We are winding down another camp in Hayward, WI. This week was speed block #2 for most of the team. We had lots of hard training and we are starting to feel pretty wiped out. This morning, Coach Igor’s wife, Nina Gavrilyuk, joined us for the big OO time trial. Nina is a 4 time Olympian from Russia. She has three Olympic gold medals, one Olympic bronze, 11 World Championship medals, and 37 world cup podium finishes. She also won the prestigious Holmenkollen race in 1996. It was fun just knowing she was out there. Yesterday, the CXC women’s team joined the Ski and Tea women of Hayward to meet Nina and watch her Bronze medal performance at the Lillehammer Olympics in Norway at Mooselips over coffee and tea. She had her Olympic medals with her and we got a chance to hold them, which was a first for me.
Tomorrow afternoon the whole CXC team will be out doing some work on the Birkie Trail that we love so much. If you are in the Hayward area, you should come to the OO trail head tomorrow and join us anytime between 12:00-5:00pm. After that I’m heading home to Marquette for some much needed rest…and a little work, school, and training. Photos from the Hayward Camp will be coming soon.