Corey Escapes to Cool Alaska

Here is a great report and photos from Corey, who escaped to Alaska just in time to miss the heat wave!

I’m in Alaska training with the US Ski Team and it is truly AWESOME here! I am training with the five USST women, the two Canadian Ski Team women, and for most of our workouts we also join up with the elite Alaska Pacific University (APU) skiers. I am in a condo with Ida Sargent and Jessie Diggins!! All of the girls are super nice. Alaska is also amazing! Everywhere that we go there are gorgeous views. Throughout Anchorage there are paved bike paths with great pavement to ski on. Here are some photos from what we’ve been doing so far. We did some great DP intervals – these girls are FAST!

The first three women in this photo are Kikkan Randall, Ida Sargent, and Liz Stephen (all USST members)!
It is really cool to ski with these girls and try and mimic their techniques.
 
Another day we skied a distance DP along the coastline. There were mountains on one side of us and the ocean on the other! We have a huge group of women here training together which is so beneficial for everyone. I am much younger than almost all of them and it is inspiring to look up to them and see what they have done to get to where they are now.

Here are a bunch of us on the distance DP. (I’m towards the back in the green shorts, following Sadie Bjornsen!)

Here I am skiing with Chandra Crawford from the Canadian Ski team (she won a gold in the 2006 Olympics!), Perrianne Jones (Canadian Ski Team), Jessie Diggins (USST), and Sophie Caldwell!

Another cool photo of the huge group of girls on the DP.

On one of the afternoons we went on a run above the tree line! We could see across all of Anchorage. Here is a view to the mountains across the Turnagain Arm!

Those are a little bigger than Mt. Weston.

Another morning we did skate intervals.

Here is the front group finishing up with a sprint to end one of the ten minute intervals. Kikkan Randall is leading the pack.

Here I am feeling the pain!

At the end of the intervals Kikkan gave us these sweet sweatshirts that she made for us!

From left to right: Kikkan Randall (USST), Jessie Diggins (USST), Chandra Crawford (Canadian Ski Team), Sophie Caldwell (Dartmouth), Kinsey Loan (APU), Rosie Brennan (APU), Sadie Bjornsen (USST), Celia Haering (APU), Ida Sargent (USST), Perianne Jones (Canadian Ski Team), Rebecca Rorabaugh (APU), Me, Holly Brooks (APU), Liz Stephen (USST). It is really cool getting to know these girls!

Next week we are going to the glacier!!

Corey