Welcome to my new website!
Every month (or hopefully!) less, I will be posting new updates to keep you informed of what I’m up to during the training and racing seasons. Feel free to email me anytime! I will do my best to reply as soon as possible.
The website is up in perfect timing for the start of our training season. We are starting our training year right now in the Callaghan Valley, where the 2010 Olympic site for Nordic sports is situated. I am very excited to be training again and feeling 100% ready to go. Last year, I had an excellent summer training year until I became sick with mononucleosis in October. Unfortunately, this affected my whole racing season. And although I was healthy and able to race at World Championship and the last 3 World Cups, I was not in very good shape in skiing, and my shooting scores were also affected. Nevertheless, after taking 8 weeks completely off in the fall, I was incredibly ecstatic to even be able to race. It was an extremely difficult time for me but I took it as an opportunity and learned a lot.
During April, I went on a backcountry ski trip for a week in Rogers Pass with some cross country skiers, Chandra Crawford, Devon Kershaw, Phil Widmir and 8 more great friends. We had a terrific time. Highlights include: having our own dance party on the benches in our little cabin, speed card tournaments, cheese fondue, building a snow cave to wait out the whiteout, and oh of course, summit-ting the nearby peaks and skiing the decent pow down. I also made it out to the local ski hills for some downhill action the weeks after. My last week off, Canmore was a –10 blizzardy crazy place, so I booked it to Ottawa to visit a good friend and bathed in the sun. The weekend took us to Montreal to take on the great shopping, cafes and nightlife…basically a very girly week!
Now the new training season is upon us, and it is time to prepare once again for the 2008/09 World Cups and the 2009 World Championships in Korea. With 20 months left before the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, we began the year with a camp in Whistler. Because the Callaghan has a significant amount of precipitation, we are actually able to ski here every morning! I started the month training here with the National Cross Country team and then the following week with the National Biathlon team. A few other Nordic World Cup teams/athletes have also come out to check out the site this spring such as the Swedish, Norwegians and Americans. While with the Cross Country team, I met Manuela Henkel (German cross country skier, and sister of biathlete Andrea Henkel) who was also here training. This season, all the Olympic venues in Vancouver/Whistler will be holding World Cups in preparation for 2010. The 2009 Whistler Biathlon World Cup will be held in the first week of March.
Unfortunately, at the moment I’ve had another setback in my training this spring. I have a disc protrusion in my low back and have to do lots of rehab here. Fortunately though, skiing is fine (except for double poling) so I can basically do most of my regular training. In the afternoons here I am out swimming or in the weight room.
The Nordic site is a 30min drive away from the Whistler village (home of 1 of the Olympic athletes village) and will hold Cross Country skiing, Biathlon, Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping. Downtown Whistler is a nice walking street with some great shops, après ski bars and patios, café’s, restaurants, and a few pumping nightclubs. Oh and I can’t forget the really cool, retro second hand store where you can find neon colored 1 piece ski suits, MC Hammer pants and tie dye shirts! Definitely on my hit list of shopping items for the next retro ski party!
I also attended a weekend conference for Olympic athletes here in Whistler. It was a wicked weekend that inspired us all to be the best that we can be in 2010 and beyond. Some awesome Canadian Olympic medallists spoke including, Natalie Lampart, Brain Orser, David Pelletier, Catriona Le May Doan, Beckie Scott, and Dan Jansen (American Speedskater, Gold medallist ’94). Their words definitely inspired and motivated me to make the most of the next 20 months and prepare for 2010. I left having made many new friends and above all, totally ready to take on the world!
My training time in Whistler is almost over. Which is good, because the snow basically disappeared this past weekend in Callaghan! I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the area and the Nordic site. And definitely excited to return for more training and the World Cup this season.
Well, I’ll be following my own Inuckshuk back to training in Canmore, as I hit the road back there this weekend!
Hasta Luego Whistler!
Every month (or hopefully!) less, I will be posting new updates to keep you informed of what I’m up to during the training and racing seasons. Feel free to email me anytime! I will do my best to reply as soon as possible.
The website is up in perfect timing for the start of our training season. We are starting our training year right now in the Callaghan Valley, where the 2010 Olympic site for Nordic sports is situated. I am very excited to be training again and feeling 100% ready to go. Last year, I had an excellent summer training year until I became sick with mononucleosis in October. Unfortunately, this affected my whole racing season. And although I was healthy and able to race at World Championship and the last 3 World Cups, I was not in very good shape in skiing, and my shooting scores were also affected. Nevertheless, after taking 8 weeks completely off in the fall, I was incredibly ecstatic to even be able to race. It was an extremely difficult time for me but I took it as an opportunity and learned a lot.
During April, I went on a backcountry ski trip for a week in Rogers Pass with some cross country skiers, Chandra Crawford, Devon Kershaw, Phil Widmir and 8 more great friends. We had a terrific time. Highlights include: having our own dance party on the benches in our little cabin, speed card tournaments, cheese fondue, building a snow cave to wait out the whiteout, and oh of course, summit-ting the nearby peaks and skiing the decent pow down. I also made it out to the local ski hills for some downhill action the weeks after. My last week off, Canmore was a –10 blizzardy crazy place, so I booked it to Ottawa to visit a good friend and bathed in the sun. The weekend took us to Montreal to take on the great shopping, cafes and nightlife…basically a very girly week!
Now the new training season is upon us, and it is time to prepare once again for the 2008/09 World Cups and the 2009 World Championships in Korea. With 20 months left before the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, we began the year with a camp in Whistler. Because the Callaghan has a significant amount of precipitation, we are actually able to ski here every morning! I started the month training here with the National Cross Country team and then the following week with the National Biathlon team. A few other Nordic World Cup teams/athletes have also come out to check out the site this spring such as the Swedish, Norwegians and Americans. While with the Cross Country team, I met Manuela Henkel (German cross country skier, and sister of biathlete Andrea Henkel) who was also here training. This season, all the Olympic venues in Vancouver/Whistler will be holding World Cups in preparation for 2010. The 2009 Whistler Biathlon World Cup will be held in the first week of March.
Unfortunately, at the moment I’ve had another setback in my training this spring. I have a disc protrusion in my low back and have to do lots of rehab here. Fortunately though, skiing is fine (except for double poling) so I can basically do most of my regular training. In the afternoons here I am out swimming or in the weight room.
The Nordic site is a 30min drive away from the Whistler village (home of 1 of the Olympic athletes village) and will hold Cross Country skiing, Biathlon, Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping. Downtown Whistler is a nice walking street with some great shops, après ski bars and patios, café’s, restaurants, and a few pumping nightclubs. Oh and I can’t forget the really cool, retro second hand store where you can find neon colored 1 piece ski suits, MC Hammer pants and tie dye shirts! Definitely on my hit list of shopping items for the next retro ski party!
I also attended a weekend conference for Olympic athletes here in Whistler. It was a wicked weekend that inspired us all to be the best that we can be in 2010 and beyond. Some awesome Canadian Olympic medallists spoke including, Natalie Lampart, Brain Orser, David Pelletier, Catriona Le May Doan, Beckie Scott, and Dan Jansen (American Speedskater, Gold medallist ’94). Their words definitely inspired and motivated me to make the most of the next 20 months and prepare for 2010. I left having made many new friends and above all, totally ready to take on the world!
My training time in Whistler is almost over. Which is good, because the snow basically disappeared this past weekend in Callaghan! I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the area and the Nordic site. And definitely excited to return for more training and the World Cup this season.
Well, I’ll be following my own Inuckshuk back to training in Canmore, as I hit the road back there this weekend!
Hasta Luego Whistler!
“We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let our dreams die, but others nourish and protect them, nurse them through bad days till they bring them to sunshine and light.”
- Woodrow
- Woodrow
