Canadian Birkebeiner XC Skiing Race 2015 @ Blackfoot (Alberta Premier Loppet)


Saturday February 14th, I finished overall 244th place out of 537 Results and in my (30-39) men's age group 40th place out of 70 Results, It took me 3hrs 47mins. It was classic style and it was a total of 31 Kms long. Average heart rate =166bpm Max =186bpm, Elevation gain 2,959 feet. Check out my Garmin Data. We started @ the Unkranian Culture Heritage Village and the finish was at Blackfoot. The night before the race it had snowed over 20cm in parts of Edmonton and ranging towards the race course. This made it really difficult for the groomers to track set the entire course. It was slower conditions because of all the new snow. For most of the course as there was a lot of fresh snow it was like a skier set track feeling out there. Going up the hills was like going up quick sand because of the thickness of the fresh snow so the trails were not packed down and believe it or not this is were I accelerated past lots of racers. I had a really good consistent pace from the start to the 26km mark, it was this point were my legs started to get sore and feel heavy. I still had a small loop to go around the lake and my pace had slowed down at this point and it was a full on mental game for me and I knew I had enough in the tank to finish, I just had to go slower. The start was delayed by one hour. I was a couple minutes slower this year than last years race. I was happy with my race especially considering in mid January I had the flu and it turned into a bad sinus infection that saw me not able to exercise for over two weeks and then being on call the week before the race were some challenges that I had to over come. The temperature was -14 deg c. Thanks to Canadian Birkie and all the volunteers for putting on the race and the smokies were great at the the end of the race. Thank you Fast Trax Ski Shop for waxing my glide and kick zone along with the entire staff for their support.

February 2014/2015 Non Contact Hockey League


Wed 25th, (Game #22) 2 Goals
@ 10:45pm, Kinsmen Arena Rangers vs. Voodoo (W 6-3) On my first goal the puck went to the point and Bruce C took a slap shot and the goalie let out a rebound and I pounced on the loose puck. My second goal also the GWG, our line was in their zone putting some pressure on and the loose puck went to Chris R and he got it to me and I reached out and got it to go in, as it just barley crossed the line. We out played them in the first period and could have been up by more than the 2-1 score showed. The second and third period went back and fourth with us pulling away late in the game. Jason L 2G. Ryan S 2G. Javan 1A. James S 2A. Alex H 1A. Andy R 2A.

Wed 18th, (Game #21) 
@ 10:45pm, Kinsmen Arena Rangers vs. Bandits (L 11-2) I did not play very well tonight. My legs had a lot of lactic acid build up I think from the XC Ski race I did on last Saturday. I did break up two plays in front of my net. I also took the man in front and had two shots bounce off my skate and in. This was our teams worst game of the season as we got out played big time. We stopped skating and then they just kept the pressure on us all game long. Javan M 1G. Cameron B 1G. Ryan S 1A. James S 1A.

Wed 4th, (Game #20) 
@ 10:45pm, Kinsmen Arena Rangers vs. Puckaneers (T 4-4) This game was even and both teams had some great scoring chances and if weren't for good goal tending both teams could have scored eight goals each. The lead changed and so did the momentum at times. Their player had a hat trick and made a big difference for them. With only eight seconds left and our goalie pulled Javan M scored the clutch game tieing goal and then in the shoot out made a super slick deke. Ryan S 1G & 2A. James S 2G & 1A. Scott I 2A.

February 2015 Training


Sat 28th, Spin @ home for 1 hour (Tempo Effort 35mins) Average heart rate=137 Max=177, Avg Rpm=91, Km's 25

Fri 27th, XC Skiing (Skate style) for 1hr 30mins @ Strathcona Wilderness Centre. Average heart rate =155 Max =181, Elevation gain 224 ft. Km's 13

Sun 22nd, XC Skiing (Classic style) for 2hrs @ Goldbar Park to Capilano Park. Average heart rate =137 Max =175, Elevation gain 502 ft. Km's 15

Sat 21st, Spin @ home for 1 hour (Test #1) Average heart rate=153 Max=186, Avg Rpm=85, Km's 20

Thu 19th, Spin @ home for 1 hour (Tempo Effort 30mins) Average heart rate=138 Max=169, Avg Rpm=92, Km's 23

Sun 8th, XC Skiing (Classic style) for 2hrs 8mins @ Goldbar Park to Capilano Park. Average heart rate =147 Max =181, Elevation gain 612 ft. Km's 16

Sat 7th, XC Skiing (Classic style) for 2hrs @ Goldbar Park to Goldstick Park. Elevation gain 1,293 ft. Km's 15

Thu 5th, Spin @ home for 1 hour (Tempo Effort 25mins) Average heart rate=137 Max=172, Avg Rpm=88, Km's 22

Sun 1st, Spin @ home for 1 hour (Zone 1/2) Average heart rate=145 Max=164, Avg Rpm=87, Km's 20