The Dog Days of Summer are here. Even though we’ve only just started our season, I find this time of year to absolutely be the toughest. Why? Well, first of all, we are working hard. The programs are tough since were touching physical systems in training that haven’t been trained for a while. Second, its hot, humid and muggy in the city and I’m stuck here since I’ve got to be close to the rink. And third, I have to put up with all the photos, status updates and stories from my friends and family about the beautiful weekend they spent at the cabin, or out on the lake. The photos of people at home in Yellowknife enjoying the hot days, cool nights, cool lakes and midnight sun are the toughest. Man do I miss Yellowknife summers!
Yearning for, and dreaming of my favourite place on earth, the East Arm of Great Slave Lake, NWT.
Needless to say, with all that running through my brain, this past week was one of the toughest of the season so far. It was a hot week in Montreal which makes recovery all that more difficult. Rolling around around in a pool of sweat in bed during the middle of the night is not conducive to recovering from back to back speed endurance sessions let me tell you! I find that I tend to struggle in these weeks since I really am not used to hot, hot weather. Thankfully, I can camp myself out in front of the fan and watch the Tour de France each day after training!
These weeks will pay off later in the season! I’ll get my Yellowknife summer soon enough…
Michael Gilday 