So here’s what’s been going on: the US team here in Canmore has been absolutely throwing down some inspiring and amazing results. It seems like every single race at least one of the 20 or so starters puts up a new personal record. How cool is that?
Canmore is a beautiful place, and the race organizers have done an amazing job. There have been lots of great fans on the course, too!
The stadium
I also love how big the team is here – with all the qualifiers from the Supertour series, we have a team that’s three times the size it usually is! So when we do our pre-race meetings, we always end with everyone putting their hands in middle (except when there’s sickness, then it’s elbows or just don’t touch anyone) and we do a team cheer. To the great suprise of nobody, it’s one of my favorite parts because it’s so LOUD and gets you fired up. I’d tell you what we say in the cheer, but then I’d probably have to kill you. Just kidding. I’m not going to tell you because the team cheers are incredibly cheesy and you just don’t want to know 🙂
Personally, though, I’ve been really struggling this week. I picked up the cold/virus thing that’s been floating around, and since it settled in my lungs and I haven’t been able to breathe deep without coughing, I had to sit out all the races. Which really stinks. When your job is your body, and you get sick, you can’t do your job, plain and simple. And not being able to do my job has made it hard for me to be happy the past few days! Luckily, this is the most supportive and caring team ever, and the people who matter don’t mind that I’m not healthy. I’m not the only one here that’s had to sit out races due to health, either.
So, with an eye out for the next big event series coming up (a little thing called The Tour de Ski), I’ve been resting up and trying my best to get healthy!! Yes, that means cough drops, Emergen-C, Cold FX, Immunity boosters, and every other kind of natural herb-vitamin-c thing I can get ahold of!
All the get-well supplies and mail-bag letters!
One thing that’s really cheered me up is the Operation World Cup Mail Bag – friends and fans of the ski team sent letters that Dave Knoop brought up to Canmore for the athletes to read. When I was feeling most tired and sick, I just sat on the bed, re-reading those letters and emails. They were super thoughtful and everyone loved them! Shoutouts to the following families: Harvey, Wilkinson, Albright, Schoville, Lane, Knoop, Zinn, the St. Scholastica team (nice poster!), Tom Barr for making us homemade cookies, and Brandon Herhusky (good luck this winter!).
However, everything’s about perspective. And this week with the Connecticut shootings…well, my heart goes out to those families, and I can’t even begin to imagine what they’re going through. Everyone here is sending their thoughts towards Newtown, and hoping the victims rest in peace.
