Going to the Sun road. Glacier National Park, Montana

The Alberta World Cup Academy headed down to Whitefish, Montana from August 15-25 for our second annual summer training camp. The weather was hot, the pavement smooth and lemme tell you the water was fine. This camp was geared toward technique improvement, volume hours and intensity all while staying lakeside. It was great to be able to use the road up to the alpine ski resort just outside of Whitefish for climbing as well as the long as Going to the Sun road in Glacier National Park. Being in a camp setting with your team mates, for me, is the most productive and enjoyable way to train. It's great not only logistically for training, but this is how team dynamics are built and strengthened.

The week before Whitefish, I had come down with a head cold. Translation: The week before Whitefish, my body was telling me to rest. And rest I did. It wasn't the easiest rest to take, but athletes generally aren't the best at staying in one place. It was a valuable lesson to be reminded of though - that your hard training is only worthwhile if you allow yourself to absorb the training load. Taking care of my body is my job so I was happy to 'Take 5' to kick the cold in the butt and return fully charged in time for the Whitefish camp.

It is amazing what some rest will do, and I am happy to say that my fitness felt great in the US and A and I am really happy with the quality of training from myself and the whole team. It isn't a camp in Whitefish without Glacier National Park. How do you not love an endless road that leads you to the mountains?

At the top of Logan Pass. I was going to wait until these hikers finished bombing my photo - but then I thought I enjoyed it better with them in it.

The Going to the Sun Road below. Over 10km's of continuous gradual climbing is perfect for roller skiing and cycling. The drivers may have thought otherwise.

Coach Jeffries snappin' the shot

Juuuuust loving this climb

Our 3.5hr combo workout ended with a run on the mountain edge trail. It was so hard to turn around - I hope to return next year to finish this traverse.

Sweet Peaks with some Sweet Cheeks. Ladies et Coach Jeffries treated to some ice cream. High fives all round for winning the lactate challenge and keeping our blood lactate between 3-4mmol in the morning workout.

We used the road up to the Whitefish alpine ski area plenty of times and became accustomed to the sweltering heat early in the morning. On this day, we skied up and switched to running to finish off the workout and reach the top of the mountain to enjoy a chairlift ride down. The near by forest fires in Idaho turned the valley into a sea of smoke. Did I mention there were huckleberries? I huck ton of them. It was then that I realized the insane speed that Alysson can harvest these things.

I swear I turned around for 10 seconds and she already had a purple face and two handfuls of huckleberries. Skill.

Cruising down on the chairlift post workout

Sure the training is great in Whitefish, but this may be the real reason we head down there. Post workout and stretch sesh hangout.

Myself, Alysson and Dahria finishing off the camp with a road ride up and over Logan Pass. Great day on the bike and what a way to finish the camp!

I'm back in the Bow Valley for the September and we have just started another training block. September is my favourite time to train in Canmore. Cool mornings, warm afternoons and beautiful fall foliage. So, yep. I'm looking forward to a fall of training in the Bow Valley.

Ciao for now.