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?

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!

Last 2011 Carnival!

The season always seems so long and daunting looking at the schedule in December, but it comes and goes so fast. We're officially done the carnival races. While we're sad to be done everybody's pretty relieved to have some extra free time.

This weekend was the Bates Carnival in Rumford, Maine. We left Friday in an absolute blizzard. Big Purple was looking a little sad and consisted of only four girls with Bear and Silke both left home with various illnesses. We stayed in the cutest bed and breakfast, but for whatever reason I never took any pictures of the room all four of us stayed in, which included about six beds and an electric fireplace. We were joined at the B&B by two sets of St. Lawrence parents as well.

Saturday was the 5k skate race. I was yet another Big Purple sickling and didn't race. I did some cheering and will happily take credit for helping the girls up High School Hill for some of their best races of the season. Lately our incentive for pretty much anything has been a Tootisie Pop promised to us by my dad. Saturday he had promised all of the girls that if they either caught the girl in front of them or beat someone in particular they were guaranteed a Tootsie Pop of their choice. On Saturday afternoon we all got Tootsie Pops - the other girls for their races and me mostly because they felt bad, but also because I cheered real loud. A highlight was definitely Gabby's 39th place finish and her pomegranate Tootsie.

Gabby well after she had earned her Tootsie Pop

Rizz almost at the top

Sunday was the 15k classic. I've really been looking forward to this race and, even though I've had to take a couple extra days off in the past week, was really hoping to put in my best race of the season. The course was three 5k loops. I've never been in such a good position after a mass start. I've also never had an asthma attack racing. Unfortunately, that hit at about 4k as I reached the top of High School Hill and my fantastic placement amongst every girl I've had in my sights was absolutely shot. After the first lap I went into the second dizzy and completely short of breath. After taking a feed from my dad with Katlyn just behind me I was able to pull myself together to finish the race. I've never dropped out of a race, but my dad told me later he was really surprised to see me come back around and had almost radioed Joe to let him know I was dropping out. All in all, I'm really disappointed that even though I was mentally ready to work hard with the group of girls I was with I never really got the chance. On the other hand, I'm pretty happy that I can still say I've never dropped out of a race. (Or "retired" from a race as the announcers so kindly put it for those that did opt out of finishing yesterday.)

Start of the men's 20k

Now that the carnival season's done we've still got the team vans until Spring Break. We're all doing various races and practicing as a team, but it's nice not to feel so committed to practice. I really like the idea that if I need to take a day to get work done I don't have to feel bad about not skiing that day. This Wednesday the girls are heading to Craftsbury for a 5k. We're pretty psyched to rock out a citizen's race.

Now, for the last post of the 2011 carnival season, I leave you with this picture. Because it's fantastic.

Death by Skating

So this past weekend was the Middlebury Carnival.

Reasons why this was the weekend of death:

1) I have always and forever had terrible races at Middlebury without fail
2) I kept that trend going
3) My skate technique is still on the fritz
4) Both races were skate races
5) I had two math exams on Friday. I missed them both.

This isn't to say that had completely written off the weekend. When I first heard about the lack of classic skiing we'd be doing I was anything but impressed, but figured I could pull myself together for the 10k on Friday.

False.

I had decided to ski the first 5k lap smooth and easy and for the first 4 or so k not only was I feeling good, but I was actually somewhat in the race. The second lap not so much. My legs just felt fried right from the get-go and heading up into the beginning of the loop for the second time they just didn't go. I felt like I was working really hard and not getting a lot out of my strides. So ended my hopes for a little bit of skating (middle of the pack) glory.

Finishing it up.

Bear in his 10k Friday

Friday was one of those mid-winter days where it was 50 degrees that gives non-Vermonters high hopes for the end of winter. If you are one of these people the past weekend should have proven that you shouldn't be fooled by VT's out of the ordinary days. Saturday was quite a different story. It was a good amount colder and the wind was out of control.

The format of Saturday was a three person relay. Each person would ski a 1k loop three times. I'm not a sprinter, but I always have fun with these races. While we were not exactly at the top of the podium I worked hard each lap and felt pretty good about them. I was incredibly disappointed to not see splits on the results.

Kat tags off to me. I may have tripped her a little.

Rizzle skis on a team with two Bowdoin girls

All in all Saturday was a fun day. Since Midd is only an hour (give a little) from SMC we had some friends come to watch, which I love.

Rizzle, Claire, Colin, Andrew, and Joshy

After the relays had ended we made our way over to where they were holding a sit-ski race. Since Colin has been broken all season (though he's a champ on his crutches) he hasn't been able to ski with us. He decided to give the sit-ski a try for only his second time and race. It's crazy how strong these people have to be. If I were down and out for a season I don't think you'd find me sit-skiing in my spare time.

A little windy.

Reasons why the weekend of death wasn't actually deathly:

1) My V1 was actually better (finally)

2) Lots of friends and people I love

3) SMC had Monday and Tuesday off for President's day. Wooo! No class!

4) The professors here are incredible and were very understanding about my exams. I made them up Thursday and last night.

5) We got to ski at Craftsbury yesterday, which is my favorite ski area.

6) We had pizza after Craftsbury and didn't have to pay for it. Mmmm. Thanks SMC!

So the weekend of death was not too bad overall. I'm glad to have it behind me. All we have left in the carnival season is the Bates Carnival consisting of a 5k skate and a 15k classic. I'm spending this week focused on the classic race and am hoping to have a good one on Sunday.

SMC crew:
Kat, Gab, Josh, JoeConn, me Rizzle, Claire
sit-skiers Colin and Professor Standen (Philosophy)

Carni Crushin'

To begin with I'm going to give a shout out to Andrea's radio show, Fresh Beats with AP, Sundays from 3-5, WWPV, which is where I'm writing this post from as we speak. Today is the All-Disney show. Pretty solid.

Andrea's Disney quote of the day: "I tear up when I leave Disney world. Think about it. It's dark out and you look back and see Cinderella's castle as you're leaving and you don't know when you're going to be back to the happiest place on earth."

It just warms your heart.

Taken as "Just Around the River Bend" played on air.
Lovely.

Now that we've gotten past that, I guess I'll talk about the other big event of the weekend, the Dartmouth Carnival.

Friday was the 5k skate. Really, by the time you do all of the downhill it's a 3k skate. It was so fast. I felt better about my technique, but the course was hard and fast, so it made it much easier. After the race we headed back to the magical Fireside Inn. Big Purple spent a fair amount of time playing in the pool before taking a team big man nap.

Beatz, Rizzle, my hair (sorry Gab), me, Silke in the pool

Saturday was the 15k classic. The course was fun because it was one big loop for the first 10k and a smaller different one for the last 5k. This is the first time this year that we've had a course over 5k that didn't loop at all. The mass start race started with a lot of excitement when I broke my pole at the 1k mark. (Shout out to UNH for conveniently standing at the 1.25k mark or so with extra poles. Thank you for the use of your pole for 14k or so.) I skied with a pack of girls for most of the race. Kat and I started with a Bowdoin girl for the first section of the race and then a group of two UMPI girls for the rest of the 10k. During the long downhill section the UMPI girls caught a skier from SLU, but all three got away as the downhills continued. From there I was left chasing them up the rest of the hill, but never caught them.

The rest of the day was fun watching the boys. The finish was super intense. There was a lot of hardcore double poling and collapsing at the finish.

The lead pack coming through for the
first lap.

Bear 12k in

Following the races were the annual Carni Crush valentines. We've been working on Big Purple's hit single "Poles Up" for a couple of weeks now and decided that this event would be the perfect premiere. We decided to dedicate our performance to St. Lawrence.

We're currently working on our next single, "Glide Like Woe" so start getting pumped. It's coming along real nice.

Big Purple
(pic by the lovely Nancy Sitzer)

This Weekend in Pictures

I'm going to (attempt to) get around to writing about the UVM carnival at some point, but right now I'm in the process of ordering pizza and watching the super bowl, so for now I'll go with pictures. Quick overview:

• Friday, UVM carnival, 15/20k classic
• Saturday, UVM carnival/Eastern Cup, 5/10k skate, super ski fans come to cheer and bring happiness, my cousins have their very first races in the Bill Koch League race
• Sunday, Eastern Cup 10/15k classic, over distance ski and watching Evan in the EC, snowball fight after the Fresh Beats with AP radio show

The Tents

Bear during the 10k skate on Saturday

The girlies

Big Purple love

SMC super fans

My brother, Evan, in the Eastern Cup Saturday

Gabby and I with our SMC XC girls
Doogs, Erin, Gab, me, Andrea

More ski fans...
Claire, Andrea in the back, me in the way, Josh

Love

My cousins, Charlie and Anne Marie, warming up
for the Bill Koch race with my dad.

Charlie's first ski race!

Lizzie's first race!

Lots of snow after the storm Saturday night.

Evan in the Eastern Cup classic 15k today

Action shot of today's snowball fight

Sam and Andrea clearly ganging up on Erin

It's been a crazy busy weekend and I'm pretty exhausted after being at Trapps for three full days of racing. but I've made the executive decision to ignore homework for the night and just hang out. I'm 100% aware of the mass amounts of math I'll be doing for the next three days, but I'm way over it.