Welcome Back!

Alright, after a years absence, I am back to the blogging world.

First off, I’m making some big changes this year with skiing. I have joined a ski team in the US called Central Cross-Country (CXC). They are based out of Minneapolis/Wisconsin area and have a regional elite development program targeted to post-collegiate athletes with elite aspirations. I became aware of CXC, noticing them at various continental-cup races both in Canada and the US. They appeared to be a great group of people who were very competitive yet seemed to know how to have a lot of fun at the same time. Happily, they took me on as one of their elite athletes and I am very excited to race and compete with them this coming year.

I will continue to live at home in Canmore, Alberta, but travel down to the States for training camps in the summer, fall, and competitions in the winter.

I have recently returned from my first CXC dryland camp at the Telemark Ski Resort in Wisconsin. It was hot, humid, hard work, but I had a great time. ☺ There was a whole community of skiers training at the camp, from young junior athletes all the way to Masters; everyone working hard and having a good time. The camp focused a lot on specific training, doing lots of technique and intensity on roller-skis. We also competed in the CXC Summer Championships; a one day event consisting of a 5km running race the morning, 3 km double-pole time trail in the afternoon, followed by skate roller-ski sprints in the evening. It was tough. You really had to focus on your recovery between events and I think everyone was pretty exhausted by the end of the day.





At the end of the camp I competed in a 46km bike race called the Telemark Forest Mountain Bike. It was the first annual race being held as part of the “American Birkie Triple”. It was a hot day, temperatures reached around 30˚ C, with very humid weather… well at lest humid compared to what I am used to here in the dry Canadian Rockies. It was a 3-lap course that I completed in about 2.5 hours, finishing in 2nd place in the female category. Thanks to all the volunteers for putting it on; from what I could tell everything seemed to run quite smoothly, followed by a delicious BBQ at the end of the race.




All in all, I felt like there was a lot of hard work, energy and focus at this camp. I know I was able to find some weaknesses, got some new pointers, and set some new goals. Now I am super keen to work hard for the rest of summer and hopefully come out as a better skier in the end. I met a great team and am really excited to work with them come fall and winter.

I am back in Canmore now for most of August, stoked to be training in my wonderful back yard of the Canadian Rockies. In mid August I will be joining a local club to go up to the Haig glacier with for a week. I have also started working with a personal strength trainer, Neil Fox at LifeWorks gym. This guy is amazing! He has been building me from the “inside out”, starting with a lot of core/ balance work including the use of the TRX suspension trainer. Every time I go to the gym I come home absolutely exhausted. It feels like every single muscle in my body gets worked and I barely even touch a weight the entire time I am there! Needless to say I think this is exactly what my body needs and I have a feeling I will be making some pretty big improvements in this area!

Thanks for reading, and I will continue to keep you updated through my blog as best I can. Change is always good, and I feel like this is a fresh start that I need in order to excel in the sport and pursue my dreams.