Well, it is time to tell everyone. I am officially retiring from competitive ski racing.

I want everyone to know that this decision was not as difficult as it was cracked up to be when you are younger. At this point in my life, it seems like the only logical thing to do. For the past four years, I told myself that I would ski until 2010, then I would re-evaluate. If I didn’t still believe that I could be a World Cup medal threat in every race, I would call it a career.

Four years ago, I believed that I could be one of the World’s fastest sprinters. I was cracking the top 20 in numerous World Cups and saw medals in my sights. Over the next four seasons, I would have identical results each year. There was no major improvement and I was getting older. I now know that I will never be the fastest man on the World Cup, and that is fine. All the dreams and expectations from my childhood have been exceeded long ago. Essentially, I lived my dream.

This has been an incredible journey with the Canadian Team for seven years. In no way, can I even come close to summing up this time in words. All I can do is be thankful to everyone who made it all possible. I am not going to list everyone but you know who you are. My family, relatives, friends, coaches, sponsors, sporting body, my local club, Big Thunder Nordic, event organizers and volunteers have been there through it all. I am certain that I have learned and seen more that I every would on any other career path. I have learned the value of hard work and determination. I have travelled to beautiful places all over the World…. some ghetto ones too. I have pushed my body in training and racing and have seen its full potential. I have made friends and memories that will last a lifetime.

So what now?  Become homeless and pick cans from dumpsters for coffee money.
It’s an option…

No, I will be heading back to school to accomplish a goal that actually may be as challenging as my ski career. I am heading back to school at the University of Calgary, to pursue an Honors Science Degree with hopes to continue to medical school. I have had this goal since I was a bleached blond, hemp necklace wearing kid in high school. I know that this is what I wanted to do and I will attack it with the same attitude I have every ski race for the past decade.  I am very excited to have Gord Jewett retiring at the same time and also heading to the University of Calgary. We will be hammering out road bike workouts like it is our job.

My girlfriend Heather, our little dog Brewzer and myself are heading to the next stage of our lives. We look ahead with excitement and look back with no regrets.
Thanks for reading,
Crooks

Nats and Some Other Stuff...

 

Day two after the Nationals 50km, I am still completely exhausted. My body is sore, bruised and drained.  That was the hardest race I have ever done. It was not by any means a good race, but I worked for that 10th place. From lap one, I struggled badly with my skis. My grip was terrible and I was pushing so hard for every stride that I managed to bruise the bottoms of my feet. My strategy was to stay with the leaders as long as possible. I did this for about half of the race, but the skis were just not working and I was wasting energy trying to kick.  I had to stop to re-wax twice over the next 20km, and still struggled to ski efficiently. It was an extremely frustrating day. I am happy with my effort, but so let down with the result.

The rest of the Nationals went ok, but nothing too stellar. My body felt great on the sprint day. The conditions were fast and the course was favourable to my strengths; short and fast. I led through the wind for the final and couldn't find the jam in the last few meters to fight off the lunge of Len Valjas. I was still pleased with the day. Congrats to Lenny on a great final.

The other distance races were dominated by my teammate and rookie senior Greame Killick. What an impressive few days of racing he had. I trained with GKill a lot this year and it was really great to see him display his talent. A few more years of base training and Gkill will be hard to beat all season.

My distance days were ok, in the top ten but not on the podium where I wanted to be. I really had some higher hopes for Nationals. I compare my expectations to the Canadian expectations at the Olympics. If Canada were to lose every event except for hockey, that would be ok. (85% of Canadians who voted on a poll said this). The same outlook applied for me with the sprint. If I won the sprint and no other medals, that would be ok. Instead, I raced mediocre, and leave a bit let down. However, I was happy to finish 3rd Overall in the Aggregate points for the week.

As I sit in a Calgary coffee shop writing this, I am faced with some big decisions ahead. A lot of people have asked my plans for the future of my ski career. I wish I had an answer, but I do not. I would love to be a skier for another four years to Sochi, but I have other goals I want to accomplish as well. I have some big decisions to make. Whether I am sitting in Mac Hall at U of C with Gord having lunch, or racing the World Champs sprint next year in Oslo, I am excited for either challenge.When I know more, I will blog about it.

Thanks for following my racing this year. Sorry I crashed and complained so much. It was a real roller coaster. Sorry Mom

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A Quick (kinda boring) Update

I know that my blogging has been less frequent lately and I apologize. Twitter has made it difficult to write an update longer than 140 characters;-). I sat down to write a few entries, but the last few weeks in Canmore have been pretty standard. I have said this before, but it was really nice to spend a few weeks at home. I enjoy when I can get back to a training routine, fully unpack all my bags and fill the fridge.
After Madison, The Nish and I teamed up to do a solid week of training before he headed to the World Cup. I had another week of medium hours, then a few easy days leading into Nationals. I now sit here in Whitehorse, hours before the first race (club team sprint) feeling ready to get this thing goin’. It has been a big gap since my last race series, so it should be a hard week on the body. The good news is, I will have some compelling blogging material now...more to come
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Mad-Town Sprint

With the Olympics happening, I really haven’t found much motivation to write on my blog. With all the excitement in Vancouver, my month seems pretty unspectacular in comparison. I thought, since the games are coming to a close I would give a quick update what I have been doing to keep myself busy and in race form.

Early in the month, I trained with my teammates that were all racing in Vancouver. I didn’t do the same volume that they were doing, but I did the intensities and some medium days. I was preparing for some Supertour races in Wisconsin and maybe a Loppet or two. The night of the opening ceremony was a tough one. I was really bummed. For so long, I had focused on the Olympic sprint race, I just felt like the past few years were a big waste of time. Luckily, I had my best bud over to my place, who was feeling the same way and we drank some beer and had a constructive complaining session that made us both feel better. Since then, I have felt much better about the situation and have been a pretty avid Olympic fan.

A few days after the Olympics began, I headed to Thunder Bay for a few hours before hitting the road to Wisconsin for a city sprint and criterium. The city of Madison does such a great job with this race. The conditions weren't great, but the atmosphere was outstanding. The race takes place right downtown, had a good amount of spectators and entertaining announcing. The prize money was also very impressive. I want to thank the organizers and sponsors of this race for a great event. I also want to thank Eric Bailey from the NTDC TBay for the fast wax and coaching.  

I returned home to Canmore after the weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. I was going to race the Birkie and the Sleeping Giant Loppet, but I decided to prep for the Canadian Nationals that are coming soon instead.

Since my return home it’s been the Nish/Crooks training camp. Nish heads to the World Cup in a week, and I head to the Canadian Nationals in Whitehorse in just over a week.

I will leave you with some pics from the slush-fest that was Madison.

Thanks for reading.

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Life is Like a Box Of Chocolates

Canmore is back to normal again after the World Cup. The teams have left, the snow is gone from Main St. and there is an abundance of parking at the Nordic Center. The World Cup was an amazing display of our sport. It was an extremely well run event, lots of spectators, and best of all, perfect weather.  I was very proud to be a Canadian ski racer last weekend and feel privileged to live in such a great town.

The racing for me was quick and dirty, as it has been all year. I don’t want to complain too much, but I have literally crashed in every important race of this season. I am really not sure what to think of it all.  It seems like just as I get over the disappointment of one race, I bail again in another World Cup or trials race. The only positive thread I am hanging on to is that my fitness has been quite good and I am not injured.

The classic sprint in Canmore started off well. I was 19th in the prologue, which is a decent start. My quarterfinal heat was going exactly as planned until Fabio Pasini went down on the downhill in front of me. I almost made it around him, but caught a ski and went flying into the fencing. Devon Kershaw then hit me and did a ragdoll like maneuver into the snow. I ended up 26th for the day.

For the upcoming month, I have planned some racing to keep me busy and focused before our National Championships. Phil Widmer and I are going to hit the Madison Supertour and I am going to the American Birkie.  I admit, this is not the February 2010 I thought I would have. You don’t get everything you want in life. But, I am genuinely excited to do these races in the States. 

As Kid Cudi says in the song “Pursuit of Happiness” – “Ill be fine once I get it, I’ll be good”

I posted a short video of the crash, as it is one of the better crashes I have done in my ski career. Enjoy,

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A Cool Vid

Here is a great video that Dan Roycroft found that brought me back to my Thunder Bay roots.
Enjoy

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A Few of My Favourite Things

This past week the World Cup has descended upon Canmore Nordic Center and it has been amazing skiing. But what else can Canmore offer the athletes and staff of the World Cup? I have lived here for over 5 years and have learned that this town does three things well; outdoor activities, food and coffee shops. I thought I would give a quick rundown of the best places in town for a run, eating and just hangin’ out.

Where to go for a run?

I know the World Cup is in town when I see people in decaled out clothing running down Main St. I have to admit, Main St. running is not that cool. What is cool is the path system that runs through town. The trails system goes to the river then follows it for many km’s. If you are looking for an access point to the trail system, there is one beside the Giant Head and one across from Starbucks. If you cannot find either of these places….well, yeah. I can’t help you.

Not loving the World Cup buffet? I will break down my favourite restaurants in town based on what meals you are thinking of eating out.

Breaky: Summit Café makes the best Mexican breakfast in town. The Huevos Rancheros is the best I’ve ever had, including Mexico. If you enjoy a similar breakfast to a lumberjack or a trucker, which I do sometimes, hit Chez Francois. It has big portions and really good eggs benedict.

Lunch: Harvest Café and Coffee Mine have a great soup and sandwich and some good baking as well. Crazyweed has hands down the best lunch in town (and dinner), but is a little more expensive than the café’s.

Dinner: Crazyweed (see lunch). Like I said, it’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth it. Some other great spots are the Quarry (Main St), Flatbread Co. and for some truly amazing sushi, my favourite place in town Chefs Studio (Main St).

Java? Canmore has a lot of coffee shops. It is an ongoing debate as to which is the best. The one skiers find themselves in most often is a little boutique shop many have never heard of. They call it Starbucks.  Our men’s team can be found there most afternoons discussing important and compelling topics. The other two we frequent are Mercato and Communitea. They are both locally owned and have great java and a good overall vibe.

Out for a beer. If you are a coach or tech, you likely skipped the entire post until now. Some good spots downtown are The Drake and The Paw. There is a great restaurant /bar that opened last year up in Cougar Creek called The Iron Goat. That place has a great atmosphere for an evening drink.

Hope this helps, enjoy your time in the Bow Valley

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Going To the World Cup, Going Home

I am currently on route back to Canada after our whirlwind Euro trip. As I sit and reflect on my time away this past two weeks, I am not disappointed with my results, but I am not ecstatic either. I guess, I am just somewhere in between. I am frustrated about my fall in my sprint heat, but happy with the way I felt in the 15km classic and the sprint relay.

One thing I do leave with is unbelievable memories. I have been to Europe for skiing almost 15 times. I have to say, this one was special. We were four guys, who have been racing the domestic scene all season and we were finally able to hit the World Cup. We went there with a great attitude. We went to show that we belong on the World Cup and score some WC points. We had one tech, very little jet lag acclimatization and lots of travel, but everyone remained optimistic. The last time I felt excitement like that was in 2007, when I was sent to race the Tour de Ski.

So, why didn’t we all perform better? I guess the travel took a little out of us. Phil, Nish and Brent all had days where they felt off with some sickness. The other thing that hindered our performance was crashes in the sprints. We qualified 3 men in sprint heats. Every single one of us crashed in our quarter-final.

On the other hand Sasha Bergeron did an amazing job with being the head/only wax tech, team leader, and as his Russia accreditation said, “Responsible for Everything”. Our skis were perfect and we actually made it in and out of Russia, which is harder than most would think.

Overall, we worked really well together and had a great time. I will take my 5 World Cup points and walk away content. 

Time to gear up for Canmore.
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 Brent getting ready for Russia with a Euro-mullet. He chose to coiff it with a Swiss Army Knife.


A view from the cafeteria. Not too shabby. Unlike two years ago, the entire World Cup did not witness any
guys drowning this time.


"Our Little House In Russia" All teams had houses like this right on site. Really nice.


Part of the huge grandstand. Russia knows how to get the crowds out, and they were loud.


Nish in the lead pack of the 30km pursuit. He finished 17th.

Mother Russia

After a long travel from Estonia, we arrived in Russia Wednesday night. After a overnight layover in Munich, we took the World Cup charter airplane to the city of Yaroslavl. From there, we drove 3 hours through cities and country roads to the Rybinsk Stadium. The drive featured massive apartment blocks, and lots of them. They go on forever, and they all look the same. It’s very strange.

The stadium in Rybinsk is impressive. The grandstand is the biggest on the World Cup and has a glassed in area to keep the spectators warm. The courses are among the best I have skied. The sprint course has one major, steep climb and a lot of stadium time.

Now for the important stuff; the racing. Today was the skate sprint. I qualified 22nd. I felt really good on the flats and free skate, but on the climb, my hop skate was not as strong as I wanted. I was shooting for top 12’s all day, so I had my work cut out for me in the heats. The heats can be summed up pretty quickly. I came out of the gate in 2nd, crashed on my side, got all twisted up and lost the group. My day was over (26th place).

I now look ahead to the team sprint in Sunday. It looks right now that I will be teamed up with Brent McMurtry. Nish and Widmer would be other team, but Widmer has been battling a flu, so he may not race.

Other than that, we have been really enjoying the Russian World Cup; great accoms, great food, huge crowds. What more could we want? Well, maybe some warmer temps, but we are Canadian, so no big deal.

Thanks for reading
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For some pics, hit up the Nish's site www.the-nish.com

To Russia with Nish, PDub, and maybe BMac

This two week World Cup tour is underway with the races in Otepaa done and Russia WC’s next weekend.  I came here to race World Cups and score some points. So far, it has been close, but has not happened yet.

Looking back, the weekend did show some good signs of shape, but I did not execute well and fell short of my goals. The distance race was quite good. I felt like I was pushing hard and keeping a consistent pace. It was a very hard course, so rigor mortis Crooks came to visit for parts of it, but overall a solid day (39th place). Sprint day was another day that my body felt good, but I skied short and tight and did not qualify top 30. (44th place). My grip was not bomber on the first climb and I wasn’t confident in it. I look back on this weekend a little bit frustrated, but excited at my shape as we approach the Russia WC weekend.

Here are some beauties through the eyes and lens of the Nish.

Out for an afternoon training session on the Tartu trails

A scenery shot by the Nish.

Hanging in our Otepaa condo with Kuhn. It is located right in the stadium.

Back In The USSR

The trip that seemed to have everything working against it seems to be running quite smoothly at the moment. I’m here in our Estonian condo with Stef and Nish as we work away on our computers. The jet lag isn’t too bad considering we arrived last night. I’m sure it will hit us in a few hours.

A week ago, this trip did not exist. We were in Quebec racing the Nor Ams and I kept hearing from the coaches that the trip was a definite no go. There was no selection, no Visas and no money. My situation was even worse. My passport had expired and was sent away for renewal in Calgary. Once the proposal for the trip was put on paper, things finally started moving. Thursday of last week, Eric called me and told me, “you’re in, pack your bags”.  To sum it up; I picked up my passport in Calgary, filled out forms and overnighted it all to the Russian Visa Center in Toronto. 24 hours and a few hundred dollars later, I had a new Canadian passport and Russian Visa. This brings us to yesterday, where I boarded a plane and flew to Estonia. I race the 15km classic World Cup here tomorrow.

I realize that this sounds like a less than ideal way to make my 2010 World Cup debut, but what choice did I have? My Olympic prep month that I was planning in the summer no longer existed. My season was beginning to look like I was only going to race one World Cup this year and that would be in Canmore. I have to say, I was “not pumped ‘bout dat”.  This trip is an ideal opportunity for guys like myself, Nish and Phil, who are racing well and not on the Olympic Team. The upcoming races are great races for me; 2 sprints, a 15km classic and a sprint relay. Plus, there are some tired people after the Tour, so we can capitalize on that. I am also excited about having so many races in a short amount of time. We are here less than 2 weeks and there are 5 races in that span. I guess the results will be the judge, but right now, I am feeling pretty good about this trip.

I will update more once the racing begins, but for now, since my luck has not been great lately…wish me luck.

Thanks for reading.
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Tired and bored in Frankfurt. Watching HBO's "Bored To Death"

In T.O with Phil, starting our day

Our place in Estonia to the right.

In our condo in Otepaa, Estonia

Back To The Start

If it seems like my blogs have become melodramatic evaluations of my life as a skier, I apologize. I don’t want every entry to have the tone;  “blah, blah, blah, I feel sorry for myself for not making the Olympics” I have already well documented all of that in my last two posts. However, it seems as though after the Olympic trials, I see things a little differently and I think it might be a good thing.

I have to admit, until last week’s races in Quebec, I was really enjoying the domestic racing. The US Supertour races and the Canadian NorAms were really great and I was actually happy to be home doing these races rather than waiting for World Cup sprint races in Europe.  In Quebec, however, I felt old. I haven’t been to Valcartier in almost a decade. It was also the location of my first Nationals 12 years ago, which got me hooked on cross-country racing. I felt like my career has done a full circle, and that I was back where I started, but this time I was the old national team guy racing the World Junior Trials. Don’t get me wrong, Valcartier is a great venue, they ran an incredible race. I was just feeling a little weird about being there. I realized something very important. I am still a world-class racer, and I need to get to a World Cup stat.

Racing last week made me forget about the Olympic upset and set a new set of goals. Although the two races were frustrating with all the bad luck, if I had kept my poles intact, it would have been a great weekend. Over the next few weeks, I have the opportunity to get back to Europe and race some of my favourite World Cup races. The obstacles I have faced over the last month have been a reality check for me. They have given me perspective about what I want and expect from myself as a ski racer. I look
to this month ahead with excitement. My season didn’t end after Olympic trials.

Thanks for reading.
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I realize that I promised pictures. There will be plenty coming up as my travel and season heats up on the World Cup.