Snow Camp on the other side of the world
My favorite seasons in Canada are those when there is snow on the mountains. I enjoy heat but I like the contrast of white snow on black mountains with green trees. Midsummer, the mountains are bare in my hometown of Canmore. Luckily for me, I am on an on snow camp in New Zealand.
This is my third time to the Snow Farm on the South Island. There is only one place to ski in New Zealand and only a few thousand people appear to do it. This facility is the brainchild of a Mary and John Lee, Kiwi entrepreneurs who grew tired of sheep farming and developed a huge love for Nordic sport. It is fortuitous for our team as we can enjoy mid-winter conditions in an extraordinarily beautiful area.
Training camps are three weeks long and their purpose is to remove athletes from the distractions of home. Isolation ensures that we can train hard, have access to coaching to work on the technical side of skiing and recover as quickly as possible. We are monitored closely to ensure we don’t cross the line between good tired and bad tired until the end of the camp. The difference between the two is that I am a bubbly and optimistic individual and when I cross the line to bad tired, I begin to panic about global warming.
My day starts here with strapping on my heart rate monitor and lying very still for ten minutes. On my way to breakfast, I drop off my heart rate monitoring watch with our physiologist for her to interpret how my body is adapting to the training load. After breakfast, I head out for my first workout. This can be between two to six hours in duration. Usually the intensity of these workouts is surprisingly slow. Cross-country skiers have big hearts and hearts grow from exercising for a long time at a “chatting” pace. The pace is such that you could have a conversation without panting. Except, I don’t chat. I focus on my technique, think about how to be faster and conjugate Italian verbs. In contrast to the long distance workouts, high intensity workouts are very hard. I cannot think of any Italian words while doing these.
Directly after my workout, I head to the gym to do my butt exercises. They are weak. It’s crazy but after 15 years of training and racing there is a lot of room for improvement. I love this part about being an athlete -- the chance to always be better. Directly after working out, I have a protein drink and soak my legs in an ice bath. The cold water stops any inflammation in the muscles from the hard training.
After a big healthy lunch it’s time for a massage or a physio appointment and then a quick nap. I partake in a caffeinated beverage and a treat before heading out for the afternoon workout. This session is usually shorter than the morning.
The cycle of eating, sleeping and training repeats itself. It is a simple life here and that enables me to focus. By taking care of myself and listening to my body at the end of this camp I know will be stronger. I hope to be good tired.
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