February 6th, 2008
Sorry for the delayed post, but I do have a great excuse. It all started when my laptop DC power outlet started glitching 3 weeks ago. I was just about to leave for the World Cup in Canmore and my computer charger stopped working. Now I’m not talking about semi broken, it was beyond repair. I would know, because I have been constantly Jerry-Rigging/fixing the charger for the last year and a half, and it doesn’t help when you computer is 8 years old. Anyway, a day or two before I was leaving for Canmore my computer stopped working and I decided that the only way to fix it this time was to take it completely apart, find all the faulty pieces, and replace them. So my excuse for the delayed post would be that my computer was in about 150 pieces and I was waiting for the replacement parts in the hope that I would be able to put it all back together and still have it all working. Fortunately it is now fixed . . .
Now let me go back several weeks to bring you up to date with my racing. I think the first race I should start with is the 15k classic in SoHo at the Super Qualifier. I only raced the distance race because Rick wanted me to get a hard effort in but still not hurt my sprint in Canmore which was three days later. The classic race itself was a mass start and I got the privilege of starting at the head of the chevron. I was stoked that I wouldn’t have to battle for position in midst of a sea of adrenaline filled racers. My plan for the race was to start out really hard for about 1k then settle into my 15k pace. Unfortunately Tad Elliot had a different thought in mind (Tad is an insanely fast skier that has recently switched over to professional mountain biking and is using skiing as a cross training technique) and after I slowed down he picked up the pace and flew by me and several other men that were off the front. I decided not to chase because I knew Tad would hit the wall . . . . eventually.
Unfortuately for me, he hit the wall at 14.5K. I never even saw him for the rest of the race and at one point he was leading by just under a minute, eventually finishing 19 seconds up on me. So he got the gold, I received the silver, and Miles Havlick took third. Just after the race, I packed my skis and duffel bag and headed out to Canmore for the classic sprint! I’ll end this Blog with a fabulous picture of Colin Struthers last year at World Juniors in Italy in 85• weather. 
