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!