img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktkva6KHGm1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pPeter Larsson just loving the sun. Being from Scando, this was his first Sun sighting since Mammoth with us back in October. An amazing racer, an amazing dude. He was a big help this past weekend, and the whole Canadian team in Beitostolen is giving him some big ups. Check the toque!/p
img src="http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktkv7iQhnY1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pIvan and I before the start of the relay. I’m getting my espresso on - a pre-race must. Ivan just killed 500g of Marabou - his pre-race must./p
img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktkv3tKFKA1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pAmazing food in Beitostolen. Check out the appetizer platter - decent./p
img src="http://4.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktkuzx2Qst1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pInge is fired up to be back on the World Cup circuit./p
img src="http://23.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kt065rvoZ31qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pBruksvallarna, Sweden/p
pWhoa. It is Nov 2supnd/sup and my first race is in two weeks. Time does fly but, looking back, it has been a productive fall. Let’s rewind a bit. The Ramsau camp went off without a hitch. The snow was not the best this year but I hardly noticed. I really didn’t care what I was skiing on because the scenery on the glacier was amazing enough to make any three hour training session enjoyable. This is my fourth year going to Europe for a fall glacier camp with the Quebec Training Centre and we are getting pretty dialed in. We have learned logistically and training-wise from past camps and now we get the job done without much fuss./p pAfter traveling back to Quebec, the team took a few quiet days of rest before starting in on an intensity block. Roller skiing, running and ski striding intervals of all different lengths had everyone getting faster with each session. The training volume was pretty low in order to allow everyone to be adequately rested for each workout./p pI am living with Alex and his family, who have graciously let me stay in their extra bedroom once again. Since I finished my economics course earlier this fall, my afternoons between workouts have been spent mostly reading, broken up by chilling with the boys, dodging the swine flu and drinking coffee. Roberto Bolano’s monster,i 2666/i and Naomi Klein’s iThe Shock Doctrine/i have been keeping me informed and entertained./p pLife has been nice and calm these last few weeks but that will change on Thursday when I leave for Sweden to start racing on the World Cup!/p
img src="http://9.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kshlgiM9Vf1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pFall in MSA, QC/p
img src="http://13.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqyda1jsaB1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pEarly morning on the Glacier/p
img src="http://1.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqyd8j3Bvf1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/
img src="http://4.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqp1k0Xwza1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pBack in beautiful Ramsau, Austria for another fall training camp…unfortunately this photo is from last year!/p
img src="http://11.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqp1gvlq4U1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pThis is Alex and I skiing today. The conditions are not a great as last year- but the skiing is still pretty good despite the lack of snow./p
pAfter overcoming financial and geographical difficultly to get to New Zealand, it did not disappoint. Sitting here in Canmore, back after a three-week foray, I am very pleased with what I accomplished. This was my first time to New Zealand and I was treated to very scenic, switch backing trails at the Snow Farm, near Wanaka. The camp was all encompassing, including two races, intensity, distance and strength training. I was able to get in great quality skiing in a variety of snow and weather conditions and left with some energy to spare./p pBeing back in Canmore has been vegetative due in part to the jetlag and mild sickness I picked up on the plane ride home. This past week has felt like a haze, with the only injunction from the cloudiness being coffee. Every afternoon the espresso machine hisses like a geyser. I am already nearly blind from the morning caffeine, but it is hard to say no./p pThe only hiccup in the mind-numbingly relaxed week in Canmore was my Macroeconomics final. Even though I was studying all week, I could tell not much was getting in; on exam day my hunch was validated. Wow. My mental capacity reached an all time low, when under Name, I wrote: name./p pHopefully the brain fog is over now. I am excited to hit the road on Monday back to Quebec for the fall training block. I will be making my annual pilgrimage to Ramsau, Austria for two more weeks of skiing on September 23./p
img src="http://4.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kov3563iUJ1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pDusk at the Snow Farm/p
img src="http://4.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kop9c7aU2D1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/br/pNZed- Another great day of skiing! Races start on Sunday with a 15km Classic. (Photo by DK)/p
img src="http://3.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kokf83bahU1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://18.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kokf83bahU1qzvvqho2_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://16.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kokf83bahU1qzvvqho3_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://3.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kokf83bahU1qzvvqho4_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://23.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kokf83bahU1qzvvqho5_500.jpg"/br/ br/pNZ- Photos of the Day/p
img src="http://19.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_koen3stI0G1qzvvqho1_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://18.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_koen3stI0G1qzvvqho2_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://18.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_koen3stI0G1qzvvqho4_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://9.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_koen3stI0G1qzvvqho3_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://21.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_koen3stI0G1qzvvqho5_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://1.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_koen3stI0G1qzvvqho6_500.jpg"/br/ br/pNew Zealand- Photos of the Day/p
img src="http://2.media.tumblr.com/axwenUvj6qwno3bmy2oLseJmo1_r2_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://17.media.tumblr.com/axwenUvj6qwno3bmy2oLseJmo2_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://11.media.tumblr.com/axwenUvj6qwno3bmy2oLseJmo3_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://5.media.tumblr.com/axwenUvj6qwno3bmy2oLseJmo4_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://6.media.tumblr.com/axwenUvj6qwno3bmy2oLseJmo5_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://5.media.tumblr.com/axwenUvj6qwno3bmy2oLseJmo6_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://10.media.tumblr.com/axwenUvj6qwno3bmy2oLseJmo7_r1_500.jpg"/br/ br/img src="http://19.media.tumblr.com/axwenUvj6qwno3bmy2oLseJmo10_r2_500.jpg"/br/ br/p-Rest Week Photos- My Family came down to Canmore last week for a visit. It was great to see everyone again and we were able to get out for some amazing hiking and fishing. I am off to New Zealand on Wednesday, stay tuned for photos and updates./p