Here it is, my first blog post as a runner!

I ran my first race of the season (not counting a little retro run walloping by my boss, Magi Scallion a couple weeks ago) this past weekend.  I ran the Robert Hamilton Memorial 5 mile race in Calgary.  The course was a flat, fast out and back along the River and I won it in 30:45.  I projected 31:15, so I was really happy to come in under 31 minutes.  What made me even happier was running through the 5km mark at a comfortable 18:20, nearly 20 seconds faster than I have ever run a stand alone 5km!  Things are headed in the right direction, it’s amazing what running training can do for running speed. 

Graham won the men’s event, so all in all, a very good Sunday morning.

Stay tuned for many more races and further updates on my transformation from skier to runner!

It’s official, I am no longer a cross country ski racer.  I took this spring to come to my decision to retire and it seems like the right thing to do.  There are a lot of things I’m going to miss about being an athlete, not the least of which is the amazing lifestyle.  There are also a lot of things that I would have liked to do as an athlete that I didn’t get a chance to.

That being said, I am tired of a lot of the things that come along with elite sport and I am very happy and excited to be moving on and moving forward.

This past season was a very exciting one for me as I finally achieved my goal of representing Canada at the Olympics.  Because I was able to reach this goal I feel comfortable in moving on and I know that this is the right time to do it.  I have made so many great friends and seen so many amazing things on my journey as an athlete.  Now I am looking forward to putting the lessons learned from this journey to good use in the world outside of elite sport.

Thanks to all for your support throughout my career!

As for moving on, I am starting my new full time job in a week or so and I will be working towards acceptance back into the world of academia sometime in the future.  I am also working on getting back to my roots and becoming a runner again, so stay tuned for updates on that little project!

Yesterday I raced the skate sprint here at nationals in Whitehorse.  I had still been struggling with my health after the two middle distance races so I was on the fence about racing.  In the end I decided what the heck, its the end of the season, might as well keep racing and have fun with it.  In this spirit of fun I went out and had a great qualifier, finishing 5th, just 2.8 seconds out. 

I had a great time racing through the rounds, trying to push the pace in the early heats to take the legs out of my competitors for the final.  It sort of worked, but not on Chandra, who is in amazing shape right now and won the final in commanding fashion.  I pushed hard up over the last climb in the final to get a small gap over Shayla which she closed in the finishing straight but I was just able to hang on by a toe for my second sprint silver of the year… who knew?!

I am now relaxing, eating and hydrating in preparation for the 30km tomorrow, should be a great time!

So the last few weeks have been interesting, with my health taking a turn for the worse right after I got home from the Olympics and pretty much staying right down in the dumps since then.  I suppose this is to be expected with everything I put my body through at the Olympics, but still not quite what I wanted leading into nationals in my favorite adopted home town of Whitehorse.

All things considered, the first two races have gone reasonable well.  I placed a very close second in the 5km classic, a race that is one of my strongest events and actually felt decent on Tuesday.  Wednesday was the 10km skate and this one was a lot tougher for me.  I finished just .9 of a second out of third, so that was a bit frustrating.  Onwards and upwards though!

There are still two races left this week, the sprint tomorrow and the 30km on Sunday.  The weather is amazing up here in the beautiful Yukon and the organizers have been doing an amazing job putting on a really good show.  This afternoon I wrapped up an autograph session down at Coast Mountain sports, it was so great to see a huge turnout and so many excited people! 

Only a few more races in this 2010 season, I will keep you posted!

I’m sitting in the Vancouver airport now, awaiting my flight home from the Olympic games. The past two weeks have been an amazing experience for me. My final race was the 30km classic on the 27th, so I will start by talking about that.

The 30km took place on a very rainy day, but fortunately we have been preparing for this weather for years. When the gun went off I realized that something was a little off and I struggled through the first 5km, at which point I was able to trade my skis for a new set. Things started to go better after that and I settled into a rhythm that I was comfortable with. I changed skis one more time at 15km, which is normal now in the longer races in order to maintain the speed and grip on the skis. Unfortunately I never really recovered from my difficulties in the first 5km and I kind of went into survival mode. I finished the race, and in an event that only the strongest skiers even bother to start, I placed 46th. The result wasn’t what I had hoped for but I am proud to have fought hard and finished the race.

Following the 30km I went to visit with my nearly 30 strong fan club behind the stands and was overwhelmed again by the outpouring of love and support for me. I spent that evening with my family in Whistler and really enjoyed reconnecting with relatives that I see far too infrequently.

Sunday I spent the day in transit to the Vancouver athletes village in order to participate in the closing ceremonies and Olympic wrap up party. The closing ceremonies were great, I felt so lucky to be able to be a part of such a great moment in Canada’s history. After the closing ceremonies I went to check out downtown Vancouver which was completely insane! So insane in fact that I went back to the athletes village to dance the night away (and trade clothes…) with my fellow Olympians from around the world.

I did it, it’s over and I had the time of my life. Thanks so much to all for your support, whatever form it came in!

While the end result for team Canada may not look the best on paper, I was happy with my performance in the 4x5km relay today.  Our team finished 16th, but I was 12th on my leg, about a minute behind the Norwegian leaders.  This was a solid result for me and I felt strong and snappy throughout.  Lorris said that I looked comfortable, so that is definitly encouraging going into Saturday’s 30km.  I enjoyed the experience and soaked up the crowd, it was a really fun day.

Most fun for me was my cheering section: over 20 members of my family, along with numerous friends, have arrived to watch my final two races.  It was super fun to race through the tunnel of noise they produced on the final climb!  I went to quickly say hi to everyone once I got through the mixed zone and it was incredible and overwhelming (in a very good way) to see how excited they all were.  Seeing so many of the people who are most important to me here really made it hit home that these games are a celebration first and foremost.  I don’t think I can describe how much positive energy I took away from those 5 minutes with my family and friends, so I will stop trying, but I will say this: I love you guys and thank you so much for coming!

So sorry for not posting an update on my pursuit race earlier, I have been busy Olympianing!

I races the 15km pursuit on the 19th and I am pretty happy with how it went.  I started the race seeded 54th and finished 41st, a ten position improvement over my finish in the 10km skate.  The classic leg in the early part of the race was a bit of a challenge. The pace was hard from the start and while I was prepared for this, I still struggled with it.  I started to feel better about midway through the 7.5km classic leg and started to really gain ground once I switched to skate.  I had a small problem with a Ukrainian skier on a downhill at the end of the classic leg and ended up doing a somersault and spinning around on my back, Ninja Turtles style.  Fortunately I ended up facing in the right direction so all I really lost was my momentum and the pack I was skiing with.  I was able to catch back up to the pack by the end of the transition zone so it was all good.  I really pushed the skate leg and caught back a lot of positions, which was fun for me and, judging by the volume, exciting for the spectators too.

Since the 19th I have visited with my family, rested, watched the Women’s super G, rested some more and of course, trained.  Tomorrow is another training day, then race prep on Wednesday and the relay on Thursday, where I will ski either third leg or the anchor.