The Athletes Report- Vol. II

Today started out on a high note with pancakes made by Matt, Pete, and Kate. We topped them with nutella, strawberry jelly, pineapple, grapes, raspberries, kiwi, and bananas, along with a drizzle of yogurt (from a carton) on top. In a word they were… delectable. Dylan said he felt like he had eaten a chocolate bunny after his first pancake; they made for a bit of a heavy stomach I guess.

After breakfast we hung out on our porches to watch the loppet out on the trails we’ve been skiing on. We could see the last downhill before the finish from our windows and it’s been a little icy the past few days, which led to the discovery that euros fall too. Only sometimes though.

We ventured down to town this afternoon after lunch in hopes of finding a flea market. Despite the fact that two different sources told us it would be going on this afternoon until three, our search for the flea market ended when we finally asked a local and found out that it was a ten minute train ride from town, and that it ended at 2. So we went shopping instead. I think everyone was able to make some quality purchases, which should help us to develop our style into something a little more “euro fresh”.

We had a great ski under the lights this afternoon/evening and practiced our speed racer skills at starts and downhills. Our ski was followed by another delicious dinner complete with sugarcoated licorice and other little candies.

At this point I’ve been in Ostersund almost as many hours as it took me to get here. But the place is sweet. We’re looking forward to a little time trial tomorrow morning. -Stella

So that's the athlete report from the day! As always, everyone seems to be having a great time; if we want to find the crew, we have to look in each apartment because the whole team is always hanging out in one all at once. This afternoon our workout under the lights was really cool, we did some classic starts (and finish line lunges) and drop-ins to work on fast poling, and of course, tricky downhill turns!! Peter took a few good diggers but kept going back for more, as he was adamant that he would find a faster line! As excited as the kids are to race, I think they are already getting a little sad about leaving Ostersund on Tuesday.. it really has been an amazing time- I don't think you could ask for a better environment for a pre-race camp. And besides, last years' athletes have already been telling me how much better the food looks this time; who couldn't be happy about that!? -Matt