Mansfield Nordic Club

It was a week for a little more speed among the Junior squad, including one of the most quintessential workout on any modern skier’s checklist: double poling up a hill a bunch of times in a row!

We once again stormed the streets of Williston for the first round of DP repeats this season. We tried to expand out thinking beyond just cues for one type of double poling, as there are actually many ways to best utilize the combinations of body position, upper body, lower body, timing, and follow-through to best get through a given section of terrain.

As this technique has evolved, we’ve had to think harder about how to teach and review double poling. Rather than just doing drills on flat ground, we began with drills on a gradual downhill in order to feel what long glide, full follow-through, and really forward-reaching movements felt like.

Next, we went to the steepest hill we could access in the neighborhood, and did several drills and repeats on this hill in order to see the “opposite end of the spectrum” when it comes to tempo, follow through, and usage of the lower body.

Only after this did we then move onto the repeats themselves, up a gradual hill with a bit of undulation. The goal was that by experiencing the extremes of terrain, the skiers would have a range to work with as they honed-in on the most efficient way to tackle this hill.

Wheels were traded for shoes, but the intensity got even higher on Saturday with the first fitness test of the summer: the 3000m run. New this year was a 400m test, but more on that later…

The 3000m test is great because of its simplicity. It also is a test that so many teams do, meaning data points are easy to track and learn from. For many, this was the first “race” since late season ski events like Easterns, JNs, U16s, and Supertour Finals. To that end, one stated goal was to work on not just literal targets like times and splits, but the mental side of things.

During many spring athlete meetings, a common theme was working on race psychology both before and during competition. What better time to engage with this than the first effort of the year? Things got off to a great start with the team all arriving and getting started with warmups on their own, even jumping into our now-routine mini band work for hip activation and stability. Having familiar structured elements to a warmup really helps get the body and mind into the right state to perform.

And then the performance itself was underway! We had a great test, with lots of personal bests for this springtime running of the event.

Men’s group rounding the first lap

After the conclusion of the 3o00m test, everyone did a 400m test (1 lap of the track) which was a new addition from MNC University coach (and UVM coach) Brandon Herhusky.

The goal? Use a formula after-the-fact to get a percentage of 400m lap (fast-twitch) pace relative to 3000m lap pace (slow-twitch). That ratio helps show whether or not a skier can be working on one end or the other…some may have not been too surprised to find they were more slow-twitch! We’ll work on ways to introduce and adapt individual needs accordingly, and it’s always cool to see more data!

MNC skiers and families,

The NENSA Eastern Cup calendar is up! The four race weekends will be held in:

Waterville, ME 

December 16/17, 2023

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Lake Placid, NY

January 20/21, 2024

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Craftsbury, VT

February 3/4, 2024

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Holderness, NH

February 24/25, 2024

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In a change from some past years, we will not be doing Eastern Cup team trips. We’re transitioning back to a more traditional model of coaches lodging and travelling separately from skiers. While we loved getting the chance to go on Eastern Cup adventures as a group, it’s just not feasible for MNC from a financial or logistical point of view right now.

That said, I’d like to share some recommendations of lodging and travel options while we are many months out. Hopefully this helps with planning and booking!

Waterville, Maine weekend

The coaches will be staying in a small AirBnB in Waterville. There are numerous hotel options in this area, with the nicest probably being the Hampton Inn and the Days Inn. Book early to get lodging in Waterville, and if you end up with no options there, Augusta is the next closest large hub for lodging.

Lake Placid weekend

As a hot tourist destination, Lake Placid is full of hotel and rental options. If you aren’t able to book in Lake Placid itself, try a cheaper option in Saranac Lake (an additional 15-20 minutes away) or Keene Valley, which is also close to the race venue (albeit necessitating driving up and down the large Keene hill each day, which can be tricky in bad weather).

Craftsbury weekend

Many MNC athletes may choose to do this weekend as a day-trip, driving up Saturday and Sunday. It’s likely difficult to get lodging right at the Center, but Morrisville has some options for both rentals and hotels (Sunset Motor Inn). I (Adam) have also really liked staying at the Inn by the River in Hardwick. This is only 20-25 minutes from the venue and an overlooked resource in my opinion!

Holderness weekend

Plymouth is the closest location to stay here, as it’s a college town right across the highway from Holderness. However, easy access to I93 means there’s options both north and south of the venue. Thornton, Campton, and Woodstock are all viable options. Often, MNC athletes and coaches have had success at the Days Inn in Campton, NH just an exit or two up the highway.

Jonah, Anders, and Aaron getting ready to cheer for the women’s heats

The second week of Junior spring training brought out the rollerskis. That’s right, it was time! We gathered at Allen Brook School

Bright clothing, helmets, and rollerski gear at the ready

to get in some easy terrain and a smooth start. In keeping with the focused, steady start to the season we didn’t put on poles for the first 30 minutes, and then got a little technique footage to reference later (and/or compare to the winter).

People were saying the transition felt quite easy, even though we started later than usual. I think that’s down to a combination of several factors:

• We generally have more athletes going to the gym and working on their strength. This was probably the training mode most “kept up with” even between seasons. This means the strength required for technique (not just pure power, but the ability to feel balance and spatial awareness also included in strength exercises) benefits our ability to pick up “new” movements like rollerskiing.
• This group, and more skiers these days in general, have access to world cup and pro skier footage. This could be through official race videos, Youtube clips, or even social media. But the main thing is, skiers are more aware of what strong skiing looks like, and even how they look given all of the clips we’re able to capture.

Kai and Taylor roll out

We only skied on Tuesday this week, and on Thursday it was time to get back to running…this time a bit faster. With a beautiful stretch of dirt road scoped out on Governer Chittenden Road (from Catamount Outdoor Center) we got in 2×1 mile and 2-x4 half mile intervals. The weather was hot but the views were amazing with quaint Vermont farmland, green hills, and the Winookski river trundling alongside us.

We finished off the week with a different type of running, as we took a nice two hour jaunt through the woods of Cochrans, up and over the ridgeline, on another beautiful day. Everyone was well prepared with hydration and snacks, making it a smoooooth trip throughout. Off to a great start!

Congrats to Ava Thurston on her nomination to the US Ski Team!

Often, we tie very successful skiers to only their greatest achievements. But the experiences that brought Ava to international skiing are relatable, and very human.

Ava skied a lot growing up, and attended countless NENSA BKL Festivals. She won some sprint heats, and crashed out of others, too. She has won fitness tests at one REG camp, and gone to the hospital after falling off a razor scooter at another REG camp.

Ava had a birthday where she qualified for a championship at Nationals, and a birthday where she missed a championship team at Nationals.

Ava has always taken setbacks as learning opportunities, and through this learning has continued to grow and expand her skillset to become a seriously tough competitor. She often doesn’t give herself enough credit for her accomplishments, but this one is worth celebrating.