That’s what I’ve begun referring to the last 30 days as, with nothing but clouds and rain and cold temps. It all culminated in one of the more epic days to ever be had for training Saturday, when our group convened at Trapps for one of two tough sessions: bounding intervals up Trapp Hill Rd (the dirt side), or the NENSA Elite Invitational rollerski race.
First up was bounding, where our group of Pugs joined up with some GMVS and Craftsbury skiers for 5×4 minutes of L4 action from Nebraska Valley road up to the nordic center. It started off with a little wind, and ended with sideways hail and frozen hands. Luckily I got one quick photo from the run DOWN to the start, before the madness ensued.
Even this photo is blurry from the already-rough conditions
After everyone thawed their hands and changed their clothes, it was off to the local sandwich shop for some soup and lunch…right before we headed back up the road to cheer on the racers in the NENSA Invitational. Aidan, Magda, Ali, and Sammie were all invited to compete in this event which was a tough 10km from Nebraska Valley, up Barrows Rd pas the high school, and then up the steep Luce Hill Rd to Trapps.
Our crew was all U16 athletes last year (including Aidan who is still a U16 this year, and along with Quincy the only two U16s who qualified to race) so the 10km distance is the next step up. It’s especially tough to get to learn the distance when you’re competing against Caitlin Patterson, Ida Sargent, Julia Kern, Ben Lustgarten, Adam Martin, a bunch of college teams…you get the picture. This race wasn’t your average event, and everyone who just got to compete alone was a standout athlete!
Samu! Photo by Paul Bierman
Sammie continued her strong string of classic races, and this time her and Quincy finished less than a second apart and ahead of a couple of strong collegiate competitors. Magda wasn’t far behind, and Ali raced with great tempo and energy and looked like she had some serious new energy after a few busy weeks. Here’s a short clip of Magda I took as she breezed by in the rain:
In the men’s race, Aidan got a sweet ride with Middlebury skier Wilson Moore, and the two skied together up the steepest and toughest climbing section to the finish. It propelled him to a pretty killer race among the Juniors, especially when you consider that Aidan was the youngest guy in the race by a full year. Afterward, it was time for THAT gang of racers to head into town for pizza before the NENSA kickoff fundraiser event.
More photos from Dave Priganc!
It was a very raw New England day, but it was super inspiring to see everyone getting after it. We were on our own part of the trail, but I find it hard to believe other teams had a more dedicated cheering gang out there!
The entrance sign for the brewery: the only shelter we could find
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