We are at the tail end of a 10 day training camp out here in Whistler.  The camp has been perfect, good weather and good training.  The objective was to get in some good intensity sessions at the olympic venue with the US ski team.  We accomplished that objective and also had some fun times.  In ten days we did a classic sprint, sprint relay, skate threshold, and a duathlon time trial.  There really is no substitute for doing quality intensity sessions with the best in our country.  It is a great way to evaluate strengths and weaknesses. 

The olympic venue is coming along.  For the first few days we rollerskied on the 3k loop on the biathlon side of the stadium.  About mid-week the course on the nordic side opened up.  We did quite a bit of rollerskiing on the access road to the venue, good rolling terrain.  When all the construction is complete the venue will be one of the best.  Not much can beat the scenery around here.

A few pictures -

  Warming up on the access road.

Like I said above, nothing beats the northwest for its scenery.  I am a big fan of the mountains and trees out here.  We took a gondola trip up Whistler Mt. to do some hiking yesterday.  After a 20 minute ride we hiked around the mountain tops and took a swim in a glacial lake.

Here is the biathlon lodge.  There are still a lot of dump trucks and heavy equipment around, but as far as I could tell the basics are all done - road, trails, buildings.