MNC Members of all ages…if you’re interested in participating in the US National Rollerski Biathlon events this coming weekend, see this email from John Madigan below on ways to volunteer. Thanks!
Hi Volunteers!
Thank you for agreeing to help with the 2018 North American and US National Rollerski Biathlon Championships on August 11th and 12th. As always, without your generous help, it would not happen. The races are fast and should be a lot of fun. Saturday is the Sprint race and Sunday is the Pursuit and Mass Start for Sr Men and Women. Here are some details for volunteers:
1. Plan to arrive at 7:45 am the first morning when you will be assigned to either the Chief of Range or Chief of Timing for training in your volunteer job for the morning. The athletes will zero their rifles at 8:00 am and the racing will start at 9:00 am. Note that this is earlier than in the Winter. Things should wrap up before noon. Volunteers will meet outside the timing building at 8:00 AM for assignments.
2. Make sure you bring clothing for all kinds of weather including rain. Bug spray and a water bottle might be a good idea.
3. There will be snacks and drinks in the Walker Building before and after the races.
4. Once the races start it is hard to get away from your position, so try to take care of all your needs before the 9:00 am start.
5. The outcome of these races depends a lot on how well we do our jobs as volunteers. Details, details, details! It is very important to be focused when on the range, in the penalty area, or at the finish. Missing a number or recording something incorrectly takes quite a bit of effort and time to sort out so do your best to get accurate information. You will get additional instruction on this from the Chiefs. Having said that, we all sometimes miss things. If you think you might have missed something, don’t guess, note it on the recording sheet and bring it to the attention of the Chief at the end of the race.
6. If you have any questions before Saturday, you can contact me at this email address or at jpmad2013@yahoo.com or call me at (802) 373 5777 (doesn’t work at my home in the evenings). Looking forward to seeing everyone. We can always use more volunteers so feel free to bring a friend.
On a hot and humid Sunday, some of the toughest Masters around gathered at the base of Smugglers Notch for a rollerski interval workout.
This was not your ordinary Masters workout, but rather the start and growth of what might be the freshest, most fly group of rollerskiers to ever take on the Climb to the Castle. While the Peru Nordic Masters may embrace the ethos of heavy metal culture, fashion, and lingo, the MNC Masters are taking it up a few decades to become this season’s bastions of hip hop rollerskiing. It all started with a Jay Z disc in Steve Crafts’ car, purchased on a whim for $1 at Pure Pop Records.
Will there be an East Coast (Jericho, VT) versus West Cost (Peru, NY) beef like the grudges that heated up the streets in the mid-90s?
Will members of New York’s most notorious band of metal-loving Masters, such as the “Harvester of Sorrow” Jim Kobak, or the “Hand of Doom” Chris Rose, by able to stand up against the likes of notorious rap legend Steve “Craftmaster Flex” or “Slick Rick Costanza”? Have they heard of young underground hip hop sensation “Mic Drop Millar”?!
Only time will tell, as MNC Masters continue to gear up for the NYSEF Climb to the Castle rollerski race on September 16th. This is bound to be the showdown of the year, and if you’re interested in making your mark with this crew be sure to stay tuned to the Masters Training Doc for rollerski opportunities to help prepare.
For THIS particular workout, the crew tackled the uphill on Road 101 near Smuggs. A favorite haunt of the MNC Junior team, this beautiful hillclimb is perfect for anyone…smooth pavement, minimal traffic, and stunning views. Thanks to some shuttle-rides from MC “Killa Kort” Longenbach, everyone was able to get in a few trips up this big climb. And just like any good rap group, there’s a music video to go along:
Craftmaster Flex showing the homies how it’s done, with Smuggs in the background
Mic Drop Millar getting in some post-ski recovery food at the Burger Barn in Jeffersonville
You know you just survived an intensity week when every step out of bed brings groans, ever reach downward to put on a shoe or ski boot feels like a gnarly hamstring stretch, and washing your hair sends sharp pain through your shoulders.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to achieve all desired soreness from your intensity week:
1) Start off with a double pole test, then more intervals on top of that, and then go to the gym to do a Canadian Strength Test
The double pole test was an absolute destruction-zone of previous PRs and fast times. The archive showed a massive improvement for so many in the group, and after a long period of time it is exciting to announce that the records have fallen! Olivia set a new women’s club record, while Elliott Ketchel, Will, and Greg ALL went under the previous course record which had stood since 2014.
PRs for Ben C, Will, Aidan, Kai, Magda, Julia, Marika, Hanna, Meredith, and Ava…phew! We also got a lot of footage since GMVS joined us for the test. Colin, Andy, and Perry all had the cameras rolling so most skiers have clips of beginning, middle and end!
But we weren’t done after the DP test. We then went to the gym and took on the Canadian Strength Test. This is a test used by many of the college ski teams and Juniors around the country (and, I can only assume, in Canada as well). The test is simple but brutal: one minute on, one minute off, for ten minutes. As many of the following as you can in each respective “on” minute:
-Pullups
-Situps
-Pushups
-Box Jumps
-Dips
Everyone partnered up and pushed hard. Ali, Aidan, and Magda will do this test as part of the National U16 Camp they qualified for in a few weeks, so part of the plan was to get a test in so it’s not such a shock at the main event. But of course, we all should take part in the fun (including Adam and Sara). Here’s a spreadsheet of results. MNC Juniors or Masters, if you want to do this test on your own just have a partner to validate and send in your scores to add to the sheet!
On Wednesday we set out for a trail run, but as you can imagine most everyone woke up feeling like they got “hit by a bus” as Jenny put it. The first few minutes of running were excruciating but luckily we made sure to do our Morning Sport exercises (mobility, dynamic stretching, and more) to get ourselves loosened up. Still, it’s worth noting that for us a nice easy trail run is about 12-14 min/mile pace and we’re just fine with that!
3) Towing and mass starts
Time for towing after an easy day Wednesday! We like to use old bike tubes and tow partners for some specific strength, and also to get the hips forward and powerful. We usually do a bit more of this in the fall, but we’ve started earlier this year and we’re already looking strong and powerful. Usually every 2 weeks in the fall we increase the length of the towing “course” and this year will be no different.
We ended the session with some mass start practice! It’s been awesome to have 20+ skiers at the Range pretty much every Tuesday/Thursday. So with a big group, how can you NOT make it exciting and work on those close-quarters mass start situations?
4) Bolton test, round 2 of Summer 18
It was a hot and sunny day for the second round of our Bolton uphill run test. About 1.4 miles of all uphill gravel terrain from the Vista base are to the summit just past the wind turbine. This test is just short enough (14-20 minutes) to mean there isn’t much pacing involved, but long enough to be a full effort on your engine for pushing the limits.
A glance back in the records show that this is the biggest group we’ve had for the test in quite some time: a good indicator of how strong the motivation is with this group, since often the uphill run test is one of the more dreaded things we do all year. We also were joined by MNC Master skier Michael Gaughan who is part of a growing group of Masters prepping for Climb to the Castle in September.
There was a PR performance by nearly everyone, and Rose smashed the course record by 50 seconds to earn a pint of Ben and Jerry’s on Tuesday! Rose and Meredith took the top honors in most-improved as well, with Dith knocking 1:24 off her previous best time and crossing the line under 19 in only her second test ever. Also PR runs from Sammie, Ben Carnahan, Dakota, Julia, Jenny, and Marika. Charles took the win in the men’s race with an impressive 14:45, going under 15 in what was his first uphill test ever!
Shout-out to the hiker who took our group photo!
Girls team gettin RAD this summer
5) Long skis and summer swimming
On Sunday we geared up again for another favorite session; our long ski in Milton down to the shores of Lake Champlain and back to the Lelito house for lunch and a swim. The girls ended up skiing 20 miles and the guys 30 on a hot, sunny day. With the combination of heart-rate monitors, vests, and water belts there were a lot of interesting tan lines after the 2-3 hours endeavor.
Kai rolling along the shoreline
Magda, Ali, Julia, Meredith on some pretty perfect-looking rollerski roads
Thanks to the Lelito family for hosting us after for lunch and a swim. Next up, be sure to make sure you’re registered for the App Gap Challenge rollerski race in 2 weeks! We’re looking to have a BIG club presence there for such a cool event. Find more HERE.
The summer is a busy time, with all sorts of opportunities cropping up. Go on a mountain bike ride with this group? Race this weekly 5k? Head over to XC captains practice for running? Ski with another training group for their session?
The best part is that without a lot of conflicts, this is usually a great time for that sort of thing. This past week, though, recovery was the name of the game as we tried to give ourselves time to absorb all the hard work of Mountain Camp.
What impressed me the most was how many times I had to hold the gang back a bit.
“Can I do another interval??”
“What if I also trained on this day? I know it says off day but…”
That’s a good problem to have, since it means everyone is FIRED UP and pumped about training. It can be a little dangerous though…you’re always feeling the boost from a camp and it’s hard to take a break right away. Mentally, at least. And then it can all catch up to you. So the phrase I kept repeating all week was “take the rest while you can get it!”
Even in a recovery week, we’re still putting in work, and here’s a bit of evidence:
We were visited this week by Sharon and Lucas who were doing a study on force application, coordination, symmetry and motion in skiing…so of course we were the natural test subjects!
Working on classic speeds, with one partner having “clean snow” and the other partner having to ski over some wet ferns to cause slipping…since those ratchet wheels work so well, you gotta make it realistic somehow!
Magda, Meredith, Sammie, and Julia cooling down after some bounding intervals at Honey Hollow on another sunny day
Got a busy week coming up, with the Double Pole Test tomorrow and the Bolton Uphill Run test on Saturday. Anyone and everyone is welcome to test their mettle at Bolton…we’ll meet at the Vista base lodge at 9AM and plan to start the test at 9:30! Up up up!
Pug Nation, convening on the slopes of Attitash for one of the best weeks of the year. The 3rd annual Mountain Camp! This camp has a reputation, and boy did it live up to the hype this year. Helping that hype was the most motivated and driven group this club may have ever seen. We used to include one or two double-session days into this camp…this year, everyone was hungry for more. After our traditional brutal bounding intervals up the alpine trails, we had one group later that afternoon pumped to pedal 2 miles of 17% grade on a Lincoln Gap-esque brutal mountain road all in the name of an epic 15-minute downhill run.
That kind of motivation pervaded camp, and it was the manifestation of a huge change within this group. The “ski lifestyle” has embedded itself within the climate of the team.
Skiers are filling out their training logs before the van has even arrived back at the house for lunch (thanks smartphones!)
Skiers are asking to start as low as possible on the Kanc double pole, and still hitting the top in record time (thanks strength training!)
Skiers are hiking in the Presidential Range for 7 hours, and then spending the 8th hour RUNNING out along a flatter stretch of river (thanks fitness!)
Skiers are finishing the bounding intervals, and then turning back down the hill to run up with teammates that haven’t finished yet (thanks team!)
This year we nailed most all of the logistics, from a real and properly-outfitted van to enough real sleeping room for all athletes. We still had our traditional “Mountain Camp Departure SNAFU” as the lock on the trailer broke and we had to make a quick pitstop at Ace Hardware to borrow a hefty pair of bolt cutters, but from there onward no more issues. (Side note: looking for that sponsorship hookup from the Waterbury Ace Hardware. Please contact me if interested)
On Day 1 (Wednesday) we hike Mount Tremont, a pretty nondescript but beautiful mountain at the base of Crawford Notch. There was a nice view at the top, and a better swimming hole at the bottom. We then did a little team PlayDoh building competition to earn this year’s big hit: the first-edition of our new Pugtagonia Hats. This is a summer fashion line that’s about to take the outdoorsy world by storm (until the lawsuit).
Pugtagonia Summer ’18 Collection
On Day 2 (Thursday) we kicked things off with one of our biggest and best workouts: the Kancamagus Roll! This is one of the 2 workouts we’ve done at every single Mountain Camp and it’s always a great time. Nothing like a 2-2.5 hour ski ending atop a mountain pass with a picnic lunch. Every year folks try to double pole as much as possible. It’s very cool to see the progression of newer and less-experienced rollerskiers starting up higher, and more experienced skiers getting dropped off further from the end point. Each year, everyone basically “graduates” to starting further down, as well as doing less and less striding or kick-double-pole, until the whole this is just double poling. As Aidan would say, YEET!
First catalog shot for the Pugtagonia brand atop the Kanc
That afternoon, we took to the trails in North Conway for either a run, or the MNC BikeGang NH Edition. After a chain and derailleur malfunction caused Will’s bike to become an adult strider-bike we had to call it and slog back to the trailer, but all in all it was a great ride on some fun local trails.
Not in VT, but the MNC Bikegang rolls on
The morning of Day 4 (Friday) brought our second traditional Mountain Camp workout: hard bounding intervals. Each year we start at the base of an alpine mountain (first Attitash in 2016, then Cranmore in 2017, back to Attitash in 2018) and get some L3 skiwalking in before I attempt an inspiration speech and start yelling and hollering while everyone bounds until they collapse. Good old-school training at its finest.
Flyin Solow starting his mission to the summit of Attitash
We all gathered at the summit where there is a nice little viewing tower, gave a cheer, and headed down to the base. Coincidentally, this part of Attitash is named “Bear Peak” and partway down the mountain on the gravel access road we startled a mother black bear and her 3 cubs, who scurried out of a tree and away from us as fast as possible. Good thing we were all chatting, yelling, and being loud as we went down which is the usual course of action for us!
Jenny demonstrating how we feel about the Slow Zone
That afternoon, instead of hitting the couch and laying around in lactic acid puddles, the gang rallied for another sesh. After the MNC Bikegang ride the day earlier, a very intriguing downhill run called the Red Tail Trail had been scoped out on some maps by Eli, Aidan, Will, Ben and myself. Despite having crushed our legs earlier that morning, we had no problem saddling up for a grueling hour-long climb that really put the “mountain” in mountain biking with a summit of Black Cap Mountain.
Mountain biking…can definitely take you places!
Stone steps? Not a problem
After the long climb, we were rewarded with an amazing 15-minute descent that Aidan described as the “best bike trail he’s ever been on”, a statement he made approximately one minute before shredding his tube and rear tire apart from riding so aggressively. Luckily it gave us a few minutes to shoot this edit with Eli hitting the large berms and jumps at the bottom of the trail:
Day 5…the legendary Mount Washington day. Every year we’ve done a pretty simple hike taking us to the top of Mt Washington and back. This year, we split up and one group attempted a pretty ambitious endeavor: a half Presi-Traverse up Madison, Adams, Jefferson, and finally Washington. It turns out Sara’s group had a very fun and uneventful trip up Tuckerman’s Ravine and a nice lunch at the summit.
Before that Tuckerman’s group took off, Sara drove me and the other half of the team to the Dolly Copp campground where we embarked on our point-to-point mission.
Will, Ben Carnahan, and Aidan pushed the pace and beat the odds to summit Washington after bagging all of those peaks…but a troublesome knee forced an unplanned exit via car rather than a hike out.
Meanwhile the group of Meredith, Magda, Rose, Sammie, Ava, Jenny, and myself realized we wouldn’t make Washington in time (or possibly daylight) so much to the groans of that group I made the coaches discretionary call that we head down through the Great Gulf Wilderness off of Jefferson in order to avoid trouble as the day wore on. This proved to be quite the adventure and though we didn’t summit Washington, there was really no “easy” option out from our final high point. We scrambled down ladders and through caves before facing about 6 miles of running in order to make it back to the lodge.
This is where the true strength of this team (and this sport) lies. After 6 hours we all started to feel the fatigue. But we soldiered on, took a few photos for the Pugtagonia catalog to keep our sanity, and made it to the lower elevations.
Running some ridgelines in the White Mountains
After 7 hours, water and food supplies began to run low. If not for the Red Bulls that Meredith and Magda brought along I’m not sure we would’ve had the blood sugar values to keep the spirits up at all.
But from hour 7 to hour 8, we pretty much ran non-stop to the very end. Endorphins were running high, and bonking be damned. We were doing this thing. We ripped the last 2 miles at a seriously fast clip just as rain started dotting our sweaty foreheads as we emerged and met Sara at the van.
It was one of the most memorable workouts I’ve EVER done, and I was so impressed with the group and how everyone handled themselves. Woohoo!
A very good feeling: running out of the woods after 8 hours of work!
Comparatively, the final day of camp, Day 5 (Sunday) was nice and relaxed. We returned to the lower stretches of the Kanc for a double pole on flatter terrain before hitting the road home. This camp was quite the week of training but also a hugely impressive week for the team in general. I think I mentioned to one parent in the parking lot on the trip home (hard to remember, I was a bit doubled-over from dehydration and heat exhaustion…whoops) that “we seem to come back from Mountain Camp 25% more cohesive” and while there are definitely exceptions and we are far from perfect, I think that on the whole that notion holds pretty true. It’s time to start planning and thinking about what more we can do for Mountain Camp 4 in 2019!
