Looking at the Big Picture

I think every skier understands what I mean when I say that in the ski world, nothing ever runs as planned.

Training on NTDC this year has been great. I have learnt a tone over the summer and fall, and feel like I have worked harder then I ever have, and accomplished a lot. By the start of November I was completely ready to head out west for a few weeks of on snow training then the beginning of a long anticipated race season. Sure enough I have now been out west for almost two weeks and have skied on snow for only two days. The rest of the time I have been flat on my back, sick in bed. It started out with a really bad ear infection that lasted a good 4-5 days. Every time I opened my eyes the world was spinning in circles around me, so much that I was nauseous and sick to my stomach. As a result I was unable to eat or drink for 2 straight days. And when I finally did start to feel better I had to slowly teach my brain how to balance, walk and ski again.

Things started to look up. Luckily the first races of the season had been postponed due to lack of snow, which meant I had a whole extra week to recover. Hurray! I was on snow again ready to finally get some training in. Of course things were not going to happen the way I hoped. Two days later I was back in bed with a sore throat and a cold. Just my luck. I guess in my anticipation to get back on track I forced my body to do more then it could handle.

Yeah, ok so it kinda sucks. The races are a week away and I haven’t done intensity for a month. But situations like this happen all the time and you have to learn how to deal with it. Maybe my first races of the season will not go as I hopped, or who knows, maybe they will. But they are only the first races of the season, and I have plenty of time to get back in shape for the most important races of the year. Looking at the big picture, I still have a solid amount of training under my belt to have an awesome season and this little bump in the road is not going to slow me down.

I have nothing to complain about. Look at my teammate, Brittany. She is a HUGE inspiration to me. She broke her leg quite badly in the summer and is on the long road of recovery. Her perseverance and dedication to bounce back both mentally and physically is something can’t even imagine being able to do. She is able to keep everything in perspective while staying positive and believing in herself. Brittany is as tuff as nails and I know she will be back at’er in only a matter of time.

Train Train Train

Hi Everyone,
So I am back in Thunder Bay now. I spent most of my summer out west in Canmore training with the team. We had five hard weeks of intense training, which included two weeks of skiing up at the Haig Glacier. I had a great time living with the team and training with them everyday. Except for the exception of a couple thunderstorms up on the glacier, the weather was warm and sunny. I think I trained harder then I have ever done before, and I felt great the entire time. While I was out there, I also found a new love for mountain biking, which is good, because now I have something to look forward to when the snow melts and the ski season comes to an end. For my last couple weeks of summer I was able to go back to Calgary and finally get some time to relax, catch up with friends, and enjoy some of my Mom’s cooking! I even managed to spend a weekend at my parent’s cabin, which I think pretty much everyone except Tim (my brother) and I had visited up until that point.

At the beginning of September I traveled back to Thunder Bay and got right back into training. I just completed a build up of three hard weeks, which included lots of testing and intensity workouts. So far everything is looking good, I improved on all the tests, but still have plenty of room for improvement when we test again near the end of October. I competed in my first mountain bike race on Sunday. It was a blast! I liked it because it was a lot different from the skiing or running races I have done in the past, and the longer I raced the more comfortable I became and was able to go faster and faster. I’m a little disappointed that the biking season is almost over, because it would have been fun to do a few more races. Oh well, there is always next year.

Don’t worry my life isn’t all fun and games. I am also in the middle of taking two school courses by correspondence. Chemistry and Calculus… I can’t say it’s the easiest thing in the world, especially when you get home from a 3-hour training session and have to hammer out another 3 hours to do an at home Chem. Lab. But I am slowly getting the work done. And if all goes well I should be completed most of the work by the time the racing season rolls around, and then I will be free just to focus on skiing.

On Friday we leave for a four-day canoe trip on Clear Water and White Otter Lake (about two hours away from here). The scenery is supposed to be quite beautiful. The guys on the team are getting all their fishing gear together, and hope to catch a couple fish for dinner for a few nights. It should be a lot of fun. I just hope it doesn’t rain (or snow) like it has been for the last couple weeks. After that, we have a couple rest weeks before we do our last big haul of the fall. Which is going to be a large amount of training hours with a whole lot of intensity. YAH HOO!