Torch Relay, Training & Medal-Metal Preview - Athlete Blog Watch

The road to the Games is a long one and no one knows that better than the athletes themselves. On their personal blogs, they share the thrill of victory, the agony of their feet and the day to day living, training and perseverance that go into being a top athlete.

Here are a few of the Canadian athlete blog posts that inspired us this week:

Bobsleigher Heather Moyse's post Emotions Too Deep For Words... was chock full of amazing emotional experiences from her journey to the Games.

First, she was honoured to carry the Olympic Flame for a leg of the Torch Relay in her home province of PEI - and then the support she received at her successful fundraising dinner nearly brought her to tears.

As she says in her post:

There really are no words to describe the feeling of representing home! Especially in front of home! Hmmm… I guess that’s what the 2010 Olympics will be like! If I am awarded the honour of representing my country in front of my country, I expect that that, too, will be an emotional and indescribable event.

But although emotions will be with me throughout this entire season and, hopefully, into the Games, it is the support behind the emotion, the passion and the focus – not the emotion itself – that will get me there and get me through it! So, I thank you for your support! From the bottom of my heart! Because this journey would not be the same without you!

Alpine skier Kelly Vanderbeek wrote about training, fitness testing and travel in her post The Time is Coming. Kelly also got a rare treat - she was able to take a tour of the Teck smelting facility where the metal for the Olympic medals is being produced. Check out her post for a photo of her visit!

In Trail, BC I visited Teck`s smelting facilities before speaking at the employee recognition event. That is a SOLID bar of 99.9% pure silver, weighing about 70lbs. We saw lots of gold as well in its final stages before being melted down into a bar. Very cool stuff, it certainly made me excited to see where the metal for the medals is coming from.

Biathlete Zina Kocher is off to Sweden to kick off the World Cup season! In her blog post about training and packing for the World Cup circuit, she writes about her packing expertise, her picturesque ski retreat accommodations and sampling the local fare.

When I am in Europe, there are new foods that become my favorite snack. In Sweden and Norway, for instance, I love this type of cheese called geitost. It is strong, sweet and is strong with flavors of caramel and goat’s milk. Yum! Might just have to have some right now…

We'll be highlighting Canadian athlete blog posts every week, so stay tuned!