"Perfectly Groomed Trails To Ski On Every Day" By Hannah Rudd

Posted by Hannah Rudd on Dec 11th 2020

"Perfectly Groomed Trails To Ski On Every Day" By Hannah Rudd

Hello Hello!!I hope that this week’s SkiPost finds you all happy, healthy, and ready for the ski season to begin! This past month has been quite exciting and busy for me with a training camp in West Yellowstone, and some time-trials against other athletes in our region. We were so lucky to have perfectly groomed trails to ski on every day.

I took this week as an opportunity to work on technique and to focus on transferring over all of the things I’ve been working on while rollerskiing to snow. Since we had such nice tracks, I tried to make some improvements in my classic technique. I was working on quickening my tempo during steep hills and transitions, getting full weight transfer, and having a relaxed, pendulum-like arm swing when striding. To help me make these improvements, and to get more comfortable on snow, we did a decent amount of no-pole and one-pole striding.

(Working on the fundamentals)

Along with logging a lot of K’s and working on technique, our team was able to do two time-trials against other teams in the west. On Wednesday we did a skate sprint simulation, and on Saturday we had a 10k skate. These TT’s did not feel amazing for me, as I felt like I couldn’t push myself super hard and didn’t have my full racing legs under me yet. Although I didn’t feel super-fast, I was able to learn about what I needed incorporate into my training for next few weeks (some more L4 and speed work) and I was able to get some solid intensity and experience under my belt before the season really gets rolling. All in all, it was SO nice to put a bib back on again and made me excited for the season to come (whatever it might look like).

After our camp was over, our team headed back to Bozeman for a recovery week and some intensity before we head out to Sun Valley for some more time-trials. I was able to get a little backcountry skiing in as well!

(Bliz Matrix- Perfect for both Nordic and backcountry skiing!)
Now for some fun stuff…

As winter rolls in, schedules get full, work is busy, and ski season kicks off, it’s so easy to get lazy when it comes to cooking and fueling yourself well. I’m hoping I’m not alone when I say that I do not enjoy cooking a nutritious dinner for myself after a long day of multiple training sessions and lots of work. Although it’s not always what I want to be doing, cooking and eating healthy, nutrient filled meals can make such a difference in how my body feels while skiing. Knowing how important the aspect of food/fuel is to the success of a skier, I figured I would share some of my go-to recipes with you all.

All of these recipes are simple, easy, and quick- so you can make them in between training sessions, after a long day of work, or before the start of a big volume block.

Gear Up GranolaMy favorite homemade granola recipe- hearty, naturally sweetened, peanut-buttery and so easy to make. Perfect fuel before any training session. (Recipe by Mama Rudd)

Ingredients:

For the Sauce:

1 ¼ Cup Honey

2/3 Cup Coconut oil

1 Cup Peanut butter

1 tsp. Salt

1 Tbs. Cinnamon

½ Cup Water

Dry ingredients:

10 cups rolled oats

1 cup wheatgerm

1 cup flax meal

2 cups chopped walnuts

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup almonds or craisins (optional)

Directions:Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and stir over low heat for 5 minutes. Pour liquid over dry ingredients and mix well. Place mixture on a baking sheet and bake for 30-45 Minutes at 350 degrees. Stir granola every 15 minutes. When the granola is done baking, add in the raisons or raisins.

Post-Workout Blender Muffins

Ready in mere minutes, these muffins are moist, flavorful, and a perfect post-workout snack. Quite possibly the easiest thing you could ever bake.

Ingredients:

2 Ripe bananas

2 eggs

1 Cup peanut butter

½ teaspoon Baking soda

½ teaspoon vanilla

3 Tbs Maple syrup

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a blender for 30 seconds. Pour into muffin tins and bake at 400 for 11-15 minutes.

Superfoods SoupThis soup is from the “Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow.” book and is SO good. This delicious, nutrient filled soup is one of my favorite dinners after a long, cold afternoon training session. Make a big pot before the start of a volume block and you will have meals for the entire week.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp.

extra-virgin olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

2 tsp. fine sea salt

2 tbsp. curry powder

1 sweet potato (yam), cut 1/2-inch dice

1 can (13.5 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1 c. chopped kale; stems removed

Juice of 1 lime

(Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow, 2018)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring continuously, for 30 seconds, being careful not to let the spices brown.

Add 5 cups water, sweet potato, coconut milk, tomatoes, and chickpeas to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the kale and simmer just until wilted. Turn off the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of the lime juice.

That’s all I have for now! Happy training and cooking!

-Hannah

(PS: To stay up to date on my season, check out my new website at: https://hannah-rudd.weebly.com/ )