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Extra Blue

Alayna

30 episodes

1 week ago

Strength for cross country skiers of all ages and abilities. On this episode, I welcome US Ski team strength coach, Tschana Schiller. Tschana is the leader for all things related to strength for cross county skiers in the US. She has been with the ski team for over 20 years and has brought so many insights into the philosophy of strength for us cross country skiers. She works with athletes like Jessie Diggins and Gus Schumacher but really her strength concepts get trickled down into clubs all...

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Strength for cross country skiers of all ages and abilities. On this episode, I welcome US Ski team strength coach, Tschana Schiller. Tschana is the leader for all things related to strength for cross county skiers in the US. She has been with the ski team for over 20 years and has brought so many insights into the philosophy of strength for us cross country skiers. She works with athletes like Jessie Diggins and Gus Schumacher but really her strength concepts get trickled down into clubs all...

Show more...

Episodes (20/30)

Extra Blue

Ep 30: Strength for Skiers w/ US Ski Team Strength Coach Tschana Schiller

Strength for cross country skiers of all ages and abilities. On this episode, I welcome US Ski team strength coach, Tschana Schiller. Tschana is the leader for all things related to strength for cross county skiers in the US. She has been with the ski team for over 20 years and has brought so many insights into the philosophy of strength for us cross country skiers. She works with athletes like Jessie Diggins and Gus Schumacher but really her strength concepts get trickled down into clubs all...

1 week ago

57 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 29: Balancing a Full-time Job, Coaching, Athletic Goals AND Family Planning with Maggie Bowman

Today’s guest is someone who has inspired me since I was a teenager on the Wayzata ski team. I sit down with Maggie (Pierson) Bowman to talk about the realities of being a woman in endurance sports; the pressures, the expectations, and the ongoing challenge of balancing athletic goals, career ambitions, and family planning. Maggie shares how the pressures she felt around body image and performance in high school and college shaped her philosophy on training, recovery, and self-worth. Ma...

3 weeks ago

1 hour 11 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 28: Stanford Soccer AND Skiing with Sammy Smith

Sammy Smith is a member of the U.S. Ski Team, a D1 soccer player at Stanford University, and one of the most exciting young athletes representing Team USA right now. At 19, she’s a World Cup regular on the ski circuit, with a silver medal from the 2024 World Junior Championships in Planica, numerous top-30 World Cup finishes, and a growing reputation as one of the U.S. team’s top sprinters. But her story goes far beyond skiing. When she’s not chasing podiums on snow, she’s competing on the so...

1 month ago

51 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 27: Dealing with Injuries with Adam Witkowski and Skylar Patten

On this episode I welcome Adam Witkowski and Skylar Patten. Both Adam and Skylar are new athletes to Team Birkie and recent graduates from Michigan Tech University. Both Adam and Skylar have faced numerous injuries over the years. We discuss how they dealt with training through injury, rehab, and staying motivated and driven throughout the healing process. There’s no easy way to say it, injuries suck. But these two have put their heads down through the healing and rehab process to...

1 month ago

1 hour 8 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 26: Racing Through Nonlinear Progression and Loving Ski Racing with Luke Jager

I welcome Team USA ski racer, Luke Jager. Luke is from Anchorage, Alaska where he grew up skiing for Alaska Pacific University. From a young age, Luke stood out as a top American junior and solidified this notion in 2019 when he, was a key member of the men's relay team that won World Junior Championships. An outstanding result at the time and what has really set the bar for Team USA at these international junior competitions. Luke went on to ski at the University of Utah where he conti...

2 months ago

1 hour 22 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 25: Healing from Disordered Eating as a Skier with MK Cirelli

On this episode of Extra Blue, I welcome guest, Mary Kate Cirelli. MK and I discuss her experience with disordered eating starting as a young athlete and her path to recovery. We also talk about what it’s like to carry that with you for the years to come. How it’s nearly impossible to never let it affect you again, but that it also doesn’t need to define you. We chat about MK's challenges on another college team and how she navigated that, as well as the struggles that occur when moving on fr...

2 months ago

1 hour 34 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 24: First Year on the World Cup with Kate Oldham

From National Champ to World Championships, on this episode of Extra Blue I welcome guest Kate Oldham. Kate had a standout season this past winter, winning her first national title in the 10k skate in Anchorage, qualifying for her first World Cup where she DOMINATED, enough to qualify her for the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway. Although it was a whirlwind of a season, I had a front row seat to watch as Kate handled herself with grace, allowed herself to be patient and strategic, and...

3 months ago

59 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 23: Waxing for a World Cup Podium with Gus Schumacher and Chris Hecker

How to Wax for a World Cup Podium! On this episode of Extra Blue I welcome World Cup skier, Gus Schumacher, along with his wax technician, Chris Hecker. We catch up with Gus about how his summer training is going and how he’s been trying to find as much snow as he can this summer, whether that be in Bend, OR or on the Glacier in Alaska. We also talk to Chris about how he’s working with the US Ski Team this summer to conduct more ski, grind, and wax testing on snow, with travels to Bend, OR, N...

3 months ago

1 hour 19 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 22: Trying New Things, Like Biathlon World Cups with Margie Freed

We launch a new era of Extra Blue powered by Gear West! In this episode, we welcome Margie Freed, Minnesota native, fellow UVM Catamount and now a standout member of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project and the US National Biathlon team. We discuss what it was like for Margie to make this transition from cross country to biathlon, how often she still classic skis, and some of her favorite memories so far competing around the world as a World Cup Biathlete.

4 months ago

48 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 21: Q&A by Bearskin Lodge with Zak Ketterson and Alayna

On this episode I welcome guests, Zak Ketterson and Quinn McCloughan for a little Q&A on all things related to cross country skiing. I did a full episode with Zak back in 2023 so if you’re interested in learning more about him I recommend giving it a listen! Zak and I welcome Quinn to the podcast as the owner of Bearskin Lodge, a supporter of Team Birkie, and a lifelong ski enthusiast. Quinn runs the Bearskin Lodge up in Grand Marais, MN where he lives with his family. The lodge is ...

8 months ago

1 hour 11 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 20: Navigating the Transition: How US Nordic Skiers Transition Away from Competitive Ski Racing w/ Lizzie Larkins

On this episode of Extra Blue I welcome friend and former college teammate, Lizzie Larkins. Lizzie recently wrapped up three years as the assistant coach at Montana State University. During her time there, she also continued her education and graduated from MSU with a Master’s of Science in Sport and Coaching Sciences. It was during her studies that Lizzie conducted a research project titled: Navigating the Transition: How US Nordic Skiers Transition Out Of Competitive Ski Racing. I think thi...

1 year ago

1 hour 12 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 19: Midwest Ski Racing w/ Team Birkie

Team Birkie is a Midwest-based professional ski team led by Team Director Yuriy Gusev and Head Coach, Julie Ensrud. Team Birkie was formed through a collaboration between the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation, The Loppet Foundation, and Central Cross Country Skiing (CXC). In this episode, we dive into the history of professional ski racing in the midwest, how Team Birkie got started, and the direction Team Birkie wants to take going forward. The team supports athletes competing at th...

1 year ago

41 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 18: Our Ski Community w/ Gear West Ski & Bike Shop

On this episode of Extra Blue I welcome Jan Gunther and David Chamberlain. Jan is the owner of Gear West Ski and Bike shop located in Long Lake, MN, just west of the Twin Cities. Founded in 1992 by Jan and her husband, this little shop has grown to be the largest ski shop in North America! In this episode, we dive into how Jan built the shop, touching on the subject of starting a business as a woman in the 90’s, and how she’s built the team of experts around her to bring the best products and...

1 year ago

49 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 17: USA Biathlon vs Cross Country with Kelsey Dickinson

Kelsey Dickinson is a biathlete for Team USA and traveling the World Cup circuit all season. She grew up in Winthrop, WA, attending the College of St. Scholastica where she balanced both biathlon and cross country, and then joined the Craftsbury Green Racing Project. Kelsey just achieved her career best result in the 15k individual race in Ostersund, Sweden, landing in 36th place and scoring her first World Cup points. On this episode, we dive into the similarities and differences of cross co...

1 year ago

1 hour 6 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 16: Skiing w/ Flora Dolci and the French National Team

Flora Dolci is a member of the French National Cross Country ski team. She has multiple top-20 results on the World Cup and is a fierce competitor, but I believe she is known more for how kind and sweet she is. Truly one of the nicest humans, always with a smile on her face and always looking to have fun. We talk about her path as a skier growing up in France, how she reached the National team and what she gets up to when she isn’t racing or training (like rock climbing, paragliding, studying...

1 year ago

1 hour

Extra Blue

Ep 15: The USST D-Team with Kristen Bourne

Kristen Bourne has been the USST D-Team coach for over year now and has taken on some impressive roles. Not only is she coaching 8 athletes on the D team, plus two A and B team athletes, attending all of the team training camps, visiting and working with her athletes all over the country during the summer and fall... she is also a full-time World Cup coach, ski tester, organizer, planner, administrator and leader. After only 3 world cup weekends last year, she stepped up to take full control ...

1 year ago

58 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 14: Visma Ski Classics w/ Katie Feldman

Katie Feldman is an American skier who just wrapped up a successful racing career with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. After 5 years of Supertour racing, this past year was the cherry on top as she raced the Visma Ski Classic marathon circuit around Europe all winter. This collection of marathon races range anywhere between 40-90 kilometers, sometimes back-to-back days, and frequently the elite racers will chose to double pole the entire classic race. On this episode of Extra ...

2 years ago

1 hour 1 minute

Extra Blue

Ep 13: World Cup Expenses w/ David Norris

David Norris raced in 58 World Cups as a professional skier. He competed in 3 World Championships and had many top-30 results on the World Cup, yet he was never named to the national team and never received funding from the national team for his racing. Instead, he had to find and build his own network to financially support his ski goals, despite being one of the best (if not THE best, at the time) distance skiers the country had. On this episode of Extra Blue, David and I discuss self-fund...

2 years ago

1 hour 6 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 12: Racing on the Canadian National Ski Team w/ Katherine Stewart-Jones

Katherine Steward-Jones is a World Cup Skier for the Canadian National Ski Team. She has had a stand-out season this year with 3 top-13 finishes on the World Cup and is currently ranked 18th in the World Cup Distance points. Originally from Chelsea, Quebec, Katherine now skis for the Alberta World Cup team based in Canmore. On this episode, we discuss Katherine’s development as a Canadian athlete, how she overcame a severe concussion a few years ago, and what changes she made the last few yea...

2 years ago

55 minutes

Extra Blue

Ep 11: World Championship Alternates w/ Zak Ketterson

Zak Ketterson is a member of the US Ski team and a fellow native to Minnesota. He was recently named to the World Championship team, but was not given starts to his goal races and decided to forgo attending the championship event and head home instead. In this episode we discuss this difficult decision and relate to each other on so many levels as we share similar season outlooks. Zak will be racing in period 4 of the World Cup in Scandinavia - including races back in Falun, Sweden. La...

2 years ago

56 minutes