Author Archive | Adam Terko

Schools are letting out, and with a heatwave fast approaching this week you know summer is here! Next Tuesday is our first day of Junior training for the new “season” so make sure you are registered!

MNC Program Registration

Whether you are looking to rollerski a few times a week to build up your technique and fitness, or you are jumping into full-time training with action all week, we’d love to have you with the crew. Check out he Junior Summer page on the website for more, and of course follow along on social media, Youtube, or this blog to see what we are up to and what is next for us.

We’re excited to have the Mansfield Nordic Community Center coming online just in time to host some strength training, team gatherings, meetings, and more. There’s a lot of possibilities for this space, and it is another way we hope to connect skiers throughout the area.

If you’re a U16 skier, there are a few spots remaining at U16 Mountain Camp taking place from July 25-28th, and you can check out info and registration for that camp at the link above.

We’ll see you at the start of summer training!

This past week featured a few test events, which we use periodically throughout the year to check on how our training is going.

From the 3000m run (done earlier this year) to the double pole test and the uphill run test, there is a lot of variety. As skiers, we’re put in positions where different formats and techniques and courses can necessitate a very diverse skillset! We can (and have) race long hilly courses in soft snow, and flat short courses on icy snow, all within the same weekend or series.

I think this is great because it means everyone is likely to have something to work on, and it does not pigeonhole skiers into needing one type of body or fitness profile to achieve the success they are striving for.

Testing can bring forth a lot of stress, but it doesn’t have to. I’ve realized over the years what kind of influence I can have as a coach, either positively or negatively, on testing. If I put a lot of stress on the “course record” or the big archive of all the times over the years, it really adds to a feeling of urgency to achieve something meaningful on paper. So while we used to offer a pint of ice cream to anyone that broke the course record on a test, and lay out the “time to beat” beforehand during the warmup, I’ve tried to move away from that.

MNC U and MNC Juniors together for Bolton!

Instead, I’ve focused on the fact that lots of our testing events have multiple benefits. For our uphill run test, we have an overall list of times. But you can also click tabs to view athletes with their specific times listed out race-by-race. This means you can see how your times have changed, without having the times of everyone else that finished near, behind, or ahead of you.

Our archive on the double pole test has tabs for each individual event. On those events is also a link to the video from that day, and it’s fun to look back in time and see how the technique of various skiers has improved over time. I’ve even gone back and made video edits showing the progression of a few skiers through the years.

Isaiah and Mia showing some good form in the morning DP test!

Taylor and Pat doing a little easy classic at the Range before biathlon, which has started back up in the evenings

This week, we had pretty great weather and good vibes for all of the tests. With school getting out and various skiers finishing up their years at different times, we’ve been having both AM and PM options. Funny how the morning sessions differ in focus and energy from the afternoon ones…for the double pole test, both groups totally crushed the test with energy and aggressiveness. But then we did a few repeats at a lower intensity afterward, and the differences between the groups was stark. The morning group was dialed-in, picking up some new technique gains and hungry for more challenge. The afternoon group were zombies, gently swaying in the breeze as their rollerskis shuffled back and forth…I’d say it is time for summer vacation!

MNC University didn’t do the DP test, but they did hammer out some DP intervals in Shelburne. Here is Coach Brandon laying out the plans.

With the Mansfield Nordic Community Center coming onboard, there is an extra energy in the air! Skiers and coaches are all excited to continue moving this project forward. But it hasn’t meant a slowdown in training, either. Last week was a busy one full of rollerskiing, biking, painting, sanding, and running.

Things got started with a hot and humid few days. The MNC University gang was in a volume week and got in some long distance sessions. The group continued to grow, as the month changing to June meant some new leases and move-ins for skiers coming to our area from different places!

While some Juniors have been rotating-in with MNC University in singles or pairs if their schedules allow, for most days the high schoolers get stuck bearing the brunt of the heat, humidity, thunderstorms, and bugs in the afternoon. They could complain a lot more than they do, but instead they put their energy right into the training and the process. We have kept it interesting with a few different types of warmups and drills, a focus on adding even just a few speeds to every session (to work that muscle memory), and trying out some new snacks at the food table that graces most workouts!

With many hands available and the Juniors actually in a recovery week, we had an alternative practice on Wednesday wherein we all grabbed brushes and rollers to put some coats onto the walls of the new MNCC. These walls required a lot of paint, so it was nice to have lots of help. It was a good thing we were planning to eventually sand the floors though, because just about as much paint ended up on the ground than on the vertical places…hey, it’s not ski training and therefore sometimes quantity, not quality is allowed!

On Saturday a crew consisting of myself, Taylor Carlson, coach Brandon, and MNC board member (and Masters skier) Mike Millar finished up the finer points of the walls, and Mike stayed up late to get most of the ceiling done, too! On Sunday I rented the industrial floor sander. Taylor and I masked-up and got to work turning the uneven, dull floors into [still uneven but] much brighter and cleaner floors. Here’s a timelapse of the beginning of the process, along with before-and-after shots!

BEFORE

AFTER

Next step? Floor polish/sealer, installation of equipment, and more little tasks to get everything in tip-top shape. Oh yeah, and training of course!

If you read enough articles or books related to Nordic skiing, you’ll start to realize how much the term “ski culture” is brought up. This is often in reference to Norway, with images of ski wax sold in vending machines and loaves of bread with Petter Northug or Therese Johaug on the packaging.

But what does skiing culture look like here where we live? I commonly refer to New England as the “Scandinavia of America” and Vermont as the “Norway of that Scandinavia.” And while we may not have quite the same level of lifestyle and Nordic skiing crossover as Nordic nations, a few days last week gave me some goosebumps that we might be moving in that direction.

On Thursday morning the MNC University group was joined by Julia Kern, an Olympian and US Ski Team member who was spending some time in Richmond. Julia didn’t do anything special or unique to announce her presence…she just showed up when training started, listened as drills were explained, went through the same steps as the rest of the crew, and chatted among everyone while they were all skiing easily around.

When we did running speeds up a steep hill, it wasn’t until partway through a number of reps that I remembered Julia’s credentials as a sprinter…as Geo got ready to start a speed, I nudged that “you might want to follow Julia on one of these: she’s probably one of the top six skiers in the entire WORLD at this sort of thing.”

What was revealing of a ski culture was not how novel this session was, but how normal it felt for what seemed like everyone involved. Really cool stuff.

On the following day, Friday, we had no official practice scheduled for the Juniors. An on-your-own workout of your choice was suggested.

It was a big day, training notwithstanding, because of the official signatures on various dotted lines completing the acquisition of the Mansfield Nordic Community Center (MNCC). Read more on that here!

While Liz and I were down at the MNCC checking out the space and making grand plans, we heard a knock on the door. It was Taylor, who saw our cars on a return from a bike ride nearby. The buzz was already growing!

A different day for bikes…Taylor and Nico in Waitsfield on Sunday

Gillian (front) being the skate role model for Mia (back)

When we left the space it was time for me to pick up some groceries…it was a beautiful summery scene, with a hazy late-afternoon glow and the scent of grilled meat in the air and the sound of lawnmowers in the distance. I cruised slowly through a busy Richmond, whose downtown is currently celebrating a “share the road” advocacy/art event. Signs and displays were visible at a couple of creative houses.

Then I turned left at the light in the center of town. The Farmer’s Market was buzzing and there were pedestrians everywhere. Yet I quickly spotted (as their design intends) a pair of familiar yellow Mansfield Nordic Club t-shirts…it was Astrid and Mia, walking up the sidewalk by the railroad tracks, rollerskis in hand! They were on their way to a pickup at the middle school.

A town filled with everyday people going about their business, and rollerskiers just another part of the scene. Ski community at its finest.