Ah, back in Canada again……!
I is so nice to be home and able to read the menu and the street signs again – not to mention on a home track. We arrived back in Canada on Jan. 19th and went straight to Whistler for 4 days of sliding prior to the rest of the world showing up for international training week. The ice had radically changed so it took us by surprise a bit and we took our fair share of lumps and bumps again. The track in Whistler is very unforgiving – it either punishes your body or your down time with every mistake. After our 4 days of re-learning everything we thought we knew, it was back to Calgary for a most welcome 9 days at home in my own bed.
The time at home was spent enjoying time with my kids, Thomas and Kyle, and with Aly. It was nice to get back to a bit more familiar routine of: breakfast with the kids, take them to the school bus stop, get to the gym, eat a quick lunch, slide for a couple hours, and then enjoy time at home in the evening with my family. Not 100% as restful as I wanted because I had to complete some runner testing I missed out on in October, but now that the stress of Whistler is over I am focusing hard on recovery and preparation for World Championships in a couple of weeks. Of course there is the small matter of the 2 world cup races in Park City next week, but who’s counting….. J
The race in Whistler was great to be a part of – showing off our amazing new track and experiencing and learning from our first international race at the Olympic venue. I did not train all that well because I was having trouble adjusting to the changes in the ice, but as the last training day came and went I did feel cautiously optimistic about the race the next day. The race prep was a bit different than we typically experience these days because it was an evening race – normally we race in the morning or afternoon while in Europe. So, that in itself was great practice for next February. I drew number 2 and knew that I had a good opportunity to lay down a good time on fresh ice. I started nervous but well within myself and slid very well thru the top 9 corners. I had been struggling with corners 11 to 15 all week and on this run it was no different. At the end of the first heat I was in first, but only by 1/100th over my teammate, Jon, and only by 2/100ths over Gregor Staili from Switzerland. So, essentially it had become a one run race and consistency would decide it. I did not have as good a second run as I wanted (making key mistakes in corners 4 and 14 – although I did nail curve 11!), and the end result was 3rd. It was very nice to be back on the podium, representing Canada at home, after such a long drought – my last World Cup podium was December, 2006. The trials of last year and the ensuing lessons are beginning to pay off and I find myself in 4th over-all with a real shot at completing the year inside the top 3 over-all. A great stepping stone to next year’s successes!