Mo' Update

It's time for a Movember update!  After a healthy dose of Just For Men - Beard and Mustache I have something on my lip resembling a mustache.

Mustache or shadow... you decide.

Hopefully our new logo inspired and designed by Jess and Joey will spur on some mo' growth.

Hit up http://mobro.co/MattWylie to donate to a great cause!

In other news I'll be heading to my first races of the season on Monday, a Supertour in West Yellowstone.  I'm pretty pumped for the season and can't wait to explore some new trails and try out a new race format.  For the second year in a row West Yellowstone will hold two sprint qualifiers a couple hours apart with no sprint heats which should make for an interesting day of racing.

T-6 days until race season!

 Matt

Academo's

It's November, or should I say Movember!  This year some of the guys on the Academy have started a Movember page (http://mobro.co/MattWylie) to raise donations for the awareness and treatment of prostate cancer.  Unfortunately the "mo" growing genes that my father possesses (see below) weren't passed down to me and I will be hard pressed to grow anything substantial.  Hopefully with some luck, some Just For Men and your support I will produce something mildly respectable by the end of the month and the start of race season!

Some stellar growth displayed by my dad...

Nothin' but a shadowy lip...

Hit up the link below donate to a worthy cause!

http://mobro.co/MattWylie


The last few weeks we have been skiing a ton on Frozen Thunder and  even completed a mock sprint race in conjunction with the World Cup Team.  With so much on snow training it feels as though we should be starting race season any day even though we have to wait a few more weeks.  After getting over a cold I feel as though I've been rounding into shape after some hard workouts and am pretty excited for some racing action!

Matt

Frozen Thunder!

It is getting cold in Canmore and winter is getting nearer!  It's been below zero for a few nights in Canmore and it's expected to be -11 tonight.  With the cold comes the opportunity for some early season skiing compliments of the Nordic Centre's "Frozen Thunder".  For the second year in a row a large amount of snow has been piled and buried under saw dust near one of the local ski trails in the spring.  Over the past few days hoes, dump trucks and piston bullys have been uncovering and spreading out the snow to create a 1.5 km loop to ski on.  Over the next few weeks many hours will be spent on this loop with the first one possibly being this afternoon!  It's a huge benefit to be able to be on snow sooner than most people in North America and everyone in the valley is pretty pumped!

Bob and Jess excited about the opportunity for some early season skiing.

One of the many truckloads of snow needed to create "frozen thunder".

     

                                           The hoe digging out the snow from under the sawdust it sat under all summer.

One end of the almost completed trail.

This morning was our teams running fundraiser, the first annual Spray Drag Running Race.  The race was 7.5 km and started on the valley floor and ended at the top of spray road near the dam.  This route has been an Academy benchmark for years although it was my first time completing it.  I am satisfied with my time and happy to put in a hard uphill effort with the season approaching.  Thanks to coach Kuhn for organizing such a great event!

Kevin and Pate battling to the finish.

Graeme and Jess sporting our new academy singlets.

Russell and myself almost at the finish.

Almost at the top...

Only 6 weeks till the season starts!

Matt

Whistler and September

The Academy's Whistler camp can be summed up by one word, Awesome!  We spent ten days putting in volume on some great rollerski trails with some intensity mixed throughout.  Some highlights included completed a full sprint race on the Olympic trails, some intensity up Duffy Lake road and a long ski-walk to the top of Whistler Mountain.

After the camp I picked up my girlfriend, Jules, and we headed to the Kootenays for a week of camping and low-key training.  We spent half the week near Nakusp and the next few days in Nelson.

Below are some photos from the last month.

Myself on a rollerski with Joey and Jess through the many paths of Whistler.

We took advantage of the paved trails at Whistler Olympic Park.

Coach Kuhn leading a long run/hike.

Ski walking from the village to the top of Whistler.

The crew at the top.

A stunning change of scenery after about 1600m elevation gain.

6'4 Bob demonstrating the amount of snow at the top of Whistler.

The top of Whistler with Black Tusk in the background.

The boys skate rollerskiing at WOP.

It was pretty nice to arrive in the Okanagan to +32 degree weather.

I was eager to try my hand at some tarping on our camping trip.

Jules and I hit up some mini-golf on one of the many perfect September nights.

We visited some natural hot-springs that were the highlight of the trip.

Nelson's Pride Parade provided some mid-week entertainment.

                                                     

Enjoying the last day of our vacation in the sun.

It's almost October but its hard to believe here in Canmore. We have had some amazing weather, perfect for training in September.  The team is gearing up for the racing season and preparing for the hard racing season to come.  Hopefully we will be skiing on a man-made ski loop dubbed "frozen thunder" in a few weeks!

Matt

Photo Montage of July

My July was consumed by a "yo-yo" glacier camp consisting of 4 days up at the Haig Glacier in the Kananaskis followed by 3 days down in Canmore and then another week of the same.  After the two solid weeks of training I headed to the Okanagan for a couple days in Vernon and 5 days of relaxation and easy training at our family cabin on Shuswap lake.  Then it was time for some more testing in Canmore with a skate roller ski test and a uphill running test.  It's nice to be able to see the improvements we have been making through some standardized tests.

Today is the first day of our 10 day Whistler camp where we'll be doing some hard intensity and lots of rollerskiing.  Here are some pics from the month:

Myself on a stellar day on the Haig!

Big thanks to Evan, Joel and Haakon for the cooking, grooming and a great camp!

A creation spawned by the many hours of down time in the huts.

Striding it out on a stormy day on the glacier.

Coach Kuhn and Coach Jeffries on the 45 min daily hike up from camp to the glacier.

The cabin allows for some lazy afternoons...

I was joined by my mom (pictured) as well as my girlfriend and some of her family at the cabin.

Till next time

Matt

The Much Anticipated May/June Update

Ahhh a much needed post!  After a busy spring in Canmore adjusting to a new team and training regime, things have started to settle down and we have been busy putting in some solid training hours.  The last week in April/first week in May was spent meeting with coaches to discuss the upcoming training year and debriefing from the past season.  We then put in some easy hours before departing for our first training camp at Silver Star Mountain.  The goal of the camp was to put in some volume and on snow hours while making technical gains.  It was nice to spend some time in the Okanagan weather and it was great to ski on my favorite trails!  The camp consisted of easy skiing, some strength training, on-snow intervals and a 100+ km bike ride.

Drew putting in some hours.

After a week of great training we returned to the Bow Valley where the team was put through a few standardized tests so we could gauge our progress throughout the season.  The tests included an uphill double pole test, a sub max test on the treadmill, a rollerski sprint test and a max test on the treadmill.  I was pleased with my results as I was able to see what my strengths and weaknesses were heading into the next training block.  It was nice to get in some hard efforts to wake the body up.

http://www.twitvid.com/GVZ8R - Gerard pushing it on the double pole test.


After a few more weeks of good training it was time for the team's second training camp of the year in Kaslo.  It was a short 3 day camp which consisted of a 150km bike ride, some rollerskiing, running and strength.  I didn't have my camera with me but I have borrowed some photos from my teammate Jess Cockney:

Coach Mike (R) getting ready to put the hammer on pre-ride.

Kevin (L) and Gerard (R) starting out on the ride.

Myself (front) and Joey mid ride.

Zach, Gerard, Graeme, Joey and me soaking our legs in some  cold water  after an afternoon workout.

The camp was a lot of fun and many athletes were left with tired bodies.  After another week of solid training I have just begun a rest week with some limited hours.  It couldn't have come at a better time as Canmore is offering up some amazing summer weather that I plan to capitalize on.

 Here are a few photos taken by coach Jeffries from the Canada Day parade here in Canmore which the team took part in.  It was awesome to see the huge turnout and how excited and supportive people were of the athletes who call Canmore home.

Some of the team heading down main street.

Myself (middle) in the shadow of my roommate Bob pumping up the crowd.

One of the many sprints down main street.

On Monday we start the first week of our two week Haig Glacier yo-yo camp.  I will be bringing my camera and promise some exciting updates!

Matt

A New Season, A New Team

Today marked the first day of the 2011/2012 ski season.  I am very excited to announce that I have been selected to the Alberta World Cup Academy for the upcoming year.  It's awesome to be able to stay in Canmore for another season and especially to have the opportunity to train with some new, fast teammates.  It's now time to get back to work and into the swing of full-time training after a month of rest and light training in the Okanagan.

I also want to extend thanks to Dr. David Regehr for coming on board to support my 2010/2011 ski year.  His support his much appreciated!

Matt