With Junior Nationals in Lake Placid this coming spring, many skiers have taken to using the hashtag #roadtolp to tag their training and preparation for the event. This past weekend, a few hardy Pugs floated over to NY on the #boattolp, also known as the Charlotte Ferry, for a weekend training/camping adventure.
cruising across the lake
After a morning of rollerski biathlon races in Jericho (congrats Eliza, Timmy, and Marika!) the crew united at Buffalo Wild Wings. Together Adam, Ethan, Greg, Alex, Liam and Aidan left VT behind and met up with NYSEF skier Henry McGrew at the base of Whiteface Mountain. First, the GoPro aka “Footy-Getter” was installed on the side mirror of the car:
#footyfortheboys
After a solid warmup with a few running and striding drills, the crew tackled the 3 miles of consistent uphill grade provided by the Whiteface Toll Road. The workout: 20 x 1 min L4 striding, with 1 min recovery. It seems easy at first, having full recovery for an interval only a minute long…but as the lactate builds and the fatigue sets in, it’s harder and harder to keep good technique. Luckily, with coach driving alongside in the car to yell encouragement and technique advice, the productivity can be pretty solid. Plus, the Footy-Getter managed to score some sweet clips:
getting some elevation under us!
As we skied higher and higher into a dense fog, the reflective vests were distributed and the soaking grew more heavy. Everyone was finished with the workout before the biggest downpour, when Liam and Ethan returned to VT and Henry returned home. That left Greg, Aidan, Alex and Adam to set up for the night at a nearby campground.
MNC basecamp
After a luxurious sit-down dinner at one of Lake Placid’s finer dining establishments, Mr Mikes Pizza, we ventured next door to the dingy arcade at BowlWinkles. Alex and Aidan got seriously sendy with the Hydro Thunder boat race simulator, while Greg put his baseball skills to work by scoring piles of tickets at the Skee-Ball machine.
pitching some high scores
After a night in the tents highlighted by downpours and aggressively loud drivers 40 feet from the campsite, we woke up to more rain and dreary skies. With the poor food choices of the previous day still rumbling in everyone’s stomachs, Adam made the executive decision that breakfast would be a healthy mix of bagels, Greek yogurt, granola, and fruit.
We changed plans a bit, and did not end up hiking Whiteface as initially planned: with the threat of thunderstorms still possible, we figured hanging out at 4,000ft might be an issue. Instead, we drove over to the Olympic trails at Van Ho for a distance run on the trails to be used for Junior Nationals. We ran Ladies 5k (the primary race loop) and talked about strategies to approach the course, along with some good banter on training in general. Since Van Ho was Adam’s “home course” for 7 years, there was some good discussion of tactics and trail awareness. We also ran over to the bobsled track, and through the tunnels to the biathlon range.
It wasn’t the nicest weather, and it wasn’t the most comfortable lodging, but we were able to get out of town for 24 hours and get in some cool workouts which helped change up the vibe and get us thinking about the winter ahead!
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