One step at a time!

Just four weeks ago I was at home in Canmore doing my day to day training passively preparing for another season of racing.  I spent some time considering all the steps I had made over the last 13 years in Biathlon and all the opportunities and circumstances that had put me in my present state. I considered the National Championships, World Junior Championships and IBU Cups that had allowed me to travel and live such a unique lifestyle. I also considered the Olympic Champions and world class athletes my age that were performing on the world cup and I had an ache of self doubt. I've never been one to let that get to me and I am certainly well practised at turning doubt into motivation. I made it clear that I have two progressive steps to take that have been nagging at me for the last two years: to break the top ten in the IBU Cup and have a 100% race which I can say was near perfect.

I think this past-analysis is relevant because I am once again given an opportunity to take advantage of. I am in Europe for the next 6 weeks racing at German National Championships and IBU Cups #3, #4, and #5. I arrived last week with the Canadian Team and started the tour off with an Alpen Cup in Obertilliach, Austria.  The two first races clarified my motivation for being here and were a perfect "kick in the butt" to get the tour started. The results were mediocre with a 34th and 27th finish, but they refreshed my goals leading into this weekend and the weeks after Christmas. I definitely have the skills to put together a top 10 result and my goal is simply to put together a 100% effort IBU race with solid 80% or better shooting percentage. This for me is the next step.

I am currently in Ridnaun, Italy preparing for IBU Cup #3 on Saturday. I have included a few pictures from Obertilliach, Austria and as well as some from team mate Vincent Blais. Thank you for your support and I look forward to keeping you updated!

Reward Requires Sacrifice

 Accomplishing any goal requires some level of sacrifice. I try to swallow this paradigm as I write a cheque for $5500 and sign an athlete contract for attending my first senior Canadian National Team tour overseas. I have prepared and worked all summer and saved every dollar so I can afford this, but it still comes as a shock to my meager bank account. 

It is a significant investment and I want to sincerely thank the National Firearms Association, Prince George Rod and Gun Club, the Prince George Ramada, the Caledonia Nordic Ski Club and Biathlon BC for trusting in my goals and contributing to make it possible! It is my dream to compete at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and this is not the year to take any short cuts. I am biting the bullet (excuse the pun) and doing everything in my power to take advantage of every opportunity I have to achieve my goals this year and build my road for 2014.

I have a thousand things to do in the next few days before I leave for Italy then Germany, Estonia and Russia but in the craze I try to find some calm knowing this is what it’s all about. I have trained so many hours and made so many sacrifices and this is why! For now my focus is on performing over the next six weeks and hopefully solidifying my spot on the team for European Championships at the end of February. Amidst inevitably being broke by the end of the season I couldn’t be more excited. I look forward to keeping you up to date along my travels and I am so grateful for my family, friends, coaches, team mates and sponsors support.

Some key race dates:

IBU Cup #3, Forni Avoltri, ITA, Dec 14-16

IBU Cup #4, Otepaa, EST, Jan 4-6

IBU Cup #5, Ostrov, RUS, Jan 11-13

results will be available at IBU dattacenter: http://services.biathlonresults.com/Schedule.aspx

Pictures from Canmore Noram #1/IBU Cup selection Trials (November 24-25) by Sylvain Beaudry!

Enjoying the hard work

"Frozen Thunder" photo: Matt Wylie

October typically brings some unique seasonal challenges to a snow dependent sport. The first major obstacle I was able to avoid this year was "on-snow" hours. Thanks to the Canmore Nordic Centre I have been able to ski twice a day on a 2km loop attached to the Biathlon range. The snow was stored over the summer under a sawdust pile and pushed out in mid-October. The second obstacle is often battling undesirable training weather and conditions. Fortunately the usually prolonged transition from summer to winter this year did not drag on and we went straight from good rollerskiing to good snow skiing! Finally, October is the hardest, most intensity packed training month of the year. Despite pushing my body's limits several times a week (which isn't everybody's idea of fun) the hard work is simply leading into what I love to do. The first race of the year is November 24-25 with Biathlon Noram#1/IBU Cup Trials!

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It Takes a Team!

Thank you to returning sponsors Prince George Rod and Gun Club and Icebreaker clothing for contribution to my aspirations this season! The support of a team is essential in helping an athlete reach their full potential and for this I am inexplicably thankful. PGRGC has become one of my major financial sponsor making it possible for me to train at the level that I do and compete internationally through out the winter. Icebreaker has become my official clothing sponsor helping me conquer the range of elements involved in a winter sport. I am proud to represent both and be part of such a supportive team!

show your support at 

show your support at 

Fall update

Deep breath! It is a nice relief to finally have enough free time to just sit down in front of my computer without anything immediate on my schedule. As a winter athlete, fall season is pivotal in bringing everything together that you worked the last five months to build. All the gym strength, all the slow and deliberate shooting, all the long rollerskis staying focused on technique over the summer need to come together and contribute to the overall goal. Fall for me is about tweaking and fine tuning the body so it is running perfect come the end of November. Of course that means hard training but what is often over looked (even by athletes) is taking no risks, having a near perfect diet, and doing everything possible to recover and stay healthy. It’s not worth staying up late and getting a cold to lose an edge you've been working all year to gain. Some of the efforts I've made are that I've cut down my work hours, committed to proper eating schedule based around my training, and nap most days to make sure that I’m rested going from session to session and week to week. Proper recovery is underestimated by most people I talk to outside of sport but it is in fact one of the major components to performing. It comes down to lifestyle and doing everything you can do to improve. Recovery on a day-to-day basis is essential but also after completing a thirty hour training week, a full rest day or active recovery day is certainly deserved too!  

With the season approaching, I’ll be heading to snow in a few weeks and have my first race at the end of November. North American Cup #1 (November 24-25) in Canmore will be the qualification race for the IBU Cup #2 tour (Estonia and Russia) which I am aiming to qualify for. But for now I am enjoying the crisp mornings and amazing fall colours for the last few weeks I can! 

Cheers and thanks for following!

NFA Continues Support!

The National Firearms Association has continued their phenomenal support for the fifth year running.To Sheldon Clare president and NFA members and supporters I am inexplicably thankful for your support. I look forward to representing the NFA at a local, provincial, national, and international level. I would not be able to perform at the level that I do without their help. I encounter many expenses that I must overcome in order to achieve my goals. I truly appreciate the NFA’s dedication to youth in sport, marksmanship and biathlon. I am very grateful. The support was for $2500 and will make NFA my biggets sponsor since they began sponsoring me in 2008!

Training Transitions

Time to put my bike addiction aside 'till next year. I finished my last bike race of the year with a 5th place in the Alberta Superweek: Jason LaPierre Memorial Hill Climb (August 10th-pictures below). Ill admit, I was disappointed with the result (http://zone4.ca/results.asp?ID=5023&cat=304) but all in all had one of my most rewarding summers yet, finishing the year in Category 3. I'm excited to pick up where I left off in April but for now my focus and goals are winter-based! 

So, for the Fall I have one goal and one requirement. My goal is to give all my efforts to Biathlon and get the most out of the training left before hitting the snow. My requirement is to make enough money to do so. Its a fine balance but I'm up for the challenge and honestly the excitement of racing makes the hard work and sacrifices back ground noise. I'm working a part time job this Fall at the Canmore Golf Course and with the support from my awesome sponsors I cant wait to get on snow and do what I love!

photo credit: Masa Higuchi

National Firearms Association and the Prince George Ramada have literally made it possible for me to race this year with their support! Thanks also to Devinci, Rudy Project, and Icebreaker for supporting my cycling and biathlon season...at least I look good! Cheers

Thanks Ramada Prince George!!

Thumbs up for Prince George! This year I am more than  grateful to have the support of Ramada Prince George as I continue to pursue my goals in Biathlon! It is exciting to see a big business in Prince George establish their interest in our community leading up to the 2015 Canada Winter Games to be hosted in PG. I have attended two CWGs (2007 and 2011) and I know first hand the inevitable excitement and energy they bring to a city. A big shout out to Ramada Prince George for their support and involvement in our community, I'm proud to be a part of their vision. Ramada Prince George will be hosting a wine pairing evening on September 29th with proceeds contributing to my Olympic aspirations! Cheers.

Just Ride Part III

Banff Bike Fest

Just Ride Part II

Highwood Pass (2206) is the highest paved road in Canada! As you can see, it still feels like winter up there. (Photo cred to cycling buddy Tyson Smith)

Pigeon Lake Provincial Championships below (leading a break away)

Just Ride

What are my goals? Am I working too much? Do I have enough $$$? Am I doing too many/too little training hours? Is my equipment up for the challenge? Whats the  weather going to do today? With new goals, new challenges and new perspectives another season is under way. Unfortunately, over analyzing can be accompanied by uncertainties. This season one thing is obviously and simply certain. I just want to go! I just want to ride my bike, I just want to race, I just want to push-HARD!

I have made a commitment to dedicate all my resources and effort I can leading to 2014 and that is daily motivation. I hope you enjoy following my path this year and find excitement in the thrills, memories and glory that come from sport! I look forward to keeping you informed and entertained as I pursue this chapter in my life. I draw a huge amount of motivation from all my supporters so I'm grateful for God, family and sponsors to help me along this road! 

Cheers to,

Pigeon Lake Alberta Provincial Road Cycling Championships this weekend (road race is tomorrow)!

International Racing (In My Back Yard)

Despite never leaving the town of Canmore, this past week was my first time competing with Team Canada in an international field on the IBU Cup circuit. It is always fun competing in Europe, but it was convenient to sleep in my own bed, make my own food and drive my own car to the race site every morning! I also knew every inch of the biathlon trails and what to expect out on course.

I had a solid set of trials races the previous weekend so I started the weekend maybe a little too eager to have the best race of my life in my first IBU Cup. I had my fastest skiing on the first race day (10km sprint) but finished in 31st due to some "anxious" shooting. The second day was the same race and I finished in 32nd.

We had a two day break before the 20km Individual and another 10km Sprint and I used it to get back into my normal rhythm. My best races usually come together when there's a combination of high pressure, high motivation, and the ability to shut out everything but moving forward as fast as I can. The Wednesday Individual came out as a sort-of-a-variation of that. I had decent shooting (17/20) and was made top 16 by a few seconds. I wound up top Canadian that day too which was neat. I finished on Thursday with a 29th place in the final 10km Sprint. I laid down everything on the last lap but felt the past few weeks catching up and just didn't have the legs to make another top 16. ( Unfortunately for my pride and momentum I also managed to slip out on the only icy patch on course-image below)

(TURN DOWN volume before watching!)

Nationals in Valcartier Quebec are coming up in mid-March and that is what my next few weeks will be focused on preparing for! Cheers and as always, thanks for the support:)

IBU Cup 6/7 Come to Canmore!

It has been a slow start with some uncertainty and self doubt but this past weekend I put that aside and did what I love and train for! I had one of the better races of my life on Saturday in the Sprint (hitting 9/10 and skiing close to my best) and topped it off with a solid mass start on Sunday. I put a significant amount of work and prep into these trials races and it was rewarding to earn a spot representing Canada on home soil at IBU Cups 6 and 7. I am obviously very thankful for everything God gave me to work with and the opportunity to race in Canada colors again! The first of four races is this Saturday.

Always good to be back at the WOP

Finally! Something encouraging this year! For those who don’t know, I had a really slow start this season with some health issues taking over the majority of my focus and energy. This past weekend I had my first GOOD race this year in the 30km pursuit (15km classic/15km skate). I actually had a bad start and lost 4:47 to the top open men in the opening classic leg but the final 15km were the best of the year. I got in the moment and really pushed my comfort levels to move up 8 positions and wind up with the second fastest U23 skate time. I only ended up 17^th overall (8^th in U23) but it’s the feeling I’ve been looking for all year. I’m so thankful for a little bit of motivation and being able to give a full effort! Next race is this Sunday (Canadian Westerns-15km skate mass start) followed by the next IBU Cup Tour Trials on February 4^th-5^th!


Great pics by Jesse Winter at: http://www.jessewinterphotography.com/Sports/Callaghan-Valley-NorAm-and/21007420_cTvXbc#!i=1669815026&k=2brpBnn