Vermont Adventures and Fundraising Campaign Launched!
Even though my training week was a considered a recovery week, I was quite busy in all other aspects of life. Early this week I launched my RallyMe fundraising campaign for the season! Because I am a non-funded U.S. Ski Team athlete, I have to cover all of my training and racing expenses. Check out this link for the details, swag options, and how to donate!https://ussa.rallyme.com/rallies/1775/julia-kern-skiingAfter having an off day and an easy skate distance ski the following day, by Wednesday I was pretty well rested after a hard training camp. I joined T2 on their climb up Stratton Mountain. Some people did intervals, while others (me for example) went for an easy hike/ski walk up the mountain. The weather was gorgeous and we could feel fall coming just right around the corner! Thursday I joined SMS on a mountain bike ride, my second ever mountain bike ride in my life…and I must say I had a blast! I also was proud not to have crashed once, but maybe that means I wasn’t going hard enough. The ride ended with some cheese and crackers at the Ogden’s house.
I was really excited to do some L4 double pole intervals on Friday with Jessie, Sophie and Erika. Since I have been double poling quite a bit, it was a good chance for me to practice keeping my technique together while pushing really hard. Following the girls allowed me to see that I need to work on having a high tempo when I double pole because that was where I would fall back.The Peru Fair came around on Saturday, along with the traditional SMS Peru Fair workout. We all headed out for an OD (over distance…not over dose, which many non-skiers probably think). Our OD combo consisted of 1.5h of skating and 1.5h of running/hiking with some cliff jumping for those who wanted it. Once everyone completed the workout, we all headed to the Caldwell’s house for the traditional chili and cornbread lunch that Lilly makes so well! With our tummy’s full, we headed over to the Peru Fair to end the day.
Sunday was my off day so Lauren (my roommate and teammate) and I headed up to Burlington, VT to spend a day adventuring and enjoying the amazing weather and her 18th birthday! Church Street was super fun and I even ran into two people I knew! Between Church Street and Lake Champlain, we covered a ton of miles walking back and forth enjoying everything Burlington has to offer.
We stayed in a hostel overnight and headed home this morning after a good breakfast and some more walking. We made it just back in time for the double pole test. This was my first double pole test here at Stratton and I think it went pretty well. I am excited to do it again soon so that I can improve! Tonight we celebrated Lauren's 18th birthday with a wonderful family dinner and then later with the rest of the team.
Don’t forget to check out my RallyMe page!https://ussa.rallyme.com/rallies/1775/julia-kern-skiing-JKern