Looking for a training alternative this Summer? Paddling is a great way to train for Nordic skiing and a lot more fun than going to the gym.
If you have a canoes or kayak, join Coach Rick this Tuesday night for the start of the weekly time trial series on the Winooski River at the Bolton canoe access on Duxbury Rd.
More information and details can be found on their website http://www.treeskier.com/cvcks/index.html which still shows the 2017 dates but it’s basically the same schedule this year. Its $40 for the whole series or $5 per race. The money collected by Bert’s Boats of Jeffersonville is used to buy a kayak for a youth group each year. While some people will have very fast race boats there always a few (such as Coach Rick) using a rec boat. The atmosphere is very laid back and welcoming. It usually ends with a beer in the parking lot at the end.
Another week in the books toward summer training. Everyone is counting the weeks left of school at the start of each session and there is a lot of anticipation building toward what we hope is our best summer yet.
This week we broke out of the bike paths for our first ski on the “open road” down by the Round Church. It’s probably one of the most recreated roads in the whole county so it’s nice to feel like at least a portion of the cars actually know what we’re out there doing as we roll alongside the beautiful banks of the Winooski river with the backdrop of Cochran’s and the Green Mountains on our other side.
The footage is a bit rough but we got after it with a few repeats up the gradual hill on the backside of Greystone.
Coach Rick came out to help lead a group during the ski. Unfortunately a good chunk of the group had left when this photo was taken but the early evening lighting was too good to pass up!
On Saturday it was time for the first uphill run test of the season. We yet again headed up to Bolton to push ourselves as hard as we could for a nice little all-uphill jaunt. It was a good start to the season with Ben and Ali nearly hitting PRs, Magda having her fastest time in 2 years, and Hanna giving it her all in her first (of many?) Bolton tests.
Ali racing for the top, and inching closer to that 20-minute barrier
Time for even more training and bigger, longer sessions this week!
There’s a Hemingway book called “The Dangerous Summer” that recounts a season’s worth of bullfighting between two masters of their craft in Spain. Each bullfighter has a different style, but they are equally impressive and accomplished.
That’s sort of like reading the plethora of ski blogs out there, as athletes and teams with different styles and methods all try their hardest to be as fast as possible come winter.
So you could consider this “The Fit Summer” as we strive to find the next level of performance that’ll keep upping the bar. Fitness has sort of become a buzzword in the ski world recently…sometimes more sarcastic than serious (as in, posting an extremely short workout and talking about how you are “working on fitness”), but it’s a good reminder that the end-game of skiing, and the way to be fastest in many respects, is to just be one of the fittest racers out there.
We’ve started to turn up the intensity a bit as we get more and more comfortable running and rollerskiing, and I think the Pugs are definitely looking Fit.
Ben and Timmy getting in a little L3 running on the Richmond River Trail
On Tuesday last week we did some running intensity on the River Trail in Richmond, and on Thursday we were on a different sort of trail; the bike path at UVM. In fact, UVM coach Perry Thomas joined us for that ski and is going to be working with the group this summer! The roster of awesome coaches, both new and returning, continues to grow. Sara, Perry, Laurel, Rick, Liam…what a time to be a Pug!
With athletes qualifying for camps and trips regionally, and more camps and training collaborations opening up for everyone, the summer is more fitness-goal-oriented than ever. We’ve got things to prepare for, not just when the snow flies but throughout the year and months ahead. That’s a good thing, since it narrows the focus and keeps everyone tuned-in to the next challenge and benchmark heading toward winter.
Speaking of winter, we DID still find snow up on Bolton Saturday morning scoping out the course for next week’s first uphill run test of the season. It looks like there’s probably going to still be some white stuff to navigate during the test next week at this rate!
A few patches of snow dot the trail on the upper reaches of Bolton!
This summer Ethan Allen Biathlon Club will be offering a variety of programs including a running biathlon race series, Junior and BKL aged training programs. Youth program training starts June 5 and you can sign-up online to reserve your spot.
Youth Program Overview
Program Duration: Jun 5 thru Sept 31, 2018
Age Groups & Cost:
BKL (Ages 10-13): $75 one day/week (Tues 5:30 – 6:30)
Juniors (Ages 14-18): $250 two days/week (Tues/Thurs 5:30 – 7:00) +$75 ammo
For more details and information contact John Madigan
Get decked-out for summer in our new singlets from Podiumwear! Perfect for running, biking, or the gym. Men’s and women’s versions available. Use the storefront code “mncsinglet” and order by May 14th!
Looking for a training alternative this Summer? Paddling is a great way to train for Nordic skiing and a lot more fun than going to the gym.
