It is dark now at practice make sure that you bring a working head lamp to practice, it makes you visible and you can see where you are going. Very stupid to get hurt because you could not see where you were going. 

It is time to get your skis tested and ready for the season. I was talking today to Wayne Johanssen from Gatineau Nordic Sports. Testing this year is going to be $10 and Grinding and hotbox treatment will be $60, this is money well spent to know whether your skis are going to work well for you. Skis that are the wrong stiffness for you will never be fast. I would like to get some help with this so that we can get all of your skis tested to be sure that they are the right ski for you and then stone ground and hot boxed and ready to go. This only needs to be done for your race skis. It is now time because if your skis are not going to work for you then you will be able to sell them at the ski swap in November. You can drop your skis off your self or you can drop bring them to practice by next Tuesday with $10 cash so that they can be delivered to Wayne. I have a attached a couple of links that will explain testing, grinding and hot boxing.
Testing: http://www.gatineaunordiquesport.com/Ski%20Testing.en
Stone grinding: http://www.gatineaunordiquesport.com/What%20is%20it.en
Hot box: http://www.gatineaunordiquesport.com/What%20is%20it%20heatbox.en

 Time management is very important. Make sure that you plan through your week so that you know the things that you need to get done. Planning is very important so that you have time for all the things that you want to do. Recovery is also going to be very important. More stress, action and general business in your day means that you need to have higher quality recovery time to make sure that you are well rested from day to day. Remember that good recovery means eating healthy foods at the right times, drinking (3-4 liters) plenty of water each day, resting and sleeping at least 8 hours a day of quality sleep. If you find that you sleep is poor quality or not enough then you are going to suffer the next day. The first symptoms of poor recovery are you are grumpy, tired, your desire to get things done is very low, and if it goes long enough you end up getting sick. 

The training program is set up to build you little by little, it should be rare that you feel as though you are totally destroyed after a work out. If you are than your recovery time is going to be longer which will affect the next training. Training also builds over time so if you are missing out on training or you are not doing your own self training you will find that you suffer in team work outs when you do show up. Being successful in a work out is very important to your mental development and your enjoyment of the sport. If you are not able to complete a work out then you don't feel as successful and it is not as fun. We will be focusing on pacing, strength and roller ski technique.

Tuesday, November 6th      

• Activity: Strength
  
• Location: Biathlon Range 
  
• When: 6:30 - 8pm
• Bring: Running gear, watch with a timer water, snack for after practice

Thursday, November 8th       

• Activity: Skate Intensity SB, SG Juvenile , Youth and Juniors
  
• Location: P8
  
• When: 6:30 to 8:00
  
• Bring: Skate Roller skis, poles, boots, gloves and watch with a timer water, snack for after practice

Saturday, November 10th   

• Activity: Ski Swap No Nordic Practice
  
• Location:  
  
• When: 
  
• Bring:

Sunday, November 11th    

• Activity:Classic (skate for biathletes and those new roller skiing) we will be skiing the loop with zone 3-4 intensity on each of the hills get ready for a good workout.
  
• Location: Jacques Cartier Park, parking lot closest to Alexandria Bridge see map for details https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=218069458309771083118.0004ca9e960c168f22cb0&msa=0
  
• When: 9am 12noon 
  
• Bring: Classic or skate roller skis, poles, boots, gloves and watch with a timer, water, snack for after practice

Tuesday, October 30th      

• Activity: strength
  
• Location: Biathlon Range
  
• When: 6:3:0 - 8pm
• Bring:  Running gear, extra change of cloths for after work out, watch with a timer water, snack for after practice

Thursday, November 1st         

• Activity: Classic Roller skiing intervals Juveniles, Senior Boys and girls 3x 6min juniors, youth  4 x 6min 3min active recovery between intervals
  
• Location:p8
  
• When: 6:30 to 8:00
  
• Bring:Classic roller skis, skate for biathletes and those new to roller skiing, poles, boots, gloves and watch with a timer, water, snack for after practice

Saturday, November 3rd   

• Activity: Race week end  Sprints skate  
  
• Location: p8
  
• When: 8:45-12pm
  
• Bring: Skate roller skiing gear, bring running shoes as back up if it is icy, watch with a timer, water, snack for after practice

Sunday, November 4th     

• Activity: Race weekend classic middle distance race 6km and 9km 1hr zone 1 ski when finished.
  
• Location: P10
• When: 9-12noon 
  
• Bring: Classic roller skis (Skate for biathletes and those new to roller skiing) skis, poles, boots, gloves, bring running gear as back up if it is icy running gear and watch with a timer water, snack for after practice