Nationals Re-cap

Hey everyone!
so as many of you may have seen I finished 38th in the sprint. very disappointing for me. The field this year was tough, only 11 canadians in the top 30. As for the 50 km i was 13 km in and had stopped to scrape the ice off my skis for the 6th time. By this point I was probably already about 6 + minutes back. I decided to pull the plug. very embarassing, but I should have not been that far out that early. Just to add to that I woke up the next morning with a full on stuffed nose and sore throat. No wonder my body felt so crappy the morning of the race. ah well, now that the season nis over I will take a few down days before a year end meeting and then decided on the game plan for next year. Thanks so much to all my sponsors who have helped me out this year! also thanks to all the individuals out there! Couldn't have done it without ya!!!

Chris

Canadian Nats Sprint

Well today did not go as I had hoped. 38th place was not fast enough to advance. Only the top 30 move on. I don't remember the last time I have not qualified for a sprint. The competition here is stiff! it is great to see the Swedes, Americans and of course all the World Cup skiers from Canada. Sorry to dissapoint! I had a great time studying the heats and seeing how the course skis with the best in the world racing here! I am gearing up for the 50 km classic event tomorrow. Weather is scheduled for 30 cms of snow. Yippee!
update to follow!!!



Chris

Canadian Nats

Ok...So I may have fallen off the wagon again with my posting...My apologies ! Since my last entry things have been pretty chill just getting ready for "the Big Show" well kind of. I can honestly say that I got in some solid training feeling better and better after each workout. Intensity sessions have been going amazing and recovery has been awesome! I was also lucky enough to have Amanda (Girlfriend) come to stay a week early before nationals, after returning from europe 2 days prior!!
March 18- Classic race 10 km, falling snow, 0 degrees, 800+ racers = nightmare for classic waxing!!! I had decided to go on hairries skis which is a race version of fish scales made by roughing the grip zone with sand paper. Generally the best classic waxing solution at the Callaghan most days. Only difference, 800+ racers on course makes for conditions that we have not seen and didn't anticipate. I skied the first lap conservative. I have been playing alot with pacing the last few weeks so this was part of my plan. Grip was great! glide was even better, I really thought I was in for a great race. Second lap came around, snow tapered off and so did my grip. I think I should have went a little more aggressive on the hairries. so as I struggled around the 2nd lap of the hilly 3.3km course I had finally caught myself skiing like an absolute fool. I had to finally take a deep breath and relax, this in turn helped with me to get a little bit of grip out of my gripless skis. I finished the race a little disappointed but also came out of it positive. I have not felt that good in a distance race in a while!

I also forgot to mention the little bout of a stomach bug or food poisoning 2 days prior to the Classic race...still a bit off not to sure about it???


March 19- 15 km skate race. Now this race I was super jazzed for! I was so confident with my technique and the crappy conditions. It was a course to stay relaxed on to gain glide. it consisted of 3 laps of 5km I know this course inside out! first lap I started zone 3 and felt awesome! second lap cranked it up a little higher and caught a sweet ride from Robin Mckeever. 3rd lap was feeling great still! that was until about 12 or 13 km when I blew up!!! I am happy this happened at this point because I was able to stay relaxed and ski through it. The end result was disappointing 63rd, but the time difference was not as bad as I figured it would be. I still felt the lack of distance racing I am almost positive I have more sprints than distance. That being said I am resting today for my "big show" tomorrow where it will showcase the 2006 Olympic Champion Bjorn Lind, World Cup medalist Andy Newell, and many other greats!


I'll keep ya posted on the rest of the week!


C

Another Day in Paradise...

Well as I sit down to write this update I look out my window to not see snow but rain. Moving to Squamish this year I expected to see a little more than my share of rain...that I can say I have seen! As we ascended up the valley towards the Callaghan I was expecting to hit snow about 10 minutes out, as usual. But not this time. Usually when you don't see snow around that point you look forward to a ski in the rain, which was the case today. It was not as bad as it sounds, it was more of a mist. Until you actually ski at the Callaghan you really can't appreciate the micro climate that it has. Judging by the weather on the drive you start to think "Oh my, this is going to be a long day". I really must say that if I truly didn't love to ski I would have a tough time getting out there.
As most of you know the waxing at O degrees can be almost imposible!!! that is the only thing that weighs on my mind on the drive up on a classic ski day! Today was one of those days. We waxed up with a thin layer of Rossa klister, I thought it was ok so I skied on it deciding not to try my newly made "hairys"(sp?). Man was I kicking myself after Zach asked me to try them on my way to the car...They were unbelievable...effortless...fast. Ah well lesson learned always try your options at the Callaghan. Still a great ski though!
anyway this article is really not going anywhere so I will end this here and update ya soon!


C

Bored...

Hope you like the new look...as you can tell I have a few extra minutes today.


C

Westerns day 2

It was a hard decision to make but I opted out of the skate race today, as I mentioned in my previous post I was not exactly what you could call "healthy" for the sprint race. I am sure that my competitors were a little grossed out with some of the wads I would spit up throughout the day...Sorry guys and gals!. I really wanted to race this skate race today it was my second priority for this race series, Consulting with Amy twice this morning made the decision pretty clear. Deep down I knew that racing today was not a good idea but still was looking for a reason to suit up. I must admit I am quite taken back that I feel better than yesterday...an unusual feeling for the day after racing sick. So I will take today to rest, ski short tomorrow and then make the call on sunday's classic race. It is always tough as an athlete to make decisions while your sick. Should I race? Shouldn't I? you really need to think about a few things if put in this position as I did.
1. What was my primary goal for the rest of the season?.....Nationals
2. Is this race worth it? trials? ...No this race was a low competition level race, yes there was money on the line but Amy reminded me that she has not seen someone sub %100 "race well".
3. Could I further damage my body?...Potentially yes with the colder weather here.

I am not a magic 8 ball but just typing that I really don't know why I put up such a big fight! Wait...yes I do! I Love racing!! I live to race!! but if I really want to shine at nationals I need to swallow that and deal....ok Done!

well I am off to drink endless amounts of green tea!


Cheers!



C.

Westerns...and a previous...

Ok I really need to keep on top of this whole keeping this blog up to date!

So I was recently up at the BC Championships with my home town team, the Omineca Ski Club. What a blast! It really means alot to me when I can spend time and attend the odd race as part of my team. I was 3rd in the Classic 10 km which was on ok race for me but in hindsite I should have probably stuck with my instinct and stayed home in Squamish to get my feet back under me. On the Positive note our relay team dominated! David Palmer and Fionn Carroll skied their hearts out! I have not seen either of those boys ski like that ever! made my job a little bit harder, I had to ski my Ass! off to get us in 1st, amazing job to those guys!!!

Westerns so far....I woke up sick the morning we left...great start, just raced the sprint... qualified well over 3 seconds ahead of the next guy... dominated the A-final and crashed on the hairpin, where in the previous heat 3 guys had crashed and left the worlds biggest ruts! I think I counted and also Luke (another racer in the heat) my butt bouncing twice. So I managed to get back onto my feet in third, worked hard to get back up there and was spent. ouch, got out sprinted for 3rd, I was so mad I handed in the bib and in the words of Amy's son Gunnar, "acted like a baby" I don't mind getting beat to the line but when I goof up I really take it hard on myself, as i type this I need to remind myself to relax and not crush my keys. appologies were in order to Coach Caldwell for my unsportsmanlike behaviour, which wasnt horrible but I have been know to act better. anyway I still walked away with $175. but could have been $350 but hey thats racing!!!

until next time....


keep on your feet! Don't use me as an example! and make sure you don't "act like a baby"



C