Mansfield Nordic Club

Scene from the first rollerski of the year in Hinesburg/Huntington

This week was the first higher volume week of the year, and some new training was introduced. Rollerskiing was back on the menu for a day of doublepole distance with some drills at Hinesburg Hollow. Everyone wore their brightest shirts, remembered their helmets and carried themselves safely while training on the open road.

We are fortunate to train at the Range for much of our time on rollerskis, but for longer distance sessions and adding variety the experienced skiers will always have some time on the road. You could think of ‘open road’ rollerskiing like ‘open water’ swimming…you wouldn’t show up for that without knowing you are capable, knowing your route and having the right gear.

I came across a post by a high-level ski team online yesterday touting the benefits of one of their training sessions. The skier in the photo was rollerskiing in black shorts, a black shirt and a black baseball cap. No helmet and no reflective gear. I won’t share the institution here, but I was pretty taken aback that such a photo was chosen to represent a well-known and successful team that many younger skiers certainly look up to.

There have been 2 very serious fatalities involving vehicle/bicycle collisions this spring in Vermont, which has definitely kept road safety on everyone’s minds. Still, safety is an issue that should always be at the forefront, and I am glad to see that it was taken seriously right from day one this year.

Moving back to training discussion, we had numerous other great sessions this week including an obstacle-course strength day, some field speeds for those running the marathon, and a great set of very long, very controlled and well-paced running intervals at the beautiful Cilley Hill road in Jericho. Here are some more photos:

Warming up for some running. Mt Mansfield featured multiple times, both on the back of the T-shirts and in real life looming over the background!

Maddie gets her ‘Ninja Warrior’ on during a strength session

Running intervals this morning took us back and forth past this new addition to a local farm!

Next week is a recovery week before we hit the ground running in June with some initial intensity work and even some FITNESS TESTING. Follow the Google Doc for training info and keep an eye out for Summer Program registration soon!

Training Week 9: May 25
Week Type: Recovery
Suggested additional workouts:
-One or more short runs (20-25 minutes) followed by 10-20 minutes of QUALITY stretching…add foam rolling if you can!
-Getting in a strength workout on your own in addition to practice is great this time of year: pushups, planks, dips, tuck jumps, wall-sits, calf-raises and anything that challenges your balance on one foot are all great

Good luck to MNC family and friends racing in the VT City Marathon tomorrow!

This upcoming week (beginning today, May 18th) is a volume week, the first ‘non-transition’ or ‘recovery’ type week for this new year. I will continue to outline week formats and suggested other workouts before each week on this blog (see the bottom of each post, including this one). For day-by-day training, the Google Doc is always the most detailed schedule! Check often for updates and cancellations…for example, it looks like thunderstorms might roll in tomorrow…

Plans for training are all well and good, but they are guides and not rulebooks. In a group this diverse, there will always be a big gap between how much one athlete needs to be training compared to the next. In some cases, the workouts an athlete completes AWAY from the club (days when we do not meet as a group) are just as important. This is when the opportunity arises to train some additional volume…or take some rest! It all depends on the skier and I hope to be able to provide more and more of that specific advice on just what to do as I meet with athletes individually, get to know them and their training habits, and get a feel for how the group as a whole is responding to training. That last part should be more clear as we get into tougher weeks and additional modes of training like rollerskiing and bounding.

In the past week we road biked, mountain biked, got our swell on, and ran a good deal. On Saturday we had some parents join along for a combo bike/run. We biked from Richmond up the Bolton access road (2/3 of the way up) and then switched to running gear to run/hike up and back down the forest trail at Honey Hollow. I think Will S. got a photo of the bike ride on his phone, but all I have to pass along now is a shot from the run. The green colors have really come out in this past week and the forests are beautiful. As always, were are keeping watchful eyes out for ticks and poison ivy!

Running at Honey Hollow. An out-and-back of all uphill, then all downhill

For this week?

Training Week 8: May 18
Week Type: Volume
Suggested additional workouts:
-At least one longer, easy distance effort like a hike (2 or 2+ hours)
-Try to get in a dedicated strength-type workout aside from the work we do at scheduled practices
-If group members are running in the marathon on Sunday, take Saturday as an easy run with some speeds/striders up to 45 min total. Sit out the longer threshold intervals happening in Jericho. Check back on the Google Doc for a possible ‘marathon-prep’ workout on Friday afternoon!

Final note:
For any MNC members or friends, we will be helping out at the Fellowship of the Wheel trail work day at Mud Pond in Williston on Thursday afternoon/evening. We train here often and this is a great way to give back and build some brute strength at the same time! For more info, click HERE

Man, it’s hot out there…

The past week of ‘spring’ training has been mid-summer hot, along with bright sun and blue skies. Always important to remember sunscreen and water for sessions in this heat. Additionally, I think a bit too quick and hilly of a run on Tuesday, combined with the change in weather (it definitely takes time to get acclimated to training in the heat!) led to some tired bodies by this morning’s workout.

It was the first bit of real intensity: a 25 minute continuous run with light bounding on uphill sections and jogging on flats and downhills. At this point in the season I avoid doing intervals with too much “prescription”, so to speak…X times X minutes, X times X repeats, and the like…at this time of year, intervals are natural and take advantage of the terrain and the willingness to focus on technique and pacing.

There were some other great sessions this week, including a hill-laden trail run behind Cochrans ski area (we still found some snow to have a snowball fight with on the slopes) and a sweaty strength session at Dorset Park in South Burlington. The planks and pull-ups are really coming along.

One more! One more!

On Wednesday, Ethan joined me for a mountain bike ride at Saxon Hill: in a very short time the trails have gone from snow to mud to dry dusty sand. The trails were packed with other riders and as we pedaled out of the parking lot we counted 36 cars; a big-time after-work dirt shred if I have ever seen one!

On Friday, Ethan and Amy took me on a tour around the Pleasant Valley area near Underhill. Amazing stuff! I’m sure many a postcard was created thanks to those beautiful mountain vistas.

An awesome day for a ride from Jericho to Cambridge and back

Training for next week is being updated on the team Google Doc. Here is the training plan info:

Training Week 7: May 11
Week Type: Medium
Suggested additional workouts:
-Continue to build running, ideally getting comfortable running upwards of an hour at easy paces.
-Strength on your own should (at least) include pushups, dips, planks, tucks, step-ups and pull-ups if you have a bar.
-Try to get in a dedicated strength-type workout aside from the work we do at scheduled practices
-We will introduce rollerskiing for experienced skiers on one bonus session per week beginning NEXT week (week 8)

Additional note: if you rented rollerskis last season and still have them, please check out THIS POST…we are gathering up the skis to evaluate and potentially make some improvements! Thanks-

Parting shot: Ben Longenjump in mid flight