This past weekend was the Canmore Winterfest- a great family weekend with tons of fun activities in conjunction with a International Biathlon Union event at the Canmore Nordic Centre. One of the highlights each year is the foot of snow they dump on our main street for nordic skiing, which set the stage for dog sled races, kids nordic ski racing and the Xterra Winter Triathlon.

Once again Tony Smith put together a great race for over a 100 people. A 500m pool swim, 3.5 km trail run and 3 km nordic ski on Main St. MitoCanada was well represented with a Team (Josh, Stephen and Blaine), myself and many others who have supported the charity in the past- Darren R, Cal Z, Dan S, just to name a few.
The race started with all of us milling about the pool side numbered according to our estimated swim time. While some people did a few laps in the kiddy pool others decided to hang out in the hot tub. Coming just off of a night shift I was half asleep already but decided to hangout in the hot tub. I got loose and then headed to the start area.

Despite swimming once since Ironman Canada in August (the mandatory day-before-a-race hop in the pool to see what my time would be) I felt quite comfortable in the water. I might have actually enjoyed the swim…. just a little bit though. Having no idea what my time was I jumped out of the water and walked briskly into the change room. After fumbling with trying to get dry clothes on my wet body and took off on the run.

The run was great. We have a fantastic trail system along the Bow River that runs through town and Tony took advantage of this. We tore around corners, through trees and over ice past our old railway bridge alongside the river in the shadows of Mt Rundle. If the scenery wasn’t breathtaking, the pace of a 3.5 km run definitely was. The run ended with a quick turn onto the streets leading to Main St.

I was a little nervous for the ski. Having just started skate skiing last year the thought of a street lined with people watching my technique was a little daunting. My fears were put aside after I slammed my feet into the skis like a pro and proudly took off… only to completely lose my left ski. Nice. So I hobbled back with one ski on and gently placed my boot in the binding and humbly took off. As I went up and down the street trying desperately not to fall, I took in some of the scene. Restaurants, christmas lights, cheering kids, ice sculptures, my family…. it was a great and very unique experience. After floating in the clouds a bit thinking how lucky I was to live here, I got back to race mode for the final lap. As I made the last turn, I decided to pick it up. Driving the poles down I all of a sudden felt my right pole let go- someone’s ski hit my pole and I lost it. After struggling with single-poling for a few strides, I decided to do what felt more natural. I held the pole like a hockey stick and skated to the finish.

At the end of the race it was a great reunion at the finish line- Mito supporters, family, Critical Speed teammates, my hospital colleagues, friends, neighbours. At the post-race party, Tony gave Blaine and I the opportunity to chat about the Team MitoCanada Project. In the end, Team Mito got 1st in the mens category and I came 4th overall for solo, 2nd in my age group. Big Thanks to Tony for yet another great race!