Fall Testing

Last week, the Alberta World Cup Academy completed the second and final week of testing for the year.

The idea was that we would complete the same tests that we ran in mid June and hope to see improvements in all our results after all the hard work we put in during the summer.

Unfortunately (or rather fortunately) Christmas came early! We got snow!!! On October 8^th, Canmore received a fairly decent sprinkle of snow, followed by a week or so of cold weather with daily highs below zero. This allowed for the Canmore Nordic Centre to open a 400m loop on October the 13^th. Sweet!

But because of the weather, the road quickly became covered in ice and gravel, which caused us to cancel the two roller ski tests. The team still completed the VO2 treadmill and body composition test based at TCR Sport Lab in Calgary. And we replaced the Uphill skate Time Trial with an uphill running time trial.

The VO2 went well, with positive improvements from everyone on the team, and some pretty noteworthy results from a few members.

A few words from coach Mike, "I wanted to acknowledge the excellent results we say in the lab the last few day. These tests usually confirm what we see in the field everyday, but sometimes you (the athletes) exceed our expectations."

On Sunday we completed the uphill running time trial. The men ran 7.5 km, starting along the river and running up along Spray Lakes road to the top of the pass by the dam. The woman ran a 5km course, which started a little further up then the men and ended in the same place. I’m not sure if you are familiar with Canmore or not, but this meant that it was pretty much all uphill. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty challenging. Considering this was the first time completing this test, I think it went pretty well... personal bests for everyone!

For myself, coming out of a bit of a difficult year of training and racing in 2007, testing has been nothing but steady improvements over the last two years. It’s extremely motivating when you see vast improvements like when your VO2 max score jumps by six or seven points, or cutting minutes off your time trial results. With nothing but positive feedback, training seems easy and fun.

Eventually you reach a point when those big leaps start to become smaller and harder to achieve. Approaching testing week this fall, I was aware that this would be the case. All of a sudden cutting ten seconds off my uphill time trial became a lot more challenging then the minutes I shaved off a year ago. Making an improvement in my VO2 max felt like I would have to run like a super woman. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad thing, it just means that I am that much closer to being the best athlete I can be. Right now I feel better then ever, and can’t wait to compete this winter.

Racing is just around the corner so we need to make sure that we stay focused through the last and most difficult months of preparation. I know everyone on this team has worked hard all summer and should all be psyched to see some pretty steller performances this season. I know I am!

Here’s a final pep talk from Coach Mike:

“It has been a great working with all of you over the past 6 months and it is obvious all of you have made some excellent gains in fitness. The next 2 months will be some of the hardest months and will require everyone to work hard on recovery and coping with the constant uncertainty of weather and skiing.

Work hard, rest well and enjoy the process – focus on getting the most out of every training session and you will be excited about the outcome.”

I'm Back!

Hey Everyone,

I apologize for the long leave of absence. Lets see, where did I leave off… Right, got back from Sweden at the end of April. AMAZNG trip!

Since then I had a couple weeks of living like a normal person which included 3 solid days of sleep, and then another week of a little partying and more lying around the house.

On May 5th I took off to Kamloops and managed to get a short week of mountain biking in. It was a lot of fun and nice to have a change of sport for a bit.



Then On May 10th I went right into my first on snow camp in Sliver Star, BC. Just to clarify, I am once again training with the Alberta World Cup Academy for the year. It worked out great for me last year, so I am very excited that I get the opportunity once again. This year the team has expanded to 20 people!

Silver Star had superb conditions, and much to my surprise I wasn’t all that sick of skiing, and compared to the previous year I was in a LOT better shape!




For the last month or so I’ve mostly been hanging around Canmore, getting back into training with a little bit of work thrown in at a local outdoor shop. I’ve also had some fun “playing” in the Rocky Mountains, which included a lot of mountain biking and some rock climbing as well. I still can't believe how much I love living out here. The things you can do are endless and it is absolutely gorgeous!



This week we will be completing testing and setting the ground for how the next few months will play out. I will look at my weaknesses and figure out what will be the best way to improve.

Until next time, enjoy the sun and be active!