November 5, 2004 – Fall has arrived and so have my mixed emotions regarding
the changing season. Of course as you would expect, I am filled with
excitement and anticipation of the upcoming season as the snowflakes slowly
start to appear in place of the raindrops. However on the other hand, I also
come to the realization that another summer has flown by and it is time to
bundle up for those early morning workouts.
The first sign of fall for me is the morning when I get up for a run dressed
in my shorts and a t-shirt. I step outside the door ready to go, make it
about five steps before pulling a U-turn, heading back inside and pulling on
my tights and long sleeve shirt (I’m sure all athletes have pulled this same
maneuver at some point). The warm morning air has been replaced with the
cool crisp air which tells me winter is coming. It’s kind of sad to see a
fun summer come to an end. Fall is also when the snow begins to show its
face for the first time in a while. I’m always excited to see snow but the
problem with the small early season snowfalls is that it begins to limit our
training options. With just a little bit of snow, skiing often is not yet an
option. On the other hand, that little bit of snow is quite often enough to
make the roads very slippery which makes rollerskiing much more dangerous.
Rollersking on a slippery road can make even the best skiers look kind of
like Bambi on ice. Running often becomes a popular option in the fall but
even that is not clear sailing because again that little bit of snow is just
enough to make trails and roads slippery and uneven to run on. Nobody wants
an injury at this time of the year.
The first ski of the season is always one of my favorite workouts. As a
skier I wait and wait until one morning I wake up and see snow on the grass
and it makes me feel kind of like a young child on Christmas morning. I
scramble to find my rock skis that I haven’t seen since last fall – soon
realizing I also have not cleaned them since last year. I slam down a
breakfast and then I’m out the door to find a grassy field to set fresh
tracks down. Fall is also the time of year when I begin to look more closely
at my equipment. Skis are taken out of storage and prep work for the
upcoming season begins. I enjoy working on my skis. There are good memories
attached to each pair of skis I own. With every new piece of equipment I get
there is always the anticipation of what could be. The excitement around the
upcoming race season is growing stronger everyday as the countdown till the
first race is on.
Fall I believe can be a difficult time of year for many. For me there is one
thing that overcomes all negative thoughts that pass through my mind. That
one thing is anticipation of what is just around the corner. As Jerry
Uelsmann once said, “Ultimately, my hope is to amaze myself. The
anticipation of discovering new possibilities becomes my greatest joy”.
Just to briefly tell you what the national team has been up to for the last
little while, we started fall testing last week which consisted of Max VO2
test, anthro test (body fat), and critical speed. We were also scheduled for
an uphill time trial, but due to the arrival of snow it was called off. The
team then got word of good skiing in Camrose so with only a day of notice,
we packed up and headed north to ski on some amazing early season snow.