It's a multi-task life

It's not quite the week of the 26th, but at least it's only the next week. This is going to be harder than I thought. There is just too much to do and too little time. I'm still multi-tasking like crazy with work, wedding planning, training for the 10k and all the other little things that come up along the way.

Last Tuesday I participated in filming a documentary to promote hiring people with disabilities. It was a really interesting experience. The film crew came to my office, and they were there from 9 to 1:30 filming me work; doing an interview with me and my reviser, Monica; and shooting a messaging session with a white background. They aslo came to Mooney's Bay Park after work to shoot me training. We were not finished until 8 p.m.! Who knew filming a short took so long! I was exhausted the next day. I think the film will be a really powerful advocacy tool for people with disabilities, and I am proud to have been a part of it. The finished product will be ready at the end of this month and will be available online. I will provide a link to it as soon as I have it.

I have also been asked to do two speeches in June, one for Relay for Life, apparently in front of 700 people (Agh!) and one for a women's leadership group that is part of Bank of America. I am honoured to have been asked but totally terrified as well. However, doing this can only make me stronger as an athlete and a person and teach me valuable public-speaking skills. I did my first speech at the CNIB a few weeks ago, and it wasn't all that scary, but it was only a small, very friendly audience - actually it was a great place to start my "public-speaking career." Haha!

The wedding planning is going well too. We have booked our honeymoon: we're going to Hawaii! We're so excited about it! Can't wait! The wedding is only 2.5 months away: wow, I didn't even realize till now how close it was! It'll all be good though, I'm sure.

My 10k training is going well too, though sometimes it gets pushed to the back burner with all the other things going on. I have done a couple of 6 km tempo runs (sustained-pace faster runs) that were under 30 minutes (under a 5 min/km pace). Today I am doing a 7 km tempo: since the race is only a few weeks away, I need to start getting closer to the race distance.

Well, it's just after noon and I have my horseback riding lesson at 4, so I'd better get going for my run. Happy Mother's Day from Ottawa!

I'm still alive!

No, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth, though it may seem that way. I've just been settling in to what passes for "normal life" around here. Well, I'm still as busy as ever, what with the wedding planning, work, catching up with my oh-so-neglected friends, and suddenly being wanted by everyone for speeches and documentaries! No wonder I haven't updated my blog in a while. But I wanted to assure you and myself that this blog is not a thing of the past - I love it too much to let it pass into obscurity like that. After all, it's the only chance I get to practise the creative side of my writing, considering that all I translate at work is legal stuff.

So I have come up with a proposal (with the help of someone from the Kanata Nordic Ski Club). I will ensure that I do at least a bi-weekly update of this blog, unless something big and blog-worthy comes along, such as the Ottawa Race Weekend. So my next update will have to take place the week of April 26. I hope this works!

Now for a little update. April is the month that skiers normally have off training. That doesn't mean that we do absolutely nothing; it just means that there are no formal group workouts and everyone just does what they like to stay in some type of shape.

However, I'm training for the 10 km run in the Ottawa Race Weekend, so I'm in full running mode. I'm starting off slow though, since I haven't run all winter. I was running every other day and now have started doing two running workouts in a row before taking a day off. All in all, it's still a much more relaxed schedule than usual. And I'm enjoying it. :)

I've also started horseback riding again. Last Saturday was my first lesson after the winter, and it was a lot of fun! I got to do lots of cantering in the hope of getting the body position right, but I still haven't got it. Oh well, more practice works for me! Also last weekend, Cliff, Jon and I went to the Nickelback concert at Scotia Bank Place. And it was great as usual. Pictures to follow (I hope).

Well, that's all for now. I have to go to bed - I've got work training tomorrow in Gatineau. Good night from Ottawa.

Tonight's gonna be a good night!

This post was written yesterday during my travels...

So it’s all over and now I’m sitting in my room waiting for the 11:30 bus to YVR (Vancouver Airport). The last few days have been even busier than before if that’s possible. We have had a lot of fun here in Whistler and it’s really sad to say goodbye and go back to reality. Reality is kind of a scary concept right at the moment. I have to go back to work the day after tomorrow!

Last night was unbelievable! First we watched the Closing Ceremonies at the Whistler Medals Plaza. It rained on us a bit while we were waiting to march in, but stayed dry for the show. We marched into the plaza through the streets of Whistler to lots of cheering and applause. It was awesome to see all the people come out. The show itself was great too. Chantal Creviazuk sang to us and there were some wheelchair dancers, a champion hoop dancer, figure skaters from Russia, as well as the usual ceremonial parts. The show culminated with an impressive fireworks display. Best of all, I could see some of it on one of the giant screens they have set up in the plaza. And it was broadcast live everywhere this time!

I’m now continuing my blog post at the Maple Leaf Lounge in YVR. The Internet doesn’t really seem to be working though, so I will have to post this when I get home.

So continuing on. Apparently, Canada has a tradition of throwing a huge party after Closing Ceremonies at Paralympic Games. But we also had to pack up all of our stuff and check our bags in to Air Canada before midnight. I got stuck in Whistler Village for a while after the ceremonies, even though I kind of wanted to go back, pack up and party. First, our development group went over to the Delta Hotel to present Jeff Whiting with a print we all pitched in for in recognition of all he’s done for us. He’s retiring after these Games. Of course, I wanted to do that before going back to the Village - Jeff has been an awesome force in the development of Para-Nordic skiing in Canada. Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication over all of these years!

Then we ended up going over to Canada House where they had some speeches and general boring stuff. But people wanted a chance to hang out with their family and friends who weren’t allowed in the Athletes’ Village. So we ended up getting back to the village only around 11:30. I scrambled to get everything packed and checked in. My bags were stuffed almost to bursting! Then I ran over to the Vitamin Water Lounge. The party was definitely in full swing there. I looked for people I might know, but it was really dark and crazy in there, so I went outside to figure out what to do next. I met a Belorussian guy outside and hung out with him. He got me beer, so that was a good start. Then Jay and Stu showed up and saved me from an increasingly awkward conversation. Apparently, those two had been busting moves on the dance floor this whole time. So I went in with them and we danced, drank and partied until the party was over around 4 a.m. The place went bonkers when "I Got a Feeling" came on, and with good reason, it was most definitely "a good night!" Every once in a while I went over to the video game part of the lounge where the less-party-oriented part of our team was hanging out. I also managed to trade some team Canada stuff for Slovakia and Switzerland hats and to dance with a few random strangers. I went to bed for a three-hour nap at around 4:30 and got up at 7:30 only to find out that we were taking the 11:30 and not the 9 o’clock bus to Vancouver! I don’t feel all that bad though, I’m still pretty lively and it looks like I can spell so we’re doing good!

 Andrea and I sporting our newly traded Slovakia gear

Jordan from CPC, Jason and me wearing my new Swiss hat!

Oh and as for my race yesterday, it was pretty nearly perfect. It went about as well as it could have gone. It was 1,200 metre classic sprint, and I had awesome grip and good glide. The snow had softened up quite a bit because it was raining. As a result, the crazy 180-degree top corner was a lot better than it had been the day before. Robert and I were able to do a quick snowplow around it. And the so-called “Canada Corner” into the stadium was just fine as well. Courtney still beat me by one place, but she’s a great double-poler, and my double-pole could definitely use some more work. I ended up 9th after somebody ahead of me got DQ’ed. My goal was top 10 for that race and I definitely achieved it! What a great way to end these awesome Paralympic Games! And what an amazing experience! All my hard work had definitely paid off and was absolutely worth it.

Now I can take a little rest before planning my next big adventure. It's not quitting time yet though. The best is yet to come, I just need some time to rest and think now. Good afternoon from Ottawa.

P.S. The Vancouver Sun article that Robert and I were interviewed for came out a couple of days ago. So take a look if you like. It's got a few inaccuracies, but that's ok. :)

Almost at fever pitch

Yesterday was another crazy crazy day! It started out with our 5 km classic race. The conditions were super hard and fast in the morning. The corners were pretty sketchy, so our policy was "fast up the hills and cautious on the downhills." That was what we did, except we missed the wax a little and our grip was not as good as we'd hoped. I had a really good race though, and was happy at the finish line. I didn't fall on any of the downhills, even though I did trip on an uphill bump because my wax wasn't working. My teammate Courtney Knight beat me by 4 seconds, which was a bit of a bummer, but that is sports. And at least I wasn't last this time!

Courtney and I are always very close and we take turns beating each other in our friendly competitions.

Cliff, Kathleen and my parents were there to cheer me on, which was really great. I watched the rest of the races with them afterwards. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it warmed up quite a bit throughout it. I went into Whistler with them just so we could spend a bit more time together. Then they headed off to Vancouver to watch the sledge hockey semi-final game.

Our afternoon was also very busy. Courtney, Andrea, Tom, Robert and I headed to Saskatchewan House around 5 to visit some people from Andrea's home province. Everyone was really nice and friendly over there, and we really got a warm reception. They had live music, some snacks and drinks, and we got to talk to a few reporters and some Paralympic fans.

Afterwards, we went to watch the Medal Ceremonies at the Medals Plaza in Whistler Village. Canada got three gold and a bronze yesterday. What a great day for us! The Ceremonies were very upbeat and fun. I took a ton of pictures.

To top the evening off, we showed up at Canada House, where there was a party in full swing. I met quite a few people over there too. Collette came to celebrate her bronze medal with teammates and friends. She graciously took pictures with everyone all evening. She is such an inspiration to all of us and an awesome human being.

We got home around 11 o'clock totally exhausted. I think everyone is keeping going on sheer adrenaline these whole Games. There's just so much to do and so much to take in!

Thankfully, today is a day off before the relay race tomorrow. Our women's relay team is made up of Mary, Jody and Robbi. The rest of us will definitely be there to cheer them on tomorrow morning! Go girls go!

We've got a few things planned for today as well. Tom's got us doing a scavanger hunt in Whislter Village at 1:30 as another team-building exercise. Not sure how that's going to work for us blind people, but we'll try our best. Then, we've got team photos at 4. After that, we're hoping to get a group together for a dinner out with family and friends. So another busy day coming up.

Well, I'm off to my massage before I head out to Whistler. Good morning to you for a change!

Finally some down time

This is a post from March 17 that I wrote but was not able to post due to Internet problems.

Today was finally a low-key day. We went for a short classic ski on the five-km loop that we will be racing on tomorrow. It was in great shape, and both the zero skis and klister skis worked well today. It was really nice to finally be able to go for a classic ski. I’ve been skating for too long! Tomorrow’s race should be fun! Cliff and Kathleen will also be there to watch, so it’ll be great to see them afterwards.

I went out to Whistler and walked around with my parents for a couple of hours. I saw all the different plazas and hotels. It was St. Patty’s Day, so the Village was really festive. They also have a lot of Paralympics-related stuff set up, such as a little pavilion explaining the sports etc. They were broadcasting some of the events of the day at one of the plazas.

In other news, I got a certificate signed by John Furlong, CEO of VANOC, and Philip Craven, President of the IPC, for being 7th in the 15 km today. It appears that you get one if you’re in the top 7. Pretty awesome, eh?

Well, big race tomorrow, so I need to go to bed. The Internet is not working here right now, so I’ll have to post this tomorrow. Good night from the Athletes’ Village.

The Paralympic Games are at about the half-way point, and we're busier than ever. Yesterday was the 15 km free-style race. Only 8 girls started in my category, one of them didn't finish, and so I was 7th. The conditions were really tough: it was +6 and sunny, so the snow was very wet and mushy. All the uphills were really hard work, not that they usually aren't, but with the slush it was even worse. I don't usually ski in this type of conditions, so it took me the first two five-km loops to figure out how to ski in them. I fell a couple of times because I got stuck in the mush and then had an asthma attack from working so hard on one of the bigger hills. The last lap actually went pretty well, but it was too late to catch up to anyone by then. But I'm still happy with my seventh place because that's seventh at the Paralympic Games! It's not my fault that other peple were to chicken to even start! Some volunteers had my camera, but I guess they couldn't figure out how to work the zoom either, so Robert and I turned out pretty tiny, but here is an article from the Ottawa Citizen that's got a pretty good shot of us! 

Then, just after I finished, guess what? Doping control got me again! They must really like me over there! And if I said it was hard to pee before, it was extremely difficult after a 15 km race when I was all dehydrated from sweating so much! I didn't get out of there until almost 5 o'clock! It was brutal!

At 7 o'clock, we went over to the Medals Plaza in Whistler for the Victory Ceremonies. Canada got 2 gold and a bronze. How about that! The McKeever brothers and two alpine skiers did us proud. Go Canada go!

 Afterwards, we all went to the Whistler Canada Paralympic House for the family and friends reception. It was a great time! I got to hang out with my parents, teammates and some friends that are here volunteering. Jerry King and Melanie Ross, our fellow Para-Nordic skiers who didn't make this year's team are here as forerunners: they ski the race course just before competition begins in order to ski in the snow and "warm up" the trails for us. Jeff Whiting, the Para-Nordic Development Co-ordinator for Western Canada and one of my personal coaches, is here working for TV. There were also other old teammates and teammates' family members that I got to catch up with. It was great to see everyone and to share this amazing experience with them. Thanks for coming guys!

Top photo: My dad, Mikhail; my mom, Olga; Jason Dunkerley, our Athlete Services Officer; Courtney Knight, my teammate; Stewart McGregor, our other ASO; and me

Bottom photo: me and Jeff Whiting

This morning started off just as crazy as yesterday. I thought I would just take today easy and get a few things done, like my blog and laundry. So I got up at 9 and was getting my things together for the laundry, when I heard Courtney and Andrea running around in their room. I went to ask what all the commotion was about, and they said, "We're going up to Callaghan 'cause Rick Mercer will be there with the McKeevers and we want to say hi!" and then, "you should come with us!" At first, I said no, I hand't had breakfast yet and all that, but then they twisted my rubber arm by suggesting that I just get a coffee and muffin from McDonald's and come along. So of course I did. I ran to the Food Tent like mad, scaring Mary in the process, and was on the bus in no time.

It was pouring rain out there, but we got our gear and went looking for Rick. We found out that he was at a certain spot on the rec trails, so we scooted over there and sure enough, there they were. So we stood there, realizing belatedly that we hadn't really come up with a plan of how we were going to approach them. Then someone spotted us and said "Hey Canada!" which was all the promting we needed. We skied over to them, said hi and introduced ourselves. And that was about all we did, but then that was really all we wanted! We had fun paparazzi'ing it up!

When we got back to the Village, Rob (who also came along) and I had an interview with a reporter from the Vancouver Sun. It took us almost an hour: it was quite a bit more in-depth than I'd expected. It's so much fun being a celebrity for a week!

By the time we came back to our building, Rick Mercer was already here, and he actually came over to our athletes' lounge and interviewed a few of us (not me, I'm not interesting enough). He did a big interview with Collette, our silver medalist, which was awesome, and of course, we got to take pictures with him. So watch for an RMR with our team on it in the coming weeks!

Left to right: Andrea, Mary, Rick, Courtney, Margarita

And that's all the news from here for now. It's a crazy life we lead for another week or so, and I just can't get enough of the excitement! Tomorrow is the long biathlon race, but I'm not racing it. I'm trying to rest up (as much as can be done in the circumstances) for the 5 km classic, which should be my best event, or at least the one I'm looking forward to the most! I'm going to go see my poor parents now, I've been so busy today, I haven't been able to go visit them. Some family time is definitely in order. Good night from Whister!

Time to catch up!

It appears that blogging while competing at the Paralympics is harder than I thought it would be. I haven’t posted in a couple of days, so there is some catching up to do.

Opening Ceremonies were on the 12th, and I’m sure some of you caught them on TV or online. What an amazing show VANOC put on for us! We were waiting under the stands for at least an hour, and it was so worth it! The crowd totally exploded when we walked in! And it was a full house. I’ve never seen, heard or been a part of anything like it! We walked through to our seats to thunderous applause and cheers. It sure felt great to be part of Team Canada!

The show itself was amazing as well. We especially enjoyed the Rick Hansen and Terri Fox bits. What an inspirig performance by everyone! The kids were especially great. After the flame was lit and the Ceremonies were over, the kids on the stage and in the choir stayed behind and cheered like mad! I went and high-fived as many of them as I could. 

We didn't get home until midnight, and we had our first race yeterday. It was a biathlon pursuit, which consisted of 3 1 km loop with two shooting. There is a prologue in the morning and then those that qualify go on to a final in the afternoon. My prologue race didn't go according to plan. I didn't shoot well: 4 misses out of 10. And I didn't really do any of the downhill corners well. My legs didn't feel very good on the uphills either. So in general, not a great race. I was last in my category, and of course, didn't advance to the finals. But it's ok: biathlon is really not my best event - I"m still pretty new at it, and the first race is always the one to get the kinks and the jitters out. Most importantly, my races can only get better from here. So I'm feeling positive before the 15 km free race tomorrow. 

My parents are here in Whislter for the first wave of the Petro-Canada Athletes' Family Program. They've been put up at the brand new Aava Hotel in Whistler all expenses paid, and they get tickets to all my events. I saw them after my biathlon race, and watched the rest of the races with them. They get pretty nice duds too: jackets, backpacks, touques, scarves, mits etc. I also visited them in their hotel last night, and went to the sauna and the hot tub with them. It was pretty funny: I told some women in the sauna that I was here for the Paralympics, and they had their kids bring down notebooks for autographs! I think that was the weirdest place to sign autographs ever! They said they wished they had a camera, and I was thinking "Oh thank God they don't!" Last thing I want is strangers taking pictures of me in my bathingsuit!

Today I took a day off from training. just to recover a bit. I've been training ever since we got here and recovering from that cold. I'm all good now, thank goodness, but some rest was definitely in order. So I just relaxed, got a massage at the polyclinic, caught up on e-mails a bit, had free McDonald's just because I could and had a nap. Then, our coach Tom had us a do a "team-buiding exercise," consisting of playing video games at the Vitamine Water lounge downstairs. They've got everything down there! Courtney and I tried our hand at some Mario cart driving on the Wii. It was really fun even thnough we both really sucked at it, being blind and all!

Well, that's the gist of my news for now. Sorry about it all having to be so copressed, but we're just too busy up here! There's the racing and recovering and then there's all the other cool stuff to do! Tomorrow night, there's the Friends and Family reception, so I'll be pretty busy all day again. Will try to post the day after tomorrow! Good night from Whistler.