Author Archive | Adam Terko

On Tuesday morning a group of MNC athletes were lucky enough to join in with the Eastern REG (Regional Elite Group) for a workout up App Gap in the Mad River Valley. The REG is comprised of the top skiers in New England, an honor awarded via success at various levels:

-Regional (Eastern HS Champs, J2 Fest)

-National (US Nationals, Junior Nationals)

-International (U18 Scando Cup, World Junior Championships

Needless to say, it is a group of the very fastest skiers from New England and New York! MNCers Maddie, Amy, Kai, Tim, Charlie, Ethan and Coach Adam took a trip over from “our side of the Green Mountains” to GMVS, where the camp was taking place. We gathered the big crew, had some pre-workout discussion with US Ski Team coach Matt Whitcomb, got in some dynamic exercises led by new US Ski Team member Katherine Ogden and set off for some skating intervals up the gap.

We divided up cars to drive to the starting point. Maddie helped to take a selfie of MNC car #1 (Maddie, Tim, Kai, Adam)

Before starting the ski everybody got some directions and goals from coach Whitcomb and coach Beckwith. The workout was a warm-up followed by 4 intervals up App Gap, getting steeper and more difficult each time. Care had to be taken to start cautiously so that technique and pace could be maintained even at the steepest portions!

After an easy warmup, the group took off their skis for a dynamic warm-up the US Ski Team has been implementing. After a series of awkward jumps, punches, jumping-jacks and lunges we were told that the Ski Team felt this improved their intervals by 1-2%…sounds silly but that can add up!

After this quality warm-up the intervals began. I would consider App Gap to be a little less demanding than the Bolton Access road. It is about the same length from the Waitsfield side, but it begins much more gradually before hitting the really steep terrain. This played perfectly into the goal of the workout. There was a good amount of V2 in the first interval and skiers were able to work together in groups.

Maddie and Amy (3rd and 4th from left) ski with some of America’s top juniors!

Ethan leads a crew along some lower sections. We had beautiful weather: sun, 70 degrees and not humid

Being smooth was key here. I often talk about ‘noise’ when skating. That can refer to literal noise from clomping skis (especially V1), slippy poles and poorly-maintained wheels and bearings. It can also refer to figurative noise: awkward motions, ineffective body position and discomfort with one side of the body over another. I took some video of Katharine Ogden in the first interval. What is impressive is how this smooth and “quiet” skiing held up even at the steep top section after 4 intervals:

The steep sections started to break the group apart, as you’d expect. The REG members were coming off a hard couple days of fitness testing, so climbing a gap was as much a mental battle as a physical one. Interval #3 started at the base of Mad River Glen, so the imposing ski lift and runs made put the climbing in perspective.

Amy begins interval #3 at the base of MRG. Around the right-hand corner in front of her is a monster of a hill that takes a toll even when you’re climbing in a car.

At the final pitch, is was easy to see that the fastest skiers were also the smoothest. They not only got to the top fastest, they did it with grace. At the top everyone was rewarded with a sweeping view of the Champlain Valley, though most didn’t take too much time to admire it.

Toughness for sure: REG athletes with shoulder trouble decide to make it to the top with one pole.

Tim nears the summit. After this session Tim was up at the Range a few hours later for Biathlon training. Serious double session there!

Kai smoothly brings it home, cheered on by Matt Whitcomb. With his house being right at the bottom of the opposite side of App Gap, Kai has spent many years climbing this hill

After everyone reached the summit, we took a short hike through the woods to see the U16 REG athletes (Greg and Conor included) finish up their hillclimb up the ski area. We gathered for a group picture before descending to the local swimming hole. There were a lot of sleepy athletes on the ride home…as I put it to them, a workout like this requires a lot of time and thought AFTER the fact. When you have the opportunity to ski with this type of crowd and learn from one of the best coaches in the business, you better take away all you can and soak it in! The next day, it was back to business here on our side of the gap.

Thanks to GMVS, NENSA and the US Ski Team for letting us join in an awesome session!

Group shot: U16 runners, U18/U20 skiers, coaches and MNC crew! (photo by NENSA)

Membership in our summer programs is growing and the group is having a great time! If you are on the fence about joining in on some great summer training, I’d love to tell you more about what we offer and how you can get involved…for the basics, see the info page HERE!

First up, some photos from this past week. See all of the summer training photos (updated the day they are taken) on the MNC Flickr page: CLICK HERE

Skiing the penalty loop while a lingering thunderhead looms overhead

Aidan and Chloe working on body position and functional strength at Dee PT

Charlie shreds the skatepark while warming up at WCS

Ethan demonstrates a standing broad-jump compared with a no-pole doublepole…both videos frozen in time. Modern technology is a wonderful thing!

–NEWS FOR THIS WEEK AND BEYOND–

• HURT Camp

I’d first like to put in another plug for HURT Camp (click for link) with an updated offer. Coach Dave has offered an MNC pro-rated option to attend the camp on Tues, Wed and Thurs for $175. That is July 21, 22 an 23rd. This is a great opportunity to connect with other skiers and coaches from across the area. I (Adam) will be in attendance as a coach and I’d love for more MNC skiers to take part! This camp is great for all abilities, from new rollerskiers to Junior National competitors. Highly recommended! Contact coach Adam for more details or with questions.

• App Gap Challenge Update

Next, an update on the popular App Gap Challenge rollerski race. After an update from Justin Beckwith this afternoon, I am passing along a change to the event. The new plan is to join with the U18/U20 REG athletes and US Ski Team coach Matt Whitcomb for a combination ski/trail workout. Athletes will do threshold skate intervals up App Gap, switch to running shoes at the summit in order do some dynamic foot drills with coach Whitcomb, and watch/cheer on the REG U16 participants (Conor and Greg included!) in their uphill test at Mad River Glen. Athletes will then switch back to skis after a van ride down the gap and ski back to the GMVS campus.

Interested MNC athletes (experienced rollerskiers only, please) can meet at the Richmond Park and Ride at 7:30am for a carpool on Tuesday morning. We will organize at GMVS with the goal of starting the session at 8:30 and should be done by noon.

• This Week

We are heading into two back-t0-back volume weeks, the ‘heart of the summer’ you might say. It is important to make sure all easy workouts are done at a L1 pace in order to make the most out of all the time we will be putting into training!

Week 14: Volume

Focuses

-Building to longer sessions of both running and skiing

-Some double sessions for older athletes

-Increasing comfort on rollerskis and adding new challenges to technique and agility

The Range is open for business! The first week of summer training was filled with great workouts, excitement for the summer and a tough mountain run in beautiful conditions.

For starters, I’ll share a few photos and point everyone in the direction of the MNC Flickr account, where you will find many more! Our new iPad is synced with this account, so as I snap photos at practice you will see them uploaded straight to this profile and, specifically, the Summer Training 2015 album: SUMMER TRAINING 2015 PHOTOS

Creemee stops at the country store for the morning and afternoon training groups!

Rachel got spin game

Charlie leads some skate dryland

Monitoring strength testing at Dee PT

A bunch of crazy athletes decided to run up a mountain as fast as they could…

Sessions at the Range have been fun and productive. Agility, drills, distance, twists, turns and more. They are doing some construction right now so we’ve been unable to access the “Pit” loop, but it looks like the renovations will be worth it! We’re talking new drainage, better facilities and a Canmore-style tunnel from the building to the shooting range in anticipation of bidding for some international-caliber events!

In addition to this great spot in Jericho, the group also got in strength training at Dee PT in South Burlington, a run from Dorset Park and some rollerskiing at the ever-popular Meadowridge/Mud Pond area.

Our scores from the Canadian Strength Test show that we have some work to do in that department, but the times from the Bolton run on Saturday were very encouraging! Beautiful weather didn’t hurt…check out the results here, sorted by both date and time (use tabs at the top to select): BOLTON HILLCLIMB HISTORICAL RECORD

The next Open Session will be a run with poles and some bounding at Shelburne Farms on July 8. Free to anyone interested in a great workout – MORE INFO

We have a great group together this summer that is still growing…want to become a part of it? Check out the webpage for all the info and more!

Training for this week has been posted on the Google Doc. As always, check back frequently for changes, weather cancellations and updates. From the training plan:

Week 13: Intensity
Focuses:
-Introducing rollerski intervals at threshold (for experienced group)
-Building rollerski comfort and working on ascending and descending hills (for newer group)
-Working to determine pacing strategies and heart-rate data
-Starting up phase 1 of our strength program

The Junior Spring program wrapped up a final week of rainy training…we faced thunderstorms that washed out roads, muddied trails and caused chaos with scheduling. Still, everyone got out to some good sessions including ski walking, running, strength, gravel biking (in lieu of mountain biking on wet trails) and roller skiing.

I’d like to take this time, however, to focus on the week ahead…the start of SUMMER! We will offer more training than ever this coming week…our traditional Tues/Thurs morning sessions at the Range (now at 8AM!) along with days of training throughout the county. For detailed info, check out the info and registration pages HERE.

-I’m excited to be working with Dee PT to provide quality strength training in an state-of-the-art indoor facility on Wednesday nights, and to collaborate with the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club for some evening Range access helpful to those with summer employment.

-Collaboration continues with the the VT Summer Co-Op series, a group of events brought to you by MNC, GMVS, Woodstock, VTXC and more! Stay tuned to the Google Doc and more for updates on fun happenings throughout the summer.

-Want even more Nordic action? Check out our joint training camp offered with HURT Nordic of Queensbury, NY. A great opportunity to make some new friends, learn from some great coaches and train hard this summer: HURT Camp info

-Speaking of happenings…this Saturday marks our first ‘Open Session’ of the summer, one of four new free opportunities to get a big group together for training and racing. Join in on Saturday for the Bolton Hillclimb and try to break a course record for some ice cream!

This coming week will be a Recovery week…it may seem odd given that so much is happening, but the focus will be on getting back into the swing of training WITHOUT the demands of school! We will have an emphasis on drills and low-key distance training, with minimal intensity other than the tough Bolton race.

Congrats to all of our graduating seniors!

Let the rollerskiing begin!