Thanksgiving camp was a bit different this year. Rather than being on snow in West Yellowstone with my Crosscut teammates, I stayed in Houghton and did my own training camp. The plan for the week was to start out with bigger hours, and taper down a bit to feel good for a time trial during the weekend. Saturday started out with a classic rollerski L3 session. I could only use the lower part of the climb since the upper part was getting icy. The afternoon brought on the challenges of staying warm while doing a hike-a-bike through ice puddles. Even though the ride was off-road, I wore my high-viz vest to stay clearly visible, since Saturday was the opening day of deer hunting season!

One of the river crossings during my off-road adventure ride.

Sunday was a pure distance day – more rollerskiing. I also took the break from classes as an opportunity to relax and watch a movie… while pedaling on my bike trainer. Monday – another intensity session, this time on the bike since it started snowing! Paired with the intensity was a lift and swim.

Full of hope and excitement from the falling snowflakes the night before, on Tuesday, I attempted to ski. After seeing pictures from friends out in Yellowstone, the grass and rocks poking through the light dusting of snow did not do great things for my mood. Lucky for me, when I got on Facetime to do a core workout with my teammate out in Bozeman, another teammate made a surprise guest appearance, and made my day!

The best trail conditions during Thanksgiving break.

Wednesday brought my final day of intensity prior to my time trial. When making the plan for the week, my coach and I had hoped that there would be enough snow for intervals – instead, I was back on the bike. To keep the stoke levels high, I put on world cup videos from last season. Despite pedaling in one place for almost 2 hours, this was one of my best workouts of the year. I was also laser-focused during my swim later that afternoon and ended up having one of the best training days I’ve had in months.

Intervals with a view and some external motivation.

On Thanksgiving day I got up early to do a long bike ride. Since it wasn’t actively precipitating and I didn’t need to do any intensity, I decided to try going outside again. Learning from my chilly toes on Saturday, I layered up, but maybe overdid it a little bit, turning my bars into a storage closet for all my extra layers. I also have to admit that when I first got my new helmet a few weeks ago, I thought the adjustable vents were a little silly, but I definitely used them during the ride to help control temperature as we went from low-speed climbs to high-windchill descents.

Overdressed but happy to have warm toes, and hopeful that I can swap out my helmet for some poles and skis soon.

With no class work, and lower training hours on Friday, I took some time to start making Christmas presents. This year, I’m trying to make as many gifts as possible by upcycling things that would otherwise be thrown away. My favorite project so far was using a glass cutter to turn my roommates’ favorite wine/beer bottles into candles.

Using my ski glasses as impromptu safety glasses when cutting glass bottles.

On Saturday I got the chance to throw down some power on the ski erg. Rather than doing a longer time trial, I decided to do a series of sprints while working on mental imagery and toughness during a simulated race effort. For each sprint, I picked a course I had raced on before and adjusted the resistance on the ski erg during the sprint based on that course’s terrain. Doing so kept the focus dialed in and the intensity high. Finally, I ended the week with a bike tour of the Keweenaw. Better dressed this time, I stopped to take in the sunrise at my favorite spot.

Although it wasn’t very social or the snowiest break, I made the most of it. I used to dread training on my own, but I learned a lot over this camp and have much more confidence in my ability to train well without the help of teammates constantly pushing me.

Sunrise on Lake Superior.