One Week.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. When you hit spring of senior year you realize how little time you really do have left. You also realize how incredible this place really is. The class of 2012 graduates one week from today. I get all kinds of emotional thinking about leaving St. Mike's for good. The end of the year is usually really exciting since the end of exams means summer. Then at the end of the summer you get just as excited to be back at SMC. I can't believe that won't be happening this year.

So, because the year has been winding down and our SMC family is about to go off in all kinds of directions, we've been making the very best of what's left. It's exhausting, but I've had an incredible time with incredible people.

Our last real Thursday night
Sam, Hannah, Tori, me, Coligs, Gabby

Our P-Day shirts: LET'S DO THIS ONE LAST TIME 

P-Day 2012! 

With Coligny...as the girl behind us gets absolutely
rocked by the bull

Ski girls: Em, Chlo, me, Juli, Balls

Silke, Chlo, me, and Emery before Block M dinner

Coligs on our stair slide

SMC Kentucky Derby

Senior girls Derby-ing

Bucket List

A few weeks ago my roommate, Coligny, and I realized we really didn't have all that much time left here at SMC. We have even less time now...we graduate a month from Saturday. Gross.

To make sure that we accomplish everything we want to in our last few weeks here we made a bucket list!

Sam and Colig's Bucket List:

To be completed:

• Watch the P-Day sunrise 
• Eat a Vermonster (20 scoops of ice cream, 10 scoops of walnuts, 4 ladles of hot fudge, 4 bananas, 3 chocolate chip cookies, 2 scoops of 4 toppings, 1 giant fudge brownie and whipped cream. Purchase this at Ben and Jerry's. - Urban Dictionary)
• See a pretty Waterfront sunset
• Coligs and Juliette enter Hodson for the first time ever
• Summer/fall jobs all around
• Go to Red Rocks
• Go to the Whale Tails
• Have a math party with the math majors
• Take more pictures of senior year
• Do a Winooski Circle Pub Crawl

Completed so far:

• Coligny attempts long boarding
• Coligs and Martell successfully body traverse (See 1:10-1:30. Yeah. We did that.)

Starting to accomplish "take more pictures"
Carly, Emily, Greta, Lauren, me, and Abby on Saturday

We clearly have a long way to go. I have been taking more pictures and we're working on the math party so soon we'll be able to check a few more things off! I can't believe we only have a month left. We're definitely making senior spring count and I guarantee we'll accomplish at least the majority of our list by that terrible, terrible day when we're forced out of our magnificent townhouse and out into the real world.

Starting Over - Transferring to SMC

As a senior I sometimes forget that I was actually a transfer. I'm only reminded when people ask whether I lived in Joyce, Ryan, or Lyons as a First Year. For the most part, other people don't realize it either. Even my closest friends will ask if I remember something from that year. It's really nice to feel like such a part of the community that nobody, myself included, can imagine a time when I wasn't there.

On the other hand, there are times when I really miss my friends from my old school. Transferring was a really hard decision. While I'm glad I'm at SMC, I had to leave a lot of people behind to be there.

When making the decision to transfer I first struggled because
1) I was afraid to start over
2) I was afraid to throw myself into a school where everyone already had an entire year together
3) Terrified it would be worse than where I already was and I'd be more miserable
4) Most of all, I didn't want to leave my friends

BBQ at the end of freshman year

In the end everything worked out perfectly...

1) While I was still starting over it gave me the opportunity to use what I had learned from the previous year to do a little better than I had before. I knew the best way to meet people was to get involved, so the first thing I did was join the Cross Country team. We had pre-season before Orientation week, so I had friends before school even started. I had also grown in my first year, so when I started at SMC I wasn't nearly as shy and able to get to know people more quickly. Plus, at St. Mike's everyone is so friendly anyway it was really easy to make new friends.

2) It turns out I wasn't the only transfer around. Most of us were placed in the same hallway in Ryan so that those of us that were all in the same position could live together. It was a really helpful start to the year and soon we all branched out. You don't meet every single person in your class your first year, so a lot of people don't even realize you weren't there the year before.

3) I was lucky enough to already have friends at St. Mike's so I was able to visit and get a feel for the campus. However, this wasn't enough for me to not worry that I wouldn't like it. But the way I see it, I wasn't very happy at my old school. It was more than worth it to go and try something new and see if it fit. Worst case scenario? I guess I could have gone back to my old school, but I took the leap and it was definitely worth it. If something's not right you know, so don't stay with it just because you're nervous something else won't work out.

Me, Britt, Audrey (Aud also transferred), and Izzy
freshman year

4) This was the big one. While I was generally unhappy with my experience at my old school, I did have some great friends that I really didn't want to leave behind. In my first weeks at SMC when they'd jokingly text me to go to dinner it was extremely painful and there were many days where I would think to myself, "What have I done?!" But the truth is, if they're good enough friends in the first place you'll stay in touch and you won't completely lose them. I'm currently typing this blog post from the couch of their townhouse. I've come back every year to visit (here's a post from last year) and they even came to visit me once. (Adam even mentions me in his blog sometimes. What an honor.)

Izzy, Robin, Britt, and I
senior year

In the end I wound up with so much more by transferring than I would have if I stayed. I have incredible friends at both schools, so many more opportunities in SMC's education program, and a community I'm happy to be a part of. I'm extremely grateful for my first year as I gained great friends as well as experiences that helped me appreciate SMC even more.

I hope this post gets to anyone thinking about transferring and helps make the decision easier. If you have any questions at all you know where to find me! Check out the Contact Me tab!

The Best Week Ever

St. Albans Bay sunset on Monday night

This past week was unbelievably warm for March in VT. Like completely out of this world hot. I happened to have basically no work. This meant that I got to spend the 80 degree days outside in the sunshine! If I wasn't already in love with SMC this week would have done it for me.

Outline:
Monday - Spending all of my spare time in the sun with friends. Went home to gather shorts and tank tops to prepare for the amazing week ahead and watched The Voice with my lovely friend Brittany. (I'm OBSESSED with The Voice.)

Tuesday - Had one small assignment due marking the last day that I'd have any work at all for the rest of the week. That night my house got together with friends from the rugby team and played wiffle ball and glow in the dark frisbee in the 3's field.

Wednesday - Yet another gorgeous day spending all of my time between classes outside on the field lounging in the sun. Played a second round of night time wiffle ball in the field.

With Coligny sunbathing on Thursday afternoon

Thursday - Literally the best day ever. I have no classes Thursdays, so my day was wide open. Thursday also happened to be the warmest day of them all. I was outside with friends the entire morning sunbathing and playing games. That night we went down the block in the 3's and barbecued, which was delicious. That night all of the 3's were out on the sidewalk and field hanging out. It was really awesome to have so much of the senior class in one place spending time together. I never want to leave the 3's!

With Gab before the formal

Friday - Once I got through my one and only class I went downtown with the lovely Gabbi and ate and shopped on Church Street. That night we got together for a ski team formal where we all got dressed up, put aside the awkward ski room encounters, and spent time together as a full alpine/nordic team.


Saturday - It's hard to believe that such a stress-free week could be so exhausting, but by yesterday I was SO worn out! I spent Saturday with Emery (from the ski team) relaxing and as a grand finale went to see The Hunger Games, which was, as expected, completely amazing!

Three of my best friends in the entire world
Balls, Rizzy, me, and Emery

So here I am on Sunday. The nice weather is gone and we're back to March. This past week has been absolutely amazing! It was like a second spring break and I never wanted it to end. Now that it has I suppose I have to get back to real life and actually do some school work for a change.

End of the Ski Season

I've been MIA for far too long. Life was crazy busy with the end of ski season and the week before Spring Break. I figured this would be a good post to wrap up the ski season in.

With the weather this winter being completely crazy the last two races were moved to what seemed to be just about the only snow in New England. The Williams Carnival was moved to Craftsbury, VT and the Middlebury Carnival was held at Trapp's making it the third carnival there this year.

Williams was actually only one day of racing due to the move. We all did a 10k classic on a really fun course. There was one absolutely brutal hill, but the wax was good and it was a nice day, so it was pretty enjoyable.

Girls getting ready for the last race!

The Middlebury carnival was absolutely crazy. I ended up getting a sickness just before and had a ridiculous chest cold, which was extremely inconvenient. I raced the 5k skate on Friday and sat out the 15k classic. While we had gotten very little snow all season, winter was back with a vengeance. It was white out conditions the entire day making the race slow and painful for many.

The pack coming through the first lap.

One of the big pluses from the day was watching Chloe ski her way to a 30th place finish. It was a really fun race to watch as she moved up through the pack and even passed a Harvard girl in the last k to solidify her 30th place.

I can't believe skiing is over. The season went by so unbelievably fast. While I absolutely loved my last season and had an incredible time, I'm glad to be a regular student again. This school year is going far too fast. I'm not ready at all to graduate and skiing ending was just one more thing to check off the list. I just want this year to never end!

UVM/Dartmouth Carnivals

Some may call it laziness. I call it visually pleasing. Here are the last two weekends in pictures.

UVM:

Silke, Kat, me, Balls, Emery

Baller picture I took of Isaiah

So many fans!

Parents busy being fabulous and making us food!
(Special thanks to the Sitzers and Vargos! mmm...grilled cheese!)

Ski friends!
Brian, me, Mama Lauren, Joshy, Claire Babe, Balls, Silke

Brian, Bear, Lauren, Kat, me 

me and my daddy

Dartmouth:

Bear in the 10k skate 

Catching rays on the gorgeous day

Just after the mass start...everyone running to the next spot

The pack heads up the first hill

UNH Carnival

I feel kind of stupid writing a post about last week's carnival the night before the second race of this week's, but I figured I'd go for it anyway.

So last weekend we were in Jackson, NH for the classic sprints and 15/20k skate races. It was the first weekend that Rizzle and Mama Rizz got to cheer us on as the course literally passes their house. SO GOOD to have them there. Rizz will hopefully be there from now on, but Mama Rizzle was a special treat!

The first day of sprinting was really interesting. To start things off, I'm not necessarily a sprinter. And by "not necessarily" I mean not even a little bit. It was also raining/slushing/snowing the entire day. It was a soggy mess, but the course was ridiculously fun. I didn't do well at all, but I had a great time. It's not often I say that...

Women's mass start (pics by Colin)

Kat and I coming around for our last lap

Saturday was the 15/20k mass start. The start was pretty crazy. The first k bottlenecked right off and there were a few seconds where almost everyone was standing completely still. After that it was a solid race. I went back and forth with both Kat and Chloe a couple of times each. We also saw Emery out there in the mix. On the last k or so Kat and I were skiing side by side staring at Chloes back about 10 seconds in front of us. Chloe, Kat, and I crossed the line one right after the other.

I'm really pleased with how I skied. Going into the third lap I had a few seconds where my body just wanted to slow down, but I kept my head in it and hopped back onto Kat who had dropped me a little. I skied hard for the entire 15k. As someone who has real issues with my mental race it was nice to feel like I held things together. I didn't look at the results and I never plan to. I'd rather be happy then look and end up disappointed with how I actually placed.

Chloe in front, me on the left, Kat on the right
Less than a k from the finish

Cheering for the boys...there was a gap in the action and a
beautiful background! (Chloe, me, Em, Kat, Balls)

That's actually my new strategy for the year. Unless my parents see that I did ridiculously well and tell me to look I will never see the girls results for the races this year. I'd rather be happy with myself and how hard I pushed. In the end, I know where I'm at after four years. It's not even in the ballpark of where I wanted to be. At this point there's really not much else I can do. As long as I'm happy with the effort I put into this last season I'm going to be able to call it a success.

On the guys side of things, we had a few that were incredibly close to qualifying for the heats, which is encouraging. The mass start wasn't as successful as it could have been, but they seem to be improving every weekend. A shout out to Adam for his 16th place finish on Saturday. Giving feeds on top of the hill I was so excited to see him come by with the top guys lap after lap. My mom was freaking out as well. She even said, "The way I was cheering you would have thought he was my own son." I can only imagine what that must have looked like...

Mama, Lar, and I
Fam shot. Can you tell Cathy loves pictures?

Lary Writes a Blog Post

Mi padre is a fabulous man. He is also one of my coaches. Not everyone realizes this probably because I call him Lary more often than I call him dad. People have mixed reactions when I share this information. Sometimes I get, "Oh that's great you get to spend so much time with him!" Other times it's more like, "Doesn't that kind of suck to see your parents 24/7 while you're in college?" The correct answer is more the the first remark. My dear old dad and I are more alike than either of us would like to admit, which makes it easy to spend so much time together.

He also likes to blog. Kind of. Every so often I get an email containing a post that I then have to edit and put on the team blog. I really enjoyed the latest one, so unbeknownst to him he is going to be a guest blogger on my ever popular bloggity that is probably read by the same people that read the team blog anyway. (This isn't laziness. I swear I will get a UNH carnival post up here later.)

So here he is, the great Lary Martell:

We're rolling into February in a snow challanged winter! The walk across campus has been easy. Warm days and a lack of the huge snow banks to crawl over has made it simple for the team to get to the ski room and into the vans.  The talk at the early Eastern Cup races and carnivals is all about the difficult snow year.... 

But not so fast! The SMC gang, it seems, has had no problem finding the white stuff.  From long over-distance days on the rolling terrain at Craftsbury to mid-winter conditions at Trapps to interval training at The Range, the Purple Gang has not missed a beat.  It seems that it is good to be a nordic skier in Northern Vermont. 

The season is well underway and the Big Purple is getting fit and looking foward to another great weekend of skiing at Trapps in the UVM Carnaval and Eastern Cup races.  We'll see you there!

-Lary

Last minute decision to join the race!
Big Purple was PUMPED!

Off he goes! Just look at that form!

Nice work, Lar!

Bates Carnival

One down and five to go. Driving back from Rumford, ME we couldn't believe we had just finished our first carnival weekend. They go by so fast.

Isaiah in the 10k

Friday's race was an individual start 5k skate (10k for the guys.) The course was pretty fast even after the few inches of snow that fell the night before. My usual struggle has been with my skate technique and, while I've been working on it a lot and am feeling better about it, the usual problems occurred. No glide in my V1, just short and choppy. Head bobbing side to side. Ugly. The race was not what I wanted, but there are five more weeks to make improvement. At least I know what to focus on in practice every day.

Me and my dad (in his cute coach's bib) watching the 10k

Photo credit: Connor Hunt

Saturday's mass start 10k classic was a little better. I feel like I lacked the confidence I needed to move up to where I should have been, but once I settled in farther back I raced fairly well with the help of my dad running around the course shouting at me to go hard over the top or put in a few fast strides on the next section. Being in the group ahead of me would have made me feel better about the race, but I passed, held off, and eventually dropped a group of three girls in the course of the 10k, so I'm pleased about that outcome.

The lead pack coming up the hill in the 10k classic

It was really nice to be back in the swing of things. The team is getting along really well and we have a lot of fun. I've happily taken it upon myself to be sure we look good with our hair ribbons and sparkly stickers for each race. The girls are really close this year and we have a lot of fun with our ridiculous nicknames, inside jokes, and constant singing. It's nice that even when I have a bad race I know I won't be in a bad mood once every thing's over and I'm back in the van with the team.

Emery, Balls, and I

It's only Monday, but I already feel like the week is flying by. I have so much to do before we leave for Jackson, NH on Thursday. Wish us luck as we take on classic sprints and a 15k skate!

Ski Team Endeavors in the First Week of Class

I may or may not have just posted this on the Nordic Ski Team Blog, but I figured I'd throw it up here since it includes a story from my week. Plus, it could be a good lesson. Sometimes things don't go according to plan and your intervals get completely messed up and end up non-existent. Even when this happens you can at least look at is as semi-entertaining. Optimism?

Anyway, enough late night rambling...here's the post:

We have a Facebook page! This is going to be short and sweet because it is late and we leave for Rumford tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure it got on the blog before the weekend. This is a new thing for the team and I'm going to see if maybe when I have service/wifi at carnivals I can post results and whatnot to the page before they're online (although the EISA is usually pretty speedy.)

The boys (and Gabby) give the van a little push

An exciting adventure the team had this week was when we attempted to get in some intervals on Tuesday. We went up the the Range in Jericho only to find that the road leading up to the biathlon range was a little icy. And by a little icy I mean a complete ice rink that was nearly impossible to even try to walk on. We got part way up the hill in the van only to have my dad maneuver us carefully into a driveway. After getting slightly stuck for just a minute we unpacked our skis and began to walk up the ice covered hill. On the walk up we encountered a school bus in a snowbank, a woman in a Subaru that gave my dad the keys and let him do the driving, a fishtailing, skidding van, and, finally, a dirt truck that came to everyone's rescue. (I'm clearly not an English major, so those of you who are into that kind of thing...you know...literacy...please don't judge me for the hardcore overkill of commas in that last sentence.)

High fives for getting the van out of the snowbank

Pumped for the arrival of the dirt truck

We made it to the top and the skiing was still good, but unfortunately just before we really got rolling the National Guard decided to call it quits and shut down the operation. While our workout was less than desirable we got to ski the Range and test out potential interval loops for the following weeks.

Big Purple leaves tomorrow at noon for the Bates Carnival at Black Mountain! I made the girls purple and yellow hair ribbons earlier in the evening so we're officially ready for the race season to begin!

Make sure to check out and like our Facebook page and wish us luck!

Nordic Ski Team Winter Camp

I'm alive, I swear! I haven't posted in far too long. After Christmas I got incredibly sick and after spending far too many hours on the couch watching chick flicks and drinking orange juice I was back at it with skiing. There was next to no snow in Vermont, but I was able to find it here or there.

All packed up...for two days.
We may have overpacked...

A week and a half ago my dad and I packed up my car and headed to Rumford, Maine for Nationals to watch my brother and various others. While there was little snow elsewhere Black Mountain did a really good job keeping the course well covered and well groomed.

Last Thursday I made it back to campus where I've been staying with the ski team since then. Our schedule hasn't been all too complicated. It looks a little something like this:

8:15 - Drag myself out of bed, go downstairs and decide what to wear from my floor closet where I put everything out to dry the night before, and eat breakfast
9:00 - Head to Trapps
10:00 - First ski of the day. Sometimes intervals depending on the day.
12:00 - Lunch. PB&J. Every. Single. Day.
1:30 - Second ski.
3:00 - Back in the van, back to school
4:15 - Big man nap, waxing skis
6:15ish - Dinner with the team at Bear's house
10:00 - Bed time

Emery and Colin playing Checkers in the lodge.

We've been having a great time skiing and there has been more and more snow as the week goes on, but I'm EXHAUSTED. I basically spend all of my free time zoning out in front of the TV or sleeping. Plus, my house is an absolute disaster. My roommates come home this weekend and they're going to KILL me! While the other three girls of 309 coming home means I have to clean, I am excited for the spring semester to start up and to have everyone back on campus!

Things are about to get really crazy with skiing. When classes start we have six weeks straight of carnival racing. I'll keep the blog updated and, maybe, write about other things like life at SMC. But for the next six weeks I won't really have one of those so get ready for some skiing posts. It's my last season and I'm going to be making the best of it!