Samantha Lea (Norris) Liebsch
From Chuck:
Hello Everyone, Last night, June 16th at 10:37pm, Marybeth and I welcomed the newest addition to our family, Samantha Lea Liebsch. She is healthy and weighed in at 7lbs, 6oz and 21 inches long. We are very excited to introduce her to her big brother, Grant. Hopefully we will be going home from the hospital tomorrow morning.
Matt, Marybeth, Grant and Samantha Liebsch
A good excuse for missing training camp...
Ski World Goss
Can i just blatantly spread some ski world gossip? Yea? Okey. Well…first CXC camp with all members present…and all members does NOT include a Miss Compton. Whoa. Kinda knew this was coming after the Bend camp…but still. Whoa. I’m not positive what her plans are now, but i’d suspect the new FinnSisu team and Rossi skis. She’s awesome, and i’m sure she’ll do well wherever she ends up…so best of luck girl! We’ll miss you!
TECH
I haven’t written in a while, but not much has been happening. Well, actually, i moved, which i guess is pretty big and life changing…but not very interesting to read about. So I’ve been spending the last week-ish settling into my new house in Houghton.
It’s certainly different than Hayward. Out my window, I can see three “greek organizations”. Sig Epps is right across from me, and they’ve already proved to be excellent neighbors, when the brothers there kindly helped me break into my room on the first day. Yes, because all the rooms in my new home have locks on them. Locks which self lock when you shut the door… I wasn’t really aware of this, so when i was handed keys, i promptly locked them in my room. Ahhh…a good start, for sures.
But I’m starting to figure stuff out a little more now. Including settling some details about how i’ll be training up here. One of the reasons I moved was so i could be more in a team atmosphere again, which i find really motivating. I was hoping the MichTech nordic coach, Joe, wouldn’t mind me showing up to a few practices a week. In fact, he’s totally cool with that. Really really cool, actually, and they’re even going to make me a “volunteer assistant coach” for the team! How sweet is that? I’m pretty pumped, because one of my life goals is to end up as a college coach somewhere, and this will be a great opportunity to learn from some great coaches (i’m including Jason Cork, the ass. coach, in this statement) and work with a team that’s (in my opinion) on the rise. Sooooo….excite!
And we start our second CXC Elite camp of the year tomorrow. This one will have everyone there, and we’ll finally get to meet our new members! So stay tuned, more updates to come!
Bend Awesomeness
I’m back at home now, after a sweet week spent skiing in Bend. The trip was, simply put, awesome. The skiing was great, the weather (aside from the first day) was perfect, and the company second to none. Every day was a snapshot of why I love to be a skier.
Laura and Naney...PNSA kids, all growed up.
Gregg pointed out that we've been skiing together in Bend since we were J3's. Crazy.
These are the best skiers in the nation. The work very hard, train a ton, but i'm convinced that they're the best simply because they LOVE TO SKI. Then again, on a day like this, with crust like this, who wouldn't?
Lists:
Books KO checked out from the Library:
- Mad Kestrel by Misty Massey
- Elvenborn by Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton
- A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire
Books LAV checked out from the Library:
- Applied Economics by Thomas Sowell
- The Enchanter by Vladimir Nabokov
- Penin by Vladimir Nabokov
- The World According to Garp by John Irving
Contents of KO’s purse:
- pole glue and 7 ski pole tips
- rudy sunglasses case
- zicam
- camera
- silver sharpie (only color that shows up on Salomon skis)
- 2 chapsticks
- 2 thumbdrives
- phone
- camera
Contents of LAV’s purse:
- purses are for girls
Essential Camp Items forgotten by KO:
- none. Yet.
Essential Camp Items forgotten by LAV:
- Jacket
- Hats
- Headband
- Yoga pants
- Shampoo and Conditioner
- Any hair binding objects except 2 bobby pins
- Hair brush
I swear, sometimes I don’t even know how we became friends in the first place, much less how it’s lasted 15+ years.
Bend
After a late start on monday, Laura and I hit the road to Bend OR for the open camp that the US Ski team is holding here. Tuesday the weather was a little grey, making me seriously regret leaving Wenatchee and it’s 85+ degree weather, but today Mt. Bachelor redemed itself. It was straight up gorgeous. Blue skies, warm enough to be pleasant without turning the snow to mush, mountain in the background, and tons of elite skiers from all over! Can’t ask for much more than that for a days “work”!
I blatantly stole this picture from Laura's site.
Syttende Mai!
Today is Norwegian Constitution day, and the Owen family celebrated in true half-breed style, by heading over the mountains for the parade in Ballard. There we joined up with the Kongsberger Ski Club, who were rollerskiing as a group in the parade. I love rollerskiing, but doing it in full traditional dress costume is a little tricky, not to mention nerve wracking. But we sure looked cute!
All the Owen Ladies!
It was HOT. And the dresses are wool. BAD IDEA.
Sisters...
CXC Academy
I helped my mom sign up for the CXC Academy this evening, and as I was showing her around, I was reminded again of how cool the site really is. There’s information on how to write and tailor an overall training plan, ideas on strength training, specifics on what types of loads and intensities are appropriate for different periods in the year, and tons of extras. The extras are all embedded videos, with subjects ranging from talks given by the US Ski Team coaching staff, to the thoughts that this year’s Birkie winner’s (CXC’s own Matt “Chuck” Liebsch) had while he was cruising down main street to victory.
The academy isn’t a source for pre-fabricated training plans. Instead, think of it like an online textbook. It’s the place where you can find all the answers to those burning questions about training theory that you’ve accumulated over the years. And there’s a free 5 day trial! Why wouldn’t you sign up for that, and learn a little somethin-somethin? Why not right now? I mean…you’re obviously bored and looking for time wasters on the internet anyways…so GO! Subscribe Here!
Tyler Pretty Much Rocks
I don’t know if any of you guys are following the Giro d’Italia, but there’s a young american in second place after the third stage. Which is awesome, because it’s Tyler Farrar, and not only is he also from Wenatchee, but he used to ski on our team back in the day! So holy moly, keep it up Tyler! You ROCK!
KO & LAV’s Super-Awesome-For-Girls-Only-Nordic-Ski Camp=Success!
And next year, we’re thinking of a much shorter name.
The girls, from L to R: LeAnne, Anne, Ivy, Andy, Laura, Kristina, Charlotte
This weekend, Laura and I held our first annual ski camp for junior girls. In typical KO and LAV style, it was a slightly seat of the pants style adventure, but i think we managed to pull off a fairly quality event, and the girls all seemed like they had a ton of fun. They may have even learned something! We did a little technique, a little campfire cooking, a little talking about life, skiing, colleges, priorities, and boys, and a lot of training. All in all, a darn good weekend. These girls were all totally into it, and I see great potential for the next generation of PNSA ladies!
Saddle Rock, overlooking the Wenatchee Valley
We served the girls anything they wanted for breakfast...as long as it was oatmeal.
The strong at the top: Andy, Anne, and Laura. You see the mountains in the background? The enchantments, still covered in snow!
Click Here!