Bend Camp Coming to an End

My month of training here in Bend is close to an end. I trained what will end up being around a tenth of my total hours of training this year during my three weeks here. 

I have had a great time here and my training has been very productive. It's weird for me to be away from home for so long though. I always feel a little anxious about being away for so long because of all my other obligations when in in Colorado.

On top of that, I haven't been able to see my wife Sarah for 6 weeks, which is a small amount of time in comparison to the winter, but regardless it is a long time. She did, however, make it to Bend for her birthday weekend this weekend so we had a great time.

The snow has been great, the training has been great and the company has been greater. 

I also had an article written by Fasterskier about the upcoming season:

http://fasterskier.com/article/ellefson-looks-to-build-on-world-cup-experience-in-olympic-year/

Great start to the season!

Best,

S

Crust skiing with the juniors

Biking up the valley

One of our juniors getting some air

Me and my good friend Trygve heading up the chair lift

Helping Matt build his patio. The least I could do for free living.

Post raft trip pictures with some old friends

Rising bikes with Sarah

Season Wrap and the Olympic Year

Hey all-

The last long overdue update you'll get from me.

Currently I am Bend, Oregon for my beginning of the season camp. This camp is designed to spark the season with some good, long, on-snow skiing sessions. Right now I am with the juniors from Ski and Snowboard Club Vail and my teammate Tad Elliott.

We have having a very constructive camp so far.

Last Season:

I was pleased but not fulfilled. That is the best way I could describe it. I had some great results and some other results I hadn't expected. I won some races and wasn't close in others so it was a very up-and-down season. 

I think the biggest thing was that I saw improvement in areas that I maybe hadn't expected to see improvement on such as my end of the season results.

A big thing for this upcoming year will be preparation for "big" races, which include most of my fall races into January when our Olympic Trials will be.

My results from 2012/2013 season:

08-04-2013	Tahoe	USA	US Super Tour	2 km F Pursuit Uphill	4	45.32
06-04-2013	Tahoe	USA	US Super Tour	SP 1 km C Qual	4	95.00
06-04-2013	Tahoe	USA	US Super Tour	SP 1 km C Final	11
05-04-2013	Tahoe	USA	US Super Tour	15 km C Mst	4	53.18
04-04-2013	Tahoe	USA	US Super Tour	3.1 km F	22	81.45
28-03-2013	Whistler Olympic Park	CAN	National Championships	SP 1.6 km C Qual	10	104.36
28-03-2013	Whistler Olympic Park	CAN	National Championships	SP 1.6 km C Final	26
26-03-2013	Whistler Olympic Park	CAN	National Championships	15 km C	5	44.08
24-03-2013	Whistler Olympic Park	CAN	National Championships	10 km F	4	38.55
23-02-2013	Hayward, WI	USA	Marathon Cup	52 km F Mst	16	52.39
10-02-2013	Aspen, CO	USA	US Super Tour	21 km F Mst	2	34.07
09-02-2013	Aspen, CO	USA	US Super Tour	10 km C	2	33.31
09-02-2013	Aspen, CO	USA	US Super Tour	SP 1 km C Qual	2	95.07
20-01-2013	Maloit Park	USA	FIS Race	15 km C Mst	1	32.42
19-01-2013	Maloit Park	USA	FIS Race	10 km F	1	32.42
08-01-2013	Midway, UT	USA	National Championships	SP 1 km F Qual	27	129.09
08-01-2013	Midway, UT	USA	National Championships	SP 1 km F Final	5
06-01-2013	Midway, UT	USA	National Championships	30 km C Mst	7	40.90
04-01-2013	Midway, UT	USA	National Championships	15 km F	19	73.79
02-01-2013	Midway, UT	USA	National Championships	SP 1 km C Final	22
02-01-2013	Midway, UT	USA	National Championships	SP 1 km C Qual	12	100.88
16-12-2012	Canmore	CAN	World Cup	Skiathlon 15/15 km C/F	DNF
15-12-2012	Canmore	CAN	Sprint Qualification	SP F Qual	63	116.41
15-12-2012	Canmore	CAN	World Cup	SP F Final	63
08-12-2012	Quebec	CAN	World Cup	SP F Final	57
08-12-2012	Quebec	CAN	Sprint Qualification	SP F Qual	57	82.18
07-12-2012	Quebec	CAN	World Cup	Team Sprint F	24
02-12-2012	Kuusamo	FIN	World Cup	26 km M	83
02-12-2012	Kuusamo	FIN	Stage World Cup	15 km C Pursuit	83	198.90
01-12-2012	Kuusamo	FIN	Stage World Cup	10 km F	88	79.34
30-11-2012	Kuusamo	FIN	Sprint Qualification	SP C Qual	74	91.46
30-11-2012	Kuusamo	FIN	Stage World Cup	SP C Final	74
24-11-2012	Gaellivare	SWE	World Cup	15 km F	76	75.43
18-11-2012	Muonio	FIN	FIS Race	15 km F	27	54.88
17-11-2012	Muonio	FIN	FIS Race	10 km C	43	53.45
16-11-2012	Muonio	FIN	FIS Race	SP 1.0 km C Qual	66	112.09

* I was also: 

- 1st in the Boulder Mountain Tour (32km skate) 

- 2nd in the Vail Mountain Games (10km skate)

- 1st at the Snow Mountain Stampede (30km skate) 

These races are unsanctioned events.

The Olympic Season:

Some people try to treat the Olympic year like any other training year. I've already found that its important to respect the fact that people treat it differently. Pressure affects people differently. I will obviously feel some pressure going into this coming year because I have put myself in the unique position of qualifying for the Olympics. Some pressure has always been good for me so I know when I will need to perform and will put some pressure on myself to do so. Two years ago when I qualified for my first World Cups I had goals going into the season of being on the podium at all the early season races. I knew what I had to do and with help from my amazing coaches, my skis, and support, I was able to get those start rights. I will have the same approach coming into this season and hopefully it works out the same way.

Some links for your interest:

My Blog: http://in-the-arena-sylvan.blogspot.com/

My Twitter: www.twitter.com/sylvanellefson

My YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sylvanellefson

If you ever have a question about funding or donations please let me know.

Hope you are all well!

Back to Bend

The past two weeks I have been in Bend, OR. We come to this camp every year to "spark" the new training year. 

I came in May to train with the US Ski Team and it was a very enjoyable, worthwhile camp to come to. While the weather wasn't great, this camp provided me the opportunity to ski with some of the best nordic skiers in the country.

The US Ski Team left and now I will be here for another 2.5 weeks to have even more time on snow before I spend the rest of the season on dry land.

Earlier in the week I headed to a bar in town and watched Ben True's 5000m Diamond League race in which he placed 4th. Pretty cool to watch a buddy and former competitor on the big screen.

I also was fortunate enough to have some friends who work at Nike and invited me to the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, OR this past weekend. It was such a fun event and I got to see what all goes into putting on such a big event. Pretty amazing the amount of product that is sold and promoted at these events. 

I am back in Bend now and will be training with my head down for the next couple of weeks. It'll be nice to get some good solid base hours of training in before the season really starts.

Hope all is well!

Best, 

S

Mesa Verde with the 4th Grade

I went to Mesa Verde and the Great Sand Dunes with my 4th grade classroom this past week and had a blast. It was so nice to spend time outside of classroom with these kids to see what they were like as individuals outside of being a 4th grader.

I feel like in this case pictures speak greater than words, so this will be be my first photoblog.

Ben True

Ben True. An amazing running specimen.

I have had the opportunity to follow my ITA teammate's running progress since we graduated from college through Facebook, Twitter, and Google Searches.

A good friend of my dad asked me three years ago, first, if I knew Ben True, and second, if I wanted to be put on his email list for track and field results. It was the best mass email I have ever signed up for. Never have I seen such a following of a track star that he, even, isn't aware of.

I met Ben in college while he was attending Dartmouth and I was attending Bates College. Ben was consistently beating me my freshman year (he was a sophomore) despite racing on the sidewalls of his skis, which our mutual friend, Roger Knight, always joked about. Bottom line, whatever went on his feet, he was gonna make it work and make you look slow. I will still never forget the first race I beat Ben. Please see below for proof. I was ecstatic to say the least.

We kept battling it out for years after. Then he took a break from skiing my junior year and I think I was one of his greatest decisions. While we missed the competition and him helping push the eastern skiing and college skiing scene as a whole, it was probably one of the best decisions he ever made (I don't actually know that, just a hunch).

Our senior year Ben retired from skiing and while I was sad he wasn't continuing, I knew the road he was about to take was going to be a great one. He also gave me all of his old skis, which I wasn't going to complain about.

It has been a privilege to see Ben's successes over the past couple of years. I will honestly say that when things feel tough for me, I look at the perseverance he has, and try to embrace my inner Ben.

I look up to him.

This coming season will be the most important in my Nordic skiing career. I am excited for the road ahead no matter how it turns out. But you can assure I will be pushing as hard as Ben did on those sidewalls all those years back.

Back Countey

I headed into the back country this past weekend and got back late last night!

I had a great time with some old buddies doing some skiing and hanging out around a cabin fireplace. We had great weather. I'll be further updating this blog when I get back to my computer and get some photos up from my camera.

Back to the classroom as well and I'm so excited about that. I'm also setting up a running club for the 4th and 5th grade boys at the elementary school where I work because there is already a girls program in place. I'm calling it "Fit and Fast Boys." Sounds like the boys are ready to do some running!

More to come! Check back this afternoon!

S

California Dreaming

The past two weeks I have been in Canada and California. I arrived in California on the 29th and have had an amazing time since. I don't often get to visit much with friends during the ski season. It's usually quick coffee meet-ups.

This is my favorite time of the season because its when I really get to enjoy ski racing and be with good friends and teammates.

Super Tour Finals in California brings in the best skiers in America: college skiers, SuperTour skiers and the top juniors. It's always interesting to see who has held into their fitness or who has been holding into their "peak" for these races.

Our races have been:

3.2k Prologue
15k Classic Mass Start
1.3k Classic Sprint
6km Skate Hill Climb
50km Classic Mass Start

Tomorrow we have our hill climb and should be one of the toughest races of the week. Pretty excited to be starting 6th in a field of very talented skiers. I'm hoping to hold onto this spot through our pursuit start.

Both of my ITA teammates Torin and Brian will be racing.

Some pictures from the week.