Gettin'er Done
Hello! Once I fall behind in my posting I find it all too easy to just keep postponing my posts until I get in trouble. Now I am in trouble, so I'm going to try to recap everything I have done so far this summer.
Our first training camp was in mid May and we went to Bend, OR for some awesome skiing! I had never been to Bend before and had only heard of great things and I wasn't let down. It's a really nice town with some cozy coffee shops and lots of fun things to do. The team was there the same time as the Canadian AND the U.S National ski teams, this was great because we got to do a couple of workouts with the two National teams and it's always an advantage to train with new girls.
It was full on winter up there and only a 25min drive from wearing shorts and t-shirts in town!
It was Kate's champagne birthday while we were there and I love having a reason to make cupcakes, so I made these! (chocolate with a Reece's Pieces baked inside with cream cheese icing...yumm) Some teammates even said it was the best cupcake they've ever had :)
We also had a team-bonding night while we were there - or I thought of it more as a confidence-boosting night. We all wrote a couple of qualities we admired about each other as teammates, athletes and just as friends. I was a little skeptical at the beginning but afterwards I think we all felt a bit better about ourselves and closer to one another, it was nice!
The last night of the camp we really lucked out and we were able to catch a Beck concert with Metric opening for them! It was the perfect way to end a hard training camp.
The next challenge that arose was the annual Silver Triangle bike ride. It's a 217km highway loop and this year we started/finished in Nelson, BC. My training plan for the day said I needed to bike for at least 6.5 hours (and hopefully make 200kms) and I am not a very strong biker so that alone was a bit daunting, especially because I needed to stick with the pack for the whole time (usually I drop off the back a little ways into the ride...). But at the 125km mark we were 4.5 hours in and already an hour faster than I had been the previous year! At one point there was a really long gradual climb and I was ready to quit then and there, but I had a lot of help from my coach and teammates and I kept on peddling right past the van that was waiting on the other side of the hill. Eventually we were getting closer and closer to the 200km goal mark and I thought, Hey, I might actually be able to do this! When we finally hit 200kms it was a bit of a celebration for me and a bit of a self-pep-talk; After 200km I'm only 17km away from completing the whole loop. I have to finish it. Also, coincidentally, we had biked this last section the day before so I wasn't afraid of getting lost if I got dropped. And dropped I got! To finish it, I was going to have to go my own pace; slowly but surly. 8hours and 16minutes after leaving our motel that morning, I pulled into the parking lot to join the rest of the team resting outside of our rooms. Mission Complete.
The next adventure we had was the Haig Glacier 'yo-yo' camp. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go up for the first 'yo' due to my shins being a pain in the butt (I'll talk about that more in another post), but for the second '-yo' I snagged the front seat in the helicopter that was flying up more supplies! That was fun.
I unfortunately only got two days of skiing on the glacier because the groomer broke and we ended up running out a day earlier than planned. But I feel like I made the most of those two days of skiing and still got some solid hours in.
After another week of training back in town we had an awesome rest week. Rebecca brought Annika and I out to her family's cabin on Christina Lake and we had a blast! Lots of water skiing, wake surfing, swimming, diving, boating and some delicious s'more making :) One of the best parts was that we got to sleep outside under the stars in the warm night. Sleeping outside sans tent or bug net is always something of a specialty to me. This is pretty much how our days went;
And how awesome was it to watch the summer Olympics again? Congratulations to all the Canadian athletes who made it to the Games, we were definitely cheering for you!
Well I think that can be it for now! We are leaving to Whitefish, Montana tomorrow morning for another camp so I best start packing for it.
Adios!
J
Our first training camp was in mid May and we went to Bend, OR for some awesome skiing! I had never been to Bend before and had only heard of great things and I wasn't let down. It's a really nice town with some cozy coffee shops and lots of fun things to do. The team was there the same time as the Canadian AND the U.S National ski teams, this was great because we got to do a couple of workouts with the two National teams and it's always an advantage to train with new girls.
It was Kate's champagne birthday while we were there and I love having a reason to make cupcakes, so I made these! (chocolate with a Reece's Pieces baked inside with cream cheese icing...yumm) Some teammates even said it was the best cupcake they've ever had :)
What a good looking group
We like to help Annika get a better view sometimes...
The girls are ready!
I think this was near km100. When I was still smiling.
The next adventure we had was the Haig Glacier 'yo-yo' camp. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go up for the first 'yo' due to my shins being a pain in the butt (I'll talk about that more in another post), but for the second '-yo' I snagged the front seat in the helicopter that was flying up more supplies! That was fun.
It wasn't the best day for flying but we made it there all in one piece. And let me tell you, a 12min helicopter ride sure beats the 3hour run in!
I unfortunately only got two days of skiing on the glacier because the groomer broke and we ended up running out a day earlier than planned. But I feel like I made the most of those two days of skiing and still got some solid hours in.
After another week of training back in town we had an awesome rest week. Rebecca brought Annika and I out to her family's cabin on Christina Lake and we had a blast! Lots of water skiing, wake surfing, swimming, diving, boating and some delicious s'more making :) One of the best parts was that we got to sleep outside under the stars in the warm night. Sleeping outside sans tent or bug net is always something of a specialty to me. This is pretty much how our days went;
Rebecca divvying up the eggs to go with our yummy blueberry pancake breakfast!
Annika getting the hang of wake-surfing
Me practicing some cuts
Fire and s'more making
Bedtime!
After some good R&R time we are back on the skis, bikes, trails and in the gym. We also had another incremental test to do last week. Usually this is done running on the treadmill but to be nice to my shins I did this on the new ski treadmill that the center got (woohoo!). It was my second time on a ski treadmill and my first time classicing on one. It alway feels weird to be skiing in a harness and to be looking at the same few trees in front of you even though you are skiing hard. Here I am just getting started, getting used to skiing in one spot.
And how awesome was it to watch the summer Olympics again? Congratulations to all the Canadian athletes who made it to the Games, we were definitely cheering for you!
(I figured this was another cupcake-worthy occasion :) )
Well I think that can be it for now! We are leaving to Whitefish, Montana tomorrow morning for another camp so I best start packing for it.
Adios!
J
