5 Peaks- Canmore 13.7 km Trail Race

On saturday I raced my second trail race of the year. The race was held at the nordic centre which is definetly a plus! I've made it my mission this year to get as fit and confident as I can on this course, mostly for the ski season, but running and bounding are also great measures of how hard you can push on the world cup courses. Lately I've been surprising myself as places I would normally heed the advice of the voice saying "take it easy here" I have been pushing it aside and trying to find an extra gear or to just trust that anything is possible if you believe in yourself enough to just try it!- usually you end up finding out that the sky is the limit and you are the only one who can make the decision to go harder and dig deeper and once you figure out that you are in control of that, it makes racing a very different ball game!

I would love to say I took this race out tactifully and easier and that I made a plan of attack. When the gun went off any race plan I had made went right out the window as there was a girl from the university of Calgary Track team who basically took off from the start. I had a moment of thinking about letting her go, but decided to go with her and give her a run for her money. Basically the only thought I had was "this is MY course", I love the downhills and I love the relentless climbs. I looked down at my heartrate monitor at km 2 and it read 185...but I kept on the heels of the girl in front of me, knowing that once I hit the single track and downhills I could try to put a gap on her. I was actually shocked at my confidence- normally I think something is wrong if I'm with the leaders. This time I felt I belonged!!

I managed to put a small gap of about 150m into her until the 11km mark and she went blowing by me at warp speed. Oh yes, I forgot that track runners are fast on flat land if given the chance! So I had to muster up the courage and try to find some speed in my legs- I didn't quiet catch her, but for me, it was definetly a great race! I haven't ever felt in control or confident in my physical ability, so this was a very big turning point.

I'm pumped to race again- whether it be running, rollerskiing or bounding, but I want to keep on developing this new found feistiness and eventually I know I will be able to hold it until the end!

see you on the trails!

The race season is coming up FAST.
Get obsessive.
Be Relentless.

5 Peaks- Kananaskis 12k Trail Race

Today I ran my first trail race in a while. I haven't actually done a pure running intensity or workout in quite some time. As part of the Salomon trail team this year, I thought I would scope out one of the 5 peaks races before we head into our third training camp tomorrow afternoon.

The race was held at the base of the Delta lodge/Ribbon Creek trail system. Consisting of all double track trail, this was a pretty amazing course. Oh and not to mention in one of the most beautiful venues, it is still so hard for me to comprehend that I live here and the mountains are in my back yard.

With some music pumping we headed out for the 12 km trek. Lately I've been working on not going out quite so hard and saving a little for the end- or atleast not redlining at 1km in. The race climbed for 3.5 km from the start- so I had to practice a little self control. I would say I was successful in holding back, but I still have some work to do in pacing as panic sets in when I can hear others breathing behind me.

Then we had a sweet downhill (3km) bombing back down approximately to where we started and then took a sharp left and headed out for some more gradual climbing coulpled with some short steep climbs to add a little bit of an insult (haha). There was another awesome downhill section before we headed for home.

I finished 1st and then 10th overall. 55min at altitude with a ton of climbing. I think it is a pretty good time, its hard to tell?! Don't compare it to the road thats for sure!

To top it all off I tried out the new salomon Speed cross 2, they have a pretty narly tread on them! I would say these are sweet for racing, but you might want something with a little more cushioning for training such as the xt wings shoe!

I feel like I am in pretty good shape now, for sure some work to do, but I'm happy with where my fitness is.

ciao
xb

NEW SPONSOR ANNOUNCEMENT: SILVERTIP RESORT

I am very excited and honored to announce that Silvertip Resort in Canmore, AB has signed on to sponsor me this year! I want to extend a huge thank you to Ross Jansen, Eric Ommundsen and Jim Little for their support and enthusiasm for my pursuit to make the Canadian team for the World Cup, World Championships in Liberec, CZE and the 2010 Olympics. Please click on the logo in the side bar of this blog to visit Silvertip's website.

The financial support will help pay for the Alberta World Cup Academy team costs, as well as offsetting the time I miss from work.

CALL FOR SPONSORSHIP

Ah yes, that time of year again!

Financial support in amateur sport will always be a bit of a struggle- I could give you the sob story of how I eat tuna fish out of a can, but it is not true. I'm not a starving athlete! I train hard, work hard and manage to make ends meet the best I can while still having a bit of room to breathe. However, this year, with x-c.com putting the breaks on their racing program I have been left with a substantial amount of costs with the World Cup Academy. Don't get me wrong, every penny I put into this sport and the Academy is worthwhile- and I am not in it for the money. I love this sport beyond what any tangible or monetary item it could bring. That said, reality is, I need money to pay for the coaching, travel and Academy fees.

If you or if you know of anyone interested in sponsoring an athlete please send them my email address or forward this link- I have a sponsorship package and a dvd full of photos and proposals to make a financial relationship work...I also like long walks on the beach and candlelight dinners...in all seriousness though, there are a few options to ensure that there is something gained from sponsoring me, and of course I am always open to suggestions.

brookegosling@yahoo.com

Regards,

Brooke

SILVER STAR SPRING SNOW CAMP 2008

Well April is done! That means rest is done and playing and having fun...just joking, the real fun just started!

After making the switch to the Alberta World Cup Academy this spring, two days later I was on my way to Silver Star, BC with the rest of the 15 new team members and two coaches.

I will be honest here and say that I was not at all prepared to go from blasting around the trails with my uber fast running friends and dancing it up on friday nights to being back in athlete mode. So the first three days of the camp I spent being grouchy and not sleeping. The mistake I made was trying to seperate the two "lives". So on day four I decided to stop fighting the fun vs. business sides of sport and just let the two coexist- after that I was back to my normal self- even throwing in a bit of a hammer ski and a trail run. BALANCE YOUNG GRASS HOPPER!!!

We worked a ton on classic technique- however my quote on day two of the camp was "I just don't feel like absorbing technique or taking constructive critism" yes, that was my nice way of saying "leave me the *^&% alone"...note to coaches and teammates, I have a mean streak! (sort of?)

It puked snow on two occasions, leaving us with a beautiful, perfect winter wonderland!...on May 9th!!!....but it didn't really stop me from loving it! My favorite conditions are deep wet snow- so I was all up for a good day of cruising slowly!

Canmore is warming up nicely and I'm happy!? to report I did my first rollerski intensity yesterday- I forgot how much I love to hammer!!! This is going to be a great summer!

cheers,
Brooke

MAY 1- giddy up

What am I doing this year?? by this year I mean from May 1- April 1 (the Nordic skiier calendar).

I just accepted a spot on the Alberta World Cup Academy! After a month of debate and questions and worry about how I will be able to financially afford this I decided that it is the best option for me at this point in time!

However, I don't want to sign off before making a point of expressing how amazing my parents are. After phone call after phone call filled with tears of not knowing how to proceed with the 2008/2009 season (see previous posts) today they told me that they would help make it work. This is not the first time that my parents have seemingly found a way to believe me more then I think I believe in myself. Afterall this is just as much their pursuit (without the sweat of course) as it is mine and if I do well then it is something that echos through my family and similarly if I get my heart broken (and I'm not talking about guys) they are the first to scoop me back up on my feet and tell me to try again.

My priorities this spring have changed drastically and my love for the sport as grown exponentially because of this shift in thought. Instead of skiing being the be all and end all of life, it has become a part of my life and something that complements who I am- it doesn't define me.

This april has been so refreshing and I think I have mastered the perma-grin. There is not one thing I would change! Life can be so amazing if you allow yourself to enjoy it!- who knew!!!???

May 1st!!!! GAME ON!!!