Interview: Lindsay Williams

October 25, 2009

Lindsay Williams, Hastings, Minnesota native, has a young ski career already full of achievements: 2005 US National Sprint Champion, 2006 Olympic team member, 2007 NCAA National Champion.  However, it hasn't been an easy past year.  Williams underwent multiple surgeries to correct problems with compartment syndrome, an almost common problem among elite Nordic skiers.   She has made a quick recovery and has been training hard this summer and fall, working toward a berth on the 2010 Olympic squad. 

We spoke with Williams about her training, winter plans and upcoming fundraiser ...

1. You had a tough winter last year, what happened?
   Last winter... It was a rough season for me last season. I overtrained before going up to altitude and raced at 10,000 feet on the plateau in West. So I buried myself for the next month of racing before Christmas. Then at Nationals I had cold induced asthma (it is controlled under normal temperatures but the excessively extreme cold was just too much for my lungs to handle) so I sat out the distance race (when the high was -2 degrees) so that I didn’t ruin my lungs for the sprint. But when the sprint day rolled around it wasn’t much warmer and during the warmup I had an asthma attack and ended up taking off the race bib before the race even started. It was a huge letdown to travel up there and not race a single national race, but I did my best at keeping a positive attitude and looking forward to the next races: the Whistler World Cups.
   But while I was there my legs slowly started feeling worse and worse (the symptoms of compartment syndrome were coming back) and by the sprint relay race I almost took out half a dozen spectators and coaches because my legs hurt so bad and I couldn’t feel my feet so a hairpin turn just wasn’t going to happen. Then I went back to Michigan where my legs just kept feeling worse. When I was racing in the Madison Sprints (I was in tears after the qualifying heats and had to pull out of the finals), I knew there was something seriously wrong and I needed to figure it out because I couldn’t race or train with my legs the way they were. So I cut my season short and went back to the Twin Cities to see a bunch of specialists. After many tests and a few stressful weeks, I found out that I had popliteal artery entrapment syndrome (obstruction of the artery in the back of the knee). Then I went under the knife.
   So yeah, last season was one frustration after another… This season is going to be a HUGE improvement over the last one!
2. How are you feeling, especially compared to past seasons?
   First of all, I CAN USE MY LEGS! That makes a HUGE difference in feeling good and skiing fast! I also feel like my technique is better than it ever has been. My motivation is also higher than ever. I had three surgeries on my legs in a one year span and the use of my legs was taken away from me. So now I don’t take training for granted anymore, and it makes me love being able to do what I do that much more!
3. You've been busy over the summer; where have you been traveling and working out?
   Yes, it has been a very busy summer! I started off the summer recovering from my popliteal entrapment surgery. After my surgeries in the Twin Cities last March, I went back to Marquette, Michigan. There I started up training again, and I spent a lot of time on the good old elliptical machine and stationary bike. I slowly started adding biking outdoors, rollerskiing, and running to the training schedule. Then in the beginning of June I headed out to Park City, Utah, for a 5 week training block so I could work with the U.S. Ski Team Coaches and Physical Therapists. While I was out there I lived with local junior Jessie Diggins and now NMU skier Monica Markvardsen.
   Those 5 weeks were awesome! I improved my technique, felt like my fitness was improving, got to make use of my culinary skills, and being around excited juniors every day reminded me why I ski: because it is just so gosh darn fun! So when it was time for me to leave Utah I didn’t want to. So I decided I would come back to the Midwest, get my belongings and drive back out to Utah. And that’s exactly what I did!
4. How about this fall, sounds like you've been back in the Twin Cities training once in a while with Caitlin Compton and others?
   I’ve been traveling around to training camps in Whistler and Lake Placid this fall, and I am back in the Twin Cities for a little over two weeks now before going back to Utah on November 1st. I just finished up a training camp in Lake Placid so I am spending this month at sea level to focus on getting quick! And yes, I ran into Caitlin on one of my first days back in the Cities (we just happened to go to the same place and we were both doing the same intervals… so we did them together) and we are coordinating our training so that we can do some quality workouts together while I'm in town!
5. What's your planned first race this winter, West Yellowstone?
   Yes, West Yellowstone is my first race planned for the winter!

6. 

   Can you give us any teasers on the fundraiser food and auction?
   I am going to be making a bison chili, coconut lentil soup, a homemade hummus platter, honey mustard chicken apple wraps, banana chocolate chip muffins, pumpkin muffins, and a yogurt parfait with homemade granola! There will be a lot of different items to bid on too. There is a huge pile of fun stuff in my mom’s basement right now just waiting to go to a good home!

Lindsay Williams' Taste of Training Fundraiser is this Thursday evening, October 29th, at the Country Inn Suites in Hastings.  Williams will be on-hand serving up her own culinary treasures and there will be a silent auction.
Williams gives credit to her major sponsors: Allergy Associates of Lacrosse, Fischer, Swix, Salomon, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Blessings and Breathing Center, Hastings Dental Associates, Dr. Kouchich, Uncle Steve and many more.
You can follow her training and racing action on her blog, www.linwilli.com