Snow was here...for a second

We finally had our first snowfall this week! Sadly, after messing with traffic and flipping a bus, it all melted away in two days. But Harris, Lindsey and I got a good ski in on Wednesday night before it all disappeared. There were a good 5 cm on the ground at Mooney's Bay and a few people had already skied before us, so we were able to follow their tracks all around the park. We even ventured over to Vincent Massey Park for a spell. All in all, we got a good hour and 15 minutes of solid (well, not that solid actually, it being the first ski) skiing in.





But now the snow is all gone, so we're busting out the rollerskis and hiking poles again. Today, Kanata Nordic racers had a training session in the Gatineau Park. We all hiked from the Old Chelsea Picnic Ground, up Penguin hill and then my parents and I continued on Trail 1, while the racers did Skyline Trail, which is very rocky and ragged, so not so great for the vision impaired. It was an overcast and gloomy sort of day, but not much beats being in the forest, smelling the fall smells and breathing the fresh air while going up and down windy forest trails. It's one of my favourite types of training. There were lots of people out on the trails today, some walking with dogs, some nordic walking with big backpacks, lots running with ski hiking poles like ourselves. My parents and I did about 2.5 hours of ski hiking, consisting of ski striding with our poles up the hills (as I'm doing in the photo), jogging down the hills and jogging or ski walking on flats. 

After training, we stopped off at Fresh Air Experience to pick out some skis for me. I've decided that it's time for me to act like a real racer and acquire more than just two pairs of good racing skis. I brought my two pairs of skis (classic and skate) with me to the store, and Duncan tested them for me to figure out what kind of conditions they are best for, so that I can buy two more pairs that will be good for different conditions. It turns out my two pairs are best for powder or hard-packed conditions, which I apparently knew without realizing it, because when Duncan asked me what I found the skis were good for I told him that the skate skis were horrible in that crazy 15 km race in Vancouver with the wet soppy snow. Duncan said his testing confirmed that those skis would be better for powder or hard-packed snow. So my new pair of skate skis is going to be better for wet conditions. For my classic skis, I said that they are really good for everything, but then amended that maybe they were not so good for Klister skiing (Klister is a horribly sticky grip wax that is used for hard-packed icy conditions in classic skiing). I was pleased to find out that I was right - based on the testing Duncan did with Fresh Air's very cool ski testing machine, my classic skis had no Klister pocket, so they would be no good on Klister days. So I will be getting a new pair of Klister skis. Unfortunately, they didn't have these two types of skis for my height and weight, so I've been put on the list of racers waiting for new skis and they will keep an eye on their new arrivals for skis that will fit what I'm looking for. I was super impressed with the way I was treated at Fresh Air today. I've always been treated super nice by Chris and everyone else there, but I've never had such special racer treatment before. If ever, anyone is looking for cross country ski equipment or bicycles in the Ottawa area and beyond, I highly recommend Fresh Air Experience. They have the best prices, very knowledgeable staff, and you can shop online. And as you can see, they really get to know their customers. And that's my positive rant for the day.

We were supposed to have a development training camp for the Eastern half of the country next weekend, but as there is no snow in Mont Ste-Anne, QC, it probably won't happen. The coaches are making the call on Monday. Either option is fine by me, since going to this camp meant that I couldn't attend my friend's wedding. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens. 

I'm going rollerskiing in the Gatineau Park tomorrow morning, and I really hope it doesn't rain as much as they're calling for! If anyone is readying this, please think of snow for me. I'd like to try out my new skis when I get them and to actually get off the pavement before races start!

And that's the end of this lengthy update. Good night from Ottawa! 

Mid-season update

Well, I guess I'm being a slacker blogger again. I really wish I could stick to this better. Oh well, I'm here now, so here's a mid-season update.

This winter's been a bit of a challenge ski-wise. First we had no snow, then we got a bit and it all melted around New Year's. It was really scarse after that until last Wednesday, when we finally got that big dumping we'd all been hoping and praying for. So now the conditions are finally great and the weather has finally gotten nice and warm so we can really enjoy being outside.

I've had great coaching and teammate support this season, even if the weather has not been cooperating. I've been skiing with our Kanata Nordic group and my new part-time guide, Vesta, so almost every day of the week I have someone to ski with. And that's a huge help for getting out there on those dark, cold winter evenings when you'd rather just curl up with a book or watch a movie. Patti Kitler has also been coaching me long-distance by writing programs for me to follow, and I think that's going well so far.

I've also done a few more races since the last update, including the Nakkertok Invitational, Tay Valley Loppet and the Kanata Pretzel Sprints. Nakkertok's race was a bit difficult due to very light snow coverage resulting in a very bumpy course. But it gave me good experience in rinding over those bumps and not letting them throw me off. The Tay Valley Loppet was a really relaxed and fun 18 km race. The course was gently rolling - super enjoyable - and the weather was just perfect for a race: sunny and about -8. I came in second overall for women but it was just a small local race.

Today I participated in the Kanata Pretzel Sprints. Our new Para recruit Caroline and I got to race againt the sure-footed Juvenile girls' category (13-14 year-olds). There were 12 of us on the start list, which made for some interesting races. We got to do 4 sprint races each (prologue, heats, semis and finals). This was the first time I got to do that many races in one day, and though I'm now dead tired and don't know how I'm going to work tomorrow, it was a great experience. I got to practice passing, jockeying for position and trying to not let someone get away. All very valuable experience.

So that's all for the small local races this year. Now is the time more serious competition starts. Next weekend is Eastern Canadians and the weekend after that I leave for Halifax and Canada Games. Then in March, I've got Nationals, which will be my only (very slim) chance of qualifying for the IPC World Championships in Russia in April. For that, I would have to be the fastest B female in Canada, which is not likely with Robbi Weldon around. But I can always stay positive and do my best!

The other very exciting news is that Cliff and I are taking possession of our new house next Friday! We get to be homeowners and finally get out of this annoying apartment. This, of course, means that the next couple of weeks are going to be super busy, what with Easterns, getting the house ready, moving and then my departure for Halifax. But that's life. As Patti said today, it's always busy! At least my life is, anyway. And I wouldn't want it any other way!

That's all for now. Good night from Ottawa!

A busy couple of days

This weekend we had time trials up in the Gatineaus to get our heads and bodies back into racing mode before Europe. Saturday's time trial was a 6 km classic, and we had a great turn-out of young and less young Kanata Nordic racers. It was awesome to see all the kids participating. My time trail was a little too relaxed, as I later realized. I started out too conservatively, even though the distance was very short, and I should have gone all out right from the start. But that's why we do these race simulations, so that come race time, we'll know exactly what to do. So my Saturday's time was a little slower than I would have liked.

Today's time trial was for biathlon, and only Alexei and I participated. The total distance ended up being almost 15 km, and we shot 4 times. Both Alexei and I shot reasonably well: 80% for and slightly higher for Alexei. But I was very happy with my race and my result today, as I was only about 4 minutes behind Alexei even though I had to do an extra small loop while he was shooting. So our times were very similar all things considered. That's a super positive experience to take with me to the World Cups!

On Friday my parents, Robert and I got to meet CTV's Carolyn Waldo, a local sports reporter and Olympic champion. She interviewed us at Mooney's Bay Park and took footage of us skiing. She was especially interested in the "whole family" aspect of our training and of how we all support and motivate each other. Meeting Carolyn was really special. She conducted the interviews with great professionalism and enthusiasm. The story will run sometime before the Paralympics. I will post when I know more. This is my parents, Carolyn and I after the interviews.

Alright, I'm off to bed. Have to get an early start on packing for Europe tomorrow morning. Good night!

A little training update

Our European tour is fast approaching, and as a result, my coaches, my guide and I have stepped up our training. Since recovering from my Holiday-time cold, I've been doing lots of volume (longer skis) and  more intensity (harder skis). This increase has been taking a bit of a toll on my body though: I was really tired all of last weekend and Monday.

I had an amazing training session yesterday though thanks largely to having a back and leg massage a few hours before my workout. My quad muscles had been getting tired and stiff really easily during workouts lately, so my massage therapist performed Active Release Techniques (ART) on them yesterday. He explained that, from constant use and rubbing together, the muscles making up the quad group can get stuck together and not work properly. Using ART can help separate the muscles thus making them slide across each other and perfom their functions as they should. And what a difference that massage session made! I was able to go up the Pink Lake hill in the Gatineau Park, about a 7-minute uphill interval, five times without my quad muscles giving out on me as they had been. I encourage all athletes reading this to use the services of an ART-certified massage therapist. If you don't know one in the Ottawa area, ask me for a recommendation.

This weekend we have a couple of time trials planned with our Kanata Nordic coach, Harris, in the Gatineau Park to test ourselves before we head out for the World Cups. We were considering going to a race a few hours away, but thought better of it, what with the risk of getting sick and over-tired from travelling right before our big trip. I've got two more workouts planned for today as well, and I should be heading out for one of them as I write. So, I shall bid you good afternoon from Ottawa and head out to Mooney's Bay! 

O-Cup #1: All's well that ends well

I realize that this is a little late, but here's a post I started on the Sunday after that disasterous race in Thunder Bay and didn't get a chance to finish:

I'm sitting in the Maple Leaf Lounge at Pearson Airport, trying to do a blong entry between bites.


After yesterday's pessimistic entry, things started looking up. My coach Harris, my guide Robert and I had a very productive discussion late last night about guiding. We analyzed yesterday's race from a guiding perspective and came up with a strategy to learn from every race. So in that sense, yesterday's crappy race was actually very useful. We learned from it what we needed to work on in terms of guiding, and as a resutl, today's race went so much better. Robert stayed much closer to me because we were able to decide on a comfortable distance between us. And he gave me a lot more specific and precise verbal cues that we had agreed on last night. ...

So, as you can see, that race was actually not a total waste or a disaster. We learned a lot from it and were able to apply that knowledge in the next race.

Here are also a few pictures from after the Dec. 20 race in Thunder Bay.

This is most of the Para-Nordic group.
left to right: Harris Kirby, Kanata Nordic coach; Alex Novikov, blind skier; Frank, blind skier; Nathan Kirby, Alex's guide; Margarita Gorbounova, blind skier; Mike Scholte, amputee skier; Jerry King, blind skier; and Robert D'Arras, my guide. 

And just the Kanata Nordic group. I think you can figure out who's who.

It was a cold day for a race, but the sun was out and everyone had a good race! And we all had a chance to show off our new awesome Kanata gear!