Good evening from Sun Valley!
Sorry it has been so long since the last update- before I delve into our new setting, here is something I wrote on the plane on the way here:
"Per usual, it has been a great couple of weeks in the Northeast Kingdom. The nights are getting cooler, and the leaves are beginning to turn to rich reds and oranges. Classes have been going really well, and despite being focused on the athletic side of what Burke has to offer, I am really enjoying the academic program. All of my classes are very small, the students attentive and diligent, and the teachers engaging and organized. It is a nice distraction from the rigors of daily training.
As I write this, I am somewhere over the Midwest, on my way to a 3 week training camp in Sun Valley, Idaho. In preparation, we have been dialing back the training in order to make sure that we arrive rested and prepared to tackle the challenges that come with a dramatic shift in altitude. Though we had few intensity workouts, the ones that we did were really productive. My favorite consisted of two prologue-length (2.5kish) overspeed intervals. It is called “overspeed” because though a sprint is about a k less in distance, you try to go out hard and hold that sprint pace for the duration of the interval. We did the first one classic technique and followed that with one skate. They were hard but it felt great to push the envelope and enter the “pain cave.” (Coach Kate made a sweet video including mostly footage from this workout- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXn6tGXxFEA !) In addition to the strength sessions that we have been putting in, I have also been doing some work on my upper body strength. It is an area that I knew I wanted to focus on, and after a few weeks I am starting to feel stronger! So all in all, all of the training is starting to feel like it’s paying off!
Some of the alpine students are members of the Burke soccer team, and in the past few weeks we have hosted a few soccer games. The school spirit is off the charts and all of campus always turns out to support their fellow Burkies. Sometimes we host the opposing team for dinner, which always makes for a good time.
This past weekend was parents weekend. It was exciting and a little bit overwhelming to meet everybody’s parents. My parents came up for a night and took me out for a nice dinner. It was really great to see them and the next day we went on a great mountain bike ride. If you like to mountain ride, then you should probably try to get to Kingdom trails sometime. The trails are first-class, and they have everything from rolling double-track to technical single-track and lift-serve downhill trails. It is all volunteer run and a great way to spend a beautiful fall day.
Like I mentioned, we spent the majority of the week getting organized for travel and camp. Every year, Pete drives out to SV with Oskar, and takes with him all of our gear. It is really great not only because we don’t have to deal with rollerskis, poles, boots etc, we also get to send out most of our baggage, which means that we don’t have to check any bags, which turned out to be incredibly helpful.
This morning, we arose to play some pre-flight ultimate Frisbee and med-ball tennis. It was a really fun way to get in some exercise before a long day of travel. From there we packed up and drove to Burlington for a 5:34 departure time- except that the plane didn’t get there until 6:15. Our flight ended up being delayed by a little over an hour, and we were supposed to be in Chicago for a 8:15 flight to Boise. We took off at about 7pm ET and arrived at O’Hare at 9:15. ET. Which means it was 8:15 local time. We rushed off of the plane as fast as everybody in front of us would allow, and sprinted, backpacks and bags jingling, from gates C1-29. We arrived red-faced and short of breath just as they were boarding the last passengers. Good thing we’re athletes who run a lot, or it might’ve been a different story! We’re slated to land at 11pm local time and 1am “body time” and to spend the night in Boise. "
After spending a short night in Boise, Pete met us at the motel, picked up a rental car, and we made the 2.5hr drive to Sun Valley. All of the girls went in the Burke van with Oskar and to handle the music situation, we played the "listen-to-the-first-station-that comes-in-clearly-with-music-and-repeat-when-you-lose-reception-or-commercial-break" game. It worked for the most part, but I'm pretty sure we heard a couple of songs twice (Take On Me- aha, Dreams- Fleetwood Mac, International Harvester- Craig Morgan). It was a really interesting ride- flat the entire way, but you could always see mountains. All of the mountain peaks seem to form perfect right angles, it's really neat, and totally different from the east coast.
We arrived at our house, settled in for a little, and then drove to where the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation nordic team is based, at Fox Creek park. To shake out the travel cobwebs, but keep our bodies in good shape to handle the altitude change, we went on an easy 7ish mile jog hike. It was BEAUTIFUL! We went back this morning to hit up their weight room for some strength. They have a really great set up, it is easy to see how the club has produced so many good skiers! Many thanks to the SVSEF folks for sharing their facilities. This afternoon, we utilized the great bike path system they have here for an easy 90 minute skate ski. It was awesome.
Back at the house, we are using the same team system we use on campus to organize cooking and cleaning. I am teamed with my roommate for the trip, Jane, and tonight was our night for dinner. We made chicken and roasted veggies with herbs and I think we did an ok job because everybody seemed to like it!
I am too pooped to post pictures right now, but I promise to soon- in the meantime, check the BMA Nordic facebook page for graphics :)
Lot's 'o love,
Em
