ZEZIMA
Published: March 12, 2009
A small but growing number of amateurs in the United States are taking an interest in biathlon, a sport that combines cross-country skiing and target shooting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/fashion/12fitness.html

Stowe Derby

2009-02-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday started off with a bang, as I almost missed the start of the Stowe Derby. My day started off a little late and with some bad driving conditions to registration. I arrived at registration at 9:30...with a 10am race start time. On my drive I figured this would work out great and I wouldn't be sitting a the top of the mountain freezing waiting for my start. But when I arrived at registration I found out I had a very high seed...number 33...with all the fast men. The pressure was on, not only to race fast but to get to the start on time. I would say this is where my warm up started...I sprinted to my car, and drove as fast as I could to the mountain(rally racing in the wrx). Once I got to the mountain I stripped down to my race suit and sprinted to the lift line, once I made it to the lift I knew that if I didn't make the start now it was out of my control. Lucky me, arrived with three minutes before the start of the 75th annual, 2009 Stowe Derby.

At the start I felt good, my skis were very fast and tracked through the deep snow really well...especially at high speeds. I tucked in behind two men, at the start and I let them pull me down the hill, we raced together very well through the fast turns. I managed to make it down the toll road, with only one crash!

Then the climbing starts, and we all know that all the time is made and the race is won, on the climb and the flats. Yesterday was a good day for me, as I kept up with the men in the climbs and drafted as long as I could, powering hard with V2 on the flats. Before I knew it I was skiing on my own, dropped by two of the top skiers in my start but no one in the waves be hind me catching me. I took the fact that I wasn't being passed as a good sign and kept skiing as hard as I could. I finished strong and started to get worried about the girls behind me...I knew I was the first girl to start and that there were a few really fast ladies in the waves behind me. To ease my nerves, after the race I headed straight back to the mountain for some downhill skiing. The powder was AMAZING!

It's an honor to have a Derby win...one of the biggest, funnest races in North America! The best part of the Derby, by far, are the stories, of crashes, wax, broken equipment, snow conditions, other athletes and fans along the way.

One last note on the Derby; THANK YOU to the helpers out there that made this race possible!

Off the MAP

2009-02-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

Where have I been these past few months?

WORKING

On a good note, I still have a lot of work to do and it doesn't look like it is going to slow down anytime soon.

Don't worry, I still have my out of control hobbies and interests, that I am working on. When I am not at work I am keeping busy with my coaching, ski racing (all for fun now) and photography. I will have some skiing updates after the Stowe Derby next weekend, so you'll have to wait out for that. If you check out my Flickr you can see what I have been up to, a little shooting of some Biathlon races, ski races, work in New Orleans and shooting a bowling birthday party bash!

yikes

2009-02-03T05:10:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time...working to hard and not skiing enough. As for interesting things going on in my world; I just got back from New Orleans, you can check out some of my shots here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilkevg/

NorAm #5

2009-01-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

for more photos check out the all famous flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilkevg/

Mens Biathlon Relay in Oberhof

2009-01-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the US Biathlon Mens team Posted the Best Relay Finish of the Season
The US relay team consisted of Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY), Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY), and Jeremy Teela (Anchorage, AK) They finished 3:23.9 behind the team from Austria who won their impressive second World Cup Relay in a row. Russia came in second with some great shooting, only using six spare rounds, and finished 8.7 seconds back, a very close race with Germany coming in third, 19.2 seconds back, with one penalty and nine spare rounds.
Coach Per Nilsson, was reported as being not satisfied. Saying that the team should be between 6th and 8th. It is however an improvement in the season’s third relay. In the past two relays the team finished 15th and 14th 6 minutes back and 4:44 back. Yesterday the team at 1 penalty and used all spare rounds and was only 3:23 behind. Headed in the right direction!

Let the race's begin!

2008-12-23T08:50:00.001-08:00

Racing started off with a bang for New England this past weekend at Trapp Family Lodge. Sprints on Saturday…which I opted out of to ski a day on the alpine side in the freshies.

Sunday we skied through six inches of fresh snow and challenging visibility in the 5 kilometer freestyle event at Trapp Family Lodge. Dartmouth’s Freshman, Sophie Caldwell (Peru, VT) had an impressive race on Sunday dominating the field through the tough conditions, she picked right up where she left off last season as the series winner. With Saturdays 2nd place finish behind UVM’s Jennie Bender and Sundays first place finish Sophie has jumped into an early lead for the series. It will be a great year for Dartmouth and will be nice to see where these young fast skiers go!

After I finished my race I left as soon as I could, not even waiting for the results to go back to Stowe for round two in the powder! My mind was somewhere else this weekend and that never gets good results. Though the thing that matters most is having fun!

Stowe 11/29/2008

2008-11-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

Great day at the mountain today. 30 degrees, a little sun shine poking its way through the dark clouds, adding to the nice winter wonderland contrasts on the mountain.

Ethan Allen Biathlon Club

2008-10-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

Today starts practice at the firing range in Jericho! They are on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4-6. If you would ever like to make it to practice to try out biathlon please email me at eabiathlon@gmail.org.

SNOW 10/22/2008

2008-10-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

Growing Up

2008-10-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

I have been ski racing now for a good part of my life. There have been a lot of great things that I have learned on the way…there are also many things I have learned about a dozen times, and every time I learn it, I vow to myself, that I will never make the same mistake again. Of course, if I followed my own advice I would never make the same mistake a dozen times. It is also apparent, with my repeated offenses of stupidity, that I am not learning a darn thing!

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but unless you do EVERYTHING at 100% you will never reach your goals. Growing up my weakness was always equipment maintenance…I’d rather clean my house and refold all my cloths a 100 times over versus wax my skis, or clean & tune up my bike.

This past weekend I was reminded of my flaws while racing up Brandon Gap with a bunch of college youngsters. Girls that are about 10 years younger than myself, with their careers in either skiing or the work force ahead of them, some confused, and others with dreams bigger than the world.

I started to think of my UVM days, some of the best and hardest days of my life. As we started our race up the gap, I was reminded of all the mistakes I made growing up when both my pole tips came lose. For me that meant a long climb up the gap without poles! This made for a good long time to reflect while I watched a strong group of girls pull away from me…buh bye!

Of course I told myself…”I will never do this again; not check my equipment before the start of a race!” I should know this by now, and I think I have told this to myself about 4 dozen times.

Due to my hard headed, do what I want to, go day by day attitude…I tossed out a good opportunity for a great fall training session! All because I didn’t take five minutes to take care of my stuff…hopefully those other college girls noticed how I was wasting my time trying to ski up the hill and fool around with my poles every few seconds that they learned a lesson from me…do as I say, not as I do!

There is a lot more to racing well besides training well…taking care of your shit is a big part of being the best! Growing up, the girls that scared me the most while racing where the ones that did everything…not just the training but the equipment maintenance, the hard training, the resting…and funny thing…those where the girls that have made it to the Olympics.

So, if I am not going to learn my lesson, hopefully someone else will. To be the best you have to be on top of EVERYTHING! It’s ok to make mistakes but learn from those mistakes!

24 HOURS OF GREAT GLEN

2008-07-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Our team of very fast mt. bike chicks needs another expert female. Any one interested or know of someone that might want to race please let me know. There are money prizes and it's VERY fun!

MudDING

2008-07-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

With my big nobby tires. Slipping in the mud, cruising over rocks, flying over wet roots with my fingers crossed, praying I don’t launch my face into a tree, and the best part…flying through the deep puddles.

Puddles so deep you close you eyes & grip you handle bars with all your might so you don’t endo yourself over your handle bars and end up flying in mid-air over the puddle, as your bike drowns in the puddle...hmmm would you call this a puddle or a pond?

Lots of rain in Vermont right now, and lots of rain means really fun, muddy bike racing. Can you imagine being 26, but acting like you are about 4? Playing in the mud, splashing in the puddles and coming home COVERED in mud! Good thing my mom didn’t see me ;-)

The worse the weather, the more fun I have with my training, and this summer has been just AMAZING in Vermont, which I like, but I also like the adventures of the wind, rain, sleet. Helps when I have to do the same thing everyday, it always gives me a second wind, something different to spice things up.

Yesterday was so muddy I was covered head to toe, my mouth was very gritty…cheap whitener!!! My eyes BURNED, I think there is still mud coming out of my eyes & ears today! I kept thinking to myself: “Sizzillin, don’t stop and keep it going” as I rode through the slick roots, rocks trying to maneuver myself on the tight, winding single track…keep pedaling!

When the weather gets bad get out there & train! Goin hard when the weather turns on!

Mt. Snow Mt. Bike National Championships

2008-07-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

Photos & lots of them!

Last weekend I met my little Bella girls at Mt. Snow to watch our hometown star Lea Davison rock it on the trails. Above you can click the link to see more photos.

Climb To Mt. Top

2008-07-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today I had my first roller ski race down in Rutland, Vermont. An 11k climb up to Mt. Top. To give you an idea it's a mass start race, where we have about 400 meters before we start climbing for a few k. The first climb was very nice, I had to put together a plan this year, there were a few girls in the race that are very strong skiers. I couldn't go out to hard risking bonking, so I jumped behind a very young & talented skier, Keely Levins for about 2 k. The group stayed together for a few K, until I decided it was time to spread out the field. For a little while I was worried I had made a move to soon.

My attack broke up the race and for a few k I skied on my own until Alex Jospe caught me. We skied together trying to fend of the other skiers, I felt very good on the flat section...than we reached the final 3k. The steepest 3k of my life...I put my head down and went. Many times I skied hard in fear that Alex was going to beat me, I could hear her poles gripping the pavement behind me, they always sounded like they were coming closer and closer. Than I saw the 200m sign and knew I could win this race. It was a good hard race with some very good girls there.

Below is video from the race. Very early on. We all look rested & relaxed!

errr...sorry it has taken me so long!

2008-06-24T11:37:00.001-07:00

I know...I hear ya! It has been to long since my last post. It gets a little busy in the summertimes!
My days are amazing right now, CRAZY busy just the way I like it...though it truly is amazing that I keep anything together with all that I am doing! Sometimes I am reminded to jump about 5 miles up into there air to take a quick breather and see everything else that is going on around me...makes me feel a little better when i am overwhelmed. Just think how small each one of us is.
I am working hard at work, things here are going really well. Training is also going well, mondays I am taking off from training & putting in some extra hours at the office, while Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday I am off the wall busy with catamount outdoor center 5ks & mountain biking after work. On the weekend I live out every min. to the max with training & seeing my friends, until the most exciting part of my weekend begins...The Little Bella Mountain Bike Mentoring program for girls from 6-14. IT'S AMAZING...On that note, I have a little more work to do & will update more next week on the Little Bellas.

Made it in the paper

2008-05-15T20:52:00.001-07:00

not for skiing or biking! For eating out...hahaha can you tell I was cold??????

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BT&Dato=20080515&Kategori=MOMS&Lopenr=805150806&Ref=PH

zoom, zoom, zoom

2008-05-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

ok...turn up your radio & blast! Rocking this! RAH! LOUDAH! I have been commuting to work the past few weeks, it's amazing what I hear. Either out the window by angry road raged rednecks, over dosed steroid meat heads & rich chicks on their cell phones doing everything besides driving a straight line. Of course I get a kick out of all of this because, really...let's think about this for a second...

My life rocks...in the fast lane, it's glamouris! No diamond rings, but hey, I got good friends that rock, all my adventures all around the world & of course I have one of the coolest jobs every...people would kill to work where I work. First class, in the fast lane.

So of course when I am being hollahed at hearing all these crazy things that I don't wanna, I just think about all the rocking I get to do & I have to laugh! Because really is it that lame for you that I ruin your day...because I am on the side of the road...hahahaha...muuuahahahahaha. Listen what I say:

LOOK AROUND...you see what I see?

Nothing...keep driving & rocking it to all your outragious music...turn up your radio, blast your sterio & RIDE! I never hear much you all hallah anyways!

& ANOTHER video!

2008-05-07T06:08:00.000-07:00

I know, I have been on a video rampage! I'm "ramping" up for more writing! 2008/2009 season is about to start for me, I am ready to go! This spring I spent playing soccer, mt. biking, running, tennis, a little basketball a lot of alpine skiing & of course a little dancing along with A LOT of cooking! I have been a cooking machine the past few weeks, amazing how far I have come since I first started cooking in college! When of course my roommates would tell me it tasted great; but I knew the truth, I tasted it too!
Here is another video! Just FYI, it's close to the previous one, just has a few more pictures & a much better music selection in my mind ;-)

2008 Season movie!

2008-05-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

End of season Movie, Country Music style! If you don't like Country music wait a few days & another movie will be up with better music selection. I buy music with my I-tunes but I can't use it in any other program :-( still trying to figure it out...in the mean time this is what I had to work with in Windows!

New Bike Frame

2008-04-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

MAJOR thanks to the Davis's who got me this awesome SIX13 bike frame. I came home today & it was like Christmas! Very excited to get on this thing & do some base training...hollahh!

MTB season has started

2008-04-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

Free Delivery - Trailer - Watch more Sports Videos

Nothing like some sweet mt. biking...Kevin remember when we tried to build a mt. bike park in our back yard? HAHA We worked all day on it for two weeks straight & never touched it again!

Rollerskiing

2008-04-09T13:03:00.001-07:00

So Roller ski season is almost here! To all my friends who wonder why I never take them out for a roller ski this is why. No I am not in this video, but this is what happens if you have never been roller skiing before.

spring skiing...hollah

2008-04-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

My Friend Dave rocking the tele skis!

A sweet view of the notch! 55 & sunny, it was some great skiing. My face & neck show it today...I have a serious sun burn with the sweet goggle tan lines!

Skiing Lookout...love spring skiing bumps.

ART

2008-03-31T06:39:00.001-07:00

what do you do when you ski season is over? a little art!

p.s. I didn't spell my dogs name incorrectly. He is Oakly, not Oakley the shades!

still winter

2008-03-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

Four to five feet of snow at Bolton. I ski past signs that are lower than my waist, in the summer they are over my head! What a great winter here in Vermont, which is good news for me...means I can put off roller skiing for a little & get in more time on snow. Ski when you can, but don't forget to slowly start running...don't want to jump into summer training & get an overuse injury!

It's very much still winter here in Vermont.

A Hard Week of WORKING

2008-03-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

You know I am working really hard when things start getting messy!

Notice my apple, hmmm...it has 1 bite taken out of it! Race season is coming to an end so it's time to put work into overdrive. Also notice the paper towels, around the computer? Well I spilled some water...good thing my head is attached, otherwise I'd lose it!

Another Great Ski Day At Stowe!

2008-03-01T15:05:00.000-08:00

skilauf rund um die welt: The Great American Birkie

2008-02-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

This years American Birkie was the 3rd largest birkie ever, with 6,992 racers. It was also the 35th year of the famous grueling 51k race, the course starts off hard with a steep climb up a toll road for 5k, than it's rolling terrain with a few steep long climbs in the middle. I can't recall k for k anymore but I can recall the hardest steepest hill I have done in a long time, I will never forget this hill and I think the biggest reason for this is because it was at 41k. The last thing I wanted to do at 41k was go up hill.

A lot of people look at me like I have four heads when I tell them I am going to race the American Birkebeiner; there are several reasons for this of course, one being: "what the heck is that" and after I give them a discription they think I am nuts.

Today, the historic event of the rescue of Haakon Haakonsson is honoured in Norway by three annual sporting events, a run, a mountain bike race and a cross-country ski race, Birkebeinerrennet or the Birkebeiner Run. Common for these events is the requirement of carrying a heavy backpack weighing 3.5 kg as a remembrance of the child the Birkebeiners had to carry on their journey. The events are located in the Lillehammer and Rena area.

There are also sister cross-country ski races held in Hayward (USA), the American Birkebeiner, and in Edmonton (Canada). The difference is that We didn't carry a pack weighing 3.5 kg (thank goodness)!

This is the first official 50k that I have ever done, it was a great experience and I will do it again for sure. I was here last year but due to the lack of snow the race was shortened to half the distance.

This weekend!

2008-02-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

No racing for me until Sunday :-( Been a little sick, gotta be smart so I don't kill myself. It's so hard to do the right thing when you really love to ski and race. I haven't skied since Tuesday, when I had to cut my workout in half!

Hopefully I feel good enough for Sundays race!

whoa...I'm Tired

2008-02-04T17:54:00.001-08:00

This was a tough weekend! I started my travel and racing Saturday at 6am, the roads were ICY which meant a long drive to Craftsbury Marathon. We made sure to get there in time because the waxing conditions were not easy and a 50k with bad wax is just a nightmare!
Friday I woke up, and we had four inches of snow, I thought to myself that winter might be back in the east. But I was wrong by mid day it was sleeting or raining, by 4pm it was all rain. 20 degrees and raining to be exact and turning into ice instantly.
Before I woke up on Saturday the rain had changed back to snow and there was a 1 inch dusting on top of the ice. There was every condition none to man in the race: ice, slush, powder, dirty snow, wet snow, dry snow...you name it, we skied through it.
I ended up living my nightmare and missed my kick wax for the 50k, after about 8k I decided it would best to just ski the race for fun and call it a training day. I was slipping all over the place and figured the only way I am going to finish this race and live to see another day of classic skiing was to back off and take in the views. I had fun, even stopped along the way to eat some soup, still ended up 13th with the same time from last year; guess I can't complain!
The uphills were long with bad kick and the down hills where a disaster, just glazed over with ice. This is a bad combination with narrow winding trails through the woods. I managed to make it out without hitting any trees but I did land in a big pile up early in the race and later on during the race I went through a section and let my guard down when I found myself sliding on my stumach down the hill! WHOOPS...worst part was my hat fell off and I had to go back up the hill to get it! Lots of hard falls and I have the battle wounds to prove it.

On Sunday I woke up early to head down to Mt. Top ski area right outside of Rutland Vt. for Womans Ski day. I was there representing the Madshus racing team as a coach, I taught girls of all ages and abilities how to ski the up and down hills.
It was great, everyone was excited to be there and most everyone caught on really fast.
I would have to say the best part about womens ski day was the team relays at the end of the day (besides the great free lunch). I got to partner up with a 9 year old girl from NJ, it was her second time cross country skiing in her life. It was great, she didn't want to stop skiing. I know I was tired after a full day of being out side and skiing around, but this little girl just want to keep skiing. We ended up skiing one last loop together before I had to get ready to leave (for me leaving a ski race or skiing event takes at least an hour because I am too social...I guess I like to talk).

Team Today

2008-01-29T04:13:00.000-08:00

photo essay of nationals

2008-01-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

Peter Hale and I after the 10k classic race

Peter Hale and I discussing a few ski choice mistakes...argh

While stuck in WI I got to watch Anja's cat BEGGING to get inside.

MEOW!

COME ON!

This is WI! ugh!

Running in WI. with all the flying and magic!

WI. Endless entertainment!

Again, had to find something to do in WI.

ahhh...the house I stayed in in MI, just in case!

It was an all boys appt. one thing does not belong!

All boys, need i say more?

Didn't use the toilet in the shower

It was cold!

But I still had a lot of fun!

Hanging out with great skier/friend Anja!

Anja's parents took pictures and took good care of us while we were stuck in WI.

2008 National Championships

2007-12-31T16:57:00.000-08:00

Anja Jokela and I are out here in Houghton, MI now. Relaxing, all we did today was go for a short am wake up jog, ate breakfast, went skiing than came home, and ate lunch. After lunch I did a little work on the computer while she practiced her violin, I have to say it was very pleasant to listen to her play while I was working. Anja was practicing Shostacovich, she says: "It's an AWESOME piece!" I would have to say I concur. Shostacovich, wrote a lot of his great music in a concentration camp in Germany...amazing!

I am very lucky with all the support I have this year with Madshus, currently while I am sitting here drinking hot chocolate, and typing way in the warm house Perter Hale, the Madshus rep. is out waxing my skis.

First race is tomorrow, 5k skate. This is the biggest nationals has ever been with a whopping 450 people here. I am very excited to race tomorrow with the great course that we have. There are a few technical turns at the bottom of some long downhills which I like, my skis seem work really well for me when it gets technical!

Well it's New Years Eve and I will keep everyone posted on how the first races goes for 2008! Nothing like the first races of 2008 being the hardest!

EPIC

2007-12-16T14:56:00.000-08:00

First I want to say that there is something to be said about getting up really early in the morning to go skiing. To start in the pitch dark and ski in the valleys surrounded by mountains while the sun comes up. The sky looks like it is on fire, the snow is a bright white that starts to sparkle in the sun, you can see your breath, you can hear everything you around. It's just me, my skis and the snow! Amazing!

Second I should tell you about a great weekend! Saturday it was cold, very cold; the race started at 10am, it was 3 loops, so very spectator friendly, which was nice because it was so cold that the snow was squeaking under my skis. I think in some sections I could have started running up the hill with my skis...it was that slow! I remember thinking to myself that I had to have very fast tempo on the uphills cause there was so little glide...my turn over was very high, I motored myself around the loop three times for first place. Anja Jokela was second just 12 seconds behind me. It was a very tight race for the two of us. After the race I headed to Stowe to get in some good skiing before the storm...WHAT YOU SAY...STORM?

Sunday was AMAZING we got another foot of snow. It was important for me to train on Sunday, I had an OD planned of three hours. When it gets tough the tough get going , is what I had to tell myself in the morning. It was really cold, WINDY and snowing hard. I believe I was the only one out at Catamount skiing. For a good reason, the wind was so strong that it blew me over three times. I decided it would be best to stay in the woods...it was cool, I was skiing along in the light ungroomed fresh snow, at some points it was up to my knees and all I could hear the wind.

Monday I got to take the day off from training and go work...I love my new job.

Tuesday a massive truck t-bones me on my way into work...the good news is I got my training in first and no one is hurt (good thing the truck driver was four times my size, when I got out of my truck the first thing the driver said to me was: "happy holidays"). I had another early morning ski with Anja, at one point we could see the hills sparkling with the sun rising...boy I wish I had my camera for that one!

Winter, race season...ahhh

2007-12-12T17:40:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so long. My last post I complained about all the lack of snow and our endless summer. A few weeks later I find myself sitting on the couch exhausted from some of the best skiing I have ever had in the state of Vermont this early in the winter.

My Madshus sponsors have done a GREAT job taking care of me, I have a lot of new equipment that I am very excited to use in this weekends coming race...there is a lot on the line...DINNER! I have to beat Josh by 2.5min for dinner, otherwise I owe him dinner!

Another note, since my last post. I got a new job at Dealer.com...it rocks, I have learned so much about computers, the Internet and car dealerships in the past two weeks! I find that with my love for skiing and racing I have a hard time keeping a well leveled balance without a job; not to mention I work best with more! The more I have on my plate the better I do with everything. So far everything has been great at Dealer.com, I am SO EXTREMELY happy to be working there.

As for the ski season, it has officially begun! I had the Atomic Sprints last Saturday that went well, we ran out of daylight so from 4th-8th position we were not able to race...I guess this ties for 5th with three other people? The snow condition was very bad to say the least, everyone there went straight through the snow and into the gravel...I think I took two good size chunks out of me ski, and one hard digger, into the dirt...of course I did this while giving it all I had, so I had some good speed. As long as no one caught this on camera I am all set!

Sunday was the real test to see how much I improved after my summer of training. Right now it looks like a 10% improvement! Not bad, I must be doing something right, next race I will wax my skis and I will do even better. That's right, I went into the first race of the season on unwaxed skis! Boy they were SLOW! It was a great day and a great race. The snow, the grooming and trails were perfect as always at the Craftsbury Outdoor center. I would say I went out way to hard, though I didn't really think about the side effect of going out too hard until the second lap...oops! I was just so happy to be racing that I stopped thinking about what I was doing! I am very happy with Sundays result, I had a lot of fun beating Josh by a mere 5 seconds...wait...did I say seconds? I mean minutes.

Here are some photos I stole from Alex (without permission). One of the reasons I have been lazy in the updates is because I lost my camera charger :-( We all know English is not a strength of mine, so I try to post pictures to distract people from the writing.

UHHHH

2007-11-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

In the training funk...I so need some consistent cold weather and some snow! I don't want to see another person in shorts and a tee shirt while training, I NEED SOME SIGNS OF WINTER!

It has been a really long time! I hit the wall last week Sunday and tried to plow through it...that didn't work! Now I am going to try and solve to problem by taking a few days off from work and training. A nice short vay cay is in order I would say. Relax and recompose myself do work 110% instead of working 75%.

Stupid is as stupid does!

2007-09-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

That was the only thing I could think to myself half way up Bolton for the Catamount trail hill climb race: "stupid is as stupid does."

Two weeks prior to racing I sprained my ankle, and it was doing much better until I decided I was healed enough (after only two weeks...come on) to run up 7k on a trail with big lose rocks. I did however make it to the top, or what other people who were able to race call the "finish"

I did it in a very slow fashion, after sitting on the side of the trail for 5 min with thoughts on how the hell am I going to let my mom, whom is at the top know I am really ok, that the only thing that hurts is my ankle. After I got up I decided to try and run it off towards the lift, if the pain was going to get worse I was going to get on the lift and ride up to the finish. The pain didn't get worse so I decided to keep running!

I have been an athlete my entire life, and this has by far been one of the stupidest things I have ever done. Doing a running race on a sprained ankle; so of course all I could think to myself the rest of the way up is: "stupid is as stupid does!" All and all I am lucky that I am doing better today a week later, but it was still VERY stupid.

Training even with the sprained ankle has been going well, this week I am doing my hard week of my cycle. Last week I trained a little too much intensity to keep my hours up so this week I have to keep that in mind. I find it VERY hard to train lots of intensity along with high hours, so I better do a good job fallowing my "program" this week.

Something to be excited about, winter is coming and I have seen a few pictures with some new snow. All from out west but snow is snow, hopefully since they are starting to get it out west we will start getting snow here out east soon.

MT. MANSFIELF HIKE WITH ANJA

2007-09-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great sunny day, there was rain expected in the afternoon but we were very lucky and never quite got it. It was however so humid that everything was wet all day. My day started with an AM roller ski race at the range in Jericho with some of the best Skiers and Biathletes in the country. The race was VERY tough and very fun, V2 Jenix did a very good job putting together the races this summer and Ethan Allen Biathlon Club did a very good job cleaning up the course to make it safe for the skiers.

I had a little bad luck the day before and while I was roller skiing out in Jericho, my ski broke! Than while I was warming up my pole broke. Luckily Pat Coffee was there to find me a spare pole, and I made him hold onto another pole for me just in case I broke another one during my race. After two things happening in two days I was worried that something else was going to happen because they say things come in threes. So I figured better to be safe than sorry.

In the afternoon after some awards and socializing with the other athletes I went for a very fun nice Hike on Mt. Mansfield with Anja who just got back from biking all around Europe.

Anja at the top of Mt. Mansfield

Me pushing up a boulder on our way down, my strength training must be paying off.

The hike was very slick, not to mention it was very steep; there was a few times that we were bouldering over up some steep sections of rock, and other times that were where crawling under some big boulders. All and all very cool, but once we were at the top we had to find another "easier" way down. We decided to take the long trail back down to buttlers lodge, once we got to butters lodge I let my guard down figuring we where safe and slipped off a rock and rolled my ankle pretty good. I am sure I only have a grade 1 sprain and it should be better in a few days, but for a few minutes I was a little worried, and upset cause I only had one day left in my training cycle, all I could think to myself is: "why did this have to happen today, one workout left!"

Today I can hobble around and my ankle is a little swollen but I should be better in a few days, I am doing a good job with RICE. So I start my recovery week on day early, at least it wasn't a week or two early. Training is going really well and I am feeling very strong so there is no dought in my mind that I won't be able to recover fast.

Hazzy, hot and humid...not much to see from the top!

GMSR weekend!

2007-09-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

Let The Race’s begin, Green Mountain Stage Race that is! A nice long weekend for us, we had some of the Fiordifrutta team staying at our house and racing, while I worked the feed zone and jammed my training in during the early morning and late afternoon. Josh and his team did REALLY well, you can see from a line in the Burlington Free Press that read:

"Josh Dillon of Essex Junction picked up a sixth-place finish and was the only

male Vermonter to crack the top 10."

(talking about his overall result)

It was a great race to watch, they boys really pushed the race and worked very well as a team. It was great to have them at our house, everyone was so polite! We spent our days outside in the sun and Saturday night inside eating Josh's great chicken parm. On Sunday night we had a huge bbq at my parents house in Colchester which was a big hit, the bugs weren't out the food was amazing and we had a little fire going outside under the stars.

During Saturday’s circuit race I worked the feed zone, for some reason I wasn’t on my game, ended up losing my keys to the TEAM car (the only car we brought to the race). I knew I lost them somewhere from the feed zone to the car, I would say it was about 300 meters, 300 meters that I searched up and down for an hour and a half! I ended up missing the finish which was 13 miles away. The boys did really well, sprinting for the finish, but most important all of them were very excited for Sundays long hard stage. They did a really good job pushing the pace of the race, and tired out a lot of other riders.

Josh Dillon waiting for the start

And the race starts (Monday)

Sunday’s race proved to be very tough and the team did really well, Josh raced really well coming in 8th looking very strong at the top of the gap. Again I worked the feed zones for the team along with Meg, Mike Stauton, and Jamie Driscoll’s parents…we had a stacked team, and a stacked group in the feed zone. The team had three finishers in the top 20!

Monday’s race VERY exciting as usual, and I didn’t have to do anything besides walk Benny around Burlington, get some coffee and have some fun. This years race Josh was out in front quite a bit, and stayed strong for a fourth place finish in the break away group. Everyone in the team did a lot of work, Roz, Toby, and Josh L. where out in front pushing the pace for awhile so Josh and Jamie could sit back and rest for a little while, since we know drafting and resting in the group helps a lot in bike racing. The Fiordifrutta team certainly proved again that they are one of the strongest teams, they always had a move covered and there was always someone up in the front group.

Jamie Driscoll leading out the pack

The team, from left right we have Jamie, Roz, Josh L, Toby, and Josh. Hanging out after the finish and no one looks to be that tired!

from left to right, Josh L, Josh D, and Roz just attacking it.

Toby at the start of the race. Toby raced really well this weekend finishing in the top 15 overall.

Benny, he was my buddy Monday we walked church street, got some coffee and sat in the shade waiting for the race to start.

Josh Dillon leading out the break

You can check out the news, results and information about the GMSR at this website:

http://www.gmsr.info/

Training break at the Cape :-)

2007-08-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

After a lot of hard training and getting sick for two weeks I came to the conclusion that it was time for a little break. As you can see form the ample about of pictures it was a really relaxing break at the Cape. We went on a whale watch, where the whales where so close sometimes that I could have jumped off the boat and landed on them, we also ate TONS of lobster rolls and ice cream...great recovery food for the brain. It was a good few days off, and now I am very excited to be training again.

sick and racing?

2007-08-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

As an athlete you are always on that edge. On the edge of injury and illness and not only am I always on the edge, I am also in denial. This weeks training started really well, until I started getting the post nasal drip sore throat. Of course I told myself it was due to allergies and I was fine to keep going, until Friday night when I couldn't turn my head cause my glands where so swollen it was making my entire neck sore. Not to mention I thought I was swallowing glass.

By the time I had come to terms with being "sick" I was already in Rutland, Vt. getting ready for my roller ski race. I did end up racing...I know very bad idea...but once the race was done I started resting; I spent the rest of the weekend reading Harry Potter and sleeping.

Training is going very well, the race went well even though I was a little under the weather. It was a mass start and my plan was to fall behind whom ever wanted to lead the race out, and draft off of them until the final two K. The problem was at the start we had a 200m controlled start and I was already in front! Something about putting that number on just makes me feel so good!

Here is the link to NENSA news on the story of the race:

http://www.nensa.net/news/news_more.php?id=2174

Roller-ski race photos

2007-07-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

Katrina Howe in Second and Danielle Baron in 3rd
1.5k...or 2k from the finish

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

2007-07-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

A fancy way of saying I have overuse/overload symptoms in my knee. My knees hurt and crack like no other right now...at night when I sneak down the stairs for a glass of water (or a bowl of cereal) when all else is quite, you can hear my knees crackle, they are so loud sometimes I am worried it will wake everyone in the neighbor hood up.

I decided this pain, and cracking was becoming a serious issue and decided to go and see our physical therapists, there is hope at the end of the tunnel, with lots of stretching, ice, taping and orthotics...not to mention rest (rest for me means I will do everything besides running for the next six weeks). I am very bummed about not being able to run, means I will miss my camp at the Olympic Training Center at the end of this month, I have been looking forward to going to this camp all summer long!

On a good note, I will be biking and roller-skiing up a storm, I still have the best days of summer ahead of me. Talking about roller-skiing, I did my first roller-ski race this past weekend. The first of the NENSA roller ski race series in New Durham, NH. The course was GREAT, very tough with a few hills at 12%, I had a great time, got in a very good workout and got to take home a Blue Berry pie...it was the BEST pie I have ever had in my life!

McDonald's...WHAT!?

2007-07-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

I can say I haven't been to McDonald's in YEARS, and I was planning on keeping it that way for the rest of my life! Until this past Tuesday.
Last week Wednesday I left Vermont for PA, Josh had Elite Nationals and I wanted to go and help out his team, along with get some good training on the "mountain" there (It's really a small hill). I have to say you would think PA is FLAT, but I was very wrong. The condo that we stayed at was almost at the base of the "mountain" which was after a steady seven mile climb. Everyday for training I would get a ride down this 7 miles and roller ski back to the condo for another ride down to the bottom to start round two. It was a very tough week to say the least, I was very excited my last time up the hill, very excited not to be skating my way up that 7 mile climb to seven springs, knowing the fallowing day would be a nice long rolling day on the trails and finally the big race.
My roller skiing in PA was adventurous to say the least, there were a lot of elite level athletes there that just soaked it all in, cheered me on during the way up, some even pacing me when the climbs got so steep that biking wasn't faster. Than we had our locals who would have ran me off the road if they could have, one guy asked me if I needed help.
Let me paint you a picture of this man, he had a rusty white Ford SUV, so fat that he didn't have a chin, and he was asking ME if I needed help...if he wasn't so big and in a car I would have told him he should worry about himself first, but what can you do, there is always harassment on the road when you are biking, running and especially roller skiing.
After this great weekend of racing, Josh's team is now the best non-pro team on the UCI rankings. Josh and his teammates did REALLY well, it was very impressive to watch him and his team in action, they covered every move, worked together really well. They made a plan and they stuck with it...I know I was impressed.
Once the racing and my training week was done it was time to head home...problem being we were hungry ever two hours, and in the morning for some reason it's worse for me. I get so hungry sometimes that I feel sick. So we had to stop...we ended up stopping at McDonald's...very sad I know. But let me tell you a little about what I had: the Egg McMuffin;
a crazy idea—a breakfast sandwich. Consisting of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, with a slice of cheese (American cheese is really plastic) and a slice of grilled Canadian bacon (grilled, what are we kidding? it was microwaved). Served on a toasted English Muffin. It was the best thing I could get, it took me awhile to take the first bite; I couldn't get over the idea of the egg being cooked and shipped all over the country...how old was this egg? and this shape...I wonder if it's real? In the end I ate it, and it seemed real...I can only hope that I never have to go back there again. My McDonalds strike has to start all over again!

The rath of Mt. Washington!

2007-07-09T12:34:00.001-07:00

Oh how beautiful the White Mountain Range is! This past weekend we went to Jackson, NH for the Mt. Washington Auto road hill climb. Josh and his teammate Todd were going to race but unfortunately the race was postponed on Saturday until Sunday, and than Sunday morning it was cancelled. My dad and I however still got in some good running on some very nice rolling terrain. All the hill climbing and descending left my dad and I a little sore, so we went to some falls to sit in the freezing rushing water.
For the first time ever I did a "Vermonters" strength workout, once stuck in NH I had to find a way to get my training done, with no gym I ended up doing my strength workout in the rain on a porch with logs of wood. I found myself to be very sore once I was done, either I am not working as hard in the gym or my logs of wood were heavier than my weights.

Above you can see some pictures at the falls and a really cool looking moth that my dad found.

Sad that the race was cancelled, but the four of us still had a really good weekend with lots of fun down time and great food.

95 degrees...HOT!

2007-06-26T08:45:00.001-07:00

Summer is here, we have lots of sun and 95 degree heat, which means it's time to drink a lot of Cliff Shot! This is a huge change from Saturdays weather, I woke up Saturday morning to a brisk 54 degrees. The cooler weather however made my training session much more enjoyable, and Saturdays training was something I had been looking forward to all week. I started my run at 7:30 in the morning, ran from Bolton to Waterbury and back, to meet with my dad, together my dad and I ran up Bolton.
For a few years now my dad and I have been battling it out at Bolton, my dad however trains to race up Bolton as where I train to race in the winter. This was the first Bolton climb of the season for the both of us, we both did really well and ran the entire way. The first climb of the year is always a little bit daunting, and usually makes you feel defeated. Nothing gets to me more than having to walk during one of my "runs".
As for Josh, he is racing really well and getting ready for some really big races. Here is a post about a race he did last week, you can check out other posts at this website: http://www.rigoniusa.com/team/blog/email.shtml

"Dillon Wins Housatonic Classic Road Race, June 17
Josh Dillon was determined to make Sunday’s race the second team win in a row, and he bided his time before putting in a powerful race-winning attack on the final climb. The plan for the 80 mile race was be attentive at the front to make sure nothing escaped without representation from the team. Will Rifflemacher and Todd Nordblom were the most aggressive riders for Fiordifrutta, but despite numerous attempts a break would not succeed on the day.
In the final downhill miles before the finishing climb, Rifflemacher pushed a group to a small advantage, but the race came back together and Josh Lipka hit the front to bring Dillon into the finishing climb. Once the climb began, Dillon immediately attacked solo, while Marzot and Driscoll marked the chasing group. Dillon stayed away for a solo victory, with Driscoll sprinting in for 2nd and Marzot in 4th. It was a dominating performance for Fiordifrutta with 3 other riders in the top twenty as well: Brooks-12th, Peck-15th, Rifflemacher-18th."

Tired? Me? NEVER!

2007-06-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when you feel that you might be over training just a little bit? Rest maybe, just a little, just to see how it feels!
ahhhhh...who needs rest when there is all this sun and warm weather. Saturday I got out to Catamount for a nice long run before heading out on the boat for the day....it was an amazing day on the boat, with lots of time in the water. Sunday I got up early, ran an hour before doing a fathers day 5k race with my dad....my dad (51 years old) is still really fast...he beat me. This is when I am reminded that even though I am tired, and sometimes worry that I might be over training that I better work on the training a little harder.

A few pictures from Oregon

2007-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Josh Dillon, who had a few great races in Oregon
my ski trail after a few days at 80 degrees on the mountain

The Beginning of 2008

2007-06-12T07:37:00.000-07:00

One month into my 2008 season, training is going very well; doing a lot of running, mt. biking and of course roller skiing. I just got back from Hood River, Oregon where I got some good summer skiing in, not to mention a great tan and summer highlights.
Some of my summer training adventures that I am looking forward to are all of my mt. bike races, and getting in some good training hours with Catlin Compton. This past weekend I finished off my training week with a Root 66 mt. bike race, not bad 4th place overall (since overall is really the ONLY result that matters). This race got me quite excited to continue with the mt. bike racing scene, though tonight I have my 5k Catamount run and my legs still feel a little heavy.