New Zealand

Training down under in New Zealand last summer was such a great experience, we decided to go back again this summer. Emily and I rounded up a few more friends plus coach Chris for a 3 week on snow training camp at the Snow Farm in New Zealand. After the spring and early summer, I felt that my overall training was going well but I didn’t feel quite like I was where I wanted to be especially during intensity sessions. Getting back on snow allowed me to find those little pieces that seemed to be missing during the early season dry-land training. I felt really good throughout the camp and I can safely say it has been my most productive training block of the season to date. My body handled the 69 hours,18 days volume load surprisingly well and the intensity sessions were better than anything I’ve done on roller skis this year. It’s a good thing I am a skier not a roller ski racer because apparently I am substantially better at skiing than I am at roller skiing. Something I continue to reconfirm every time I get back on snow.

Besides being able to average over 40km of skiing a day, having a group of seven women training together for a 3 weeks has been a real treat. The mid ski photo shoots to get those Instagram shots, evening O.C. marathons and an abundance of “great jokes” made for a fun and positive atmosphere. But more importantly having a strong group to ski with everyday, to push you in sprints and intensity workouts and get you through those long distance days definitely added to the quality and success of the camp.

I am really happy to have had the chance to come back to the Snow Farm this summer with a coach and the women’s team to prepare for the upcoming season. There were lots of great things about the camp but here are a few of my favourite parts.

 

Some highlights and pics from the camp!

 

1. Bluebird Days! And lots of them! The Snow Farm sure know how to cheese it up for the camera. It sure makes those long 3-4hr days pass quickly.

2. Sunset skis. My favourite skis at the Snow Farm are always the afternoon sessions. There’s not much that can make me smile bigger than skiing into a sunset.

3. Rest days. We had two rest days during the camp. One we spent in Wanaka and the other in Queenstown. Both were highlighted by great food, adorable animals, lots of laughter and matching Lululemon purchases.

 

4.Technique progress. We took a lot of video this camp and did a lot of comparing to the best world cup skiers. I think it’s safe to say that we have all made some big improvements and I’m excited to see them at work this winter.

 

5.Holding those technique gains in intensity. It’s one thing to hold good technique when you’re going easy but always hard to keep it together when you’re going hard. I have started to see the things I’ve been working on this year stick during intensity which is really exciting.

I am now back to Canmore, only a couple more months of summer training before real winter begins, a sad thought for lots of people but a source of excitement for those snow obsessed people like me. A big thank you to those who contributed to our women’s team camp in New Zealand and a big thank you to the Snow Farm staff for an amazing camp. Being able to train on snow with my coach and teammates for 3 weeks mid summer while having access to massage treatment during the camp made for a pretty close to perfect training block! I am looking forward to a week of easy training and rest at home before starting our fall intensity block in Canmore and Revelstoke. Thanks for reading!

Dahria