After the last race of every season I always think my summer is going to be so long and there is going to be all this time to go places and do fun things, but come now mid July, I wonder where all my time went. I have 2 more weeks of summer before I head to New Zealand for our first ski camp, and I feel like my summer just started. Where did all that time go?….

After I finished my spring activities of testing skis, going to the Monaco Grand Prix, and backcountry skiing, I decided it was time to start hitting the gym with my workout partner and friend AJ Avrin (hopefully my racing protégé). I’ve normally worked out by myself in the summer because I felt like it was easier to get through the workouts and get on with my day. But this year I felt like I wanted/needed to be pushed a little harder, and that’s where AJ has come in. He’s probably the most athletic kid I know, especially when the sport involves a ball. (Unfortunately for him ski racing doesn’t not…it involves two.) On a typical workout day we mountain bike to the gym, play a game or 2 of one-on-one basketball which AJ almost always wins, then do our workout whether it be a lower, core or anaerobic workout (=puke workout). In the afternoons we mix it up with mtn. biking, basketball, tennis, etc. We mix in some sprint workouts on the track as well. All said and done we spend about 5-6 hrs working out.

The only week I haven’t been in the gym is the week I spent up in Mt. Hood. I’ve been coaching a camp in Mt. Hood for the last 4 years. It’s a lot of fun coaching kids but it wears you out, with 5:30 wake up calls, then doing dryland and whatnot with the kids in the afternoon. This year we had about 50 kids/campers ranging in age from 8-79. I ski the courses with the kids and sometimes they get the treat of running my course sets. This year Phil Mahre came down for a couple days, which was cool, though I’m not sure the kids really got how much he kicked ass in his day. One of the things the sets our camp above the rest besides our awesome coaches, is Mustache Mondays, in which I draw mustaches on all the kids that will let me, and they get to draw one on me too. Outside of the camp, Shred Optics, my company, has a big presence in Hood so I did a couple signings at the local shops (Fuxi’s and Speedy’s) that carry the product. Tons of kids showed up. I signed everything from posters to shoes to foreheads even gave out a few more Sharpie mustaches.

In addition to working out and Hood, I moved into my new house in Park City, which is awesome but has been quite the project. I decided I wanted to build a flat area on my sloped backyard to play badminton and whatever else. Figuring it would be a couple day project and that all the dirt I dug would be the right amount to level off the down hill side. I rented an excavator and started digging Wrong! Two weeks and two huge full dumpsters later there’s still a ton (actually more like 20 tons) of dirt left. It’s been named the “Pit of Doom”. I’ve hired some Park City Ski Team kids to wheel the dirt out into the dumpsters in exchange for ski equipment. Good trade for both sides! Check them out in their spoof of Audi’s “Truth in Motion”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKXMFiPLE1A
Now I just need to build the retaining wall and lay the sand. (several tons worth..ugh).

This week the team has had a dryland camp, in which we’ve been playing 4 hours of hockey a day. Needless to say we are all extremely sore. (I haven’t skated in two years). We’ve been doing a bunch of drills, run by 2 coaches from the Salt Lake City hockey team. What we lack in skill we make up for in intensity, we all spend a good amount of time falling and sliding into the boards. Today was the big final hockey game. My team lost, in my opinion mostly do to a porous goalie, though Nolan Kasper’s speed was too much to over come. Now I’m off to continue work on the “Pit of Doom”.

Lata
-ted

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