Hot Pavement

I recently finished an altitude training camp with the National Team in Park City, the land of hot pavement. Let me break it down. Hot: for two weeks we trained in the area and every single day the hot sun made us sweat and smile. Pavement: we did many 4-hour workouts, mostly on rollerskis, without repeating a road once. The one thing the roads did have in common was the direction of travel, up, meaning elevation gain abound. Big thanks to the coaching staff for doing the recon planning and organizing all the logistics for so many different training routes! Every day was fresh and exciting with new vistas to view and new trails to pound.

Aside from training our touches off we found time to play beach volleyball on two occasions and our lack of height was publicized whenever Lenny (6’ 5”?) had an opportunity to spike… good times. I got in the habit of drinking coconut water (it’s so much cheaper in the States!) as an electrolyte replenishment and overall nutritious beverage. I’m not a huge football fan, but I’m fairly up to date now after listening in on a constant barrage of football talk (a bunch of the guys on the team have a couple fantasy league pools going on). Also, if you happen to be in Salt Lake City and are going grocery shopping, keep your eye out for a Whole Foods Market. It’s the best. Reasonable prices, fresh produce and great selection.

A big shout out to our massage therapists (Wolfman and Scott) and physiotherapist (Erin) for keeping our bodies functioning because you know we’re hard on them!

This week I'm hanging out in Canmore attempting to recover quickly before I travel to Whistler on Sunday for a 1 week intensity focused training camp with the National Team. My apologies for the lack of quality pictures, they don’t do the area justice at all, but that’s how it is when you’re training hard.

The gang during a 4 hour session

All smiles in the Wasatch Mountains!

Scenic views

Some of the guys striding up the steepest section of pavement I've ever skied