If you’re a regular to the blog, you may know that I started a cold tolerance experiment a few weeks ago. Here are some quick preliminary results. Single digits in Anchorage this morning Largely, I don’t feel more cold tolerant. The end. Okay but actually I do think I’ve noticed a small change in my mindset, which is a small win. My aversion to cold has always resulted in tensing up, stressing, and putting on tons of clothes to avoid the feeling. This experiment has prompted

Alaska is notorious for long, dark, cold winters. Right now, sunrise is around 8:40am and sunset is around 4:45pm. It could be worse, but it’s definitely getting real. The darkness gets to me sometimes, but I don’t mind it too much and actually love the winters here. Here are the things that make the biggest difference on the daily for me, and hopefully they can help you too.  Exercise outside The more I don’t want to, the worse the weather, the bigger “pay off” I feel when i

Ah, everyone’s favorite question. Are you trying to qualify for the OLYMPICS this winter? The answer is: of course. But here is the long-winded version of the answer, addressing some frequently asked questions. Have you always dreamed of becoming an Olympian? No. I have never dreamed of becoming an Olympian, because it has always seemed like such an incredibly far-fetched scenario. I’ve enjoyed every step of my ski journey and have been pleasantly surprised every time I’ve im

Hi. As some of you may know, I have a hard time racing in cold conditions. This might sound crazy as a winter sport athlete, but as you can probably imagine, there is a range of experience between racing in 40 degree springtime slush versus -4 degree early season styrofoam. I tend to struggle below 10 degrees, and really thrive above 30. Almost all of my best races have occurred in relatively warm weather.  Letting my eyes thaw after a cold race When I get too cold in a race,

Hello! Welcome back to the blog. I'm back to regular summer training these days, but with an exciting addition to the schedule: glacier...