Mansfield Nordic Club

In addition to getting acclimated to a new training environment in the COVID-19 world, we also had to acclimate to some serious heat this week. With temps in the mid-90s, and not a cloud in sight, it was time to bust out the sunscreen as well as the hand sanitizer. When it comes to ski racing though, we are pretty used to extremes. We didn’t have any truly brutal cold race days this past season, but we know they will happen! Likewise, we’ve got to be ready to handle some heat now and then so long as we stay hydrated and prepared.

Some 30/30 speeds on Thursday, in our favorite Southridge neighborhood. While some of the roads here are getting old in terms of skiing them again and again, the location is great because we can have 2 separate arrival/parking areas (U16 at Allen Brook, U18+ at WCS) to not have too much congregating, and easy access to both hillier and flat routes.

After getting some skiing under our belts in the past couple weeks it was time to speed it up for some work where we could challenge balance and timing. Cool to see how far many of us have come, and identify new goals for the summer technique work.

Water break sponsored by TOKO

U16 squad in Jericho

So far, we’ve done a good job of adhering to a spring/summer goal of incorporating some more dirt road running to build up running economy as well as bring in consistent aerobic work that you can get on dirt roads but not always on steep, grind-heavy trails. On this day (Saturday) we divided up and I led the U16s on a 7-mile run on Old Pump Road while Perry led the older group on the 9-mile Cilley Hill loop. Both classic Jericho roads that many might be familiar with!

With a split between morning and afternoon groups, we had a crew of one (Silas) and the two of us had a nice sunny run followed-up with some creemee takeout at Palmers. Remember to support those local businesses!

Broken-down ski fence in Jericho…maybe you will spot this on a run of your own sometime! 

Going into next week and the month of June, with regards to COVID-19

We have done an ok job maintaining good practices, but there is more we can do. A few reminders going forward:

• A big “congregation” point is the beginning and end of practice. The start of practice, as skiers arrive, is harder to maintain. Please try to be on time for practice, dressed in training clothes before arrival, and minimize gathering.
• Last week it was pretty tough to wear a buff (even around the neck) in the hot and humid temps. But this is something a lot of us (including me) can make a better effort at. Being a little uncomfortably hot is just going to be the norm for the time being. We will continue to have individual ziplocked bags of washed buffs for distribution at practice for those who don’t have them on-hand on a given day.

We were due to receive a bit of sun and heat after a typically-grim Vermont April and start to May. And we were delivered an amazing week to start pushing into some of the tougher and more challenging workouts now that we have our feet under us! It has been a while since our last 3k/3000m running test…so long in fact that I couldn’t find the times I had written down. No matter, we have a new archive and one that will probably be updated a lot more as we continue to refine how we approach and incorporate good testing into our groups.

The 3km was held over 2 days with 4 separate “races” in order to keep numbers low. It took place over two of the hotter days of the year, which gave way to some serious sweat and sunburn. Thankfully we have a new after-practice staple that I picked up from Coach Sara…POPSICLES. Usually I am a big watermellon guy for warm training…bring a big melon, split it up after training, and everyone digs in. Though these days, all that shared touching of food is off the table (pun intended) so the hot temps, combined with single-serve nature of popsicles, is just so simple it makes you wonder why we DIDN’T do it sooner!

Anyway, enough about popsicles and more about training…the 3km was a good baseline test which we will use not only for a pure test of fitness, but almost more importantly to correctly pace other track and running workouts whether they’re distance or intervals. From the soon-to-graduate 8th-graders to the soon-to-graduate-high-schoolers we had some speedy times and some great efforts in the race: it’s always great to see how people respond to a race situation and what steps can be taken to improve the mental side of things too.

Kai is spent. It’s popsicle time.

With a sweaty rollerski on Thursday and Friday, including some of the first double-pole specific work of the year, the legs got a bit of a break. But only until Saturday, when we had our first day at Cochran’s for a run group and a bike group. The sun was shining bright and families, riders and runners were out in force. With a new pumptrack and beginner loop right at the main base area, my theory of Cochran’s/Richmond becoming the next Kingdom Trails/East Burke is unfolding right before our Bliz-covered eyes.

A squad of MNC bikers reaching the top of the ski hill

Hanna reaches liftoff!

And to cap it all off, here is a special shot for all the OG fans out there…Greg, Conor and Kai out for a ski. Greg and Conor are headed to Bozeman, MT now where they’ll link up with Meredith and Will along with many other college folk in preparation for next season.

#throwback

Juniors and parents:

With the Spring program underway successfully we have gone ahead and opened up the payment option, with pro-rated pricing for missing the very beginning of the “season” with State regulations. There are now 2 Spring Registration forms on the website.

Fill out the Original, full form if you have not yet put in all your information (like health insurance, waiver signatures, etc) which can now accept payment

Fill out the new, shorter form if you have already completed the longer form and just need to submit payment.

Both of these forms can also be found as links on the MNC Registration homepage