MY LIFE: 30

Where the heck did I go?  What am I up to?  Will you see me in West, why wasn't I in Placid...?  Haha, I am sure that no one is asking those questions, but just in case...

I have started a lululemon store!  It is a showroom (read, boutique) actually.  I am still living in Idaho and look forward to seeing lots of you at Spring Series (being held in Sun Valley this year).  Don't worry, I still have a blog.

I was too rough on my body and burnt both ends... twice.  It finally threw in the towel.  After getting healthy and receiving a phone call from lululemon, here I am.  Painting!  

...and holding community events, taking classes and supporting the local athletes and instructors.  Above, our little shop donated 50 yoga mats and held Snow Salutations to bring in a big winter.  El Nina, you ask?  Yeah, you can blame her on me!

Don't fret.  I still get to wear spandex EVERY DAY!  I work out, stretch (actually more than I did as a pro athlete) and am the luckiest kid in the world!

Come by and say hello the next time you find yourself in Idaho!  My shop is in the Galleria Building, behind Sturdo's in Ketchum, Idaho (second floor).

katewhitcomb@yahoo.com will be my email forever and has been since the Internet was invented... yes, I am a master now so I can say things like that :)

I look forward to doing races this winter too so watch out!  BMT, maybe with a side of the Engadin and Birkie... they say you never loose the fever!

Thank you Amory and ITA for all that you have enabled me to do.  Brad and the 5th graders, who I will continue to visit as long as you still think I am cool.  Of course to the ski community as well; what a family you are!  I am so proud to be a cross-country skier and look forward to connecting with you all in the near future.  Ed Hamel for being my first and most inspirational coach.  My big brother Matt, for having hot friends (the REAL reason I loved Bill Koch Ski League) and the original gang of girls - Lindsey, Mariah, Amy, Holly, Abi... I love you girls.  Bust Butt Ed on Bear Hill forever!

Kate out, but not far away.  LIVE IT UP because today is not coming back.  Not ever!

lululemon

Ketchum, ID - Fresh back from a 4-day Seattle trip (get this, for work!)  I am opening a lululemon showroom here in the Wood River Valley.  The location is yet to be decided but I have been hitting the pavement and running up my phone bill in the search for a great spot.

Full-time lululemon is now my focus but skiing is still on my mind and schedule.  I am incorporating more yoga, kettle bells, pilates and other group fitness into my routine these days due to lululemon.  I have been loving every minute.

I won't be chasing the circuit this year but plan to do some of my favorite races like the Boulder Mountain Tour, Engadin and the American Birkebeiner to name a few.

If you know of anyone interested in working with lululemon and me (starting September/October), here in Ketchum, send them my way!

Thank you Chandra Crawford (Canadian National Team), for suggesting me to lululemon!  I hope to see you this spring in Sun Valley for LDNs.

GRASS STAINS AND SPLINTERS

Worthington, MA - I am at my folks house this week (sleeping a lot, playing in the woods and getting some dirt under my fingernails). I rehung the rope swing and got a few new calluses from putting it to good use with Lindsey (in the purple).

It has not been ALL fun and games though - I had a job interview, and have another scheduled for tomorrow. Okay, it HAS been all fun and games. It is very exciting, thinking of what you want to be when you grow up. It is even more exciting when you realize you are about to start doing it and in fact, don't have to grow up at all!

Who said you have to stop climbing trees and playing in the brook when you turn 30? I hope nobody, because I am not giving it up in 3 months!

My health continues to improve and I look forward to training again in August. Here is to living it up. Every. Single. Day.

Hanging the rope

REKLESS, PRAXIS & DRIED BLOOD

Ketchum, ID – I caught (read killed) three mice yesterday behind the washing machine. They were so cute, until they ran across my bare foot while washing dishes. Then they were scary. They were scary, until they crept into my room at night. Then they were dead.

Some mice have also been chomping on my strawberries and peas, outside. I asked a neighbor if he had any tricks besides getting a cat – he said dried blood. I said yuck, but went to the garden store and sure enough, they sell it. I guess my garden is no longer vegetarian but then again, neither am I.

These are the kinds of things that I have found myself doing to avoid working out. I have been an athlete for so long, it is all that I know. Ski racing and training have been so much more than a job – it is my social life, my appetite and my sleeping pill. As I continue to take time off, in the hopes of kicking my immune system back into shape, I find myself lost and unsatisfied. What does one do when they don’t have to run for 3 hours in the morning and go to the gym for 2 hours in the afternoon?

I have been studying for the Praxis exams (I am also getting my Netflix money’s worth). I went to school to become an elementary educator (read 4th grade teacher) but I never put down the coin to attain the actual teaching license. 6 years later, I am freshening up on my Piaget and Vygotsky to turn my Vermont recommended license into an Idaho, for real one. Come August I am hoping to be training again and by September, maybe even teaching (and I don’t mean the volunteer kind, although I do love Brad and the kids).

Am I going to be a ski racer next year? Yes. I will always be a skier and even a racer. I am not going to do the circuit however. I am going to try to make some money for a change, get healthy, train on my own and focus more on community races, maybe a marathon or two, three or four also. Yes, I am going to be a master this fall. There, I said it.

I have some ideas and opportunities coming down the pipe too, so stay tuned. My mind changes, about what I want to be when I grow up, daily. For now, I am re-learning Bloom’s Taxonomy and hoping the mice leave me at least ONE strawberry this summer!

Oh, and I am going to a Reckless Kelly concert on Saturday (favorite song) and found some morel mushrooms. Have a great 4th everyone!

RUN, BIKE, HIKE & RODEO

Ketcum, ID - I ran the Sawtooth Relay and then slept for 14 hours for the three nights following. I did the Wood River Cup short-track mountain bike race and then slept for 13 hours and woke with a cough. I went to the Mackay Rodeo and danced all night long with cowboys before promptly taking a 5-hour nap followed by a full night's sleep...

Sawtooth Relay, Team Heaven and Heli

I am clearly not listening to the obvious signs that my body is still under the weather but it is finally spring and there are so many fun things to do! I am going in for more blood work today to see if maybe I still have mono (since January) and booking a flight home, to sea-level, for some un-distracted R&R.

Enjoying the sun at the top of Dragon's Back, Ketchum

Pio Cabin - should have brought my skis