A Day in the Life at Training Camp in New Zealand 

6:45 am: Wake up + brew coffee ☕️

First thing I do when I get out of bed is start making coffee. I travel with my own hand grinder, so I start with grinding my beans which warms me right up during the chilly mornings. While I grind my beans, I boil the water. Living out a duffel for 7 months of the year means space is tight, so I have found a small hand grinder and an AeroPress to be the most compact brewing method while ensuring a good cup of coffee, always

7:00 am: Breakfast + goal sheets

My go-to is toast with eggs, jam and cheese for breakfast. I can have this almost anywhere on the road and I find it easy to digest. While I eat breakfast, I write down my goal for the session on a piece of paper.

7:25 am: Pack snacks and layers for the day

New Zealand camp tends to be my biggest training weeks of the summer so I always have snacks for during and after the long training sessions. Jessie and I like to make muffins or bars to have during training, plus snacks for the drive home. Since we stay down in the valley, I pack a lot of layer options; the weather up at the Snow Farm can be very different than at the house because it sits a few thousand feet higher on top of a mountain range and can change in an instant. 

7:40 am: Activation exercises

Every day before training, I get my body ready with a handful of activation exercises to get my muscles firing in the right before I ski. I also do a few mobility exercises to work the stiffness out of my body in the morning. 

8:00 am: Load gear and depart

 The drive up to the Snow Farm is about 25 minutes on a windy dirt road, consisting of a bunch of switchbacks. I like to be on aux, cueing up songs to slowly get amped for an interval session! 

8:30 am: Gear up and wax skis

Since the weather can be quite different down low at the house, we like to get up to the Snow Farm and see what the snow is like. Our coach/wax tech prepares a few options for skis ahead of time to make it easier in the morning to apply the final layer of wax for the session.

8:45 am: Hit snow

We dial in our kick and off we go for our warm up which is about 45 minutes of easy skiing and scouting our interval location. We are very spoiled at the Snow Farm because Sam Lee, the groomer, will groom certain trails if we request it on interval days.

 9:30 am: Intervals

Today’s session we have an 8 minute interval at threshold (L3/ medium hard) to warm up and then we go a bit harder (L4) for 6x6 minutes with 3 minutes between intervals to recover. 

10:45 am: Cool down

We ski for about 30 minutes to flush out the body after intervals.

11:15 am: Pack up and drive down

I change into dry clothes and then it is time for a snack! Today I brought banana bread muffins, almonds and a hot tea for the drive down.

11:45 am: Lunch + more coffee

I shower as soon as I get home, and then head straight to the kitchen to whip up some leftovers. Today we have some leftover ramen which is perfect to warm me up after a chilly morning ski. While my lunch heats up, I grind another batch of beans and make a latte with my AeroPress and a milk frother wand I brought with me.

12:15 pm: Called loved ones at home

While I eat lunch, I either call my family or my boyfriend to catch them before they head to bed. This is the only time of day I overlap with family and friends at home given the big time change, so I make sure to connect with people during this time. Since I spend about 7 months a year on the road for training camps and races, a daily routine of connecting with loved ones at home is very important to me.

 1:15 pm: Video review

Our coach is very quick with uploading footage right after the training session, so I try to review it as soon as I can while the session is fresh in my mind, looking at technique mostly.

 1:30 pm: Computer work

Surprising to some, I spend a lot of time on the computer answering emails, working with sponsors, and creating content when I am not training.

3:00 pm: Dinner prep

With a second session fast approaching, Jessie and I prep some of our dinner ahead of time so that we can eat right when we get home. For dinner tonight, we are making bowls so we chop veggies, mix together a tasty Tahini sauce, and pre-cook the rice.

 3:45 pm: Drive to the gym

We drive for about 25 minutes to a gym in Wanaka to do strength.   

4:15 pm: Strength

15 minute spin to warm up, and then it's strength time. Jumps, core, picking up heavy weights and putting them down, and now we are a little bit stronger! 

6:15 pm: Drive home 

6:45 pm: Dinner

Warm up the rice, and finalize any dinner prep while we rotate through on the shower. Phones down. We always eat dinner together to connect and review our goal sheets and the day.

 7:30 pm: Foam roll, stretch, physical therapy

Body care has become very important to keeping my body happy and healthy.

8:00 pm: Group show

This year we watched an episode of Emily in Paris most nights to unwind and get cozy, as well as some Paralympics.

 9:00 pm: Unwind & get ready for bed

I like to read a book before bed to quiet my mind and get off any screens right before bed. This camp I was finishing Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer.

 9:30 pm: Bedtime

It is nice and cold and dark, I am ready to shut my eyes and get some sleep! I am already dreaming of my cup of coffee in the morning…