Bring on the rain....

I have a new appreciation for the rain.  I have always liked rain, but winter rain is not always as pleasant as a warmish summer rain.  In the winter, generally, you would rather see snow falling from the sky, however, rain in the winter does guarantee one thing: It will not be below zero on the thermometer, and for me, right now, that is worth jumping in the air for.  

We just left Anchorage, Alaska, where the temps were below -4 degrees Fahrenheit (well below most days) for 2 weeks straight.  I say below -4 because that is legal race temp, and without being above that mark for most of the week, 2 of our 4 races were cancelled.  That is a bummer, for sure, as there were hundreds of athletes who make the trek to US Nationals every year, but something incredible always seems to happen whenever we race in Alaska, and that is this: The volunteers are unbelievable people.  I have been in Fairbanks, AK, many times for races where is is extremely cold, and despite all, the course is lined with hundreds of  smiling faces of people who have left their warm homes to come stand in the frigid temperatures to help a cross country ski race get off the ground.  Some of them ski, a lot of them don't, and that is something to be incredibly thankful for, the volunteers.  So a huge hug goes out to all of you who were out there day after day, trying to get a race off for us, and smiling even when you were freezing.  Thank you.  

Despite the rain and mist that has been hanging around for the last couple of days, the snow here in whistler is incredible.  I am here to race a world cup (my second ever) and I am super pumped.  There is  a classic sprint on Friday, a 15/30K pursuit on Saturday and a skate team sprint on Sunday.  It is going to be awesome.  

Sorry no pics....I need to take my camera out of my bag if I want to be able to post any....