I realize that an increased level of dedication to a sport doesn't always correspond to getting better results. Results can oscillate, plateau, improve and even temporarily decline at times-- trust me, I know! It's most rewarding when results ascend after persistent hard work, which is something I truly appreciate after experiencing the contrary.
We have another "testing" week coming up where we will measure our fitness on several different types of courses and see how we are responding to training. I will get a chance to set new personal records this week but I will give you a few stats to share my progress so far.
Potter Rollerski Race
27:21 (Oct '07-- 10:20 in DP, 17:01 uphill)
25:21 (Aug '08-- 9:30 in DP, 15:51 uphill)*PR at the time
23:58 (Aug '09-- 9:28 in DP, 14:30 uphill)*new PR
Spencer Running/Bounding Intervals
5:04 (Jun '07)
4:55 (Jun '08)*PR at the time
4:45 (Jun '09)*PR at the time
4:36 (Aug '09)*new PR
I feel more ski-specifically fit and faster than ever before. I know that my competitors are also extra motivated this year as well however since it is an Olympic year. I can't control how fast others are going to race. All I can do is focus on what's in my control. And that means spending each day focused on a mission to better and enjoying this opportunity in the process!
Our opening races are less than 3 months away. I will be ready!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
For the Community
If you need an extra incentive to get active on your lunch break, come join me Wed, Aug 26th for a walk from The Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center at 12:15. We will walk a 1.5 mile loop from ANHC and I will be there to offer advice and support for anyone interested in getting started on a more rigorous exercise routine. Everyone is welcome to join us!
ANHC is a clinic that offers primary care services to the most critical needs among the medically under-served and uninsured in Anchorage. Below is more information on the "Walk to Seward for Fitness" event at ANHC.
In attempt to help motivate us all to maintain a healthy lifestyle, I am volunteering to organize a “Walk/Run/Bike to Seward for Fitness" event.
Participants can team up with a few of their co-workers, family members, and/or patients, and record the number of miles that they walk or run and see if their combination of miles mileage will bring them all the way to Seward.
I recommend that each team be comprised of 3 members, although teams can vary from 1-4 participants. A team captain will be responsible for submitting the total mileage for their team members each week.
The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends a weekly minimum of 2hrs and 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise as well as 2 sessions of muscle strengthening activities. If each team member walks 30 minutes/day that will be approximately 1.5 miles/day, and 10.5 miles/week, and (10.5miles each) x (4 weeks) x (3 team members) = 126miles. The distance from Anchorage to Seward also happens to be 126 miles! I realize that each person's goals will vary, however if on average, each team member attains this standard, then a team of 3 will make it to Seward in 4 weeks.
Expect to see small prizes when you reach certain "check points" along the way!
This “challenge” will kick off on Wednesday, August 26th. I was thinking we could walk a 1.5 mile loop from the clinic during the lunch break. Meet at the front of the clinic at 12:15 if you are interested. Everyone is welcome! Each person on the team will support their teammates in reaching their weekly fitness goals, however I can come in to the clinic occasionally to lead a group walk or strength training session if there is an interest.
YOUR TASK FOR THIS WEEK:
-Form a team, pick a team captain, and come up with a team name.
-Have the team captain email me at katie_ronski(at)hotmail.com with this information. Also, if you have any questions or suggestions on how to make this challenge more fun, please let me know. I hope to hear from many of you soon and meet some of you on Wednesday!
ANHC is a clinic that offers primary care services to the most critical needs among the medically under-served and uninsured in Anchorage. Below is more information on the "Walk to Seward for Fitness" event at ANHC.
In attempt to help motivate us all to maintain a healthy lifestyle, I am volunteering to organize a “Walk/Run/Bike to Seward for Fitness" event.
Participants can team up with a few of their co-workers, family members, and/or patients, and record the number of miles that they walk or run and see if their combination of miles mileage will bring them all the way to Seward.
I recommend that each team be comprised of 3 members, although teams can vary from 1-4 participants. A team captain will be responsible for submitting the total mileage for their team members each week.
The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends a weekly minimum of 2hrs and 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise as well as 2 sessions of muscle strengthening activities. If each team member walks 30 minutes/day that will be approximately 1.5 miles/day, and 10.5 miles/week, and (10.5miles each) x (4 weeks) x (3 team members) = 126miles. The distance from Anchorage to Seward also happens to be 126 miles! I realize that each person's goals will vary, however if on average, each team member attains this standard, then a team of 3 will make it to Seward in 4 weeks.
Expect to see small prizes when you reach certain "check points" along the way!
This “challenge” will kick off on Wednesday, August 26th. I was thinking we could walk a 1.5 mile loop from the clinic during the lunch break. Meet at the front of the clinic at 12:15 if you are interested. Everyone is welcome! Each person on the team will support their teammates in reaching their weekly fitness goals, however I can come in to the clinic occasionally to lead a group walk or strength training session if there is an interest.
YOUR TASK FOR THIS WEEK:
-Form a team, pick a team captain, and come up with a team name.
-Have the team captain email me at katie_ronski(at)hotmail.com with this information. Also, if you have any questions or suggestions on how to make this challenge more fun, please let me know. I hope to hear from many of you soon and meet some of you on Wednesday!
Nerdy Nordic Bear Photo Shoot
I have accrued several photos in my Nordic bear t-shirt through the summer, so I thought I would share a few with you and concurrently show my appreciation for the Northern Fruit Co.'s support. 
Taking an apple break in between training sessions on Eagle glacier. Our groomed ski trails are in the background.
Learning to unicycle.
Gardening.
Our back yard black bear and me pretending to be arboreal.
Playing in the mountains.
Taking an apple break in between training sessions on Eagle glacier. Our groomed ski trails are in the background.
Learning to unicycle.
Gardening.
Our back yard black bear and me pretending to be arboreal. 
Playing in the mountains.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Ready for our Final Glacier Camp of the Summer
All the pre-glacier preparations have been made and we are looking forward to another week of on snow training on Eagle. The coaches do an immense amount of work on the machinery and facility, but each of us athletes also help out to make the camp a success. 
Prior to each camp we make a gigantic Costco run, pick up donated bread and bagels from Europa and AK Bagel Factory, box everything up, drive it all down to Girdwood, store it in the fridge and freezers at Alpine Air, and wait for a clear sunny day to have it flown up to camp. 
Then Alpine Air sling loads the luggage up to the glacier so we can consume massive quantities of food and fuel our passion for training hard.
I am looking forward to getting in as much skiing as I can handle and quality team bonding time in our home away from home! 
Prior to each camp we make a gigantic Costco run, pick up donated bread and bagels from Europa and AK Bagel Factory, box everything up, drive it all down to Girdwood, store it in the fridge and freezers at Alpine Air, and wait for a clear sunny day to have it flown up to camp. 
Then Alpine Air sling loads the luggage up to the glacier so we can consume massive quantities of food and fuel our passion for training hard.
I am looking forward to getting in as much skiing as I can handle and quality team bonding time in our home away from home! 
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Blueberry Saturday
Symphony Lakes valley-- a beautiful photo thanks to the artistic talent of my life-long buddy, Miss Anna Barnwell.
Jesse Carlstrom on his way toward the Flute Glacier. Jesse's is a great adventure buddy because he's up for glacier chasing-river crossing-talus scrambling running adventures, he brings chocolate, and rolls with the moto that "every good adventure involves bush whacking". 
Skier or figure skater? I vividly remember announcing to my parents for the first time that "I'm going to go to the Olympics". I was about 6 years old and was prancing around the living room after watching Michelle Kwan perform. It's pretty cool to still be able to chase my childhood dreams at age 23 and have a shot at turning those dreams into reality.
Mom berry picking in her Northern Fruit Company hat. I wouldn't be able to live as I do right now without the support of my family, friends, and a sponsor like Northern. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Monday, July 27, 2009
July Eagle Glacier Camp Photos
Flora and Strabel- our innovative, hard-working coaches ready to saddle up and chase around the skiers on the snow machine. 
Laura Valaas skiing strong and getting video taped by the Erik-Eric snow machine duo. The footage we get from this type of taping is invaluable for technique video analysis sessions. Plus, it's fun to pretending you're leading a world cup race when video cameras are following you!
The black and white volcanic ashen snow-scapes were barren yet beautiful. At times it was a skiing paradise up there-- sunny, stunning views, and firm tracks. At other times we didn't see anything other than shades of gray within a 25ft radius. 
The blue ice is beginning to show through a month or two earlier than normal due to the warm summer.
Erika Klaar-- aside from training, Miss Klaar helps her family run High Tide Arts in Homer. This includes everything from sewing headbands (like the one pictured) to backpacking in the Brooks range to collect reindeer antlers. Pretty cool!
Team ATOMIC skiers: James Southam, Bart Dengel, Katie Ronsse.
Mike Hinkley- a new addition to the APU Elite squad. Mike and I have grown up skiing and racing together-- from Alaska Winter Stars and SHS to DU and now post-collegiately for APUNSC. It's comforting to be back on the same team with someone like Mike.
The hardy crew that opted for hiking rather than taking a helicopter down. We dropped down 5,000ft to the lush smells, sounds, and colors of a more typical summer in a matter of hours rather than minutes. 
How many athletes can you find amongst the Fireweed in the photo? I spy 4. I was the slow kid in the back of the pack who couldn't stop picking salmon berries. All in all, it was a successful week of training, where I handled the highest volume of ski-specific training that I've ever carried. We have another couple weeks in town training until we will be back to the glacier for our final on snow camp of the summer.
Friday, July 10, 2009
An Overdue Update from the Land of the Midnight Sun
I realize I've been been negligent about updating my blog in the past weeks. This bespeaks of the difficulty I've had in spending my spare time in front of the computer screen when it's nice outside rather than the number of stories and experiences I would like to share.
So, what have I been up to in the past 6 weeks? Here are a some stats and pics from several of my summer excursions thus far.
Number of ..
...movies or TV shows I've seen this summer: 0
...concerts I've attended: 1
...bears I've seen on the Hillside ski trails: 2
...days I've been completely caked in mud: 4
...times I've eaten salmon for lunch or dinner: up to 5x/week
...tests I've taken: 5 (4 ski-related tests, 1 GRE Exam)
...personal records I've had in those tests: 5 (Taking a test for the first time can count as a PR too, right?)
...times I went classic skiing on snow: 11
...days I've been thankful to be home in Alaska: Every Day
APU ladies on the run: Holly Brooks, Kate Fitz, Ky Eiben, Kikkan Randall, Katie Ronsse
Ronsse and Randall ready to ascend Hatcher Pass road and put our sprint skills to use if need be. 
Family bonding time-- Ronsse style.
Steffi the expert razor clam shoveler. 
Ronski struggling to catch those speedy clams but enjoying the mud in the process.
Ein mehr scenery photo from Miss Wunderle, my wunderbar Deutsch buddy...
The view outside the tent at 11pm-- don't put away the sunglasses just yet! The weather in AK this summer has been phenomenally nice.But there have also been a few days where the only glasses needed were ones to keep out the rain and snow. This occurred on the volcanic-ash covered glacier in the fog, which often looked something like this:
Even if each day wasn't a blue-bird day, I felt like I made considerable progress toward my technical and goals in each training session. You can find out more about the training camp on Becca Rorabaugh and Kikkan Randall's blogs. 
Erika Klaar, Becca Rorabaugh, and Peter Kling lookin' good even in their grungy gear. We should be back to living in our aerie on the mountain-top for another week of on-snow training next week. We will leave Sunday if the acrid smoke outside from forest fires decides to clear so we can train hard without threatening the health of our lungs. More to come!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Death Camp
Last week I got a chance to help out at the APUNSC Junior team's "Death Camp". 
This rigorous training camp was inspired by the "Death Camp" that many of the former East High athletes still speak of fondly. Props to our energetic junior coaches, Holly Brooks and Charlie Renfro, for making it happen. 
The lovely ladies.
The camp kicked off with a 21k rollerski from Indian to Girdwood, AK. For many of the kids there was a sense of accomplishment after they rollerskied to camp in a headwind. Several of the kids admitted that "it was longest rollerski I've done in my life!"
We stayed in the Challenge Alaska building and ate like World Champions should-- thanks to a few of the super-Moms who volunteered throughout the entire week.
Nathanial retrieving his shoe from the mud during our run on the Winter Creek trail. 
Morgan, helping me learn to ride a one-wheeled bike (thanks to Celia for the photo). I am now agog over unicycles. I don't usually have a penchant for buying "things", but this toy may have to be an exception.
Juliet--an APU development team athlete and my unicycling inspiration.
Lots of training, exploring, laughing, eating, story telling and sleeping. Who says "Death Camp" can't be fun?
A dip in the glacial stream after a long, challenging day of training. Summer days don't get any better than this!
This rigorous training camp was inspired by the "Death Camp" that many of the former East High athletes still speak of fondly. Props to our energetic junior coaches, Holly Brooks and Charlie Renfro, for making it happen. 
The lovely ladies.
The camp kicked off with a 21k rollerski from Indian to Girdwood, AK. For many of the kids there was a sense of accomplishment after they rollerskied to camp in a headwind. Several of the kids admitted that "it was longest rollerski I've done in my life!"
We stayed in the Challenge Alaska building and ate like World Champions should-- thanks to a few of the super-Moms who volunteered throughout the entire week.
Nathanial retrieving his shoe from the mud during our run on the Winter Creek trail. 
Morgan, helping me learn to ride a one-wheeled bike (thanks to Celia for the photo). I am now agog over unicycles. I don't usually have a penchant for buying "things", but this toy may have to be an exception.
Juliet--an APU development team athlete and my unicycling inspiration.
Lots of training, exploring, laughing, eating, story telling and sleeping. Who says "Death Camp" can't be fun?
A dip in the glacial stream after a long, challenging day of training. Summer days don't get any better than this!
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