What a busy week, starting off with specific strength on Tuesday and ending with some very big-scale workouts toward the end of the week.
Thursday, MNC hosted several other groups at the Range for a big rollerski timetrial…with 61 competitors and even more skiers, this might’ve been one of the biggest rollerski gatherings in the area! The day was hot and humid, but the Pugs hit the course and raced alongside the Craftsbury and GMVS summer camps for a grueling 5 or 10k skate race.
Results for the Pugs were mixed, and overall I’m confident in saying it was not our strongest showing as a group. That’s not to overshadow some really strong individual performances, but it would be untrue to say that the results we put up on Thursday accurately demonstrate the work and time this group has put in on the whole this summer. We’ve seen many PR efforts in the double pole test, and saw more PRs and strong first-ever times at Bolton earlier this summer and again just 2 days after the skate timetrial…that, combined with some analysis after Thursday’s race, gives me a clue that we need to work a bit on identifying and sharpening our race-day mentality and preparation. It’s time for a little sports psych discussion and maybe some light homework 🙂
61 racers! Quite a big crew at the Range
The rolling continued the next day with a double pole down in the Charlotte/Shelburne area. As this was my high school and college stomping grounds for summer training, I know all sorts of infinite loops and routes that can be used for any length ski. The group that skied the longest this day did just shy of 25 miles!
Covered bridge tour of Charlotte
On Saturday we ran our Bolton uphill test as our second intensity session of the week. While it was pretty wet and gross out, we did have some brave souls and fast times. At the start and during the warmup, we discussed some mental strategies and ways to tap into a good race mode since identifying that as a goal on Thursday. There were some solid performances, with Aidan notching another PR and Sammie and Ali both running their first uphill test with competitive times. We know we are improving, as these repeatable tests show: now it’s time to take it to the races this winter!
Ford Sayre and soon-to-be SLU skier Tim Cunningham joined the group this week and hit up some of our favorite workouts like Bolton
Group shot atop the chair in the mist
To cap off a long and tough week, we of course ended on a long workout! This was a nice distance cruise, but it still took everyone up a whole lot of hill…the group skied all of Pleasant Valley and even up into Underhill, before heading up Smugglers Notch (with a little extra climb up Road 101, of course). Phew!
Elevation profile of the ski from Will’s Strava…found some hills out there
Also of note…it’s now August if you can believe it, and MNC Fall Training is now LIVE for Juniors and Collegiate athletes! Be sure to sign up for an awesome autumn of hard training and prep for the winter.
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