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!
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