It’s hard to wait much longer for the race season to arrive…I’ve kept blog posts relatively short and direct lately, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this isn’t the most prepared we’ve ever been to ski fast. In fact, this is primed to be our biggest Junior year ever, and we’ve grown SO MUCH it’s hard to believe everything that’s happened since May.
Not everything has been smooth sailing. In fact several elements this season have forced us, both individually and as a team, to really think hard about what kind of group we want to be, what kind of athletes we want to be, and what kind of people we want to become. Despite some tough situations in a number of different instances, I think this group has come together stronger than ever. If it weren’t for teammates supporting each other, maybe that wouldn’t be the case. In fact, I’m led to believe that more tough decisions, difficult discussions, and emotional weight have come to the surface BECAUSE we are a stronger and more deeply-connected group than ever before.
And just as we’ve made it though some hurdles, we’ve also set ourselves up to smash through other barriers and leave New England and even the rest of America SHOOK, as Meredith would say. I’ve said it every year but…there hasn’t been a season yet where we’ve trained this much and this hard. And I hope to keep saying that every year as we raise the bar.
Not always easy, but always worth pushing. Sammie in last weekend’s TT
It’s time to RACE, and given how everything has shaped up this year (from our long epic distance workouts to our testing events to timetrials and early-season races against other teams) we are ready to throw down. I ALWAYS say that we’ve never trained harder, but sometimes I feel an air of apprehension as the first big races loom on the horizon behind the wind-turbine-capped hills of Craftsbury. Not this year…it’s all excitement and impatience!
A gang ready to send
We’ve raced the new courses on Craftsbury’s trails, we’ve made our presence known at the NENSA rollerski series, and we’ve spent the spring, summer and fall working toward improving at every opportunity. That process is so fun in and of itself, but now it’s time to get after it even more. Let the races begin!
Aidan and Eli tearing up the new 5km “South” course at Craftsbury
Racers Virginia, Anna, Carly, Julia, Niko, Taylor, Carl, Gretta and Kate met at Craftsbury for practice and an informal Time Trial on Saturday. This is a great thing to do before the actual races begin. We practiced warming up for a race and then chose technique goals to work on while racing. We all learned a few things and it was good to get the “kinks out” and get used to what it feels like to go really fast on a course. Great job to all these BKL Racers!
