Green Racing Project Blog

I’ll be the first to admit that the idea of blogging has never greatly appealed to me but it really is one of the best ways to show what we do on the Green Team in our daily lives so I am coming around to it. And since my mom keeps asking why I never post anything on the blog, I proudly bring you the summer in short!

I graduated from Dartmouth June 13^th and moved into the house shortly thereafter. Transitioning from college life to being a full time athlete was harder in many ways than I expected. It involved a lot more downtime than I was accustomed to in my school days and it took a while for me to actually put my feet up for a while in the afternoon to absorb and recover from workouts. So for living situation and group dynamic at the house has been really productive. Having training partners around at a high level to push workouts as well as instant feedback from Pepa has been one of the biggest differences from past summers training mostly alone. As well, the farmhouse we live in was a bit of a shock compared to the college apartments that I had become accustomed to in the past years. There has been a remarkable dearth of small furry critters residing in the house, no electrical wiring that appears from the Edison era, or the nice leaded paint dust film that built up on the window sills of 14 West Wheelock Street. Moving into a clean, comfortable environment conducive to training, I just felt…better… than in the previous months. Unfortunately the roof of the farmhouse is much harder to get on than my previous residence.

Adapting to the actual training was probably one of the easier aspects of the move. Pepa’s coaching style is different in some ways to my past coaches, but in the whole very similar with a focus on summer volume while still maintaining quickness, speed, and good technique. I think by the end of the summer I might even be able to bench my body weight, finish a plyo jump workout without being incapacitated for a week afterwards, and do at least 50% of what Pepa can do on her wheel of torture ab roller!

Work at the center has also been great. The COC has a garage full of toys to help accomplish any job or task and Dylan and I have been quick to put the tractor and Argos to work on projects. Craftsbury is currently in the process of installing 8 large tracking solar panels on the upper soccer field and Dylan and I have been clearing the tree line to let in more sun as well as generally prep the site for installation. The installation of the panels should go quick once all the concrete footings are in place and be quite a sight!

Dylan and I putting the tractor and winch to work on the Solar Panel Project

Dylan getting in some extra pull-ups on the job

As well a bunch of us on the team have been hard at work cutting single track trails for mountain biking and trail running. The rocky terrain coupled with cedar bogs makes for some incredible riding terrain and technical challenges such as rock drops and log rides although it also makes the trails much slower to cut and buff out. Hopefully by the end of the fall we should have a linkable network of new and old single-track for longer rides. On top of the Kingdom Trails and Cady’s Falls network, there will be a great variety of riding all within a short drive!

Kingdom Trails-Life is Good!

September marks a bit of a turning point in my schedule. After a productive chunk of time in Craftsbury interspersed with some trips to Hanover and Home, I am headed out West for two weeks. Should be a blast!

Moab calls (again)! Post NCAAs 2010

Probably not this much snow in the La Sal Mountains this time around though...

mo·jo
n. pl. mo·jos or mo·joes
1. A magic charm or spell.
2. An amulet, often a small flannel bag containing one or more magic items, worn by adherents of hoodoo or voodoo.
3. Personal magnetism; charm.
(from thefreedictionary.com)

An August afternoon at the Craftsbury range.

While running down Bolton mountain a couple of weeks ago, I got into a discussion with one of my biathlon teammates about our philosophies of training.  Cross country ski racers (including biathletes) train an incredible amount throughout the year.  We go for long rollerskis, bikes, runs and hikes to build our endurance.  We do a variety of drills, such as no pole skiing, to work on technique.  We do blocks of hard intervals where we ski with a high heart rate to increase our speed.  A couple of times a week, we lift, do circuits and work on core exercises to increase our strength.  All of these components help us to become faster racers.  But there is still a piece missing.
My teammate told me about a cyclist coach she knows who has a motto “You’ve gotta have your mojo.”  Racing at your highest potential requires the cooperation of your body, your mind, and your spirit, and having a little luck thrown in certainly doesn’t hurt.  You need a good training plan to get there.  But you also need the magic.
I’m constantly in search of mojo.  My number one goal as a biathlete is to have fun.  When the challenges I tackle during training and racing are enjoyable and motivating, I know I’m on the right track.   My favorite training involves adventures, such as long hikes or exploring new trails on a mountain bike.  I like being in places with rugged, wild terrain where I can physically engage the landscape during workouts.  In my experience, I race best when I am happy.  Coincidence?  I think not.
What’s your mojo?

Some snapshots of summer:

Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club bounds up Elinor's field

Googie watches proceedings at the top of the bounding hill

Hannah, Lauren and I spent a Saturday afternoon learning hunter safety. The instructors lent us some stylish safety glasses for shooting practice.

Pat and Ethan tinkering with rollerskis in the front yard

Hey all-
We’re putting together a rollerski race this sunday at the Jericho rollerski trails, and you should be there.  It’s going to be a 15k for men, 10k for women, in the afternoon.  It’s going to be featuring a bunch of the US’s top biathletes as well as many skiers from around New England, including the 10 skiers of the GRP.  The race will also be followed by a barbeque for all racers and spectators.  It should be a lot of fun and one of the best rollerski races you’ll find anywhere in the summer.  Registration is at skireg.com.  Winners will receive the almost famous “Golden Wheel.”

Questions? Want to volunteer?  email craftsburygrp@gmail.com.

We’re in the middle of a high volume week and decided to mix up our usual trails and roads with an OD run on the Long Trail.  So this morning we loaded up a van and headed to the trailhead at Mud City in Morrisville.  The adventure started by running up the Beaver Meadow trail until we hit the Long Trail and then we headed south following the white blazes.  We ran up and over Madonna Mountain, cooled off by swimming in Sterling Pond, ran down a steep descent to the Smugglers Notch road where Pepa was waiting with more water, food, and popsicles, and then headed steeply back up the trail towards the chin of Mt. Mansfield.  Our original plan was to follow the ridge all the way to the Mansfield Lake in Moscow but our time and distance estimations were a bit off so we cut down early by taking the Toll Road and then the Hazelton Trail.  The final steep descent was quite tough on the sore legs and I think Pat even considered borrowing a child’s bike at the top of the toll road for an easier finish.  We finally made it back to Mama Pepa after 5 hours on the trail!  On our way home we hit up a swimming hole in Stowe that felt very cold and refreshing especially compared to the warm water of Big Hosmer.

Pretty much every summer I’ve ever participated in has included some heat wave that always seems to be the hottest weather I’ve ever experienced or tried to train in.  I think that we’ve now finished ours for the year (or at least I hope so).  Last week it was low 90’s every day here with lots of sun and a lot of humidity with no rain.  Here’s a few highlights from the week:

Drips coming off my helmet after literally every pole stroke as I rollerski.

Falling asleep while sweating.

Swimming workouts.

Dehydration and sunburns (not for me, for other people.  Don’t worry Mom and Dad-I used my sunscreen).

Trying to do workouts before breakfast and after dinner only to find it’s no nicer even then.

Running out of ice cubes by 9am every morning.

Taking a cold shower and not making it back to my room before the dripping water turns to sweat.

Eating salad for dinner because it’s too hot to eat anything else.

Taking a kayak out to the middle of the lake so I could flip it, climb on top, and dive deep, where the cold water lives.

Hearing someone announce, every day, that tomorrow is supposed to be the worst of it.

Wishing we weren’t a green team so we could get an air conditioner.

Bellyflops in the lake before and after every meal and workout.

And finally:

Watching Sister Act with Pat (who was sleeping in the basement) late at night hoping my room would be habitable by the end (it wasn’t).

So, enjoy the heat and sun.  Or don’t.  I’m trying to enjoy it, because in 3 and a half months I’m going to be in Finland, where they have neither.

We hosted our first BKL camp of the summer this past week. The heat was intense but it just meant that we had to go swimming a lot more – definitely not a bad thing! Coaching the BKL camps makes fitting in our own training and other work projects a little difficult but it’s also really fun to work with kids that are so enthusiastic about all the various activities we throw at them. I know it’s cliché, but their excitement is certainly infectious. Here are some photos from the week’s adventures:

The SBTC did an awesome job with the sculling sessions.

New this year: A mountain bike clinic with Jess, an instructor from Dirt Divas.

Jack, one of our youngest campers, on the obstacle course.

Our BKL camps always end with an adventure race. One team checks out the map under the watchful eyes of Matt.

Coach Tim with his team during the canoe portion.

Finish Line! Watermelon time, then it's on to the rope swing and pizza party.

Many, many thanks to everyone that helped make the July BKL camp so successful!