. Thomsen D'Hont

Easily yankered in NorAm weekends

2012-01-27T19:24:00.000-08:00

Having pursued a full year commitment to skiing for many years in a row now, I've now achieved a body awareness where I can pinpoint a single event that proves to be more of a setback than anticipated. A single misstep by training too hard when I should be resting, or racing when I am tired, has the potential to put me in a slump. Coming into this racing season while at the same time recovering

Weird luck at Rossland NorAm, and Christmas at Osprey

2011-12-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

The last stop on the racing circuit before Christmas was the Rossland NorAm, which consisted of two skate races, a 1.6 km sprint on the Saturday and a 15 km mass start on the Sunday. An interesting note from the weekend is that I received better CPL points on the distance day than on the sprint day. Also of note, in the overall CPL ranking list for the year ending December 20th, 2011, my overall

Controlling the variables

2011-12-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

All pics from Jesse Winter (www.jessewinterphotography.com) After a disappointing sprint qualifier in Canmore last Saturday at Alberta Cup #1, where I placed 12th, I regrouped and had a career best 10th place (3rd Canadian senior) qualifier at the Sovereign Lake NorAm sprint the following Saturday (Dec. 10th - results). Transitioning from chicken-run to double pole in Saturday's classic prelim.

Season Opener: Alberta Cup 1/2

2011-12-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

Just got the season underway on the weekend. After a week of suffering the effects of altitude in Canmore for the first time in a long time, I managed to pull off a decent result on the weekend. In hindsight, I am glad I spent a full week in Canmore in preparation for the weekend, cause boy, was I sucking wind up there. The first day of the skate sprint/classic distance race weekend, I slogged

Organic Food Sponsor!

2011-11-28T21:07:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to announce that inspirEarth Organics from Pemberton, BC is now sponsoring me by supplying me with fresh/seasonal/local/organic produce on a weekly basis. Initially, on a whim, I signed up with inspirEarth for their weekly food subscription ($20/week intro food box) at their booth at the Whistler farmer's market, and enjoyed a few awesome months of figuring out how to cook and

Can I survive a distance race?

2011-11-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

The answer is yes. Yesterday I put my post-mono fitness to the test in a 10 km time trial with the CVTC and BC ski teams. The purpose of the test was to determine whether I could endure the rigours of prolonged high output and to make a call as to how many distance races I want to start in December (I can still pull off decent sprints despite poor fitness). Saturday's mashed potatoes 5 km course

Back in Business

2011-10-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

After a 7 week bout of mono, I am officially over the illness and feeling great again. I am in fact 3 weeks back into training - I held off on spreading the news right away in case of a mono relapse. I felt like crap in the first two weeks of light training after getting the OK from my doctor, but now, after my 3rd week of training, I am starting to feel strong again. I was really hoping to

Thanks lululemon!

2011-09-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

Since last fall I have had the pleasure of representing Whistler's lululemon athletica store as a part of their ambassador program. It has been great to team up with lulu since we hold many of the same values: grass roots community events, promoting active lifestyles, being adventurous and fun, and having an overall optimistic outlook on life. Some of my highlights of working with lululemon,

Leaping Into The Fray

2011-09-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

I figure I’ll do my best to throw in another opinion into the heated dialogue over Canada’s purported shortcomings at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea. In the following recent articles on CBC.ca, a number of readers have taken the liberty to post scathing criticism of Canada’s high performance sports system. (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/juliawilkinson/2011/09/

Setback

2011-08-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

So last week I got the rough news that I have mononucleosis, aka mono. Doctor's orders to take a month off training was a tough pill to swallow. Thankfully, a setback is a set-up for a comeback. It all started with a tough week of training up at Kajsa's cabin at Osprey Lake, where I was feeling unusually bagged in the dying days. Initially I thought it was from my first 2 days of training in

The Return of One Fit Man: the Hermit Edition

2011-07-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

With the exception of a short 3-day vacation to Kajsa's cabin and a relatively painless laser eye surgery operation, I have had my feet firmly planted in Whistler for the last month and a half, getting work done. 95% of training sessions are completed straight out my front door, avoiding time wasted driving (not to mention gas burned), and ensuring rapid recovery upon finishing each session,

Callaghan Country Lodge on-snow camp with quick video

2011-06-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick vid I pieced together from short clips I took recently while staying up in the mountains at 1400m at the Callaghan Lodge for a week of phenomenal training on the 8 km loop they maintained for us. I banged out a fairly big week of 23 hours, almost all of which was skiing. It was pretty easy to train up there with the skiing out your front door and awesome leisure activities close

Yellowknife Visit

2011-06-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

While back in Yellowknife I also had the opportunity to make it out on Spring Hunt with my dad and his hunting buddy, Francis. Being aboriginal, we have the opportunity to hunt geese in the spring time. Kajsa retrieving a goose from the marsh. With the marsh frozen right to the bottom, melt water had pooled on top of the ice along the section we hunted. The Old Man playing the waiting game

From Easter weekend...

2011-05-01T18:40:00.001-07:00

Last Racing of the Season

2011-04-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

I know, this update is way long overdue. Mostly a result of an activity filled vacation period and then with hacking away at school work for a few weeks (I take correspondence classes through AthabascaU). I have had some other high priorities lately. I figure it's good to have balance in life like that from time to time. Cramming for school and what not. Canmore marked the last trip of a

I've met many a fine Haligonian in my travels.

2011-03-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

I have just returned from my first visit to Nova Scotia, where I participated in the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax. Before this tale unfolds, I feel I should mention the lead up to the Games and a race weekend where I had my best overall performance to date in my career. Here is a quick recap of the Western Canadian Championships races that I sent to sponsors: Day 1, Skate Sprint: This

U-23 World Championship Trials

2011-01-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to title this post "U-23 World Championship Trials - At least I felt like a winner." Buuut, I've sorta been a fan of the bland post titles of late. Leading up to the U-23 World Champs trials January 6-9th in Thunder Bay, ON, I had great preparation at my home training base of Whistler, BC. I was fortunate to have my family come down to visit me as opposed to me gallivanting

Good Result at Rossland NorAms

2010-12-21T17:56:00.000-08:00

Qualifying in the 1.4km Sprint race. (photo cred: Jesse Winter) I have just returned to Whistler after my 3rd weekend in a row of racing in the pre-Christmas campaign, and have accomplished my top result in over a year. On Friday I was 12th in the 1.4 km Skate sprint event that saw the best of Canadian and American skiers currently not on the World Cup (and I was 8th Canadian in an event where

Weekend #2 update

2010-12-14T16:24:00.000-08:00

The first NorAm races took place this past weekend up at Silver Star mountain near Vernon, BC. The race weekend that used to take place at the end of November has always proved challenging and I've never been able to nail down two solid races at that high of altitude. I guess I have to keep searching for and working on any weakness that may be holding me back from racing well at 1700m above sea

AB Cup Uno, Dos

2010-12-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

The weekend was successful on the whole. Due to my current laziness I'm going to do things a little differently for this blog update. Here are my training log entries from this weekend: Day 1, Saturday, December 4th.1 km Skate SprintCPL: 92-93End result: 7thhttp://zone4.ca/results.asp?ID=3198&cat=1141 Good sleep, couldn't sleep cause of the anticipation. Ear still plugged and uncomfortable.

Season Preview

2010-11-30T20:58:00.000-08:00

Comfortable, optimistic, excited... Call it what you will, I am stoked to get back to racing! Having had a relatively injury-free training season, unlike the past two years, I am ready to rip. Truth be told, I am also starting to get a bit of cabin fever having been cooped up here in Whistler pretty much all fall. And no, that isn't my sarcastic voice. Believe it or not, an extended period

Always an exciting time of year.

2010-10-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

The last few days of summer are finally over, and the season is starting to change. The valley trail is slimey slick with fallen leaves and the village is devoid of tourists as the "shoulder season" is in full effect. The clouds have moved in and we are entering storm season, as the effects of La Nina are expected to dump unnaturally large amounts of snow on us over the coming month. For now

This is funny. Even more funny the second time around.

2010-10-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks Pate for blogging this. Brilliant.

Monkeying around down south

2010-09-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Day 4 of our recent 10 day team camping trip found me exhilarated, albeit sopping wet, running barefoot along massive dunes on the Oregon coast at Pacific City, OR. The approaching storm system that had us socked in for the past few days had finally manifested into gale-force winds, whipping up a violent surf that added salty spray to the already driving rain as I jogged along through the

A recent roller ski training session in Whistler... (I am in blue)

2010-08-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Homelife Real Estate

2010-08-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

A big shout-out to Homelife Real Estate in Yellowknife for their support for my 2010/2011 season!! As a small real estate company in Yellowknife, Homelife is a great partner to the community of Yellowknife, being a supporter of many local events and organizations. With Homelife as a sponsor for this season, I am proud to represent this business to my best ability within my home community of

Business as usual

2010-07-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

June was a month of sussing out the current situation of the bod. What to work on, what is weak. No significant gains were observed, but the stage was set for how to systematically go about things over the rest of the summer. July has been a month of great progress. At the top of the list is my move into the Whistler Athlete's Centre, at Cheakamus Crossing (what I like to call the Cheak-X),

This is my community.

2010-06-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

Growing up in the North, my family didn't have much money (not enough for me to play hockey, anyways), so at first I was put in cheap sports like soccer and track and field (luckily, I was fortunate enough to score some sweet 2nd-hand ski gear at the annual YK Ski Club Snow Show, and so was eventually put in skiing at age 7). Soccer was my main sport for quite some time, and I like to think of

CVTC rebooted (again)

2010-06-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time, I had just committed to returning to Whistler after a VERY tough decision to return to a program left in shambles. Despite the gamble, I discovered a previously unknown state of fitness. I had a great relationship with a coach whose strengths were closely aligned with my interests and goals. Even though the racing season was derailed with an untimely injury, I was

I can't wait till we start having June/July on-snow camps here...

2010-05-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Tour of Callaghan Country lodge... A backcountry lodge located at an altitude of 1400m that has 25km of trails found above 1200m with some of the best snowpack in Canada (there was about 4 meters of base when I was up there yesterday). This was the last day that they were open to public. However, they will be grooming for CVTC/BC Team from May 4-9. And then more into the summer, hopefully.

A break from writing so much:

2010-04-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

Whistler Spring 2010 from Thomsen D'Hont on Vimeo.

An Annual Tradition

2010-04-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

I know at least one person will be embarrassed by this video...This is a song called "Espionage" by Green Day. I used to play it on guitar back in middle school when I was a rock star. Here I am slappin' some bass in my string ensemble debut. If you want, you can check out my other two (somewhat) musical performances in the archived Januaries of the past two years.Also included in this

Canadian National Championships: A walk down memory lane

2010-03-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

Like many Canadians, particularly those right in the thick of the 2010 Olympics, I experienced what is known as "post-Games withdrawal." Or maybe it's called "post-Games emotional hangover." Regardless, I was ravaged by a particularly nasty bout of rhinovirus (common cold), that had me huddled in my room, eyes glazed over, in a trance, reminiscing of the wonders of the Olympics. In between

Olympism

2010-03-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Olympism: "A philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles." - Olympic Charter, Fundamental Principles I had a dream that Pierre

Today I saw 3 reeeeaaallly really funny videos...

2010-02-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

Dan Roycroft tweeted this one about Tbay... Kersh and Nighbor give tomorrow's WC preview... And a pump up for tomorrow's World Cup by USST crew...

Reaching and grasping, slipping and falling. But getting back up.

2010-01-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

Unawares, I have been kidnapped and entrapped in a time capsule for the past 5 weeks. Whisked away, time but a figment of a disillusioned imagination of a disoriented psyche. It feels like it was just yesterday when I posted my last blog update. I recall all sorts of fleeting memories from the past month and a bit: Pleasant and unpleasant; all serving an unknown purpose, but happening at such

Olympic Trials and open optimism.

2009-12-18T14:39:00.000-08:00

Re-cap on last weekend's race: Exactly 10 days ago my leg seemed to have made a 100% recovery from injury and so I returned to normal training and skiing twice per day most days. After a few days on the leg I deemed myself fit to put it through the race motions. And thus I committed to the NorAm skate sprint event at Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre up on Silver Star mountain, BC, last Sunday.

OH WHAAAT!!! 100th post... That's big.

2009-12-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

My last title should be this post’s title. Except 100th post IS quite the landmark. Last update I didn’t quite get all that content in that I wanted, so I’ll add that in at the beginning of this one. Expectalysis is the reassessment of my expectations in light of my untimely injury of shin splints and tendonitis in my lower right leg that has plagued me the past 2

Expectalysis: The Ahh-nold arms edition

2009-12-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

Some last minute arrangements have me saddling up the Fit for an epic road trip. Tomorrow I am leaving Whistler to embark on a very important month of racing that will not see me back in the Weaseltown until January 7th or so (potentially - depending on injury status). Tomorrow I am heading to Canmore, AB to tag along with the Yellowknife team for Alberta Cup #1, a crazy-competitive classic

How about that ski we did the other day...

2009-11-18T21:33:00.000-08:00

We were treated to amazing tracks while in Silver Star from Nov. 11-15. After a few days of on snow skiing in Silver Star, BC and a very successful hard effort in the RMR & Co. classic sprint TT, it was back to Whistler. Cheese lovin' life (as always), striding it out at Silver Star Our first whole day back in town we were greeted by a deluge like no other. Luckily, said deluge came in the

Race Schedule

2009-11-06T20:16:00.000-08:00

WOW. Whaaaat a boring title. So here's the low down... The season is VERY front heavy, with all of the main focus races (3 of 'em) being completed within 16 days of each other, completed by January 3rd. Again, I will be focusing on the sprints even though I feel, proportionately, I have improved my distance a lot more this season. For sprinting I am already close to the top and can

Straight Outta P'ton

2009-10-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

Recently I have had a nasty case of tendinitis in my right foot. For the past 2 weeks I have been reduced to a select few training activities: double poling, upper body strength, core exercises, swimming and Spirotiger. All of which actually fit nicely into the 3 top focuses I discussed in my last post. Needless to say, I am now a tank at all things upper body. Today I completed my 4th ~

Reflections

2009-10-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

When the apprentice becomes the mentor Returning to Whistler after my Baffin Expedition was a bit nostalgic after such an unforgettable experience. It took a few days to get back into my groove, both fitness-wise and mind-set-wise. Once equilibrium had returned to tough daily training, everything was still on track. Sensations were great, standardized tests had still seen improvement even

i2P Baffin Island Expedition: The Akshayuk Pass

2009-09-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

I put a lot of thought into how I was going to write this. Who am I kidding, no I didn't - I always knew exactly what I wanted to get across in this blog update. I could go on and on with all of the amazing experiences and tales I have from this expedition, but picking and choosing a select few of these would still have this blog update up around the neighbourhood of 10,000 words. Haha.

Super Post

2009-08-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

Buddy 'ol pal Inukshuk whom I erected a few years back is still hanging tight up high in the Rocky Mountains. He gets decimated by wind storms from time to time, but always seems to get back up. Thanks Haig skiers.Chapter 1: I became a traveler.Recently I have spent many solid days driving in the Fit. People wince and grimace when I speak of the distances I have travelled. Truth is, the ’09 Fit

One Fit Man

2009-07-01T19:00:00.001-07:00

The Kadenwood skate TT. Couldn't quite 1-skate to the top this time. Photo cred: LeeI have never been this fit before. Definitely not at this time of the year, perhaps ever. And there are a few key points in my preparation and in my sensations to date that lead to such a bold statement. Being fit at this time of year is a double edged sword. I shouldn't be fit right now. I shouldn't be

Building Back The Rep

2009-06-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Alrighty then. Apologies are not in order. I'm not sorry for my hiatus. So deal with it. (haha, lots of bloggers would be sorry, but I know how so many of you readers hate when apologies are given for lack of stalking material!)My Statcounter has taken a hit recently (look ma! A pun!), with unique returning visitors per day averaging down around the 10-15 range as opposed to the 30+ figures

Ice Age

2009-05-21T13:31:00.001-07:00

Not much has been happening in Yellowknife lately. I have got out of the "spring-time" phase, got through the "get serious" phase and am now in the "serious" phase that will take me through the rest of the year. It's game on and training is a number 1 focus. I have finally got my phone call offering my position on CVTC. So all this "hurry up and wait" over the past while is now "hurry up and

Waaaaaadddddduuupppp, what's happenin'

2009-05-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

You know what this is......it's a celebration (kidses) !!!Fisherman: "We caught a couple big fish today," as he holds up a ginormous 35-lb trout. "We got a bigger one in the back." Then he says, "I'm afraid to go between the islands cause of the currents and soft spots, but out here we've still got 5 feet of good ice."Awesome.Pit-stop picnic. Alex and I recently spent all day on the ice. In

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing...and more waiting...

2009-04-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

We are destined to be together...perhaps in another life. (photo cred: Pate)I feel like my younger self. Being towed behind JT's pimped out 250cc Elan on my rock skis, getting jerked about behind the tow rope, jostled on the uneven snow of Prelude Lake. Key words: "jostled" and "jerked about". Cause that's what's happening yet again this spring time.There has been absolutely no continuity between

Laura, you're killing me. Or maybe it's the other way around...

2009-04-10T18:05:00.001-07:00

Hopefully this will satisfy your cravings.http://pateneumann.blogspot.com/2009/04/whistler-callaghan-sweet.htmlI only had my mini 500ml water bottle holder to play with today and therefore didn't have space to cram my crappy Olympus amongst the 900 calories and single water bottle I had for the 4 hours (not enough!). And if that doesn't satisfy your cravings, maybe this will.I recently spent a

I like being home where it's warm and comfortable.

2009-03-26T21:53:00.001-07:00

John Butler Trio’s “Ocean” is reverberating through my head along with the howling head-wind. I am dressed very thinly and am in the middle of a 17 km long lake, exposed as hell, averaging barely 7 km/h. I’ve been out here for many hours already, plodding fresh tracks through the fresh snow and am on the final, most difficult stretch of stage 1 of the 3-stage K-Rock Ultra 135km ski race in the

Rock and Ice, ya dig?

2009-03-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Oddly enough, this is the best picture I got from Nationals 2009. The BC boys practicing their synchronized swimming between racing. In our ghetto fabulous cabin that had a ginormous pool.I won’t bore you too much with Nationals deets. Things went well there, every race was average or a bit above average.Mikey and I weren’t able to defend our silver medal in the Nationals skate team sprint and

Uncorked!

2009-03-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

You have to get up to double pole. The classic sprint at Western Canadian Championships was the first time this year that the "sprint" was a sprint. A 1km course with light undulations. Again, I went for the double pole tactic. In my goal book for this year I wrote, "improve upper body fitness to be able to double pole a sprint course" with 3 question marks in parantheses and a little arrow

Lest we forget

2009-02-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

With the kick-off of the 2009 World Championships in Liberec, Czech, I think it's important to remember Canada's 1970 World Champs team.Some of you might recognize the legendary Firth sisters, Sharon and Shirley, bottom left and right, from Inuvik, NWT. The rest of the team was made up of Roseann Allen (NWT), Bert Bullock (NWT), Fred Kelly (NWT), Ernie Lennie (NWT), Martha Benjamin (Yukon),

Watch Pate turn into a Homo heidelbergensis.

2009-02-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

Check it out! (here)Or my grade 11 self as a Homo erectus.This may have just made my day. And might make yours too.

Corey from YK first told me about this...

2009-02-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.popsci.com/node/32024I want one.

Haha! Flourish. Who do I think I am.

2009-02-08T21:15:00.001-08:00

Alrighty, another Twoonie race victory in the bag. Yessss!!! Actually, this one wasn't too hotly contested (with neither Jesse nor Pate entering). Other than me vs. the elements that is. The low-juice-dimness of my 4 LED Petzl wasn't cutting it out there on the race course where headlamps were "mandatory". I couldn't see a thing. The city glow of Whistler made it bright enough to tell the

Why blog-procrastinate any longer

2009-02-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

When I am sitting around all morning nursing brutally sore lower legs. First day of downhilling with brand new boots mixed with 2 hours of high quality drop-in indoor soccer with players from all the top soccer nations has left me planted firmly on the couch with a bad case of foot-slash-every muscle in lower leg-slash-every joint from my hips down-slash-quad tenderness. Yikes. Ouch. Live today,

A sign that Canada can become the best.

2009-01-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

Check it: http://lennyvaljas.blogspot.com/Two top-10 results for U23 men. Fred in 6th, Lenny in 7th in 15km skate in France. Our men are showing some incredible depth! Look out World. We are almost there.

I guess this is becoming an annual occurrence...

2009-01-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

Except this time my left ring finger is bent out of shape from breaking my hand this summer.Again, I randomly picked up a guitar and busted out. This clip made it to the blog with urgings from Pate and Phil. The backdrop is the magnificent "Chalet Chez Peter & Linda" in Rossland. I just made up that name...The tune is the acoustic version of Stillborn by a cool dude named Zakk Wylde. An

The great Canadian road trip?

2009-01-13T19:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, this started with me and Pate's incredulous gasps as to how far away Rossland is, and how long the ensuing roadtrip will be to the next NorAms... Whistler to Rossland: 740 km, 8 hours 54 minutes!!! For what was thought to be a child's play, half-day drive.How about this behemoth... 9,325 km, 5 days 4 hours of non-stop driving. You can visit every province and territory in Canada pretty

How wicked would it be to train in Maui.

2009-01-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

Check out Ryder's video blogs...http://www.ryderhesjedal.ca/Imagine a rollerski up Haleakala (hopefully with someone at the top to drive you down).

When everything goes silent.

2009-01-06T22:07:00.000-08:00

Photo Cred: Dan RoycroftIt really feels like I have hit a turning point. I can't even listen to music I listened to mere days ago, it just seems like it's from a different time. I figure I'll have to discover new songs over the next while and totally replace everything in my iTunes library to start writing a new chapter in my life.For me, Trials was a happy time. Fun racing, seeing great friends

TD Exclusive!: Arguably Dominant

2009-01-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

Mike Argue is the man. Most people already know this and that his CCC calendar pic from a couple years back is my background on my cellular - he's my homie from the North and today he lit it up.Today Mike Argue of Yellowknife, NT won the Canmore Noram Skate Sprint against a star studded A-final with the likes of Sean Crooks, Alex Harvey, Jeff Ellis, Stef Kuhn and Phil Widmer, finishing in that

I love it how the outcome of the season is determined on the success of a single day,

2009-01-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

And how last night when Richard Daitch asked me that I'm doing well, that I'm not sick or injured, I had to retract my initial "how are you doing?"-response of "well" and replace it with, "Oh, wait, I'm actually both sick and injured!" as I am finally getting over that light cold and have been nursing my foot all week. And that's why I'd prefer a more lengthy trials period of several weekends of

The Long Awaited Party

2008-12-28T13:26:00.001-08:00

Happy holidays everyone! Greetings, from Canmore! Canmore??? Ya, I guess it's Canmore...almost wasn't though. Just drove out from Whistler yesterday on a journey of a drive that was plagued with idiot drivers and accidents every 5 minutes.To bring you up to speed on things lately: after a lackluster start the season, I joined the YK crew for a week of training and then racing at the Alberta Cup

It feels like home!

2008-12-15T16:22:00.000-08:00

sup,Just an update on what's new in the world of TD. I'm still in the rut of text-only blog updates. Hopefully that will change soon cause even I am getting fed up with this BS, hah! So after the trainwreck that was Sovereign NorAm round 1, I rallied throughout the week, put in one or two good training sessions and refocused for round 2. The team did some extensive travelling throughout the

When fate shovels poo in your face

2008-12-07T14:36:00.000-08:00

I guess it's better here than at Trials in Canmore... This weekend ended up being a disaster. I was feeling great going into the sprint race. I was skiing well and fast and was ready to unleash. Here is what my race morning looked like for Sprint day taken straight out of my race plan book: 6:15 Wake up 6:30 b-fast (bring oatmeal to race site too) 7:30 depart 8:00 arrive - ditch stuff in

Christmas morning and I'm pumped.

2008-12-04T18:43:00.000-08:00

Alrighty, first race Saturday. 1.1 km Skate sprint at Sovereign. Tons of the best Americans and "more Canadians than you can shake a stick at". If you asked me last weekend how I was feeling going into my first race I would be a little bit worried. Last Saturday I did my first hard skate intensity of the year (besides a skate sprint this fall). I did some intervals that were 1 minute-ish

Turn up your speakers.

2008-11-26T09:15:00.001-08:00

These guys have too much fun. And yet are the most dominant sprinting force on the planet.

WOP Unleashed

2008-11-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

Talk about perfect timing.There were mixed emotions leaving Silver Star after an incredibly productive camp where very smart and efficient training was coupled with an awesomely relaxed atmosphere in the company of very interesting and entertaining individuals. We were sure we were being sent signals to stick around a bit longer, as snow dumped on the Star, the sun shone brightly, and every

Not that this totally needs to be addressed...

2008-11-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

http://www.xcottawa.ca/articles.php?id=1153&PHPSESSID=f93c2c16ad980f8749b12a0c2674d76cKarl Saidla brainstorms about the different race distances for men and women in skiing and why these differences exist. It might be true that these discrepencies are unfounded, and the main one I would argue is the women's 30km vs. the men's 50km. Over longer distances, women are much closer to men because of

"The skiers in the West have the right to be a$$holes to Easterners" - Pat O'Brien

2008-11-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

For those of you who got pumped with the inspirational post on how good the skiing is in Whistler, I'm sad to inform you that the skiing was very short-lived and the vast amounts of precipitation eventually became rain and all the snow was washed out. So no more skiing in Whistler. It is that time of year though, but the zero-ish temperatures have been on the plus side for a while resulting in

And so it begins. YKI.

2008-11-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

Erik knows it. Pate knows it.The Legend knows it.The kids on the block know it.Do You Know It?They are rolling some trails tonight, but trails like this one take time. Meters of snow are needed to cover the giant stumps and boulders that are the trails high up in Callaghan Country. Good thing they get meters, and meters of the white stuff.

XCOttawa.ca, you rock my world.

2008-11-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging lately cause all my time has been spent on XCOttawa.ca, reading sweet articles, like the one about the McCarthy bros and their feathery little friend...hilarious!The "What the team is reading..." section is completely money, totally reminds me of my childhood searching for any scrap of skiing news on the net. EVERY SKIER SHOULD FREQUENT XCOttawa.ca as this list is updated

Mike Gilday - 1000m World Cup Silver!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-26T22:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, I've been in Vancouver the past two days catching up with old friends and watching speed skating World Cups. I have had soooo much fun, just awesome time here in Van. Very busy, very fun. Got to chill with some Yellowknifers, dwell in my aunt's condo (she's in Mexico), push the Fit to it's limits (and give it an upgrade in the process - roof rack), experience "the cool" in Vancouver, and the

Check these out

2008-10-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.skitrax.com/index.php?module=CustomPage&action=view&custompage_id=76Drew Goldsack's seems like it has some potential.

G-day, eat your heart out...

2008-10-22T21:41:00.001-07:00

I feel terrible...

2008-10-19T12:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Sara has been blogging all summer and I thought she had given up on the dream...shame on me...http://awca-sarahewitt.blogspot.com/

Wanderlust

2008-10-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

(written Sunday, October 12th) This week can be summarized as the adventurous week of adventure. It has been a good week, I have done some cool things, learned a lot and doubled the amount of BC that I have seen. It started with that little escapade out to Vernon to hang with Dr. Sellars. It then turned into me heading back towards Whistler in hurricane winds, nearly having the Fit crushed

From cousin Warren...

2008-10-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

Champions for Children din-din...Represent!Megan Metcalfe and I. She runs a 15:15 5000m. And went to the Olympics. This torch was actually used to pass on the Olympic Flame at one point.

Remember I said something about an insane boot-ski?

2008-10-15T21:12:00.001-07:00

This was no ordinary boot-ski, it was very icy and insanely fast.Thanks Pat for the video. Boot-ski lessons: $50Learning to fall gracefully: pricelessThere are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard.hahahaha....ooooh boy....laaaaaaame......goodnight.

Hilarious!

2008-10-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

Seriously...Another slightly bigger update in the works...Sorry Jess, it contains text. T Pain.

This Suit is Black Not

2008-10-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

Are you ready? Get comfortable and dive into this epic. You might want to pack a lunch.I’m not going to lie; this past semester of school was a terrible experience. I was enrolled in a Calculus course, that thankfully I had done most of in High School, and a Biology course, Anatomy and Physiology. The Calc is normally a 6 month, and the Bio is normally a year-long, but because of how funding from

The Most Anticipated Event of your October.

2008-10-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

Come on people! I've received a lot of flak - "where are the blog updates", "I wanted to proctastinate, so I went to your blog. But there were no updates!", "...How are things with you? Of course no one has heard much about you lately - I'm going to have to ask you to write a blog update" - lots of stuff like that. I'll have all you loyal readers know that I have indeed started the super-post

The Frenchmen are coming!

2008-09-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

They have updated their site...no new pics or anything yet.http://cneph.ca/Home.htmlIn other news, Mike Gilday has finally made his blog. http://mgilday.blogspot.com/ It's brand new, but expect exciting new updates on a regular basis.For me, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Things are getting ugly, but more importantly, things are getting done. September 30th is Tuesday.

Lazy Bones

2008-09-22T15:08:00.001-07:00

Alright, i just got a message the other day on Facebook from one J. Cockney...er...too obvious...ahem...Jess C, saying that I am a "lazy bones" and that I should get my blogging in gear. He is right, as always, but i am in a serious crunch at a moment, which is currently broken up by a short recovery period after slamming an Anatomy/Physiology midterm/final back to back, so i'll give a quick

He's back.

2008-09-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/sep08/sep10news

"Man, know what are so sweet? Camping chairs. When camping. They are just so clutch!"

2008-09-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

Why yes, I am self proclaimed quotatious. I have no idea why I put that as the title...it has absolutely no relevance to this update...Things have been ok here in Whistler. I had the worst cold of my life last week which is finally just about history. Every year without fail I get sick at the transition from summer to fall. In a way its a good thing because it ensures sufficient antibodies

Yellowknife Boy

2008-09-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

This guy went to my highschool.Now he's a star on the new spin-off series 90210 that premiered this week (and there's an encore presentation of the 2 hr premiere tonight!). Dustin Milligan. Man he's smooth... I want to be a celebrity someday, haha. I was amped when Dan, after having watched the interview himself, said that he sees flashes of Dustin in me. He thinks we have many similarities

Wow, I am having way too much fun with Google's brand new web browser "Chrome". It's so fast, so sick.

2008-09-02T13:31:00.001-07:00

In testing its abilities i came across 2 things that made me laugh. I've seen them before but they are both things that are currently putting a smile on my face. I'm still holed up with the worst cold i have ever had, sitting in the gloomy confines of 6424 Balsam Way with over a week's growth of facial hair (which is basically nothing for me, haha). I just tented my face inside a stainless

Pics from CVTC blog. (AKA our new ass. coach Erik Nilsson's blog...)

2008-09-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

Me leading the uphill double pole test. It's a 1km tt that starts with a nice steep 10%, flattens out over the middle section and then steep again to the finish. Somehow I won this (i had fast skis though, but there were others who had the same speed) so i guess the whole hand ordeal didn't set me back too far in terms of upper body strength. This is a good example of how focused functional

School Mode.

2008-08-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

I just got back from demolishing an Anatomy and Physiology midterm. I have been buried in books for a while now in my attempt to get school done by my deadline of Sept 30th. If i do not finish by then, i cannot afford Whistler. The funding i get when i do school allows me to afford to live in this perfect training condition paradise. Let's hope i can finish soon...I suppose that's what is

Ok, first, huge shout-out to Simon Whitfield!!

2008-08-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

I am so proud. He raced an incredible race and definitely showed what it means to find the hero complex. If you didn't see the race, you missed out. It was one of the most gutsy performances in endurance sport i have ever seen. He kept getting gapped during the run but would somehow always make it back with the leaders. With less than a km to go he got dropped by about 10 seconds. With less

Warning: This post may or may not contain boring subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised (jk).

2008-08-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

After receiving some flak from Zach about the lack of interesting content on my blog (personally I can’t see where he’s coming from – I mean, come on, how often do you get the chance to recount such a ridiculous story as a bear breaking into your house?), I have decided to put together an “interesting” post containing things of interest about me that some of you would like to know. Like Zach. But

Karhu Paska!! (Bear "poo" in Suomi)

2008-08-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

If I were to say that my life hasn’t been exciting lately, that would be a lie. Do you ever have those weird thoughts that make you believe you are a psychic or that there is some divine and/or hidden power that channels your thoughts into the realm of the truly bizarre and then somehow these thoughts come true? These thoughts have been happening to me on a regular basis this year with shocking

SSSSSSSSSSuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuppppppppp........

2008-08-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates for the past week or so. I know I have set the bar high recently, with such regularity of posting…I do have a decently good reason, but only decently good… I was up on the Haig Glacier skiing for the week with my own team the CVTC as well as the CNEPH and a few Quebec provincial team-ers. I had a fantastic camp. I was able to put the gimp hand to work so that was

Cool day(s).

2008-07-25T21:03:00.001-07:00

Alright, so I'm back home in Whistler. I was welcomed home with a strong whiff of rotting garbage as I walked in my front door. I guess Pate forgot one or two items under the sink... But whatever, i dispatched of said smellies down at the W-town garbage disposal and they are out of my life.Rewind a few days...I arrived in VAncouver late on the 22nd, almost early the 23rd. Got picked up by Lori

Yellowknife stay coming to an end...boohoo...

2008-07-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

Low quality behaviour causes low quality results. That’s something that E.Bailey went over with us at the NTDC mental toughness camp last fall.Laura McLeod, a girl I went to school with through childhood here in Yellowknife came by the other day to drop off my Garmin Forerunner 305 after she used it in her triathlon. With her came her bf and my long-time good friend whom I grew up with, Mr. X.