The California Crew

First of all, this is officially the first post I've ever made on the Williams blog- better late than never?

The California crew has had a fabulous last couple of weeks out here in Truckee- we've had a couple big volume weeks as well as an intensity week and of course the ever important recovery weeks. Between workouts, Casey has actually been working, I have been thinking about working, and I have no idea what Phil has been up to. Most of the time, we are hanging out on the docks on Donner Lake, working on our tans and going for a dip (now that my battle wound is healed, I am greatly enjoying every opportunity to swim). The three of us, along with a couple of friends, also hit up In N' Out Burger in Reno (best invention in the west) followed by Harry Potter and then we snuck into Horrible Bosses- totally worth the late night. I have also been religiously following the Tour de France and have no idea what to do with my day now that it is over...

Our latest adventure was this morning, when we hiked/ran up Mount Lola. About 45 minutes into the workout, we hit huge snow fields and preceded to slip and slide up the mountain. Just below the summit, we hit a huge, almost vertical, snow wall which could only be overcome by crawling on hands and knees, digging your fingers into the snow, praying you didn't slip. Andrea

(Bud's daughter) wasn't so fortunate and just below the top, slipped and pummeled all the way down, taking me out on the way (those Bates skiers have it in for me). However, once we reached the top (9143 feet), we were greeted by incredible views of the Sierra Nevadas. Phil and

Casey found a kite and kept themselves entertained for a good bit. On the way down, the snow fields offered plenty of opportunities to practice our glisading (sliding down on our feet) or sledding on our backsides, my preferred method. A wonderful morning hike to celebrate Andrea's birthday!!

I hope you all are enjoying the summer and looking forward to school and fall training!!

Pic 1: Casey flying his kite

Pic 2: The group enjoying the view

Pic 3: climbing up the snow wall

Truckee: Fourth of July

Casey and I have gotten tired of the humdrum life of nordic skiing in California, so we decided to indulge ourselves in a bit of alpine adventure to celebrate the birth of our great nation. Together with our friend Gretchen from Bates, we skinned/booted up the closed sugar bowl ski area to 'shred the powder.' It had been a year since both Casey and I had skied, and 5 or more since I'd owned alpine equipment, so Gretchen (Bozeman native) showed us up. Still, we managed to escape with our heads intact. Our survival closed out a strong weekend for the Williams team both on the snow, after our members took both the relay and individual titles in the first ever July Truckee sprints. Bud, trickster that he is, somehow lead us to believe we had earned a spot on the Ephs' sports page, but that achievement will have to wait until the actual winter.


















Casey and Gretch at the summit of sugar bowl


















Celebrating the fourth in style






















Casey skinning up in equally questionable regalia (gotta work on those tan lines)