First thing is first; Le Chateau Claymor is back in business. Sure we may have lost Colin (XC Ottawa Alumni) and almost Matthias, but we found two worthy recruits, Peter and Bella. They just might fit the bill and we just might not be referred to "those four guys" everywhere we go now. Matthias is currently an honorable guest who will be staying with us for as long as he pleases. Good to have him back and as well as the workout punishment he will bring along with him.
Here we have Lee, Peter and Bella posing with a ridiculous amount of groceries out side "Food Basics". Some of the best days during the week could be when we make these trips. Note, "Da Prev" or also known as "The Egg" is also back for another year. I mean what would we do with out it anyways!
Its good to have the availability of good rollerskiing close to our front door again. It really can be convenient, even if you have to deal with the flightiness of some passer by's from time to time.
I guess I could still say the rollerskiing in the Gatineau Park is quite unbeatable. So much that I have done this to get there.
Riding home from practice. Most of all it feels good to put in the big days with the 4+ hours of volume. Which opens up mini-chapter in this article.
"Training = Eating"
Epic Manwiches are still post training tradition at the Chateau. Here myself and Peter came up with this godly creation. Bacon, Ham, Cheese, Egg, Maple syrup are just a few of the underlying features in this one.
Our newest addition to the Chateau is the BBQ. This is a big, very big deal. Good times to be had. A quote from Lee goes something like this "All any man ever needs is a BBQ".
Moving on....
Sometimes I can't quite figure out if I train to eat, eat to train, train to race, or race to train? Either way I think overall it might boil down to simply racing, which brings us to this next section.
This weekend of few XC Ottawa members headed out to "The Ark" for the 5 Peaks Trail running race. I enjoyed this race for two "little" reasons. 1.) The race is so hard and technical it reminds I am not a runner and need to keep working on those skills. 2.) The Ark is pretty far away from the City and off the grid, the scenery and terrain out there is worth the trek.
XC Ottawa had a good day with a few medals and fast course times. Karl defended his overall Sport 6k title once again with a deadly time. Results should eventually end up here:
http://www.5peaks.com/schedule.asp?p=oq&raceid=246
Logan had pretty impressive run as well. When ask what his secret was he replied, "Toe shoes and barefoot running."
Apparently, for me its not race unless a Marchand is in it! Andre sent out his little brother to remind me what its all about. Your not going hard enough until your nose bleeds and you almost throw up, Curtis points out here. Trooper.
All in all another great race at The Ark. Thanks to those who made it happen and I will be sure to be back again next Fall!
The race ended up being on pretty big training week. Therefore, we must push on. After the race myself and Logan bike back from Chelsea with the company of Karl for a bit.
Logan reppin' his sweet get-up from Fresh Air. Pretty sweet to have him back around to train with again. He's up for anything and keeps it interesting as you can see.
So there you have it, lots has happened and lots is left to happen this Fall! The big week has been conquered and this might be one of the better training blocks I have executed so far this year. The weather has also been beautiful but I be darn if I'm not waiting for snow to come already.
Enjoy the little things! Food, training, and racing. Life as we know it.
KP
"Winning Moves"