No, I Didn’t Fall Off The Face of The Earth

Many of you have probably noted that my blog is extremely outdated. My apologies! Well, today is the day I start again. I just returned to Canmore from a wonderful 2 week visit at home in Ontario. I was there for a wedding and Thanksgiving. All I can say was that the entire stay was absolutely glorious. Sunshine, turkey, friends, and great training… what more could you ask for?

We live beside a ski club and in the fall the colours are spectacular

Um, yes, I caught the bouquet. Well, it more or less hit me in the face

Britt and Dave's Wedding

 

I was lucky enough to have one last sail on “Dutch Treat”, our family sailboat. It’s a CS36 which my parents have sadly decided to sell (all in good cause I guess, becuase the money will go towards trips to Canmore and possibly even a condo out here). I hadn’t been up for nearly 3 years and it brought back floods of memories. Brent was able to come and visit for about a week, so he joined us on his first ever- I think- experience on a sail boat.  

Sailing!

The return back to Canmore was quite the shock. The weather went from 20 degress and sunny in Ontario to zero and flurries in Alberta. It got me pretty excited though because it meant that winter is finally near. Words can’t express how excited I am about racing this season. Taking a year off really gets you raring to go! There isn’t one day that goes by where I don’t think about the upcoming races. Just the thought of stepping up to the start line puts a smile on my face. I’ve caught myself a few times walking down the street beaming from ear to ear and I’ve had to remind myself that it probably looks a little weird to bystanders on the corner. In fact, to them I probably have the uncanny look of “young love” pasted across my face.

With the race season fast approaching the training intensity is ramping up. This time of the season can sometimes be tough. A combination of difficult training weather combined with some very difficult workouts can really drain an athlete. My approach to this time of year is to bring the energy from my smile into the energy of my workouts. The way I see it is this:

-if I wake up to a morning of bad weather, I use it as an opportunity to get comfortable skiing in poor conditions. Race weather isn’t always going to be perfect, and if I can find a way to see it in a positive light then that’s one more advantage I have over those that it affects negatively.

-when training gets tough, the tough get going. The fall is known for it’s gruelling intensity workouts. When the pain hits me like a wall I try to dig out the smile I carry on the streets. That extra boost of energy can dig any suffering athlete out of their pain hole. What won’t kill you will make you stronger right?!

- When it’s raining, who cares? Skin is waterproof. I find the toughest step is to get out of the door, but once you’re out, bad weather is never really that bad. If I wake up and it’s raining and 2 degrees, I immediately think of specific workout goals and how I’m gong to achieve them. Keeping these on my mind keeps the rain out and my goals in sight.