Things seemed to get off to a
slow start back in September as I headed out to Sun Valley with Evan. As I returned for the first of October
the team was somewhat splintered. Joe and Molly were keeping a large part of
the troops on their game with the cross country team. Sam M., Emily, Silke, and Brian (BFV) were all ready to
roll, and so we did.
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Night time bounding at Cochran's in November |
Halloween seemed to come out
of nowhere and we were hitting the road for long rollerski days, intervals, and
technique. Cochran’s became a staple
as we bounded right into the dark, but even the dark could not derail the pain.
“Just pull this switch,” said the incredible friendly folks at Cochran’s. Let there be light, and the team was as
one. 3 hour roller skis, bounding
and Joe’s team core were all part of a great fall of training. But… the fall would not be complete
with out Joe’s fun…. “It’s time for SMC to TT up the Bolton access road.”
Gabby and Sam-Dan were
treated to a Thanksgiving with the Martell’s and a great week of on snow
training. Hard’Ack, Mike B’s gym,
and incredible skiing at Craftsbury all came together to provide a great week
of training. By Friday the numbers
began to grow as the on snow skiing was extended right though Saturday. Sunday found everyone back on campus
and a long roller ski.
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Isaiah in the EC sprint |
The Craftsbury gang worked
their buts off and pulled things together for a fun weekend of racing as the
first Eastern Cup went off with out a hitch. Sam M., Gabby, Colin, Isaiah, and Sam-Dan jump-started their
season against some of the toughest competition in the country.
Winter camp found the gang
putting in long hours of skiing at Trapp’s. The team put together 10 days of long skis, countless
intervals, and a TT with the UVM and Dartmouth ski teams. But wait…we could not
stop there, so we headed northeast to the long rolling trails at Craftsbury for
a 3 hour ski and the 11th day of skiing followed by pizza all around.
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The girls putting in a solid 3 hours at Craftsbury |
Three more training days and the
games will in fact begin. The college season kicks off as we roll into Rumford,
Maine for a 5 & 10K interval start skate on Friday and a 10K mass start
classic on Saturday. This weekend is
the first of six weeks of Carnivals and the team is ready, so… “Let the Games
Begin”.
-Lary