Building through the Early Season

Early season skiing up Moraine Lake Road.  Couldn't have asked for better early December conditions!

I’ve never been a pre-Christmas performer and despite attempts to tweak my training towards stronger early season performances, December continues to baffle me.  After moving past a bad head cold in October, I kicked off the ski season early with two weeks of training and racing on Frozen Thunder in Canmore, AB.  Through November I skied primarily at Sovereign Lakes, taking advantage of amazing early season conditions.  I joined forces with my Lappe club teammate, Andy Shields, who opted to stay West after competing on Frozen Thunder.  Together we rented a small apartment at Silver Star for a big volume week of skiing in mid-November before dialing back the training hours and focusing on speed/intensity.

As I started into the race season, things seemed to be taking shape as I anticipated.  I had mediocre results in the Canmore AB Cup event on the first weekend of December.  With my training hours tapering, I expected an improvement in performance the following weekends for the NorAm competitions.  An improvement in feelings and ski speed did unfold, however, not to the magnitude I had hoped for.  There was no “aha” moment where the body suddenly started firing on all cylinders.  It’s frustrating, but looking back at my history, not overly surprising.  Historically, January is where I hit my stride; thus, I will keep my focus and hope to find my top racing form in the New Year!

Getting over my October head cold with some fresh air at Rose Valley.  The company and homemade hot grape juice weren't so bad either haha!

Up top at Silver Star with my training partners, Greg and Andy.

Ripping in my new Lappe race suit at the Sovereign Lakes NorAm.  Pumped to be reppin' the home club colours this season!  

Post-race smiles with the Lappe boys.  Thanks for the great month of training and racing Andy!

To keep up with more day to day adventures, check out my instagram feed by clicking on the top left sidebar menu.  I've had a ton of fun exploring ski trails at Telemark and Kelowna Nordic this December!