Monday, November 10, 2014

November 10- November 16, 2014

THERE'S SNOW!!! In case none of you noticed!! Thanks for those of you who joined us skiing on Saturday! Lots to go over in this post, please read all of it!!

TIME CHANGE: We will be on snow for 5:30-7:00pm on Tuesday's and Thursday's, 10-12 on Saturday's. From 5:30-5:45 you will be on your own to warm-up. The warm-up loop is XC Stadium, up to Biathlon Stadium, down around Claw Ridge and back in. 2-3 loops of this is good all done in zone 1, PLUS 1 quicker loop of just Claw Ridge. As you guys are looping you are kind of 'skiing together'. Please ensure that your equipment is ready and that you're on-time. Skis need to be waxed, buffs need to be on if it's -8 or colder, toques on your head, water bottles around your waste, headlamps on and mittens/gloves as per the temperature. I find that a lot of time is wasted from people running in and out of the lodge constantly forgetting things. We have a very limited amount of time to prepare for our races, please don't waste everyone's time. We will always have practice unless it's stated otherwise on the blog. IF the temperature is colder than -25oC on Environment Canada (link below) 1 hour before practice, then we will do yoga in the lodge or find a space to do an intensive workout- it will depend on where we are in our training cycle. Remember, we don't worry about the windchill factor as we're really covered by the trees out there.

Canmore: We have 6 training days left until we are leaving for Canmore. Any free days that you have, I strongly suggest you get out to the trails to do some skiing on your own. Just zone 1 for a minimum of an hour is fine, but the more you get in now the better you will feel in Canmore. One race is a classic sprint and the other race is a skate distant. Please remember to renew your race licences (juvenile and older- CCC website (link below) and CCA website: http://www.canmorenordic.com/dbfiles/231.pdf for the race notice and zone4 (link below) to register your athlete.

Tuesday: No team practice, but I do recommend turning one (you were supposed to do 2 or 3) of the 45 minute run workouts I had asked you to do, into a ski instead. The trails are well groomed and awfully nice out!

Thursday: We will be classic skiing. Come prepared to ski, wax YOUR skis, hot wax your skis and be ready and on snow on time. Please help those that need some help if you're ready early. I would recommend not using your racing skis for this workout- although the snow is in good condition, there are a few roots and such hanging out. I know at practice I said on Saturday we will use the Revolutions- I didn't think we would be classic skiing yet, so I stand corrected. Come with your own gear for this workout.

Saturday: We will be skate skiing. The temperature will be warmer, and we will be using the Revolutions for this workout.

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Junior Team: 

Welcome to snow season!! There are quite a few changes now that snow is here- please keep reading and don't skip any bits!

1. I need to know which races your and your JUNIOR athlete are planning on attending for this race season please. Just send me a brief email. The 6 pack races are on the website and the Alberta Cup races on in the manual- middle section. 

2. We have a TIME CHANGE for practice times. I realize that the manual says one time but it's actually going to change to 5:45-6:45 on snow for Thursday and 10:15-11:45 for Saturday. This gives the kids a bit more time to get ready and to clean up outside of the Race Team athletes milling around. Please give your athlete about 30 minutes before practice starts to get their gear ready, waxed and be on snow on time. Please DO NOT show up 5 minutes before practice starts and expect your athlete to be on snow on time- it just doesn't happen. 

3. Athletes need to have: skis waxed, buffs need to be on if it's -8 or colder, toques on their head, water bottles around their waste, snacks in a pocket, headlamps on and mittens/gloves as per the temperature. 

4. Weather cutoff- somehow I missed putting this in the manual BUT, 1 hour prior to practice starting, please check Environment Canada website. If it is -20oC or colder there will NOT be any practice for the athletes. This does NOT include the windchill as we are so covered by the trees that it's not a big factor for us. So please- just look at the number. 

5. We are needing a parent please to be on snow with the kids. I have 1 parent at this point but need another to help encourage athletes along the way and to ensure we don't lose anyone on the trails. You don't need to do anything specific even if it's just trailing along at the end of the group that would be great. You will need a headlamp as well please. We appreciate this support and if there are a few of you interested and able, perhaps a rotation of parents would be great- it's mostly for the Thursday evening sessions as it's harder to practice in the dark for the kids. Thank you!


March 18-24, 2024

Hi Team!! I'm sure looking forward to everyone being back together again and look forward to the stories from everyone. I cannot lie, I ...