Whistler!!

2008....that was the last time I was on the podium in an individual race as a senior cross country skier, until a couple weeks ago :) Two weeks ago I competed in three NORAM races held in Whistler, B.C. The first race was a 15km pursuit, which didn`t go as I`d planned, but still brought with it many positives. I felt strong in the first 7.5km, the classic portion, and it was a big confidence boost to be able to ski with the lead pack. The transition went as good as it could of gone, I went in the right box, I put on the right poles, and I didn`t drop anything along the way. It wasn`t the fastest exchange, but I got the job done. It`s been over 3 years since I`ve done a pursuit, and my legs could surely feel it!

The first hill hit me like a ton of bricks. Acid pooled in my legs and before I knew it, little Annika Hicks already caught and dropped my ass! I didn`t even have a chance to fight and stay with her. The skate portion was extremely tough for me, and I fought as hard as I could to stay ahead of the chase pack. In the end I crossed the finish in 8th place. 8th doesn`t seem bad, but the time back on the leaders was around 2mins, and this bummed me out a little. Little being the key word, cause when it comes to ski racing, you have to take what you learned from the day, and quickly move on. I had two more races to go, and was not about to give up!

Saturday was a 1.2km skate sprint. Me and sprinting have an odd relationship, and it seems the harder I try, the further I fall. I took a new approach on Saturday. I went into the qualifier with no nerves, no doubts, and no stress about outcome. Oh! And did I mention it was dumping snow all day?? “YES!!” I love soft sloppy conditions, they totally change up the racing strategy. They change in a way that’s usually beneficial to non-sprinters. The focus becomes more on being smooth and gliding, then the usual powerful aggressive technique.

I skied as best I could in the qualifier and ended up 11^th, only 10secs from the leader! This was a huge improvement from my last skate sprint, where I was almost 30secs back in the qualifier. Being so close in the qualifier gave me a huge boost, and I was super stoked to race the heats. My first heat was pretty stacked, and I tried my hardest to get a good spot right off the start. I hung in the pack in 3^rd place, and on the last uphill I made my move into 2^nd. Going into the stadium I managed to hold off the 3^rd place skier, and advanced to the semifinal. Wooo! No matter what, I was going to be top 12 in a sprint! The semi-final came and went, and I ended up not advancing to the A-final, instead I went into the B-final. Most skiers hate B-finals, and I used to be one of them. Now I’ll just take what I can get! B-final!! Bring it on!! My legs were pretty spent by the last heat, and I managed to finish 10^th overall for the day. Not bad. A season best J

Sprint day was a very exciting/busy/stressful day. On top of all the racing shananigans, I also got to see my best friend/sister that afternoon after I’d raced. I’ve known Gillian since I was a baby. We were next door neighbours in Onoway, and inseperable. I hadn’t seen her in what felt like forever, and it was a real treat that she was able to drive up from Vancouver to see me. Having Gillian there was perfect timing. By the time we ended dinner, I knew this sore throat was a new cold hitting my system. Colds and races don’t really mix, and I knew there was a chance that I wouldn’t be able to race the next morning if I was really sick. Knowing this, my normal mood would usually go pretty sour. Gillian, being the adorable girl she is, could never make that an option. I was just so happy to see her, and it didn’t really bother me to be sick. I got to see my bestie, and no cold could get me down ;)

The day I’d been waiting for finally came, the 10km classic race, and I was sick. Normally I’m not a fan of racing or even training when I’m sick, but I’d been waiting for this race all week and I just couldn’t say no. Surprisingly, my warm-up felt pretty good, and when I hit the start line I was ready to rock!

I started pretty conservative for the first two kilometres, trying to just get a feel of how my body would respond. After a few big climbs, my legs felt fan-fricken-tastic, and I decided to just go for it. I started getting some pretty good splits, which was great to hear, but I knew that there were still plenty of fast Academy girls that hadn’t even started. So I kept trucken along knowing that if I wanted it today, I was going to have to push a lot harder still. Halfway into my second lap I was still getting some great splits, and hadn’t heard anything about Emily Nishikawa or Alysson Marshall. At that point I got a little mad and thought to myself, “Oh great! The only reason I’m doing good today is because Emily and Alysson decided not to race!” It’s funny what goes through the mind while racing. I quickly refocused and finished the rest of my loop. Then came the waiting game. Emily and Alysson did in fact race, and now I just had to hope to not get bumped off the podium. Both of them looked great coming into the finish, but in the end I managed to secure 2^nd place. High Fives!! Big Hugs!!Chest Bumps!!, all that good stuff from my ski friends and family. I knew I was going in the right direction, but didn’t expect to hit the podium this early in the year. A great finish to Whistler!

I’ve now just completed a 3 day mini tour in Canmore. As you

can see, I’m a little behind on the blog updates. More pictures and updates to come!

Happy Trails!

Chris(boyfriend/coach) and me after the race. Chocolate medal and cash! All I could as for ;)

Photo: Jesse Winter

Happy New Year!

Ok, so let’s start where I left off...in 2011 ;)

November came with snow and great shwag from my biggest sponsor Track n`Trail. Clothing obviously doesn`t make a racer fast, but it sure feels good when you get that new fresh smelling race suit. For me, it was extremely exciting cause it was the last piece of the puzzle, and signified the start of a new race season unlike any I’d ever done previously.

The season started at the Canmore Nordic Center with an Alberta Cup race weekend. For me, I was more than ready to get the racing underway. It had been almost 2 years since I`d last raced, and I had some major ants in my pants!! The weekend proved to be a great improvement compared to last time I raced. I finished 3<sup>rd</sup> in the skate sprint. It’s a good day if I`m close to superstar Heidi Widmer in a sprint, so I was happy. The second race was a 10km Classic, which is my kind of race! I ended up 4^th in the race, but was way more excited with this result then the previous day. Being only 27secs from first place finisher and National Team skier Emily Nishikawa, this was by far my best distance result in over 3 years. More importantly, I had fight. I haven’t felt that in a long time.

After the Alberta Cup weekend my boyfriend/Coach Chris Butler and I hopped in the Kia and travelled to Silverstar, the Santa’s village of Canada. This would be my first Noram of the year. Silverstar gives off a great vibe, it’s one of my favourite places in the world to ski, and I have nothing but good memories of the place. The first two Noram races in Silverstar were a classic sprint and classic distance race. I love classic, so this was a great way to start off the Noram series, and my return to the racing world.

The classic sprint was the first race, and went how I`d expected it to go. I`ve never been a strong sprinter, but I always given a good fight in the heats. I like to use sprint races as a warm up for the main event, and for me that`s the distance races.

Sunday finally came, and I was more than pumped to bang out a 10km classic race. Since I haven`t raced in over a year, I had a zero beside my name for points. Which means, in an individual start, I was able to do a full 5km loop before any of the fastest girls started. This actually worked well for me, cause as I was rounding the stadium for my second loop, I tagged on with a fast girl just starting. I got some great splits along the way during the race. I got a `` Your in first place!!`` and a `` Your only 15secs from 3<sup>rd</sup>``. In the end I was 10^th overall, and 3^rd Canadian. This was a great race for my first Noram!

After that weekend in Silverstar, Chris and I once again packed up and headed off to Rossland. I hadn’t raced in Rossland since I was 17!! So needless to say, the trails were completely different from the last time I had been there. The sprint and distance courses were super rad, with some great climbing and some fast sweeping corners. The weekend started off with a 1.4km skate sprint. Because it was longer in length, I thought there was a chance that I could do well. I was terribly wrong!! I got my ass handed to me, and when I phoned my dad he just laughed and said “ Ahhh it’s a sprint, you’ve never been good at those.” His blunt honesty was actually just what I needed to get over the race and focus for the next day.

Sunday’s race was a 10km mass start skate race, and I was a pretty nervous. The last time I did a distance skate.....it didn’t end so hot. Actually, it ended with me dropping out due to irregular heart palpitations. And even though that was years ago, when my body was most fried, I still had an uneasy feeling about distance skate races.

The skate race was pretty exciting, and early on I fought my way through the pack to 10^th spot. I was pumped!....until I had an epic crash on one of the downhill’s. Most of the time, I can get out of a crash with only losing 10-15secs max. This time it was more like 45secs, which was way too much of a gap for me to make back up. In the end, my placing was not what I was gunning for but I was still very happy with how I felt while racing. My legs stayed strong, and my heart was well under control.

Now I’m currently in whistler, and so far the skiing has been amazing! I will be competing in a 15km pursuit race, 1.2km skate sprint, and a 10km individual classic race. I’m excited to be racing in Whistler, a great start to 2012! A new year, and another opportunity to race fast and have a blast!!

Ciao for now,

Amanda

Last Year's Snow

Well, I'm sick.......and it's no surprise to me at all. I fought the good fight, slammed that Cold FX, took extra vit.C and every other vitamin under the sun, but in the end my body did what was right. I need this rest, the last month has been crazy fun, stressful, exciting, and mind blowing! Let me explain :)

The beginning of September brought a change in lifestyle. I went from working 5 days a week, to working 2 days a week. A great change! Giving me more time to train, recover, rest, and just be an athlete.

I started September with a trip to T-Bay. Actually, I started in Canmore, drove to Manitoba with my girlfriends, and then flew to T-Bay. I have finally drove across Saskatchewan, and hopefully I'll never do it again! T-Bay was a great trip. It started with camping with the Butler fam, and ended with a four day intensity block at low altitude. Since I'm in Canmore basically all the time, I forgot how amazing the body feels at low altitude. I felt like I was granted this extra gear, or zone 6 as I like to call it. The intensity block became a Superhero Block. Every workout would end with a higher energy then I started with, and many rounds of high fives.

Eventually Super Hero Block had to end, and Christopher and I flew back to C-Dott. And onto the next exciting challenge.......my 'FUN'draiser!!! It was originally my coworkers idea to do it. I had a hard time committing to the idea. I mean really? Who wouldn't want to fundraise for their dreams???

I decided to go with it, but it was my goal to make it an enjoyable event. Here's what I did :)

- Got a sweet local band to play at the event. The lead singer, Logan Thackray- Canmore local, 17 years old, competitive downhill skier, biggest sweetheart, voice of an angel. Her and the band made the night. It was worth it for people to come to the event just to see her:)

-Got amazing silent auction items that people would actually want. haha! But seriously, we got a bouncy castle donated! A longboard, local artwork, massage and physio packages, nights stay at lodges, a 4.5kg Toblerone, Salomon clothing, spa packages, and of coarse....ski equipment!

- Had free food and non-alcohoic bevy's for all!

- Charged only $3 for drinks!

- And charged 15$ at the door for entry, which I thought was fair.

In the end the event was a huge success, and raised enough money for me to make it through this years racing season.

This fundraiser was a huge boost for me. Obviously the extra money was nice, but the support I received from Canmore, my friends, and family was just unbelievable. I really felt the love, and gained yet another reason to push hard.

And now I'm sick, but that's ok. It happens. There's currently a 3km ski loop being pushed out at the nordic center, using last years buried snow. How lucky are the Canmore locals?!! So for now I'll rest, and give up some room on the crowded ski loop. Happy Trails!