It has been a productive few weeks! A few surprises came our way recently, such as getting BACK into the Range for rollerskiing on the track there…truly one of those resources with a value beyond measurement for so many reasons. Unfortunately we are almost always at the mercy of other forces that dictate when we can actually utilize that resource.
When the [paved] rug could get swept out from under you at any moment, you never waste a day or session up at that track! We got right down to business doing speeds on the super-steep grades, practicing carving turns and building downhill confidence, and ripping speeds in a group with no fear of cars or trucks.
We are also building up in group size as a few elements come together:
- School sports ending and classes coming to a close
- Pro athletes beginning to make their pilgrimage to Vermont!
- MNCU athletes moving into their summer housing
Sydney Palmer-Leger showing us the way of classic speeds
We’ve also made use of other great resources in our area…some natural, others put together by us! This includes strength at theMNCC which now features a host of new tools and implements. It also includes the great roads we have both paved and unpaved…we recently completed one of our more “standard” workouts on Saturday, some 1-mile running repeats on Governor Chittenden Rd in Williston. Beautiful scenery, trackable workout, focused threshold and metrics, and good vibes!
When we finished the running intervals on Saturday, we drove a few miles north to the Essex Family Fun Center to take on a different type of sport: golf!
Some may or may not know that one of the top high school golfers in the state happens to be Isaiah Bowen, and so a group of us got to smack some hits at the driving range while, in the of the lineup, Isaiah blasted some golf balls far into the horizon. Then it was off to the mini golf course where a heated round determined who was set to do dishes on the first night of Mountain Camp…
After the golf adventure it was time for lifting, wherein some athletes went home and others chose the gym route. Afterward, Astrid made a comment that I swear I have heard before and maybe even written about before: “That feltlike a full day of training camp.”
It was in reference to the mix of structured workouts, team activities (even including walking through and picking out recovery snacks in Hannaford between sessions) and good vibes that Saturday brought forth. It’s the best scenario we could have at practice, particularly just a regular Saturday workout. Training camp is where people connect by both training and living together. The most important factor toward connection is often not the skis or the lifts, but what happens in between the skis and lifts. It was great to have a good buy-in for the in-between, because we had a great time!
As our group grows larger heading into the summer, we’ll need to keep finding ways to add little adventures, activities, and team time. We don’t ever seem to lack for a desire to work hard in sport, but that doesn’t mean we can’t also put effort into how we spend time together beyond that.
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