Not going to lie, walked into our hotel in Sapporo today after taking the train from Asahikawa and got real intimidated. It is the race hotel so almost all the other teams are staying here too. Not all the other teams were here yet, and I still got really intimidated.

And then we went skiing, and now I am not so freaked out by the situation. The intervals went great, despite the pesky coaches. I mean, really, Compton & I were the only athletes skiing at the race venue this afternoon and we had Justin, Justin & Pete with us. Pete video taped some of our intervals and Justin (Sports Physiologist) and Justin (Wadsworth, coach) took lactate. Finally, I escaped the high maintenance ski life and went off on my own for a cool down.

Almost immediately a fox jumped out onto the trail in front of me. Foxes are so adorable, it made me happy. And then it was gorgeous dusk in a snowy white birch forest with only the bamboo to remind me I wasn`t back home somewhere. The sky was rosy and the birches were making pretty black and white patterns against the snow. Even the lights of Sapporo down below us where looking scenic.

The think I am most excited about right now is a long solo distance ski exploring the trails tomorrow.