Author Archive | Adam Terko

The busy race season has ended, and we are in training limbo for a few weeks. There aren’t scheduled group training sessions, workouts, or races…and that’s ok! We work really hard and often have lots of structure for 11 or so months of the year, and if we don’t give ourselves a break in April it could be really difficult to stay on track and maintain motivation the rest of the year.

So, what is the recipe for April?

1. Take a break

Everyone has earned a physical and mental break from ski racing and traditional ski training (distance, intervals, hours, Strava, etc) whether the season was your most amazing ever, or one you’d like to improve on. There is no secret or special training that can be done in the first week or two of April that will make-or-break your upcoming season…unless, that is, you wind up getting injured (see the next point).

While World Cup athletes may take long vacations to the beach, you don’t need a full warm-weather destination to recover. But you should feel totally comfortable taking 1 week off of real training (go for a walk, go to the gym and spin while reading a book, or just catch up on some Netflix) followed by one week of very easy training (one day “on”, one day total rest).

It takes two weeks before most “de-training” sets in, meaning you are more than allowed to enjoy not being an athlete for a spell. In fact, it is better if you aren’t athletic at all for a bit!

2. Introduce other training, but do it slowly

I’m quick and definitive in my wariness around running track in the spring. Why? Going right from one race season to another is mentally challenging. Track season is short, meaning there’s a very short “building” period and a packed schedule of meets and competition.

Additionally, after not running much (if at all) over the winter months, the body is at extra risk for overuse injury if running is not introduced carefully and with purpose. Consider the following:

• Short distances at easy paces for a number of sessions. Think 3-4 miles at 10:00 – 12:00 min/mile pace for a week or two.
• Gradual increases…if you track your weekly mileage, stick to a 10-15% increase each week. This will seem small, but remember there is a LONG time between April/May and the winter race season of 2023/2024.
• Avoid running entirely on pavement, and incorporate gravel or trail running when possible. This is also a good time to review your current footwear and make sure you are running with the appropriate tools.
• Make sure on-foot workouts include structured warmups for hip mobility and strength. Check out the MNC band warm-up which for us is now a staple of running days. You can get these bands for cheap at Wal-Mart or the internet. Want more resistance band ideas?

3. Make time for strength training

• Include strength training as consistently as possible. 2x a week should be a bare minimum, with 3x a week ideal…this can mean 2 “traditional” gym sessions and one session focused on mobility, hip strength, and stability. Check out this playlist of at-home strength ideas, including this compilation of specific running injury-prevention exercises from Swedish physiologist Eric Borgesson.

4. Other sports!

• While track may not be the easiest transition from skiing, there are lots of other sports out there that can be engaging and a great diversion from skiing for a bit. MNC skiers have liked playing ultimate, joining the lacrosse team, or just embarking on some bike riding adventures.
• MNC Spring Training begins in mid-May, and this involves 1-3 days a week of mixed training. Typically we will do a running session one day (including lots of warmups and mobility), one day of rollerskiing in easy terrain focusing on technique basics, and one adventure day like hiking, nor-pining, or biking. We try to keep it very light in May, and then focus on more traditional training when June comes around.

5. Reflect and prepare

• The spring is a time for reflecting on the past season, and planning for the next. Did you fill out your training log? Look back on all sorts of workouts and races to indentify strengths and weaknesses to target going forward. Take a look at how you were feeling on certain days, weeks, or months and see if you notice any patterns. Reflect on your goal pyramid and see how things went.
• One suggestion before/during/after coach and athlete meetings would be to add a new tab to your training log and write down some basic thoughts upon this log reflection. Right after the season has ended is when you are most likely to remember specific details of sessions or races, and can immortalize them in your log.

It is “Championship Season” and MNC athletes and alums are all over the map racing hard. Here’s a bit of a rundown of recent happening, a look toward upcoming competitions, and links for it all…

Kazakhstan

Virginia returned last night from an awesome couple weeks in Kazakhstan for the IBU Youth World Championships.

Virginia had some of the best ski speed of the whole field, and was the top American in both individual races. Her awesome Sprint Race finish of 16th (with only one miss each in prone and standing) helped earn her a nomination to the US Biathlon Team as part of their Junior National Team!

This was a really strong trip for Virginia, and a great learning opportunity as her first international biathlon competition. However given the travel and scheduling, it meant that she had to decline her spot at Junior Nationals, an event which she was primed to do very well in given her super consistent and strong Eastern Cup season (which culminated in an overall podium in the 10km classic at Dublin).

This wasn’t an easy decision, and while it’s simple to sarcastically think “oh, woe is me, I’d love to be in a position to have to pick one sweet championship over another!” that doesn’t make it less heart-wrenching. Anyone who puts their heart and soul into training and racing, as Virignia does, is bound to feel sadness about missing a championship they qualified for. Keep in mind that there’s levels to everything!

You can catch full video relays, results, and more for all of Virginia’s races at the official IBU website.

Fairbanks, AK

Speaking of Junior Nationals, they kicked off yesterday with a squeaky-cold classic 7.5km race for all competitors. I am super proud of all 5 MNC athletes competing in these races, and Coach Sara is also out in AK as one of the wax techs. This is my first year not attending a JNs trip since 2016, so I was fully geared-up with the livestream on television in front of me and the laptop with live timing pulled up on the table alongside!

It was a good one to watch splits for, as earlier-seeded Gillian Fairfax just looked to have some quick first few splits.

“This could be going really well here…” I thought to myself (and texted to several other coaches and friends). And that was maybe a the understatement of the day. Gillian ended her day in 7th place for All-American honors and an incredible start to the race week!

L-R Gillian (7th), Beth (9th), Mirra (8th)

This result teaches a lot of lessons in just 7.5 kilometers:

First-off, Gillian was the LAST skier to make the New England team. She had a great opener in the first Eastern Cup, but was sick for the big points-haul races in Rumford and not at 100% for the third Eastern Cup, where she experienced the unfortunate Rosie Brennan situation of a binding and ski coming totally off in a fall during the mass start.

That meant she entered the final EC weekend, and really even the very last race, with all the chips on the table to get that last spot on the team, which she got by basically ONE point.

If you read today’s other post about skier development, you’ll note my metaphor of New England being the Scandinavia of America, and Vermont being the Norway within that. Well, just like the fact that Norwegians you haven’t heard of can pull in top-10 World Cup results, the same can be said for New England skiers at Junior Nationals. From being the last women’s U18 skier named to the team on objective rankings, Gillian was the TOP U18 women’s skier for New England yesterday. How can this be? I have one main theory:

Gillian had a lot of pressure to make this team. Whether that’s healthy or not (and what we can do as coaches and teammates and leaders to change that) is a full blog post itself. But suffice to say, once the team was made, the big pressure was off. In some communication the night before the race it was clear Gillian was going into this race with a positive attitude and lots of excitement for the course, conditions, and experience. Her only the expectation was to give it her all, not achieve a certain result.

But what about the other races and racers? There’s lots more to come! Gillian, Niko, Rye, Emma, and Julia all race again today (Tuesday) in a skate sprint, and again Thursday in a freestyle mass start. Here are some links:

Nordic Insights Viewing Guide with lots of info and links

Official Website (note startlists and more on a static menu at the very top)

Lake Placid

March Madness came to Lake Placid last week, and MNC fans had some reasons to cheer! Many would recognize some familiar names like Greg Burt, Quincy Massey-Bierman, and Ava Thurston who were all competing for their college teams (UVM, Midd, and Dartmouth, respectively).

Ava finished a stellar 10th in the 5km freestyle, but the 20km classic was one to watch as she dueled with the mighty Utah team and hung on for an incredible 7th place finish. Don’t forget, this is Ava’s freshman year!

Greg had likely one of the best races of his life in 21st for the classic race, while Quincy notched a top-30 in her first NCAAs in that same mass start.

You can find lots of detailed results on everyone’s favorite race hub: Bullitt Timing!

Rikert/Fort Kent

The Eastern HS Championships just wrapped up in Ripton, and the U16 Championships are headed to Fort Kent, ME on Thursday. MNC has great representation at both events, and you can check out results and timing below.

Vermont took the team win at Easterns, but NH was close behind and skiing quite strong! This was a very tight championship compared to previous years, which shows the growing depth of New England skiing.

Eastern HS Championships

U16 Info and more

Thunder Bay

Although not as far away as Kazakhstan, Anders is currently in Thunder Bay, ON competing at the Canadian National Championships. With dual citizenship, this is a cool way to check out the next level of racing in our neighboring country (although it appears a big contingent of midwest skiers are also in attendance!).

You can find details and race info on the timing site Zone4 here!