GLAMOUR DAYS

These are the days we call glamour days.  They are the days that are sunny and warm, yet the tracks are still firm.  They are the days where you can head right out your front door and have hundreds of K of perfectly groomed trails to ski on, great skis, and great friends to do it with.  These are the kinds of days we have here.  I am in Praz de Lys, France for the U-23/World Junior Championships.  Tomorrow is our first race, a 10/15K freestyle, followed by a 15/30K pursuit on Saturday and a classic sprint on Sunday.  The juniors begin racing on Sunday with a classic sprint.  We are staying in a big hotel with 6 or 7 other teams, and so we have been trying to practice our languages when possible.  I am about to get a massage from our PT so I am going to go, but will post again tomorrow.  

Its On

It's on.  The World Cup races here in Whistler start up tomorrow with a classic sprint.  It will be an exciting day for all racing, and for teammates watching as well.  I am not racing tomorrow, but will be in the 15/30K pursuit on Saturday.  Pretty exciting to be here amongst some of the world's best skiers, and for many of us this is either a first time experience to be racing here or at least a rare occasion, so the fire is lit, nerves are rocketing around and we are jazzed up.  More to come after the weekend, hopefully with some pictures!!!

Bring on the rain....

I have a new appreciation for the rain.  I have always liked rain, but winter rain is not always as pleasant as a warmish summer rain.  In the winter, generally, you would rather see snow falling from the sky, however, rain in the winter does guarantee one thing: It will not be below zero on the thermometer, and for me, right now, that is worth jumping in the air for.  

We just left Anchorage, Alaska, where the temps were below -4 degrees Fahrenheit (well below most days) for 2 weeks straight.  I say below -4 because that is legal race temp, and without being above that mark for most of the week, 2 of our 4 races were cancelled.  That is a bummer, for sure, as there were hundreds of athletes who make the trek to US Nationals every year, but something incredible always seems to happen whenever we race in Alaska, and that is this: The volunteers are unbelievable people.  I have been in Fairbanks, AK, many times for races where is is extremely cold, and despite all, the course is lined with hundreds of  smiling faces of people who have left their warm homes to come stand in the frigid temperatures to help a cross country ski race get off the ground.  Some of them ski, a lot of them don't, and that is something to be incredibly thankful for, the volunteers.  So a huge hug goes out to all of you who were out there day after day, trying to get a race off for us, and smiling even when you were freezing.  Thank you.  

Despite the rain and mist that has been hanging around for the last couple of days, the snow here in whistler is incredible.  I am here to race a world cup (my second ever) and I am super pumped.  There is  a classic sprint on Friday, a 15/30K pursuit on Saturday and a skate team sprint on Sunday.  It is going to be awesome.  

Sorry no pics....I need to take my camera out of my bag if I want to be able to post any....

People Watching

People watching.  It has to be one of the easiest pass times there is in this world.  It is way more engaging than twiddling your thumbs, does not require concentration the way reading does, even surfing the internet has it’s downsides, as I only know about 10 sites to go to and then I get stuck looking at the same pictures over and over, wishing they would change.  But people, they are incredible and they are ever moving.  People are always doing things worth watching, worth analyzing, or simply staring at (which is not the most polite thing to do, I know).  Right now, I am looking at a lady who has more trouble than I do picking out clothes that match with each other, and that is saying something, as I have been asked on numerous occasions if I got dressed in the dark.  There are women in running tights, though definitely not heading out or coming in from any sort of exercise.  There are men with handbags, a store clerk with cat eye contacts.  But these physical features are just scratching the very surface of people watching.  The actions and the conversations are what make this pastime such eye candy for the long-term airport junky and bored citizen.  Making up the life stories of the people who walk by, trying to decide whether a couple were high school sweethearts or whether they met and got married in Vegas last night, that’s when the game really gets going.  There are so many military uniforms wandering around in the Minneapolis airport, and these are hard for me to pick a story about.  War is too foreign for me to guess about, perhaps it is for them too and they are on their way to training, or perhaps they just wish it were still far away from what they knew too.

 There are kids, dogs, cats, long sweaters, mini skirts, sports teams, musicians, people of all ethnicities speaking all languages, but again, these are just the outside, the surface.  There are thousands of people, all under one roof, who live lives that are completely different from one another.  People are sick, people are unhappy, there is anger here, and love, and republicans and democrats, people from the Bahamas and people from northern Finland.  It are these characteristics that really make these people come alive to the watcher.  These are the characteristics that are invisible to the naked eye, but so vivid to an awakened imagination.

 So I people watch, and maybe it is rude and judgmental, but the fact that I can make up a life for someone who just walked by me in a pea coat and thick rimmed glasses, to me, that’s just imagination, and I always wonder what life others will come up with for me (or my family!).

Happy Holdiays

I am spending today with my family and I hope that all of you are around people who you care about.  Enjoy the winter weather, or summer if you are in Australia.  My parents and I have created a maze of trails for my dog in our backyard, as the snow is too deep and tough for her to get through on her own, she does these sprints through our snow packed paths and puts on quite a show.  Anyway, pictures to come....Happy Holidays!

Colors

Day off after two days of racing.  Our first sprint of the season was on Saturday and a 10K skate followed on Sunday.  It was great to be racing on a loop again, as West's out and back classic race and point to point skate race made it difficult to have much terrain change.  Our coaches dialed the wax both days and worked their tail ends off helping us out.  Canada is into getting things done quickly, which is awesome, especially on sprint days.  Saturday's race was done in an equally efficient manner, sending all 100 dudes out, one every 15 seconds, and then immediately, with no break, all 50 girls out right behind the last boy starter.  If having a girl start 15 seconds behind you when you are a junior boy doesn't get you going, I don't know what else would.    As a coach trying to get splits for his athletes, it was a cluster, but as a skier it was pretty fun.  

Silver Star is beautiful and it is always fun to stay in one of the houses on the knoll whose color is one that your mom would never think to paint your own home.  Bright yellows, greens, blues, purples, pinks, you name it, and in many cases the trim is an equally exciting shade, making the house look all the more inviting.  After all, anyone who lives in a house whose shade is a bright pink, must be one of the more friendly people you will ever meet.

Taz Mannix starting off

Mo hammering

Noah hanging with Frederic Touchette

 

Coming through the stadium for Lap 2

Weirdo skiing with Kristina Strandberg

Kuzzy starting things off

Things are great here, but I have to say, our cheer squad from West was missing in a big way...

The Drive....

Yesterday, our Continental Cup (CC) Team got in the car at 6 am and drove the 16 hours it takes to get to Silverstar, BC.  We are all a bit sore and stiff today, but very happy to be here.  Here are a few more pictures from West Yellowstone, as our internet connection is much better here.  

Leif Zimmermann after a great race on Saturday

Our strength coach, Alex Moore made the trip from Park City for the week.  

He is from Australia and is the guy in shorts running behind me... 

Alex having a little "squat picnic" with our PT Aaron Saari on the trails.  These guys were the best cheerers out there.  On Saturday they both showed up in shorts and T-shirts, clad with pots and pans (drums) and parked themselves 500 meters from the finish and at the bottom of the biggest hill on the course.  They banged the drums for every skier and had full on bruises on their legs from hitting these drums so hard all day long.  Best cheering squad I can remember.  Someday they need to go to the Vassaloppet just to cheer because they would be the life of the party, and that is saying something since all 70K of the course is a party.  Big thanks to these guys for making the trip, bringing their expertise, and cheering like hell.

Members of the CC Team doing a presentation in West last week

Left to Right: Lindsey Dehlin, Lin Willi, Noah Hoffman, 

Garrott Kuzzy, Morgan Arritola, Matt Gelso, me

Thanksgiving

Tax Mannix

Noah Hoffman on his way to a 4th

Rosie Brennen, Lindsay Williams and Lindsey Dehlin skiing hard in the classic race

Thanks to Dan Dehlin for the photos.