Christmas Cheer

Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed your day with family or friends, feasted like kings and then rested without a care in the world! I had a fun Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, though nothing can compare to spending the time with family as I'm sure all of my nomadic friends understand.

Christmas Eve was the epic cooking session which I really needed. After going to the gym in the morning I spent a good six hours cooking pavlova, wild rice salad, shortbread, florentines, mango and prawn rice paper rolls, and last but not least ice cream to use up the egg yolks left over from the pav. Oh, and pancake batter was also whipped up ready for Christmas morning! My biceps definitely felt like they had had a decent work out after all that hand whipping as we don't have an electric beater! This was all done just in time to take some of the baking and the rice paper rolls to my coach Adam's for Christmas Eve drinks.

The party was nice, lots of families with their adult children and everyone in a great mood. I had fun meeting some real 'locals' not just seasonal staff or racers. We also all enjoyed stuffing our faces with too much guacamole, meat balls, rice paper rolls and different varieties of cookies. No better way to prepare the stomach for Christmas Day itself!

Christmas Day I got up early for pancakes and then headed off for a little snowboarding. Given the conditions at the moment I wasn't that excited about going snowboarding. However, I am of the view that only a spoilt brat wouldn't go skiing on Christmas Day if the opportunity was there. Getting a ride on Christmas Day proved a little difficult, but a van containing 2 South Africans, 2 Irish People, a Kiwi, an Australian and 2 other hitchikers came to the rescue. Here are some of the legitimate passengers crowding in - I was on the floor!

They had never been to Sunshine so the other hitchhikers and I explained where to go and what to do once they got there. They provided Christmas Carols and lots of laughter with a crazy mix of accents. Always nice to know you are in safe hands!

I made it eventually...

Although conditions are not great I am glad I made the effort to get there. The weather at Sunshine was glorious, people were happy, and I was snowboarding. No matter what the snow is like or my mood beforehand I LOVE snowboarding. Getting to Sunshine for some free-riding was a good way to reaffirm why it was exactly that I was spending Christmas away from my family and friends - and that I had made the right decision. Who needs Christmas presents or church when all the glory of the mountains is right there in front of you?

The family that brought me home from Sunshine were kind enough to drive me all the way up to my house. This saved me a full hour walk and so, to show my gratitude, I managed to palm off a package of shortbread. Bonus! Now I don't have to eat it!

I got spruced up, got the pav and rice salad ready and walked down at dusk to Adam's parent's house for Christmas dinner. There were 11 of us there to enjoy the evening. To celebrate Christmas Lyn and Jim had cooked up a Turkey and a Ham and all sorts of side dishes. The night was great fun, and the food delicious. The wine just kept flowing, and as it did so did some hilarious story telling. We all also enjoyed  a little macadamia liqueur and scotch to finish off the meal. Desert was my pavlova and an apple and Saskatoon crumble. A Saskatoon is a local type of berry, it was like a small, slightly sour blueberry. It was strange not having Mum's plum pudding and brandy butter, but the crumble a delicious alternative!

The night progressed into a game of Cranium. Given the number of althletes in the room as you can imagine it got fairly competitive. You will be please to know that I wasn't going to lose to be polite and my team did end up smashing all the competition. Winner winner turkey dinner!

At about 1 am it was well and truly time to head home, get to bed and sleep as late as possible. I am currently lying on the couch on Boxing Day still trying to digest all the food I ate, but I am content and looking forward to training tomorrow. We have a the start section of a course set up so it should be a good couple of days to really focus on starts and getting used to pulling out of the gate.

I hope you all had as much fun as I did for the holidays and have great plans for the end of this year and the start of next.

Sending smiles and prayers for snow from Canmore!

Christmas Break

After a month of fairly intense training straight off the back of exams I am finally on Christmas break (until the 27th at least when we have a couple of days of starts training). It feels good! To celebrate today I walked to town, hitched a ride to Sunshine, went snowboarding, came back to Canmore and went to the gym. Tonight, I have a Christmas party, the dress is formal, but as I am lacking in this wardrobe department, jeans and a nice top will have to do. I think tomorrow I might have a sleep in!

These past couple of weeks of training have been really productive. I feel like I am implementing the changes Adam has been teaching me about and that they will really help on the course come race day. I am also starting to understand how to make the most of each training session. Adam has been asking us to focus as we would a race day and normally we loop a run pretty much by ourselves trying to improve individual things. It is a great way to ensure that we don't get distracted by each other and has definitely helped me learn to focus on snowboarding as more than a hobby.

I have received my entry to Big White, Mt Hood and Steamboat which is very exciting. This is actually happening! I can't wait to apply my new skills to racing and am getting itchy feet to hit the road again!

For Christmas break I will just be taking it easy here in Canmore. Both of the boys have gone to spend time with family and friends, which is actually kind of nice as I am enjoying the space to breathe in the house. I will be heading up to the ski hills as often as possible, though with little fresh snow and Christmas crowds I might take the opportunity for a few sleep in days too. I will still be in the gym 6 days a week, so hopefully not too much condition is lost over this time. Kindly Adam has asked me to join him and his girlfriend for a Christmas Eve party and I will spend Christmas Day with his family and a few other nomads. I will definitely be cooking a pavlova to take along and perhaps the wild rice salad we always have at home.

Life here is good and I will write again closer to Christmas with any news and some photos from up at Sunshine. I hope that life is not too hectic getting ready for Christmas wherever you may be.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Smiling and sleepy from Canmore.

The Body Thermometer

Living in Canmore has put a whole new spin on cold. Even my time in Colorado cannot compare to how cold it gets here. Crazy that people/cars/society can still function at -30! With a 'deep freeze' as coach Adam calls it back in town I have developed a new way for telling the temperature using various body parts.

The finger test = 0 to -5 

• I can just bear carrying the garbage to the dumpster in the morning without a jacket or gloves, but my fingers hurt when I get back inside.

The toe test = -5 to -10

• On getting to the ski hill, my toes are cold. They will not warm up and it is time to embrace that slightly painful, not really numb feeling, as it is around for the rest of the day.

The bottom test = -10 to -15

• Despite the fact that I am wearing two pairs of leggings and jeans my bottom is frozen. Walking to town is like sitting on an ice block for an hour. Ouch!

The nostril test = -15 to -20

• Walk outside and any snot in your nostrils freezes immediately. I curious sensation that gives an immediate indication that, yes, it is seriously cold.

The sweat test = -20 to -25 

• Running in the snow is a matter of layering, avoiding cotton at all costs and not stopping for fear of muscles freezing up. However, when it gets cold enough, like yesterday, a whole new problem arises - as moisture beads on your face it freezes and by the time you get inside it almost feels like you are wearing a mask. Stretching once you get to the gym involves getting eyebrows, ears, and your jaw moving again. My recommendation would be a full face mask but this then makes it difficult to breathe - or just skip the run!

The eye test = -25 or colder

• Look outside and see that the reservoir, trees, grass, cars, and anything else are completely frozen. There are no animals whatsoever about and the sky has a kind of hazy smog to it. The river, itself very cold, is steaming because of the temperature differential with the air. Don't go outside - this kind of weather is not fit for human consumption. I take to baking and eating pancakes!

Who needs a thermometer when our body can do it for us?

Just a casual Saturday morning jog

Hi there!

Saturday is a rest day here, so with no snowboarding to be done it is a perfect opportunity to get some miles in the legs and go for a jog. As I jog up the private road from our house I scope out the mission, a 5km uphill to the upper dam and then down along that dam on the other side of the hill. These dams/reservoirs we live on are used for hydro-electric power, and our house initially was home to the men that worked the power stations. I'm up for a bit of a leg burner and the upper dam is the perfect distance.

After much huffing and puffing I reached the top of the road and then continued down along the dam for some time. It is nice to finally feel fit at this altitude and find my legs rather than my lungs burning. No offense to all those still in Melbourne, but the view sure beats that of running down to St. Kilda and around Albert Park Lake!

Prizes this week for guessing just how many layers I had on when I was running - I look huge!!

After making a fool of myself for the bears & coyotes with these self-timer shots it was time to turn around and head home. Here is the view from the highest point on the road.

It was definitely an enjoyable thing to do for an hour and a half first thing on a Saturday morning! Plus I felt totally okay about enjoying eggs, spinach, cheese and tortilla's AND yoghurt and fruit for breakfast. Yes, I am still loving life. My body is enjoying this week as we are not lifting weights but letting the muscles recover a little. The snowboarding is going well, we have been having fun free-riding at Sunshine lately - there are so many little cliffs to drop and rollers to fly off that it is hard to be bored even if the snow is not at its peak.

I hope everyone is well and busy with Christmas cheer.

Sending smiles your way!

10 things about living with boys

After a couple of fun freeriding 'Aussie' powder days life is looking up! By 'Aussie' I mean that we had about 10cm of snow on many rocks and trees, luckily I kind of enjoy the challenge of dodging rocks. Also, I only scored one compressed edge and one core shot - I'm thinking I did pretty well.

However, I had a minor gym accident that definitely put a dampener on my energy levels. One of my teammates managed to drop a sharp metal bar (10kg) on my shin - I have a really nice gash to prove it now and a nice bruised bump.

The trip thus far has been a steep learning curve in terms of my snowboarding, what I need to do to put my body in shape for this sport and also in living out of town with 2 boys who were complete strangers. So, following is 10 things I am learning about living with boys, this being the first time.

1. Don't ever wash up there dishes, they will not realise that it has been done and will expect them to magically disappear next time as well.

2. Don't expect to be able to hint at what you want, say it, or don't care if it doesn't happen.

3. Be willing to tell them when it is their turn to clean the floor, shower, toilet, kitchen... otherwise it mightn't happen (though my boys are pretty good really).

4. Laugh when they talk about strippers, apparently it is funny.

5. Enjoy watching ice hockey, american football, soccer, basketball... or at least deal with it.

6. Turn on your favourite TV show and claim it. "Yes,  I am watching that."

7. Sometimes boys are better at complaining about things than girls are, try to tell them to man-up without reducing their masculinity.

8. Not all people like to cook meals that take time, be as efficient in the kitchen as possible as it is annoying for them to have to wait for me to cook pilaf, roast vegetables, use 2 different hotplates etc etc.

9. Be patient, especially before 8:30am.

10. Be patient, especially before 8:30am.

That is my little lesson in adjusting to living in a cabin with two boys in the woods. They have been and are so generous to me at all times that any minor tension is really that, minor.

So, for the weekend, a little rest tomorrow though I am determined to run further up the road above my house as the views up there are so magnificent. Also, there is the North American Cup Biathalon at the Nordic Centre where we use the gym so I will try to watch some of that. And, I can't forget that Nate and I have to pick up our boards from Banff where they are getting race grinds put in the bases. Sounds like a busy rest day, now that I'm writing that down.

Sunday, is technical training which I am looking forward to, as this week I have felt like I am finally getting the changes that coach Adam wants me to implement. Hopefully we can work further on getting my mass moving at the right times through the turn and there should be a start gate up for us to practice in.

I hope the sun is shining in Oz and that anyone in the Northern Hemisphere is getting lots of snow.

Smiling and wishing for more powder days from Canmore...

Super (or not) Slalom at C.O.P

First race of the season done, and guess what I won!!

But, really, now for the full story.

Today we headed off to Calgary Olympic Park in the wee hours of the morning for a 'fun' slalom race. It was not serious, but, the National B Mens Alpine team were there and the course was rather tight - they definitely don't set gates like these at the Australian Uni Games!

My first two runs were okay, the third a little shaky on the icier upper section. Although there was very little competition (the only other female 'soft booter' being an 10 year-old girl) it was good to get back in the start gate and have a bit of 'race day' experience, as the coach says.

Plus, all of the team came away with some chocolate - see Don, Nate and Rob enjoying theirs up on the picnic table podium.

C.O.P was interesting, there is a suburb just off the back side and it is very much in Calgary itself. It would be a fantastic place to teach the kids to ski, an under eight lift pass is only $8 for the day... if only that was the case in Australia.

In other news, I managed to do quite well at University this semester, giving Mum and Dad some relief that they haven't raised a complete snow bum. Also, planning is going ahead for the Nor-Am trip where from Jan 12th to February 13th we will race Big White (BC), Mt Hood (OR), Steamboat (CO), Alpine Meadows (CA) and Canyons (UT). I am still trying to decide whether to sign up for the Stoneham World Cup, being unsure whether I am really up to it. More thinking is to be done on this point.

Finally, I did bake that Flourless Chocolate Cake - almond meal secured eventually. It looks delicious and I can't wait until after dinner to enjoy!

Smiles and thumbs up from Canmore.

The never ending search for almond meal

Midway through week 2 I am on a never ending hunt from almond meal. Has anyone who has spent time in Canada got any idea whether they actually make it or where I could find it? I have a MASSIVE flourless chocolate cake craving!! Negotiating the supermarket with a few changed diet requirements has been a little bit of a challenge. Not to mention, the Australian check-out boy who didn't know what a parsnip or a sweet potato was. Really?

The plan for this week is as follows:
Sunday - Training at Lake Louise & recovery jog. Next time I'll take my camera it was such a beautiful view where I ran!
Monday - Training at Lake Louise & new gym program day 1
Tuesday - 10 by 1 mins bike sprints, agility work & yoga at night. My legs are hating me right about now as I lie on the couch writing this.
Wednesday - Training at Lake Louise & new gym program day 2
Thursday - Training at Sunshine & recovery in the gym
Friday - New gym program day 3
Saturday - A fun parallel Slalom race at C.O.P the Olympic Park just out of Calgary. The national hard-boot/alpine coach is organising an event, as he wanted a soft boot category we thought we would head on down!

As you can see the week is fairly intense. My body is feeling stronger everyday but it is also hurting a little! Learning to make the most of down time is going to be critical to maintaining the ability to work hard. The new program is hurting like it is meant to with much more focus on endurance and agility rather than heavy weight strength building.

On Sunday I was running up to the upper reservoir behind our cabin, the sun was shining on the mountains and I just felt so lucky. This life is incredible and I could very easily get used to it, though I really can't wait to get to some races. Thanks so much for all the messages I have received, it is really nice to wake up to a comment or two to read. I will post some pictures on Saturday from the race!

Learning to slow down...

So, I'm use to running full pace ahead. Gym, Uni, Tutoring, Catching Up With Friends... day's in Melbourne always seem packed full of action. I've decided life in Canmore is more like life on a tropical island (minus the climate), time seems to cruise at a slower, slightly Jamaican, pace. I wake up, I go snowboarding or to the gym in the morning. I go to the gym in the afternoon. In between, there is not much to do. I eat, I read, I play on the internet. Life is a calm interspersed with intense training sessions. Now I get why footballers are s good at playstation, the day does need filling in after all.

Today I decided to ignore the memo that Saturday = rest day and headed up to Lake Louise. It was the World Cup Men's Downhill ski racing. CRAZY! Last Sunday we had seen the staff injecting the run with water to make it nice and icy and today I saw these ogre of men hurling themselves down that icy runway. Thorpey definitely would have said it was 'fully sick' (thanks sultana bran).

As you can see it is not quite a European 10,000 people watching but there were enough to make it fun to be part of the atmosphere!

So life is good here in the mountains. I am starting to get to know town, I've seen a coyote eating a bunny rabbit and the weather is warmer!

Sending smiles from Canada.

Mountain High

This is the view from our living room. Enjoy! I did this morning....

Just back from a freezing day riding at Lake Louise on my new snowboard. It was beautiful and we were riding with the silver medalist in the Men's boarder cross at the Olympics - our coach's brother.

Well I better get changed for the gym!

Getting sorted

Hello to anyone who chooses to read this (eg. mum and dad but hopefully some others!),

I arrived in Canmore, AB, CANADA on Saturday the 20th of November after a long flight. I felt like I had been anywhere and everywhere after flying Melbourne, Sydney, LA, Denver, Calgary. Waiting at Calgary was my soon to be housemate Justin. He could not have been kinder making me feel very welcome in Canada despite the best efforts of immigration to send me home again.

After a short drive we arrived at our little cabin in the woods... literally. I am living a little out of town, with Justin (from Calgary) and Nathaniel (french-canadian), both racers on my team. We are probably a little further from civilization than I had expected. But it is very warm, comfortable and fully furnished. Plus there is apparently an awesome view. Though it has been fairly foggy since I arrived so I'm yet to enjoy. The boys have been very good at driving me around which hopefully doesn't wear thin too soon as it is a bit of a trek into town!

Sunday was the first day on snow. No serious training but seriously cold, it was about -20 when it warmed up. There is only a little of Lake Louise open thus far but from what I could see it looks like the next few months are going to be great fun. Adam, the coach, is very young, very focussed and terribly accommodating. I can't wait to get into this more!

Due to it being way too cold (about -30) Monday on snow training was cancelled for two gym sessions. I am really glad that I have been training pretty hard at home, because there was no mucking around here! Also, given that the Canadian Cross Country team are the only other people who use the gym I wouldn't want to feel anymore unfit. I already kind of look like a behemoth compared to their tiny lithe bodies!

So, on first impressions this winter should be great. I am feeling really happy with my choice to come here and am confident that there will be lots of improving done.

Heres to hoping it warms up pretty soon...