This recent chilly bout of weather has officially changed the pre-training clothes packing! This morning called for long sleeves and a buff, and it won’t be long before gloves and hats are a regular staple of our days on the roads and trails.
Junior training this week included some downhill practice, a tough sprint pacing workout, and continued work on our striding…this time at Stowe. We’ve now visited 3 different alpine areas to work specifically on uphill striding: Smuggs, Whiteface, and now Stowe. The work seems to be paying off, and the winter can’t come soon enough. Here are some photos and videos!
Early in the week we did a little downhill training. Here’s Alex making the most out of the “start gate”
Pullup test at Dee PT! Pretty high average for this crew!
We also did some mass start practice, which has been really beneficial…unless, in Brandon’s case, you snap your ski in half!
On Thursday, we switched to skate skis for a tough session involving a sprint qualifier and more intervals after based on everyone’s initial time. To make things extra brutal, the course was a net uphill ending in the steep pitch right at the beginning of Airplane loop. If you want to work on uphill climbing, that’s the way to get it done. We had quite a few teammates off on other activities this day, so we were able to cater the intervals to each individual pretty well. Here is a video clips (thanks Liam!)
Our field trip to Stowe yesterday, we first took to the Toll Road for some skiwalking and bounding intervals. Right after that, everyone switched right into classic gear and took some steep striding trips up nearby Notchbrook road. Switchbacks, epic grades, and wide views of the mountain made it pretty sweet! Luckily there are plenty of photos and videos to share:
Will and Timmy heading up the Toll Road
Eliza doing the same!
Magda, Ali and Eliza striding up the long hill…with a nice view of Mansfield!
