Playing in the Rockies

Last Sunday marked the end of another training block. The past few weeks have focused a lot on volume, endurance and technique. Because of this reason, I decided to train here in the Canadian Rockies and get some time on snow up at the Haig glacier.



For the most part things have been going well. A few weeks ago I fell on roller skis, which resulted in some bad road rash down the right side of my body. No brakes on roller skis have its downfalls sometimes (literally). ☹ But thanks to the wonderful care of my mother who is an emergency nurse, I didn’t miss a day of training, although it was quite painful and I was covered gauze and bandages for a good couple of weeks.
A week ago I had the opportunity to train at the Haig Glacier, joining up with a local club called the Rocky Mountain Racers Ski Team. We had perfect weather and great summer ski conditions. Technique was a big focus for me up there and I felt like I made some big gains. Training with new people is always a pleasure and I was happy to get the opportunity. Thanks so much to John Jaques and the rest of the RMR team for such a great week. Here are some photos to highlight the camp:

A beautiful day in the sunshine! Cindy and I skiing on the Haig
RMR team getting ready for some sprints
Chilling out up on the glacier
Cindy boot skiing down from skiing one day
Dasha and I doing some TRX strength

The Anual RMR Boat race took place one afternoon. Everyone splits into teams of 2, builds a boat and the first boat to make it across the finish line with all parts attached is the winner.
SSS-Stuart Sara Ship-made it through the course in one piece, but unfortuneatly got stuck in a few places and was not the fastest down.
it was viscous out there
The Finish

I am at home now for a couple weeks before I head down to Wisconsin for my next training camp with CXC. I will take some time for a little R’n’R at my cabin this weekend; hopefully eat some smores around the campfire and paddle down the river a little bit. ☺
As the weeks go by I feel fitter, stronger and faster. The mornings are getting colder and the days are getting shorter, which only means that fall and winter is on its way!

Climbing Gooseberry on Tunnel Mountain on an easy day of training, near Banff.


Thanks or reading!

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.