The race season has officially ended. The last races wrapped up in Rossland, B.C. where we saw some sunshine and hard snow which made for great racing conditions, and plenty of fun. I am now home, my feet are up and I am looking to get a little bit of rest before things start back up again.
Soon, very soon I will be back on snow training for next season. By the beginning of May we will be in Sunshine Village, Alberta training on snow where we will also begin our physical training. So, as you can see the month of April is really our only down time completely to us; I must use it wisely and well. Somewhere warm maybe?
Our summer season, the off season, is mainly focused on building our physical fitness for the upcoming race season. We follow a set training program given to us by our trainer and will train six days a week, twice a day. Most of that time is spent in the weight room working on our skier legs. We do mix it up with a lot of quickness and jump work, interval work, core work, and aerobic work. But four days out of the week we are in the weight room.
On snow training, for the women’s technical World Cup team, will start in Sunshine. At the first camp we spend a lot of time skiing out of the gates and going over the basics of technique. As a team, at this camp we discuss our goals for the upcoming season and start to prepare. Through June and July our focus will be in the weight room building strength. The second camp of the summer will be in August as we will head down to New Zealand for three weeks for some winter conditions. Last summer I was also in New Zealand for a camp and had a great time so I am really looking forward to returning. Before the first race of the season we will get a few more weeks of on snow training on the glaciers in Europe in September and October. And that is pretty much our summer schedule.
I hope that Whistler will see a warm summer and you may be able to catch me on the mountain bike trails. I have had a great time this season writing about my travels and our team results and letting you in on a few of the trade secrets. Thanks for reading and hopefully I can be back next season as your women’s and the men’s Canadian teams look to make a mark on the world tour.
