May 16, 2013 – Blog. Wednesdays…Why Wednesday? Why should you believe me that I will stick to the schedule of updating the ye ol’ blog weekly – and midweek for that matter? Those are all great queries. 1) To quote George Mallory – because it’s there (Wednesday that is). 2) You shouldn’t believe me (I cannot totally and utterly promise you’ll find terribly written skier stream of consciousness every Wednesday – but it’s my intention to fill you all in weekly – starting now). And 3) today happens to be a Wednesday – which also happens to be midweek. Shocking I know.

The idea may have spawned out of a fleeting feeling of motivation to update, but when I stop and think about it – Wednesday is a perfect day to update a blog. It’s the middle of the working week – so something to look forward to for those of you that drive a desk for a living. Also, for the retired set (ie. Jamie), PGA golf tournaments start on Thursdays, so prior to hunkering down and watching 8-10 hours of sports on tv (not Jamie, more the Big Guy…), the stress might be a little higher than normal to get a bit of a sporting fix – if you could call this website that – which of course I must caution you of.

Since you last stumbled upon this blog, forgive me for leaving you with a bit of a depressed mood. I admit it. I was not a happy camper after a tough season on the skinny skis. I then perhaps made it worse by posting a plethora of photos of ski touring and beautiful mountains. You can say it – not cool. Ok, I apologize for that too – but being out in nature always makes me feel better – and playing in the snow with great friends is my prescription for the “racing season blahs” and perhaps you could look at it another way and you found it motivating, got after it yourself, or at least enjoyed the photos? Either way – April is so necessary to every successful ski racer – and this April was fantastic and I am feeling much, much better and definitely super motivated.

You are really going to be upset then when you scroll down a bit to the photos (which I’m sure 83% of you that visit here have already done by this point) and see the second tier of my April recovery/regeneration plan. Maui.

It was amazing. I can’t lie. The weather turned out to be perfect, +30 everyday and not a drop of rain. Kristin and I enjoyed the tropical island – doing the Maui thing – eating stunningly tasty fish everyday, surfing, enjoying the sun, some sunburning – sure, but also great swimming, snorkeling, waterfall explorations, some actual training too (since we were there as the “official” training season began and we brought our running shoes and road bikes), and I left with a sizable canker – caused by excessive “Maui Gold” pineapple consumption – so I was happy.

To lessen the “we just left paradise depression” that is inevitable after being in Hawaii for any amount of time, we flew from Maui to Vancouver to spend the weekend there with some friends, drink some awesome espresso, check in with the hipster scene (still alive and well by the looks of things) and catch a playoff game – Game #2 in the now over Canucks/Sharks series – which we saw with a great buddy of mine that lives in Van – Brady Dunne. Ladies of Vancouver – he’s single, and a great dude. Just saying.

I digress… The long and short of it was that we enjoyed an awesome weekend of running in the North Shore, sun, the hockey game (even though they lost?!) and spending time in the most beautiful home with some fantastic people (thanks Bob and Kim!!) as well. Did I mention sun? God, Vancouver is such a stunning city and it showed off in a big way while we were there!

Since returning to Canmore, Everything can be summed up in one word: sore. From frolicking like a drunk-pigmy-sunburned-mentally ill dolphin in the south seas to running 20 odd km a day, and lifting what they call “weights” has been a rough transition on the body. In the words of one of my best friends – Hullsy – I’ve been “shocking the body” which apparently is a fitness strategy in office circles. The premise is simple. “Just get after it.” Wow. What we do for training as cross-country skiers is both beautiful and well, hard. My calves have been feeling like that water logged wood I stepped over on Kits beach and let’s not even talk about my traps – which have seemingly moved permanently close to my ears – as if in a constant state of shrugging –not by choice – they are that sore.

Still – like Maui and Vancouver before it – Canmore has been strutting its stuff too lately. The weather has been excellent, the trails in the valley have cleared of snow, and I’ve already hit some of my favorite running trails with huge smiles in tow despite the rocked body (Highline trail, some Nordic Centre loops, and the Alpine Club/Montane Traverese trails). If you live around Canmore – get out and enjoy. What a place to live.

I’m off to Bend this Saturday for our team’s first training camp of the year – which I am definitely looking forward to. What a place to train in May – great skiing up on Mt. Bachelor and stunning dryland training in the afternoons down in and around town. The coffee is excellent (wow. I am so addicted. Thanks Kristin…), the river, the trails… There’s a reason my coach (Justin) never stops smiling when he’s down there in his happy place. It’s a great place to be as an xc skier. As anybody actually.

That’s this Wednesday’s news. See you next Wednesday.

Listening to anything interesting? Here’s what I’ve been grooving to (albums that is, yes, I am old and just love a great album still) – if that’s even a word anymore.

–       Passion Pit’s Gossamerz
–       Pheonix’s Bankrupt
–       Alt J’s An Awesome Wave
–       Cut Copy’s Zonoscope

I’m sure there’s more – but if I blow through everything in the first Wednesday I’ll be left stuck next week, haha.

Email me if you’ve got some new tunes that are must-listen-to’s.

Peace,

Devon.