New Elevate Me! Athlete Ambassador
December 17, 2009 by SarahD · Leave a Comment
Hi, I am Sarah and I’m training for international competition in cross country skiing. I’ve been training for many years and often find good quality snacks hard to come by. When I was first introduced to Elevate Me back in 2007 while training at Lake Louise, I was thrilled because I finally found a bar that could get me through five hour workouts without making me feel like throwing up!
I am full time cross country ski athlete, which involves training twice a day, six days a week, eleven months of the year. I currently reside in Canmore in order to have access to the top training facilities and coaches. I maintain a rigorous training regime of 650 hours a year and travel to over 20 races throughout the winter. I spend a lot of my time training and racing in ski competitions all over Canada, and the US and sometimes in Europe and Asia. Sport is a big part of my life. But sport can’t be all of life, so I also earned a degree from the University of Calgary in International Relations and Development Studies. Since I graduated from University, in my time between workouts, I practise yoga and am working on a course in creative writing.
I grew up in the Northwest Territories of Canada, in a small and isolated community called Fort Smith, near Wood Buffalo National Park. Throughout school, I played many sports: soccer, volleyball, track and field. My main sport was cross country skiing. I went on to compete, as it provided a wonderful opportunity to travel and meet like minded young people from outside of my small town. Training was often a challenge, as the weather was bitterly cold, the winters were mostly dark, and I trained alone on trails that were only groomed occasionally. I was driven to improve and loved being outdoors. I started off competing in Arctic Winter Games, I moved on to become a medallist at Canada Winter Games and at the Junior National Championships. I competed for Canada at the World Junior Championships in 1999. I was one of two women representing Canada at the Under 23 World Championships. I was the first NWT skier since the four time Olympians, Sharon and Shirley Firth, to represent Canada at a Nordic World Championship, while in Sapporo, Japan in February 2007.
As a member of the Esteem Team role model program, I encourage youth to pursue a healthy lifestyle and follow their dreams. I am also an ambassador for the non-profit Fast and Female, which seeks to empower girls through sport, and volunteer for the organization at events throughout the year. I am now a full time athlete. My goal is to qualify for the 2010 Olympics and 2010 World Cup competition.
Highlights of my racing career include qualifying for the 2008 Canmore World Cup with a convincing Nor Am victory in December 2007. I placed 19th out of 60 competitors from 21 nations at the Canmore freestyle sprint World Cup in January 2008. This was my first World Cup appearance and my strong result qualified me for a six nation European World Cup tour with the Canadian Team. I finished the season ranking 2nd in the final standings for the Canadian season long sprint series and I was named to the National Ski Team in 2008-2009.
My proudest achievement in skiing is not the medals or the placings I have earned but the discipline I have learned that is required to train at this level and constantly push myself to improve. My dedication to sport has been tested with a number of health problems and injuries. I have undergone two surgeries on my legs, the most recent one in March 2009. My ability to persevere through these challenges makes me confident that the lessons learned through sport will be of great value in the rest of my life. My passion for sport comes from the challenge of always finding new ways to improve, and seeing how the confidence fostered from sport can change the lives of young people.
My next race is the Canadian Olympic Trials December 19-22, 2009. I’m in the middle of working on my goals of reaching the 2010 Olympics and World Cup competitions. I look forward to keeping you all up to date on my goals, and training and stories from the road. Training is something I’ve come to love and hope you too find the sport that drives your passion.
Until next time,
Sarah Daitch
Road to Vancouver 2010
Happy Holidays~!
December 11, 2009 by Alison · Leave a Comment
So trying to keep this month’s blog in the theme of Christmas I want to share a couple of my secrets to avoiding those extra unneeded snackies and maybe…possibly sneaking in a little exercise? Because I am based in a year-round training center we don’t technically get any time off. However, we do have a whole week this year of on-your-own training which is sometimes hard to fit in, especially around a holiday like Christmas. Not including the chilly weather, relatives and friends would probably take priority over going to the gym for a workout. What I do:
-Plan ahead and schedule what workout I am going to do and when I am going to do it the day before so it is set in stone
-Try and incorporate a workout around something else that needs to be done (going to get a Christmas tree? Walk to the store)
*-But what works the best is getting up a little earlier and squeeze my workout in before all the planned daily fun starts. (Last year I did a swim and a run before half my family had got out of their pyjamas)
-Finally, try and get the whole family involved. My family, ever since I can remember goes for a long walk early afternoon and finishes right before Christmas dinner duties call.
Now about those snacks….there are going to be everywhere of all varieties so prepare yourself! The one thing that gets everyone are the little dishes or bowls of mixed nuts, crackers or sweets. Since you’re not putting them on to your plate it’s hard to pay attention to how much you’re eating. Also, liquid Calories…Alcohol and many seasonal drinks taste good but are loaded with sugar and sometimes fat! What I do:
-Take 1 portion only and then ignore that dish (its hard but I’ve trained myself)
-Limit myself to one drink every night and depending how much I plan on eating, 2 drinks on Christmas
-Water, Water, and Water…besides that fact that your body needs and craves it to run properly…drinking water before a meal or appy’s will fill the spaces that maybe unnecessary cheeses or chocolates could.
Holidays are hard and there is a fine line between enjoying yourself, letting loose and over indulging.
Here is a great Oatmeal Pancake Recipe that I love- fat free and full of protein they last me forever!
6 egg whites
1 cup oats
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tsp sugar (I use brown sugar splenda)
1 tsp vanilla
And some cinnamon
You can add whatever else desired- I usually put some raisins. And make sure you use a good non-stick pan!
Merry Christmas
Alison Hooper
Winter Cross-Training: An Ode to Snowshoe running
December 4, 2009 by Nicola · Leave a Comment
It’s hard trying to find the motivation to exercise outdoors when the weather is less than optimal and the skies say goodnight by 5pm (A.K.A- its dark!). It’s a good thing we have activities like swimming, killer gym sessions, spin classes, yoga, snowboarding, skiing, and snowshoeing…just to name a few! The options are literally endless.
This winter I am making it my mission to get up the mountain at least once a week to go snowshoe running. Not only does it billed a wicked running base and increase cardiovascular endurance, you can get a killer workout in less than an hour. Warning: snowshoe running is hard, it gets the heart rate up and you will be tired at the end of it. Perfect! Snowshoe running also uses all of the same muscles as running on dry land: the quads, hamstrings, calf muscles and the smaller muscle groups of the feet and ankles. Depending on how much you weigh, you can burn approximately 11 calories per minute, which is over 600 calories an hour!
If you have never been snowshoeing, there are a lot of different options out there to get yourself introduced to the sport. Most of the local mountains have nightly snowshoe clinics, where you can rent snowshoes and get a semi-private tour of the mountain. If you want to have some fun and be a little more competitive, you can sign yourself up for two of the Yeti Snowshoe running races. The first one takes place on Mt. Washington and the second is a local race on Mt. Seymour. They are loads of fun and a great way to spend time outdoors with like minded individuals. You can race solo or as a team of 5 or more people. Just make sure to recover properly and eat an Elevate Me! protein bar directly after the race.
See you in the trails…or in the snow!!!!
Nicola Gildersleeve
Ambassador Athlete
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