This season, Mansfield Nordic is introducing and promoting a MNC Club Membership. MNC wanted to create a means to enable all club participants and supporters, including those who don’t participate in training programs, to both support our mission and share in the benefits that our club offers. We have a number of great incentives for membership and are continually working to develop new partnerships for even greater rewards! This membership also involves a fee structure, which addresses the increasing insurance costs and overhead associated with our programs and the hiring of a full time Executive Director/Head Coach.
To offset this fee, we will no longer require all of our members to purchase a NENSA membership. In addition to club discounts and promotions, all club members will also have access to special MNC events, activities and celebrations throughout the year.
Once they have joined, club members will be provided with an official MNC Membership number that allows them to enroll in our training programs and take advantage of club benefits.
For more information and to sign up, please see the MNC Membership page on our website.
We took an extremely fun field trip to the Mad River today…rallying in the valley and up over App Gap to our friends at GMVS! The first order of business was to gather up with the new GMVS coaches Kat Howe and Garrott Kuzzy (hey, that name sounds familiar??) for a lo-down on the course and races: 10km and 5km mass start races on East Warren road. (results at the bottom of this post)
When the morning fog lifted we were greeted with an awesome fall day with great foliage and even some frost and ice on the mountaintops.
5km racers just after the gun goes off! Yes, Ben is on classic gear…he double-poled the whole 5km including the Plunkton hill!
Will, Elliot and Forrest out of the gate!
Here’s a short clip of the 10km men…I was very excited about the skiing and also about the scenery as you can tell!
A nice handy tailwind allowed for some very fast times, and all three of the 10k boys posted some of the faster times ever for the course! Kat and I only got to witness the start and finish, but Garrott (in van #2) saw the battle unfolding. He said it was an impressive display of smart, aggressive skiing: lead changes, quick little breakaways and re-connections and great head-to-head racing for the whole 10km!
In the 5km, Greg stuck to his pre-race plan: go out hard and push the whole way. He threw down a blistering race in just over 13 minutes and came across the line looking strong. Greg has put in some great training this summer and was slamming his poles down into the pavement with some jackhammer forces! Andre hung tough and tried to latch on to Greg for the first section of the course, ending up with a really strong performance for his first-ever rollerski race. Just like Greg, Andre is still a U16 and is going to turn some heads this season!
Andre rounding the turn…possibly hitting 40mph
Due to nerve injuries that are still getting diagnosed, Ben C has been classic skiing and double poling all summer. He definitely put that to the test today as he double poled the entire course…tough stuff. It takes a lot of perseverance to only be able to ski one technique but the payoff has been big gains in strength, power and technique!
Due to XC running season and SAT exams, the MNC female contingent was unable to make it. Coach Sara jumped in to double the women’s field size and had a great race…there are rumors she may put Alaska behind her and roll VT-style to jump in some Eastern Cups this winter!
Happy gang at the finish…never forget the flag!
Heading back to base…and spotting some frost on the top of the mountains!
After a cooldown both groups enjoyed some large burritos, cokes and mingling at the Mad Taco in Waitsfield…a classic apres-ski joint if I have ever seen one. All in all it was a pretty great lunch…Greg limited himself to one soda, Kai learned what cilantro was and nobody burned their faces off with hot sauce.
A burrito from the Mad Taco
After parting ways with GMVS we saddled up for another adventure. The Gumbies were finishing off a week of intensity but we were after volume, and we weren’t just about to drive all the way to Waitsfield for a rollerski hammerfest and some mexican food! On Garrott and Forrest’s advice we headed up to Blueberry Lake for some light distance training.
I went out for a mountain bike ride with Kai and Greg, while Sara explored the same trails on foot with Andre and Ben. Great trails with only a few Jerry’s in the way to inhibit maximum speed and gnar on the downhills!
Greg shreds so hard he can bike on water!
Happy group after session number two…coach is too tired to keep his eyes open?
What started as a frigid morning turned into a spectacular fall day in the mountains. Adventures like this are a great way to make the most out of the incredible terrain (and friends/competitors/teammates) we are surrounded by. Here in VT we are lucky to have ski clubs and training partners around every corner, so it’s easy to coordinate and get groups together for collaborations like this. Plans are already in the works for our next rendezvous with the GMVS crew…discussions of a rollerski sprint race under the lights at the Range were tossed around…stay tuned!
Parting shot: Kai and Sara ice their legs in Blueberry Lake under the watch of the green mountains!
There’s a ton going on this month, and it’ll all be happening rapid-fire as we get closer and closer to the cold weather. The Junior team has been taking advantage of some sunny fall days to put in training from the Range to the Mad River Valley and everywhere in between. Sine the weather has just begun to turn grim, here are some of the sunniest photos from the past week and more.
Charlie and Coach Sara warming up for the infamous Meadowridge Double Pole intervals. Warming up well is a big focus of this summer/fall and we have a good system now for these intervals of some kick doublepole, some short uphill power poling and some quickness and mobility. There are some meticulous notes from intervals in years past here, and the times this season are quite impressive
Ski walking at Mad River Glen. 5×7 minutes with some all-out bounding at the very top summit. Fun to explore a new mountain for this type of workout: Greg led us down ‘Paradise’ which included some slides, falls, jumps and more
Gettin’ sendy at the summit. Those are the White Mtns of NH waaaaay off in the distance!
Getting ready for a beautiful ski in Pleasant Valley with Rick and some of the MNC masters. Charlie, Greg, Andre, Will and I skied for over 2 hours and went 20+ miles!
Reppin’ the Toko gear 20 miles later for some recovery. Greg opted to forego standard chocolate milk in favor of CORE POWER MUSCLE MILK
In the shade on a sunny day we experimented with an important competition: rollerskis vs snow skis. Yes, those are regular winter snow skis seeing some action in September! From L-R: Eliza, Andre, Ben C, Ben L, Chloe, Will, Greg
Came down to a lunge between Ben and Greg!
In the past few days the temps have gotten cold enough to make dressing for training a hard decision. A sure sign of fall! We braved the rain on Tuesday for some DP intervals at the Range, followed by some TOWING! This exercise helps you get your hips forward, build some strength, and just look really tough. We’ll do more and more of this sort of thing as we try to find every ounce of speed and strength heading into the race season. It is definitely a unique drill and also can be a character-builder. Especially in the rain.
Despite the toughness factor, it really is fun…and not just when you’re the one being pulled along! Andre and Will get after it here
Thanks to the indoor facilities at Dee PT, we are able to stay dry at least once per week! This week we had a nearly full crew and tunes blasting full volume for some new exercises. We’re adding the weight, lowering the reps and getting another big burst of strength for the month of October before dropping down to some light, fast strength and exercises that can carry us through the season.
Chloe and Eliza picking the tunez
Andre is ready to take some names this winter. How many J2/U16 guys do you know doing 25lb pullups??
This weekend we head over the Gap once again to join GMVS in a rollerski timetrial in East Warren…stay tuned!
The Colchester Ski and Skate Sale is this weekend. MNC is invited to attend the VIP Early Bird Sale this Friday, Oct. 2 from 7:30 PM to 9:30. If you wish to ocnsign any items you may bring them to the school between 5 and 7 on Friday. There is always a high demand for used equipment. Normal sale hours are Saturday from 9-4 and Sunday from 10-2.
We began training yesterday with some goal-setting and sharing. Learning to set goals, track progress and evaluate performance is far more than just a ski-specific skill, but for skiers at every level various goals are a prime motivator for training, racing and maintaining focus. We used simple ‘goal pyramids’ to outline and visualize multiple goals…the idea is to think about how certain goals build into one another. At the top of the ‘pyramid’ is a big goal that might seem daunting. What part of the process is all about, however, is actively thinking about what leads to the accomplishment of that top goal. Wider elements of the pyramid are building blocks along the way, and they all matter!
I also spoke a bit about the power of intrinsic motivation heading into a tough and challenging part of the season. As a coach I could bark orders for intervals or distances or repetitions and expect complete compliance, but if there’s no personal motivation to accomplish a tough workout other than my wrath everyone might as well drop skiing and jump in with one of the army convoys the next time they go to the Range…that’s not what it’s about! It’s about having the internal drive to seek out new challenges, embrace some seriously difficult training now and then, and also have fun and enjoy the sport. As a coach I want to facilitate that motivation and nurture it, and help skiers embrace what inspires them to push hard and improve.
Fresh off a yoga-class retreat, coach Sara had a great idea to incorporate. After filling out goal sheets for the ‘short term’ (this season), everyone paired up and each partner spent 1 full minute talking about their goals to their teammate. Then the role was switched and the listener became the sharer. Sara also discussed the power of a “1-degree change”…a simple one degree change may not seem like much initially, but over time it creates a big impact!
We came back as a group and each athlete (and each coach) shared 2 goals with the group: one goal that was result or performance-based, and another goal that was not related to a specific race or event. I took down these goals on paper and compiled them here. It’s nice to look at what drives our athletes to succeed and be reminded of why we challenge ourselves with every session. Here’s to the accomplishments and work toward these goals in the coming months!
