I am excited to share some little life updates and goings-on so far this summer!
Training has been going well! Never too hot and not too cold! I’m in the middle of my biggest training week of the summer. By Saturday, I will have 25 hours of training this week. I am feeling better and stronger every day!
Spring/summer in Alaska is always interesting because one day you’re skiing and the next you’re riding your bike, sometimes both in the same week. Winter in Alaska hung around a little longer than usual, which meant I got to squeeze in a few more ski adventures before fully switching over to summer training.
The biggest addition to life this spring was welcoming a new puppy, Tuuli, to the family! She’s settled in so well with Tika and Tiny, the three of them are perfect for each other!
The highlight of the end of snow season was skiing from Arctic Valley to Indian Valley. After estimating four or five hours, it ended up taking nine and a half. We covered 30 km, stopped halfway for prosciutto and cheese, and eventually made it to the end. Maybe wasn’t the day we expected when we set out, but those are often the ones that end up being the most memorable.
A few days later my dad and I flew out to a friend’s glacier cabin with freshly groomed cross-country ski trails. It was my first time skiing on a glacier. I loved being surrounded entirely by mountains and nature with no one else around. This was by far the one of the prettiest places I have skied.
I finally put the skis away on May 27th, the latest I’ve ever skied in a season. Tiny came along for one last outing and spent most of the day searching for marmots. She almost caught one!
Since then I’ve been spending a lot more time on the bike. I’ve been trying to be intentional about making time for the things that only happen during an Alaskan summer. Training is always the priority, but the season is short enough that it feels silly to spend all of it waiting for the “perfect” day.
That has meant evening rides with wildflowers tucked into my jersey, hammocks on the beach with friends after training, a trip to Talkeetna for live music and a very cold lake swim, celebrating Midsommar, and taking every chance I can to get into the mountains with the dogs. Summer has been slow to arrive up high, so there’s still plenty of snow around, but I don’t mind.
Thank you for following along.
I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who makes this journey possible. Whether you’ve supported me through a sponsorship, a donation, a place to stay, encouragement at races, or simply by following along, thank you. It all means more than you know.
A special thank you to my sponsors: Taku Engineering, Lang & Associates, Weka Tactical, Hydrate Alaska, Helly Hansen, and Max Borskey Sport. Your support allows me to keep training, racing, and chasing this dream.
Now the focus shifts toward the rest of the summer. There are races coming up in the fall, lots of training still to do, and hopefully plenty more mountain days in between.
