Gretta’s first Midwest Summer

Hi! I’m Gretta, I joined the Continental team this year and am new to both Team Birkie and the Mid-West. I have also never lived in a city before and have enjoyed exploring and adjusting to city life through training in Minneapolis! 

Exploring the outskirts of Minneapolis from Lake Minnetonka Beach.

One of the things I was surprised and excited about is the large outdoor and ski community here. It is impressive how many people you see on the paths running, roller skiing, and biking, as well as how many parks are provided for outdoor activities. It is really great to be able to move to a new place, especially a city, and to find such a strong outdoor community that feels just as supportive and close as the small-town environment that I am used to!

Sweaty post-workout snack after a long hot run at Lebanon Hills.

I am greatly enjoying my first Mid-West summer, however, as a girl from a dry climate in the mountains of Washington, training in high humidity and heat has been quite the adjustment. While fueling and hydrating are always an important part of summer training and recovery, they are something I have really had to focus on this summer to recover from the very sweaty Minneapolis workouts. The land of 10,000 lakes does offer many a cooling post-workout dip though, which is very welcomed!

Another large adjustment for me has been roller skiing in a city. While there are many great bike paths and quieter suburban neighborhoods that are excellent for roller skiing, it is still a city and therefore are far more cars and intersections than I am used to. I have definitely had to remind myself to have a higher awareness of my surroundings while roller skiing, whether that be making sure I am visible to cars, staying out of cars way, or just knowing when to slow down into an intersection. 

See ya out on the bike paths and don’t forget your high-vis!

Treadmill technique work with Coach Jake featuring post-crash road rash.