Maui Camp!

Haleakala hasn't erupted since the 17th century, so our team thought this 3055 meter above sea level volcano would be the perfect place for a training camp, and they were right!
We had an amazing 10 days of good solid training on Maui, most of which was done on the road up to the top of the legendary volcano which was perfectly paved at a grade that will most certainly make climbing hills in the winter a little easier.

We did some camping, some surfing, lots of good training, and eating, and had an awesome time. When you put our team plus our wicked support staff on a Hawaiian island it's a recipe for success.


View from the top of Haleakala


Lenny's favourite spot on Maui- there are windsurfers out there in the surf.


Devon in his element camping on the volcano.


Joel and I went for a run on the moon while in Maui...


Running in the crater, one of the most scenic runs I think I've ever done.


Thanks to everyone for a great camp, and to One Way for keeping us safe on the roads with our new training gear!

Training is once again in full swing, we just got home from our first camp of the year down in Bend, Oregon. It was once again a great camp with great skiing, great mexican food great afternoon coffee outings:


We timed our camp perfectly to have the Americans around to train with. The women will meet again in Alaska in July. North American Women's Training Squad (NAWTS?) We obviously need to come up with a name for ourselves...
I'm only back in Canmore for a few days before heading to Ottawa for a Fast and Female event on June 12th! If you haven't signed up yet, do it quick, there aren't many spots left. Go to: Fast and Female Registration

Bike month is also underway in Almonte, and I'll be out for a ride on the 11th. Those details can be found here: Bike month info
It will be sponsored by Baker Bob, so you know it's going to be awesome.

In the meantime there are lots of other sweet biking activities going on like bike polo!

After a few days at home it's back to Canmore to unload my duffle bag, wash, and reload for our Hawaii camp!
June is shaping up to be a pretty good month, I even have lettuce sprouting in my garden, so I'm pretty excited.

Spring Road Trip

Just got home from a road trip down into the Colorado desert to do some biking, and get some warmer weather!
Here are a few photos from the trip courtesy of one P. Wood who did a most excellent job of documenting our outings.







Time to get back at it!

Spring so Far

It's mid winter in Canmore...

Thanks for a Great Year!

It’s that time of year again, we all start looking back and reflecting on our respective seasons, and start looking ahead to the next one.
As I look back at the 2010-2011 racing season I have to consider it one of my most successful. Especially considering where I came from last season. At the end of last season I was dragging myself around the race courses at Nationals in Whitehorse, having just recovered from a brutal cold and pink eye. My body was telling me something- it wasn’t happy.
I took a few months off to get some energy back, and made a plan with Eric about how I was going to get back on track.
It seems like the plan worked, I skied to a number of personal best results this season, and I feel like a completely different person than the tired sack that fled Whitehorse Nationals early because she could barely think rational thoughts.
It’s been a fun season, and I’m looking forward to the next one eagerly as I have an amazing team of people around me that have helped make this year a good one.

Eric and Justin were a great coaching duo all season. Crawford and Company Canada Inc, ADHS the Almonte branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Almonte Civitan Club were also key in supporting me this season. THANK YOU!

Here’s a few photos from the spring so far- Kieran has been out visiting, so he has been documenting the last week.

World Champs recap in numbers:

2- number of team members who were crowned World Champions!
6- where Dasha and I finished in the team sprint
20,000- number of people camping in the bush on Saturday night before the 50km
120,000- number of people who came out to watch the 50km
1 million- number of people so spectated throughout the championships
4 million- population of Norway (that means about a quarter of Norway watched part of World Champs live)
15- my estimate of how many hats my teammates and I made this week- amount of yarn was our limiting factor.
10- rating out of 10 I would give the 2011 Oslo World Championships

We have now moved to Finland where we will race this weekend, so here are a few Finnish stats:

106- my score from bowling last night
93,94- Eric and Nish’s bowling scores
200-Lenny’s bowling score (his arms are so long he only has half as far to bowl)
0- number of tasty meals I’ve eaten since arriving in Finland

And here's a you-tube video you should watch if you haven't already seen it:
Alex & Devon's race- by George

A few notes on the Norwegian Culture

First of all I always knew that Norway was a country full of pride and nordic super fans, but until World Championships started I don’t think I realized just how into skiing they are. With crowds between 50,000 and 70,000 race days have been nothing short of amazing.
So, yes they love skiing, but what else?
-They love waffles, and brown cheese.
-There are ski trails everywhere- probably partly due to how deeply rooted in nordic culture they are, but around the Oslo area alone there are over 2000km of ski trails.


It’s not uncommon to see sights like this in urban areas...


Or a dude like this getting on a city bus or train...


Or a dude like this plowing his driveway...

-They love wool sweaters- and really anything wool.

And climbing trees I guess...

-Bjorgen and Northug are essentially rock stars, appearing in news papers daily every month of the year, and in the gossip rags that you find at the grocery store checkout.
-A sweet Sunday outing includes packing a backpack full of beer, sausages, reindeer hides, Norwegian flags, and chocolate, strapping on the cross country skis and trudging many kilometers.

Notice the flatscreens, this is out in the bush-waaay out.

-They built a sweet ski jump.

Sweet ski jump floating on the top of the holmenkollen hill.

-They like art that airs on the erotic side of the spectrum.


They are into skiing-all in, and the atmosphere on race day is something that can’t be matched anywhere else in the world of nordic skiing.

Oh, and they have a bit of a rivalry with the swedes.

Sprint-relaying tomorrow!
Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to Dad for the photos :)