Sorry to everyone for the recent break I have taken from blogging, but I have had a lot going on and I am ready to share it with everyone. Picking up from the last entry, I shared how I was planning on doing a triathlon for charity. Well, it is no longer planning, and just a lot of “doing”! Everything is ready to go, and all I need now is your help to support my efforts. I have a month long campaign planned to help raise awareness and money for children in sports. It is very creatively called “Stacey’s Month for Children in Sports.” I will be raising money for two charities, both which work to help improve children’s lives. The Far West Masters Junior Scholarship Fund has a mouthful of a name, but very simply gives an incredible amount of money to support junior ski racers. They supported me growing up, and it has been amazing to see their foundation from the other side and see how generous they really are. The amount of support they are able to give allows many kids the opportunity to continue in this sport, and really find a love and passion for it. The other charity is the 49’ers Foundation. They support extends to everything from creating its own school in the Bay Area to family violence prevention programs. Everything they do though, is to better the lives of children. Also as part of my “month” is the second year I will be rewarding four sponsorships to junior racers in conjunction with Sun Valley Ski Tools. You can read much more about this project and donate at my website StaceyCook.net.

On to now what I have been up to for the last month. I decided this year to forgo my annual month long training in Maui that I have done the last two years and stay in the altitude. I have stayed this summer in Mammoth Lakes for a number of reasons. This year is the most important in the four-year Olympic cycle to build physical strength and cardio bases. A lot of people question this, knowing that I have all summer next year before the Olympics, but next summer is more about maintaining and refining then building. So in order to maximize my building time, I have added the element of no oxygen! While I felt like my training got off to a slower start then normal because of the time it takes to completely adjust to the elevation, I really am feeling now like my decision is paying off. Another reason I have stayed here in Mammoth is to help out with the Mammoth Junior Team’s dryland training. I have taken 3 girls under my wing, and forced them to be my training partners! Not only does it give me a chance to workout with other athletes, but also I am exposing them to the level of commitment and hard work it takes to move up that they have never seen before. I love seeing how they rise up to every challenge I give them, and the improvements they have made in just a very short time. Lastly, my stay here has given me more time then ever to get to know the company better, and be better able to represent them when I am off skiing all over the world with their logo on my head. I think that is really important to gain that bond with a sponsor.

While most of my days are filled with hard work and lots of sweat, I have had some time to explore and have fun too. One of the coolest things I have done is hiked to some natural water slides in the area. You have to check out these photos, it is one of the coolest places I have ever been. I had so much fun, and I went down the slides probably about 25 times before my friends were able to pull me off! What a cool world we have at our fingertips.

Next up is a quick trip to Park City, Utah, to spend some time with my awesome trainers, and most importantly to participate in my triathlon. That will be on the 19th of July, so I will keep you up to date before and after. In the meantime, please donate what you can.

STACEY COOK is an elite member of the U.S. Ski Team’s alpine skiing program. She competed in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy and was a member of the 2007 World Championships Team... {more»}

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