Mansfield Nordic Club

It was a volume week, and that means lots of training! This morning, I described some elements of Junior coaching as being akin to docking a ship at the International Space Station (or, what I imagine it to be like): you hit the thrusters to one side and that little adjustment sends you too far to one side. Naturally you then correct, but without gravity it’s just too easy to overcorrect! A back-and-forth scene of constantly adapting to the now while also trying to anticipate the future.

For example, we’ve generally overcome what was a worrisome trend of “grinding” for hours and putting in junk miles, which was one direction the space shuttle was headed in. But that has been replaced by a quest for the epic “big stupid”, which is a term Jessie Diggins uses to describe her once-a-year effort at a big hike/run such as the Pemi Loop or, this year, the Great Range in the Adirondacks.

The “big stupid” is pretty fun to dream-up, and indeed we kind of have our own collection of them such as total bonk-fest of a hike at Mountain Camp, or the 100km rollerski at the end of the summer. But to that list you can also add a few skiers driving to NH to camp out mid-week and attempt the Pemi Loop with a few skiers from other teams, or a sparsely-planned attempt at biking the length of Vermont on minimal sleep. Neither of these attempts at a “big stupid” came to fruition this week for a number of reasons, but they were attempted!

The risk is compromising the rest of the week, as you have to make adjustments leading up to (and in response to the result of) the “big stupid”.

I certainly had plenty of that energy when I was 17 or 18, and rollerskiing the length of the state for my Grad Challenge project was probably the culmination of it. But now as a coach (and adult) I can safely say that there’s more harm than good when it comes to jumping into some epic workout without much planning.

That said, this week DID feature some key sessions, and everyone was able to take part in something…one of our favorite workouts, the 5km Project, made a return for the first time in 2023. We end up doing this workout a few times a season (summer and fall) and have written about it before. To me, the benefits are not only physiological but also psychological. It is an “outfit workout” meaning that it takes on enough focus to demand a specific choice of outfit and prep plan (such as having your best hydration drink, or sports fuel) saved for this particular session.

Some of the older girls getting ready to start the 5k project together in the rain

Nate making big progress on the classic skis!

Lillian showing what to do when your binding breaks…just keep going!

The day was rainy and hot, but nothing we haven’t gotten used to in Vermont this summer. Everyone was able to give this workout a go, as we also have a 3km version for younger skiers and those newer to rollerskiing.

The weekend brought our next big workout, the Triple Crown Run! This is another team favorite…a loop run starting at the Audubon parking lot in Huntington. It’s called the Triple Crown because it covers the trails of three networks, with three high points…you begin by running up to Sleepy Hollow, where you reach the cabin and drop down via the “Yoda” trail to Texas Hill Road. From there you run up into Hinesburg Town Forest, ascending the “Maiden” and “Dragon’s Tail” trails before taking “Back Door” down onto Lincoln Hill Road. Across the street is the Carse Hills network, where you ascend “Henry’s Highlands” and drop down the “Front Door” trail to Hollow Road.

This is just under a half marathon distance, all on singletrack trails, with nothing too steep it can’t be run. Sara and I shuttled the van to this spot, and some of the group jumped in to complete the session at that point. A handful of others took to the road for the 5-mile journey back on Hollow/Huntington road to complete the whole run as a loop. 18 miles total!

Everyone seemed to nail it, from hydration to fueling to pacing. It was a beautiful day and honestly one of my favorite routes to run…some dense forest, some old farm fields, rocky switchbacks, flowing ferns, everything a good Vermont adventure needs.

Julia, Rye, and Lorenzo taking a quick break at the Sleepy cabin

Julia and Elsa hit the 18 mile mark! Nice to have a swimming hole right at the end too!

I’m sounding like a broken record at this point reiterating how impressed I am with these skiers, but it’s true. The week finished up with some different activities for folks, as there were some that took the beautiful Sunday to go for a bike ride and others who hiked over the weekend. Nico, Elsa and I enjoyed a really scenic rollerski in Ferrisburgh, and with only the three of us present (as opposed to a big squad) I took the opportunity to bring them on one of my favorite loops from college…it actually heads toward Monkton before swinging right through the city of Vergennes, hence why we don’t attempt it with a full team. We ended up taking a quick break by the falls for some local history lessons (shipbuilding for the Revolutionary War and War of 1812) and then emerged back on our usual route in the area, site of our 100km roll.

Now it’s onto a recovery week before three VERY important weeks…intensity week followed by altitude camp. Here we go!

Was today (Sunday, July 30th) the best weather of the year so far? Quite possibly

8 in a row, and closing-in on a full decade of Mountain Camp! On the drive back from this year’s training camp in North Conway, Sara and I talked about memorable moments and iconic stories from each of the past 8 camps…and we ended up with about 4 pages of notes. We decided that after the 10th running of this camp, we’d need to put together a photo and memory book to tell the story of just what this camp has meant to MNC.

It is first and foremost a training camp, but there’s more to it than the training alone.

• For starters, it was the first camp other than Thanksgiving Camp which the club ever embarked on. Thanksgiving Camp always happens at Craftsbury, with many things taken care of “in-house” (lodging, and especially meals, for example). This camp requires much more planning and flexible execution. It also takes place in the summer, without as many school or sport conflicts.
• This camp is also often a “passing of the torch” moment where skiers on the Nth trip to Mountain Camp share the workouts and living with skiers either new to the club, or new to this level of training having come up through BKL and/or Mini Mountain Camp.
• There are several quintessential workouts that are looked forward to, yet we always manage to find new and interesting options to explore and expand what we can get out of each camp.
• Being together outside of training is great. Whether that means cooking, cleaning, lounging, or repairing holes in the wall, teams become closer through shared experiences…better to have those experiences be more than just rollerskiing and running!

This year one memorable element will certainly be the heat, as it was hot and humid for every. Single. Workout. If our houses didn’t have A/C we would’ve probably been doomed…but it was also a lesson in staying nimble as we had to make a few decisions to swap one workout for another here and there, as well as altering start times to take advantage of cooler mornings or shadier late afternoons.

Things got going with a short run around the base of Attitash on our way into NH, followed by swiming at Saco Beach. The heat was already making it’s presence known. Once we got settled in our houses, we went into town for a skate agility session at Kennet High School, which has one of the biggest and most varied parking lots you’ve ever seen, plus a short 1-kilometer “access” road for warming up/cooling down.

We split into 2 groups, with one group skiing easy and the other making half the course, then swapping. Once the course was marked, everyone did a few rounds through.

We ended the session with some head-to-head speeds, and pushed through the heat to get them done with the help of Geo’s giant portable speaker blasting aggressive tunes.

The next morning we were up early for arguable the most quintessential workout of Mountain Camp: The Kanc. We rollerski this road every year (the exception being 2020 and 2021 when camp took place within VT for Covid reasons). We’ve learned a lot…from starting high to starting low, from breaking up the group or starting together, from striding to attempting a full double pole…no two Kanc skis are alike.

Starting out at the low, LOW point

Snack break and some lactate testing. Now back to the ski!

This year we turned onto the Kanc road from the stoplight, and took an immediate right-hand turn into the state visitor center. We were starting from the BOTTOM this time, no extra driving.

Every skier started at the lowest possible point, and everyone hit that summit. What a difference from 8 years ago, and a true sign of the concept we first began talking about last year at camp: “raising the floor, not the ceiling” which is a Steve Magness concept. In short, you don’t want to just shoot for achieving some singular lofty goal…you also want to raise your base level. Don’t just raise the ceiling and try to jump to it and reach it: raise the floor (your average) and you’ll have an easier time hitting the ceiling, and can hit it more frequently.

Elsa and Gillian at the top, skiing great and with awesome consistency

It was in the 90s for this workout, but good hydration (and ice cream feeds) helped

There is no speed challenge to the Kanc ski, and there really is no ceiling. You could go down and up from the other side once you do the first side. You could do repeats. You could ski from a different town all the way to the base. Basically, this workout is a direct measure of the floor, since you’re adding to the average/baseline each time to increase the challenge, rather than adding to the top achievement. And having everyone start from the very bottom is a great new baseline for us!

Summit success

Mandatory slushie stop post-Kanc

We refueled with slushies from Cumberland Farms after the Kanc, and then decided that with the van thermometer reading 102 degrees on the drive back, we might want to push the bounding intensity to the following day. Instead, that afternoon we waited a bit longer for the sun to dip down before exploring Cathederal Ledge, the big rock cliff outside downtown North Conway. With a swimming hole at the bottom it was the perfect easier workout: hike/run, nice views, quick dip, back for dinner.

Resident rock climber Pat explored the edge of the ledge

For bounding, we had learned on day 1 that the slopes of Attitash were closed for trail work. So our “usual” workout spot was out. That ended up being fine though, because we got to experience some new trails and exploration. We headed instead to Wildcat, just across from Mt Washington. This mountain had a nice work road for bounding/skiwalking that felt just like Bolton, except about 3x longer and with more consistent grade.

At the top, we split into two groups. One group took the more direct route down the mountain the way we’d come up. The other group took to the Wildcat Valley trail, which is a backcountry ski trail leading off the summit that goes all the way into Jackson XC center. Our houses were located right above Storyland (if yow know the area) so it was a longer, gradual route in the direction of home.

Somehow the timing worked out perfectly, and as we emerged from the woods the group in the van was just going by, and everyone joined back up.

With a knee injury preventing him from bounding, Jonah did some uphill skate intervals on Friday afternoon. It wasn’t just solo though…

Pat and Lorenzo joined him for warmup and cooldown, AND a short group interval to build the hype!

It was then time to talk Presi…this workout has dominated discussion for several years, but provided another learning opportunity/metaphor this time. With a threatening forecast, we made the call on Friday night to seek an alternate hike/run at a different location with less exposure and potentially away from the confluence of jetstreams atop Washington. We ended up planning a 15-ish mile route in Grafton Notch, with an option for adding a 3+ mile out-and-back to a bonus peak at the end for 21-22 miles.

Things got a little muddy for Rye and Geo

It was hard to give up the Presi, especially as the weather looked fine driving right past it on the way to this new hike. But everyone seemed to re-direct their focus. I have now been in enough treacherous situations with ski teams on those peaks to be extra cautious, and I also related the Presi goal to the weight of expectations and preconceptions before a ski race, something I’ve been talking with a few skiers about. If you go into a race with a preconceived notion or how well you’ll do, you can easily get thrown-off by anything that doesn’t align with that perception. The Presi has become so mythical to us that I worry we’ve let it become a defining feature of Mountain Camp as a “failure” or a “success” when in reality we should just be shooting to get in a great long effort.

Anyway, philosophy aside, we ended up with something pretty epic. This Grafton Loop hike was challenging with many ascents and descents, some thick vegetation, and sticky humidity. And at the end, most of the group dropped into the parking lot with that kind of wild energy that only comes from shared passion for adventure, trials and tribulation across high peaks, and way too many gummy bears and caffeine. With internal turbines spun by a powerful flow of endorphins, that additional peak was getting bagged no matter what. It was hard not to feel inspired.

A job complete! The 21+ mile epic in Grafton Notch

With some house cleaning in order, it was a pretty late bedtime for most on Saturday. For Sunday’s final workout, we took a page out of the MNC U camp from a few weeks prior and did a nice easy portion of the classic ski from Lancaster to East Concord. It actually meant that, with the previous day’s hike in Maine, our training took place in 3 different states over the course of this camp!

Skiing back home into VT

One final “van picnic” and we’re headed back home

So with that, Mountain Camp 8 is in the books. Next up, a few weeks of consistent summer work (including Mini Mtn Camp) and then our trip to Utah for some altitude training.

You can view the photo album from this camp at this link!