It’s funny to see so many different moods and modes play out at training every week. Sometimes it’s the weather that causes a stir, with rain or sleet making just getting through a workout a chore. Other times it’s the challenge of the intervals or distance that brings out the challenges. The atmosphere can change in an instant and is influenced by a thousand possible factors.
This week there were two distinct days that brought out all sorts of emotions. At first I was motivated to do a fun, cheery blog post all about how great Saturday was. But then I realized that I couldn’t talk about that day without at least going over Thursday in a little bit of detail. Sometimes the best laid plans (or unlaid plans) don’t quite turn out as intended.
At the USSA conferences and presentations this spring, it was suggested that coaches “let the athletes design and carry out a session” as a way of sharing accountability for training, as a teambuilding activity, and as a way to get deeper than just showing up to follow the directions. Coach Dana and I talked about this at Mountain Camp, but we never ended up putting it into practice. There was just so much else going on that it was enough to stick to a plan at all.
But last Thursday, I figured it might be a chance to test out that workout idea. There were several factors that I thought would work in our favor:
-Smaller group size, with no U16s present for this workout. It was only the older Juniors
-An easy workout on the schedule, which wouldn’t involve much “hands-on” coaching regardless
-Myself being with the other summer group at a different location…so it would be even more “hands-off” from my perspective
I left Coach Rosemary and Coach Perry with some loose instructions: the group was to decide among themselves how long they’d ski, how long they’d run, where they’d do each part of the workout, 3 drills to do and why they chose them, etc…I came back from training with the other group that day to find a plethora of disgruntled training log entries that keyed me into how it had actually turned out.
Not surprisingly I think you could say it got into a little “Lord of the Flies” situation. Which isn’t all bad: without struggle or adversity there isn’t usually any change. But the workout got a bit muddled, and the translation that ended up lost was between the desire for group discussion and problem solving, and the feeling of “why aren’t we just training by ourselves if this is how it’s gonna be.”
I realized that what I’d done poorly in planning was to not give enough direction to the coaches, even though there was technically no direction intended. Realistically, I should have described in greater detail WHY we were doing this workout in such a manner, and WHY it was important. Without a reason, a group activity doesn’t feel like a group activity so much as a pop quiz. And with school starting up soon anyway, nobody wanted a pop quiz at ski practice.
It’s pretty cool how quickly things turn around though, especially with this positive and hardworking crew. On Saturday we had some bounding scheduled at Bolton. In the afternoon, an easy double pole in Richmond was on the schedule. I got a message asking if we could offer the option to do the second workout closer to the finish of the first one…maybe just a quick break in town so that there wouldn’t be driving to Bolton, back home, and back to Richmond. I made some changes and sent out a few messages and it sounded like a group was in.
It was a gorgeous day in a week of nice weather, and the bounding was very productive. We found ourselves on a part of the Catamount and V.A.S.T. trail that we’d never explored before during the warmup, partway up the access road by the Sugarhours. We followed trails from there up to Bryant Cabin, where one group did a final interval around Birch Loop in the thick moss and rooty undergrowth feeling very much like a greener and even hillier version of Sweden’s woods.
Warming up on some snowmobile trails deep in the forest
These are some beautiful VT woods if I’ve ever seen them
We gathered back as a group to end the workout, and several in the gang then went to the Richmond Market for snacks and recovery fuel. On this sunny day we all lounged around in the grass on the town green, munching on Goldfish and sipping coffee, before getting ski stuff on and setting off down Cochran Road.
Afternoon workout? Still sunny
A little double pole technique…and then back to the road! People skied longer than initially planned, and it just felt very productive and focused.
All in all, these types of days (the good and the chaotic) serve to show just how strong the power of positivity is. Sometimes it’s about toughing it up and dealing with a workout that doesn’t go as planned, or a workout that wasn’t laid out very well by the coach. And other days, things just come together so well with an easy joy and work ethic. The common factor is a group that’s willing to be a part of it all through both instances.
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