First Weeks in the Valley

A view of Mount Baldy from one of the bike/ski paths

Welcome to Sun Valley!

Basically life here renders me speechless.

The valley is training paradise, the community is welcoming, and SVSEF is just an incredible program.  I've only been here for two weeks yet I already feel as if I belong.  The group of college skiers that is here training for the summer is a solid one, and each day we have the opportunity to push each other and ourselves, whether in a L1 double pole workout, strength, or bounding up Dollar Mountain. It's taken me a bit to acclimate, but tomorrow marks two weeks since I arrived, and my morning heart rate has finally returned to normal.

Snowy run in the morning this week

So moving to Idaho is a bit of a culture shock, in case you were wondering. First off, I definitely notice my Minnesoootan accent more, but I try to wear it with pride. Ooh yaaa sure ya betchaa.

Second, there is no humidity, mosquitoes, ticks, or any of the other nuisances that you fight while training in the Midwest. The weather is virtually perfect. (Well, except for when it snowed on Wednesday but we'll forgive that little Mother-Nature-meltdown).

Finally, instead of rush hour traffic due to cars, rush hour traffic is caused by sheep. Yep, giant herds of BAAAAA-ing, bleating, fat, wooly, sheep. They're being herded up to the northern mountains, and the path they take is literally straight through the town of Ketchum (seriously, they use the bike paths). The first time I saw the sheep I legitimately didn't know how to handle it. Also, instead of using pesticides on noxious weeds, the neighborhoods hire a hoard of goats to come and eat them, because apparently goats have an appetite for poisonous vegetation. I don't know.  The animals are everywhere. It's crazy.

Along with all that, life here is awesome. When I'm not training (or napping, which I'm basically also a professional at) I work at a bookstore called Iconoclast Books, this adorable bookstore/cafe in Ketchum. If you're ever in the area, I highly suggest you stop in.  Major thanks go out to the Unser family (Johnny, Shauna, and Loni) for welcoming me into their home for the summer, and also, shoutout to my dad, George, for helping me move all the way out here.

I definitely miss the Midwest and the people in it, but I'm already in love with Sun Valley, and I'm so glad I took the leap to come out here. 

3.5 hour OD classic roll/run with the girls this morning, joined by Coach Deedra and Morgan Arritola!

The river runs right by our training facility, and is great for ice bathing.

The Grand Tetons! Oh, and the Uhaul

The story behind the Superman duct-tape

So I've had my fair share of equipment problems, as every skier will. During one workout toward the end of this past season, the side clip on my skate boot caught on my pole and snapped right off, so the support strap that leads across my foot was just hanging out flapping around in the wind, acting pretty useless.

My dad and I are both pretty stubborn.
We had differing opinions on the solution to the boot-astrophe.

Dad: "Well, does the boot work without the strap?"
Me [sassy]: "I mean yeahhh, it's just obnoxious and looks dumb." (Which it was, and did.)
Dad: "Okay well go buy a new boot then!"
Me: "Are you kidding me, do you realize how much these things cost?" (Ski equipment is NOT cheap people.)
Dad: "I'll pay for it."
Me: "That's ridiculous. I'll fix it with duct tape or something. Innovation at its finest."
Dad: "I don't want equipment malfunctioning to be the reason something goes wrong in a race. It's my money. I choose how I spend it. Go buy the boots."
Me: "I only  have like, 5 skate races left in the season, Dad. I'm not going to buy new boots for 5 races. I already had to buy a pair of boots this season anyway."
Dad: "Paige Elizabeth, just go buy the damn boots."
Me: "Ugh, fine, I'll figure it out, BYE."
("click", this was a phone conversation)

So.  Little sassy stubborn me heads off to Target to run some errands, and what do I stumble upon but the duct tape aisle. I don't know if you've ever bought duct tape at Target but oh my gosh they have like 15 different colors and patterns. It's so overwhelming.  So I pick up this awesome flowery roll and then I see the Superman duct tape.  And I think, well Superman is fierce, and flashy, and has attitude (cough, BeFAST), AND he's a superhero so he basically flies. Perfect for racing!

After proudly showing off the tape to my mother and heading off to ski for the afternoon, my dad calls.

Dad: "So did she go get the boots?"
Mom: "Well, she fixed the problem, that's for sure."
Dad: "Cool, how much did it cost me?"
Mom: ".... Only $12.50!"

Needless to say, Dad was a little skeptical that the tape would hold up in the snow and ice. But it did, and before each and every skate race I would wrap two layers of Superman tape around the arch of my boot to hold the strap down.  It quickly became my pre-race ritual and my lucky charm, and when I raced at NCAA's my entire family showed up in bright blue superman t-shirts to channel the luck.

As I order my boots for next season, I'm thinking of ways to keep the tape in the race, because although I'm hoping these boots are a bit sturdier, the tape IS my lucky charm...

Caution: sentimental feelings ahead

(Recommend reading to slightly sappy music, I'm a personal fan of "Welcome Home" by Radical Face)

Not gonna lie, the prospect of graduation is absolutely terrifying (fully deserved of bolded text). During the past four years, St. Olaf has become my rock. The people here are my family, the campus is my home, and skiing is what keeps me sane. Routines that are a result of my years here have slowly emerged: my favorite spots in the library, the roads I've pounded/skied/biked/crawled down day after day, grilled cheese sandwiches in the caf, taking over Cage tables and pretending to do homework while actually wasting time, malt nights after ski team dinners, Sunday morning Tandem bagels, soaking up sun on the quad, and spending far more time than I actually should down at Skoglund (the gym).

When you're a freshman, everyone tells you that college flies by, so you should enjoy every moment.  But nobody actually realizes just how fast it goes until there are only a few weeks left of senior year, and with the rest of our lives stretching ahead of us, the realization that what was supposedly the "best four years" are coming to a close hits fast and hard. We question if we did the "right" things with our time here. Did we make the right friends? Did we get involved in what we wanted to? Did we create the right statement, presence, or legacy for ourselves? Did we get the grades we wanted/achieve the athletic goals we set out for? Did we set ourselves up for the life we want once we leave? Did we go to Frog's enough?

Each and every one of us seniors is finding ourselves caught between nostalgia for what "was" and excitement for what "will be". We're left acknowledging (and sometimes regretting) our wrong choices and reminiscing on the right ones, but we're also bouncing on our toes in anticipation for this next big adventure in our lives. We'll finally be on our own and responsible for ourselves, out in the real world where daily decisions can actually affect us in the long run and food can't be found in a cafeteria with the mere swipe of an ID card.

Graduation is a bit like standing on the start line of a race. We have no idea what could happen in the next few minutes/days/months/years, but we know how much hard work we've put in to get here and what has shaped us to be resilient and ready. We're probably a little nervous, but mostly we're waiting for the gun to go off, the hats to fly, and our adventure to begin.

But basically, while making major life decisions seems absolutely horrifying (just like racing does sometimes), I think it's important to look at it as another exciting challenge. Leaving college and the life you've known for four years is intimidating, but it's also a chance to succeed and prove how much you have learned and grown in the past four years. It's a chance to surprise everyone, but most importantly, it's a chance to surprise yourself.

Challenge accepted.