News Archive Cross training at “Camp Buzz” with Schleper
Source: USSKITEAM.COM
PARK CITY, Utah (Sept. 3) – For Sarah Schleper (Vail, CO), the best summer cross training happens in Minnesota, or at least on 200 acres of family land on Big Watab Lake, just northwest of Minneapolis.
“It’s like a big kids playground, we call it ‘Camp Buzz’ after Dad,” said Schleper, who tuned up for the U.S. Alpine Ski Team August camp in New Zealand at the family stead. Her father began taking the family to the lake when she was five.
“It’s perfect for cross training. I swim across the lake, go mountain biking with Hunter [Schleper] and work out at St. John’s University gym, which isn’t too far away. Hunter is out on the boat everyday wakeboarding and I’m hoping to get skiing soon, but right now we’re both doing trampoline workouts.”
Originally Schleper bunked in one of a few Airstream trailers on the property, but after the recent completion of a new house, featuring a log and stone façade, the family held a retirement ceremony for the trailers.
“It was a sad day to see them go, I even took a video of mine before so I could remember it, but the house is really beautiful. There’s plenty of room for our family and also ton’s of space for friends to crash. Coming back here is something I look forward to every summer and it’s cool that now I can share it with Lasse,” she said.
The swim workouts are especially good for Schleper, who continues to rehab from a surgery in February.
According to Women’s Alpine Head Coach Jim Tracy, they were right. “Sarah is in outstanding shape. She’s still got some work to do, but I was seeing multiple turns in a row that looked exactly like they did when she was at her best a few years back. It’s really encouraging to see that,” he said.
Schleper credits the time she banked training at “Camp Buzz,” hours of workouts on her Skier’s Edge machine and the rigorous plan custom built for her by Team Strength and Conditioning Trainer Ernie Rimer for her return to race form.
“Ernie has been kicking my butt, which is good, but there’s a lot of recovery built into the plan. I wasn’t able to train hard during my pregnancy, so it’s been a while since I’ve been on a serious schedule, but getting back in the game has been good.”
In order to maximize the trip to the Southern Hemisphere, Schleper padded in a weeklong surf trip on New Zealand’s North Island prior to joining the Team technical camp.
“It was a combination surf, training and late honeymoon,” said Schleper, who married Federico Gaxiola on Oct. 5 in Beaver Creek, CO. “I’m planning on the family traveling with me for most of the winter, so we practiced with it New Zealand.”
The 2009 FIS Alpine World Cup season opens Oct. 25 with a giant slalom in Soelden, Austria and will return to America for the annual Aspen Winternational held in Colorado on Thanksgiving weekend.
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