Wow, I don’t know how those Tour-de-Ski guys race even more than this but I was tired when I finished the City of Lake Loppet on Sunday.  Sorry for the long delay on an update, but my race schedule got a little crazy.

The craziness started at the Telemark Supertour weekend.  I took two second place finishes behind my teammates Brian Gregg and Brian Cook.  It was very close each day and I was less than 2 seconds behind in each race.  I was super pumped to have my best classic race of the season on that weekend.

Once home from Telemark I unpacked just so I could repack and get on a plane Monday morning.  Marybeth and I were embarking on our first trip away without kids (thank you Mike, Sherri, and Ben).  Our time in Canmore and Banff was very special and we had a great time.  Canmore is a beautiful place and the training was amazing.  I started the World Cup 15km freestyle race on Friday and finished 29^th to many people’s astonishment.  I achieved all my goals for Canmore… have fun and relax with Marybeth, post a top-30 result, ski within 90 seconds of the winning time, sit in the hot-seat, and prove that I can ski well against international competition.

Contrary to what people were telling me on course (You are having the race of your life!), I was actually having an average day and I was a bit handicapped from the altitude.  When I tried to dig on the last lap I couldn’t find 5^th gear.  All my training this year was geared towards skiing fast early so I could compete for an Olympic spot.  Personally, I skied the fastest 1^st half of the season ever but historically I always race my fastest from mid-January till the end of February. 

Once finished in Canmore, Marybeth and I raced home to get the kids and compete in the City of Lakes Loppet events.

Thankfully, Larry Foss at the Fix Studio greeted me with a full body massage when I got off the plane in Minneapolis.  Without him I don’t think I would have made it through the weekend.  I raced the sprints on Saturday night and the Loppet Sunday morning.  Each day I felt very tired but once I started racing I was able to feel better.

This week has been pretty mellow as I get ready to race the Mora Vasaloppet 58km freestyle.   

Also, I have to thank Bryan Fish for coming to Canmore on his own dime to provide great support for the CXC athletes!  It makes a huge difference to have your coach along on these trips.

 These were everywhere in Canmore

 Awesome morning walks with Marybeth

 They now how to make tracks!

 Banff area

 Me going out for lap 1

 Fish and Trav on course

 The hotseat!

 City of Lakes finish

 Grant knows how to cheer=)