The Bag is Packed and I’m Ready to GO!!

Me hammering out the technique

Our one week camp in Silverstar seemed to calm all of the late fall jitters that gets every skier up on their toes about the upcoming race season and the need to get on snow. It was a camp planned on short notice, but everyone was excited to jump in the van- even though the predicted weather forecast for Silverstar showed above zero temperatures and rain for most of the upcoming week. In Eric’s words “it was time to get on snow, even if it was melting by the hour.”

 

 

 As we hopped out of the van in Vernon we were greeted by green grass and 15 degree temperatures. It was just like spring! At this point in time we made bets as to how many hours we would stay before hopping back in the van and driving to Canmore. Most of them didn’t exceed 48 hours. Mine was 12. I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived. The track wasn’t in good shape, but there was decent skate skiing and the temperature was dropping by the hour.

The next morning it had snowed and the conditions were awesome- no more ice skiing or climbing up the mountain for 10 minutes! Skiing without pain for the first time in over a year was pretty exciting- perhaps a little too exciting because when I looked at my average heart rate for my morning ski it was 150. As an excuse I’m blaming it on the elevation and the fact that most of it is climbing up a mountain. I did, however, spend the better part of the afternoon lying on my bed with no real desire to get up until about 4 PM.

In terms of the conditions, no day was ever the same. The first day was pristine, the second day soft klister conditions, the third day it froze again and the hill coming down the mountain was like a bobsled run. By the end of the week the rain took a toll on things and the lower section was an ice rink. Twice I decided to test my downhill skills, and twice I hit rock bottom, literally. As the week went on the hill to the village became a mix of ice, rocks, and dirt. I told myself to “Russian up” as Sara Renner says, and dive into a tuck down the hill. I must have closed my eyes in fear on some part of that hill because before I knew what hit me I found myself  diving into the mountain like a penguin dives into water (only it wasn’t fun like I’m sure it would be if I were a penguin). I turned around to see what I had hit. It was a big mound of dirt. How I didn’t see that I have absolutely no clue, but from then on I walked down that section of the mountain.

We had a time trial on Saturday at Sovereign Lakes Ski Club. It was a great prep for classic races in Europe. The course was scattered with bits and pieces of grass, some parts were deep and others were ice, and above all, the tracks were either non-existent or slow so most of the striding was done out of the track. This was my first “race” on snow since March of 2 years ago. I thought I’d be nervous, but to my surprise, I was merely giddy with excitement.  I started first out of all the skiers, which was probably good because this way I didn’t worry about catching people and was more able to focus on my technique. On my first lap I was 6 seconds down on Renner. I lost a bit of time on my second lap, finishing 22 seconds behind her on a 7.5 km course. Overall I was pretty happy with it. I feel like I’m in pretty good shape and have made some good headway technically. I think all those days spent sitting inside imagining I was skiing during my recovery last year may have helped!

Looking at the technique videos I can see that there is lots of work to be done, but I figure that is better than having nothing to work on.  My physical fitness is climbing every week. It’s actually quite fun to be able to feel and see weekly improvement. My leg is handling the training quite well. Sometimes it hurts after a hard or long effort, especially when I do lots of classic striding, but it always seems to recover within a few hours of rest. I’m having a blast moving around and being on the road again. We returned last night to Canmore and are heading to Lake Louise tomorrow to continue our rained out Silverstar camp. If anyone is snow hunting right now, Morraine Lake road is absolutely pristine- highly recommended! I must give credit to Eric, my coach, for deciding to go to Silverstar despite the communal doubt amongst the team. We lasted longer than 48 hours, and that’s better than what everyone was expecting.