August 10, 2005 – It has been a crazy spring and summer! I feel very lucky to be involved with the new Exel Racing Team; since our very first meeting I could tell that we had a great combination of energy, ambition and determination, and our momentum has been growing ever since! It feels like we are all at the start of something big, and it is an exciting place to be.

Although I missed the first training camp in Duntroon, I was enjoying school and didn’t want to miss a week, which in ‘summer session weeks’ (like dog years?) is equivalent to almost three! I will be heading out to Ontario myself in about a week to visit family and to spend some quality relaxation time lying on the dock and enjoying the sun. From what I hear about the heat, training will have to be done early! Never fear though – I can survive any amount of heat when a refreshing jump in the lake awaits me upon my return.

Going to ‘the lake’ in Ontario is a critical part of my training plan each year, for which I have documented data: for the past 7 years, every year that I went to the cottage I had a good season, and every year that I didn’t I skied terribly! Although I’m sure other factors were involved, is it really worth taking that chance? While I’m there I have entered a triathlon nearby, which should be interesting since I haven’t done ANY swimming since last year at this time! If I don’t drown I’ll let you know how it goes in my next update!

Training has been going quite well this year, and I am healthy and feeling excited about the season. My only set-back has been a nagging ankle injury, but as usual with these things, it has forced me to work on my weaknesses, and I feel like I have made big gains in double poling! My training has often been planned around our regularly scheduled afternoon thundershower, which despite my planning often catches me at the end of my second workout. Even though it happens almost every day, it is always a shock because of how gorgeous the rest of the day is! I always catch myself thinking ‘surely it won’t rain today – there is not a cloud in the sky!’ But sure enough, the clouds roll in from nowhere and the downpour begins.

Despite being caught in the occasional thundershower, I have been taking advantage of the amazing roller skiing in Edmonton’s river valley. From one end to the other takes almost two hours, and on the way back you can cross over to the other side of the river for a change of scenery! The south side of the river is a little riskier for roller skiing, and most sane people have to run down the steeper sections if they value their lives, but it also provides some more challenging climbs than people would expect in the prairies.

I have been shocked at how quickly the summer has gone by so far – I can’t believe we are already a week into August! The time has flown by in part because I have been busy with school and work and training. I have also been filling the time with some different athletic pursuits. Last year I used rowing as a new form of cross training in the summer, but this year I am trying track cycling instead. I actually competed last month in the track cycling nationals in Calgary, and shocked myself by winning a bronze medal in the match sprints! It is an exciting sport because of the tactical element, and I am having fun with it as a supplement to my more ski-specific training.

Well that’s all for now. I have to get back to writing my paper, which I have been procrastinating about for the past few hours. Check back next week for the sure-to-be entertaining training escapades of my teammate Adam Kates!