Chandra's TSN Athlete Journal

November 13th, 2007

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January 31st, 2008

Canmore, Alberta

Woo hoo! Thanks to everyone who cheered me on from near and far at the Canmore World Cups last week. It was absolutely amazing to be racing at home where I felt so supported and relaxed. I experienced almost no feelings of pressure, and early in the week I was even thinking “I’d better drink some coffee on race day to get amped up.” The biggest difference between racing at home and racing on the road is how easy it is to have a grounded, healthy perspective on the whole thing when here at home. While away in some strange country I’m acutely aware that I am there to perform my best in some big-time competitions and it feels like nothing else matters. Contrast that with hanging out in Canmore where I’m surrounded by people who value me for who I am regardless of the results. My self-worth can’t possibly be tied into outcomes when I know that I belong here and have a lot to give to my community by just sharing my passion for the sport. The time spent chilling out at The Yoga Lounge and enjoying delicious dinners at The Trough and Crazyweed can’t hurt either.

The skate sprint win on Saturday was a highlight, but I’m drawing even more empowerment and motivation from the classic sprint on Wednesday I which I placed 12th. I got the opportunity to ski behind some of my classical technique heroes: Petra Majdic of Slovenia (who went on to win the thing) as well as Aino-Kaisa Saarinen of Finland. I’m well positioned at this centre point in the Olympic quadrennial. It’s a combo of feeling good about the progress so far and also being really glad to have two more years to nail it.

Speaking of nailing it, I saw a lot of great breakthroughs from my teammates this week. Watching my boyfriend Devon Kershaw leading so much of the 30km pursuit started us off well as a nation of skiers poised to fearlessly take on the world. George Grey rocked the red group and was back where he belongs among the best. In the classic sprint Sara Renner showed off some speed qualifying in 15th and was top 30 in all 4 events as she continues her unstoppable comeback post-baby Aria. I was glad to see some of my fellow sprinters make the heats with Drew Goldsack, Phil Widmer, Sarah Daitch and Perianne Jones cranking out some stellar performances. With our dedicated, wonderful team of technicians absolutely acing all those essentials regarding skis we all enjoyed blasting around the home trails on blisteringly fast boards.

The organizers put on what is now being called “The best World Cup on the circuit” and all of the international teams that I spoke to were raving about the facilities and town. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this possible, I truly appreciate the countless volunteer hours that go into such a huge production. So clap your hands together and call it a Self High Five for being part of this great world of sport and thanks for all the awesome comments on my board!

Check out this photo of my dad, Glenner, and I celebrating the moment (he’s the cameraman in yellow)....

Yours truly,

Chandra

Photo - Andrew Pohl from Trail Sports

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