Life has been good here in Keene! We’ve gotten in tons of great training, eating and relaxing. Yesterday, the weather was pretty wet all around, but it cleared this morning and was beautiful all afternoon. The road sign on the way into Keene says “Home of the High Peaks,” and today we finally got to see why- the scenery is amazing.
Yesterday was the first day of work for camp. We woke up at 6:30 for our morning jog- ten minutes to shake out the morning blur, and then had breakfast. (hard boiled eggs, bread and cold cuts, cereal mix, wasa crackers, jams etc.) Then we had about an hour and a half to let the food settle, relax and to get ready for the workout- a 3000 meter time trial (7.5 laps around the track). We drove the 20ish minutes into Lake Placid and got down to business in a comfortable drizzle. It was hard, but I was satisfied with my effort and I think mostly everybody else was too! We retired back to the house for lunch and naps.
We were scheduled to do a rollerski with some strength and then a short hike but it was raining too hard and Pete decided to send us off on a long run. It ended up being about 90 minutes and sevenish miles, and Pete drove the van and met us periodically to give us exercises (push ups, jumps, running bursts), water and to check on us. The van ride home was very very steamy and I’m sure we got a few funny looks.
Today after morning jog and breakfast, we went back into Placid to use the track again. We warmed up for 15 minutes and then did a SPENST hop test, which is a measured series of jumps designed to test lower body power. After that we did a timed 60-meter run, and then jogged a few laps to shake out the legs. We hopped back into the vehicles and headed about 10 minutes back towards Keene to the athletic complex at Mt. Van Hoevenburg- where the biathlon and cross country events were held during the 1980 winter Olympics. After a quick demonstration of Moose-Hoof technique (Think classic skiing, with the ‘float’ as glide, and poles, just without skis) we jogged off into the woods for some brutal uphill repeats. I did 8 repeats at about a 1:30 to 1:45 each up a section of ski trail that kicked up in the middle and was gradual at each end. They were HARD!
The group mid-stride in a fun "mass start" 60m
2011-2012 BMA Girls Nordic Team!
Our afternoon workout was one of the most fun I’ve ever had on rollerskis. We did an 18 mile (30k)easy skate ski that took about 2h15. I settled into a comfortable pace with 2 other girls who are also on the team and we had a great ski, chatting about and sharing stories. We saw lots of bikers and all of the cars were kind to us, and with the sky partly cloudy, and temperature about 75 degrees with a gentle breeze, made for a beautiful day on 9-N.
We are all staying at Pete’s house, which is great for a lot of reasons. Firstly, he is a great cook. He makes us healthy and delicious dinners (tonight was an incredible fish taco spread), and a great pasta dish for lunch. He definitely knows how to fuel hungry athletes! Secondly, there is a brook right across the street and a great swimming hole about a 5 minute walk up the road. I went swimming twice today, and the first dip I took was one of the most productive ever. I brought along some Dr. Bronner’s “magic” biodegradable soap and shaved my legs (I know I know, a shock to some), washed my hair and even did a little laundry. And, because the water was pretty cold, even got in a mini “ice” bath, which is great for recovering sore and tired muscles! And thirdly, it is great to all be staying in the same place because it is nice to get to know the team before school starts. It is a great group of people!
I also made some decent puns today, one of which occurred as follows: “Yesss. Cider!!!.” “You look pretty excidered about that!” I was pretty proud of that little gem.
Welp, I think that that is all for now. Thanks for reading! Emilie.
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