Simi Hamilton posted this video on twitter. Super sweet. Click on the link below to check it out…

http://www.vidtweeter.com/channel/simihamilton/nozbr

Andy Newell was 3rd in today’s sprint in Drammen! 3rd is impressive in a normal World Cup but Drammen is one of the most competitive fields on the World Cup. As Kikkan Randall said on twitter  it’s “pretty much like the superbowl of XC ski racing.”

Super psyched back here in Utah!!!  Congrats Andy!

I am shocked. Yesterday we witnessed the first ever Nordic Combined Olympic Gold Medal. It was awesome! I can’t even put into words how inspired and psyched I am by Billy, Johnny, and the entire NC crew.

Now for the shocking part… a total of 6 comments. Only 6 positive comments on yesterday’s nordic combined articles. Throughout the Games there have been more negative comments than I can even count. None of which offered constructive criticism. Then yesterday we witnessed the biggest event for nordic skiing in the past 30 years and only 6 positive comments.

Here we are at the much anticipated 2010 Olympic Games. As you head into this ever so important week(s) of racing remember…

We all ski race because it is fun and we love it- no matter what the venue.

So, go out there and do what you love. Ski with heart and have fun.

photos from Teamtoday.org

Friday and Saturday 650 racers hit trails at Soldier Hollow for the Super JOQ! I am still not completely healthy so I went out to cheer. I think I need some more practice with the camera but here are a few shots that actually have skiers in them…

Caitlin Compton jumped in the race as a final tune up before the Canmore World Cups and Olympics!

The Utes also came out for the races. Zoe Roy leads some fast juniors up the hill.

The highlight of my day was the massive amount of kids out on the trails. I think there were almost a hundred kids in each category! Pretty awesome! Here is a link to the results from the weekend. http://summittiming.com/races/race_results.php

It was exciting to watch the juniors duke it out in the mass start races. It looked so fun and got me even more fired up to race! But for now patience and  recovery is still the name of the game.

The past few weeks I have been in Park City recovering from a recurrent case of mono (a CT showed I didn’t have a sinus infection). I am finally getting back on snow but taking it pretty slow. I am hoping to be ready for the Canmore World Cup but in the meantime I was able to check out a different World Cup….

Last weekend there were 3 Freestyle World Cups at Deer Valley. It was awesome!!! The energy from the 5,000 spectators, bright lights and loud music was incredible. I went to the Freestyle World Cups all three nights because of the atmosphere. Don’t get me wrong, the skiing was cool too but it was just fun to be there. Wouldn’t it be awesome if some of the street sprints, supertours and nationals could have sound systems and night events that would draw huge crowds?!

say nothing at all. That is the adage that has kept me from posting for the past month. No one really wants to read about my strange illness. Well, until I left U.S. Nationals. Yup, I left U.S. Nationals after one race.

Let me give you the run down. Sometime between the Bozeman and Silver Star Supertours I started feeling sick. I rested and rested and felt the same everyday. So, I went to the doc and got antibiotics for a sinus infection. They seemed to help a little bit and so I raced in the classic sprints in Canmore. Everyone warned me that racing on antibiotics would feel crappy. They were right! But I was there to get in the hard efforts and I accomplished that. The bad part was my sinus infection didn’t go away. So I returned to Park City for Christmas and started a second course of antibiotics.

By this point U.S. Nationals were about 10 days away and I began convincing myself that they were working. (Along with trying a netti pot thing, hot steam, hydration, tons of sleep, everything). I think I was actually feeling better that or I am really good at tricking myself because I really thought I was feeling better.

The second course of antibiotics ended the day I flew to Anchorage. The next few days I felt kind of crappy but with important races on the line pretended I felt great. Well, you can only convince yourself of so much… my body felt terrible in the skate sprint. It was time to face reality. I was still sick and racing was only going to make things worse. So, I saw our team doc and got a third more powerful course of antibiotics.

Now, I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but I try to learn from my mistakes. In Canmore, I raced on antibiotics and it was terrible and I left still sick. So this time I packed my bags and my 2010 Olympic dreams, got on a plane, and returned to Park City to get healthy.

I may have left U.S. Nationals before the racing was over but I did not leave because I gave up. I left because I am not giving up on the rest of the season.

1. Get out and Ski!

2. Train smart - Save the speedy skiing for the races and keep the distance skiing easy (especially if you are coming from sea level!)

3. Rest well

4. Keep moving in the tracks.

5. Go with the flow - It really helps minimize chaos if you go in the correct direction on the trail. It is impossible to always go forward if you are doing technique drills, speeds or video but when going the wrong way try to stay to the side.

6. Ski with your head up!  - There are TONS of skiers out on the trails (which is awesome) but it is super important to always be looking around for waxers using speed traps, people doing intervals, and people going back and forth doing video, drills or speeds.

7. Hit the Expo - The expo is an awesome opportunity to meet new skiers, catch up with friends, and check out all the latest gear!

8. Wash your hands – especially after the expo!

9. Watch or compete in the races – The races begin on Wednesday with a classic spring prelim, Friday is a 10/15k skate and Saturday wraps it up with a 5/10k classic.

10. Hit Wild West Pizzeria  - and try to finish a calzone!

One of the best parts of being a cross country skier is spending time running, hiking and skiing in the woods. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of other awesome parts but over the past few months I have really missed being out in the mountains. This morning Lindsay Williams and I took advantage of some fresh snow (not enough to ski) and bright sunshine and went for a hike. The best part… nothing hurt!!!

Two hours uphill and we still weren't close to the top!

Over the past few weeks a lot of people have asked me why I am taking my recovery so slow. It’s true, the surgery is relatively simple. Interestingly, there is not a lot of research on the recovery. So, before and after surgery I spoke with many other skiers who have had surgery for compartment syndrome (there are quite a few these days) and a physical therapist. Many of the skiers told me that they wished they had taken their recovery a bit slower or thought that the return of their compartment syndrome may have been a result of doing too much too soon.

This was not what everyone said but it was said enough for me to play it safe. If being cautious for a few extra weeks now saves me from another trip to the orthopedic center later then I’m all for it!!! If not, at least I can say I did everything I could.