Thursday, October 3, 2013

A note on rest... and a few other things.

It is somehow October all of a sudden. The trees are yellow, and the air is chilly in the morning, reminding me just how close the winter is. When I left off last time I think I was just getting back from New Zealand, which as I mentioned was an incredible camp, but left me a little emptier in the tank than I had anticipated. I took it easy for a bit when I got back from New Zealand, briefly took up a new sport that involved a bow and arrow, and then decided to high tail it back to the most restful place on the planet for me- Almonte, Ontario.

For me this small, but increasingly trendy town where I grew up is the best place to recharge. I took four days essentially off, which may sound a little excessive, but was just what I needed. Sometimes you just need to take things down a notch. This year especially I don't want to overdo things, and I know in the middle of the winter I won't be saying "gees I really wish I'd just kept training when I was so tired back in September..."

Anyway, back to my mini holiday at home. Despite the fact that I wasn't training I still managed to fit in a few fun things like not one but TWO Nakkertok practices! I got out with these speedy ladies for a sprint session...
An extra big thanks to Fresh Air for lending me rollerskis and poles! Emilie, Katherine, Holly, Alex and I had a really productive day, I hope they were half as pumped as I was at the end of the workout, cause it was pretty great. -also great is the photo bomb happening here.

One of the handy things about my brother being the head coach of the club I'm from means I get to spend some quality time with the Nakkercrew when I travel East, and one of the cool things about only getting to do this once a year is that I really can see an improvement in the athletes each time I visit. I don't think Nakkertok is ready to give up its National Championship Club title any time soon!

While in Almonte I fit in daily visits to Equator Coffee.  It's a spot that should be everyone's first stop as they roll into "the friendly town". Not only do they serve great coffee, but they are incredible generous people. On Saturday while I was there Equator was hosting a block party and all of the proceeds were going to Schoolbox, which is an organization started by some fellow Almontonians that makes education possible for kids in Nicaragua. This spring a few of us in the ski community are making the trip to Nicaragua with Schoolbox to help build a school! We could still use some more manpower, so if you are interested in joining us drop me a line, we'd love to have you!
We are having a fundraiser in Canmore at the end of October which will have lots of killer prizes, so come on out if you are in town!


Now that I'm recharged from resting, and what was basically a big hug full of hometown support from my visit to Almonte I'm back at it full steam ahead!
The team is down in Lake Tahoe, California for our last dryland camp of the year. The last time I was here was 2006, so it's been a while, but it's still an awesome spot, and the Cedar House Hotel in Truckee is just as warm and friendly as ever. Plus they have a cuddly border collie, which adds an extra few stars in my books!
I found a photo of Dasha and I from 2006!

Seven years later not a whole lot has changed- we still do weird poses when we have our photo taken, and she's still a head taller than me.
It's only day two of our camp, so there will be more to come,
Thanks for stopping by,
Peri