You know you just survived an intensity week when every step out of bed brings groans, ever reach downward to put on a shoe or ski boot feels like a gnarly hamstring stretch, and washing your hair sends sharp pain through your shoulders.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to achieve all desired soreness from your intensity week:
1) Start off with a double pole test, then more intervals on top of that, and then go to the gym to do a Canadian Strength Test
The double pole test was an absolute destruction-zone of previous PRs and fast times. The archive showed a massive improvement for so many in the group, and after a long period of time it is exciting to announce that the records have fallen! Olivia set a new women’s club record, while Elliott Ketchel, Will, and Greg ALL went under the previous course record which had stood since 2014.
PRs for Ben C, Will, Aidan, Kai, Magda, Julia, Marika, Hanna, Meredith, and Ava…phew! We also got a lot of footage since GMVS joined us for the test. Colin, Andy, and Perry all had the cameras rolling so most skiers have clips of beginning, middle and end!
But we weren’t done after the DP test. We then went to the gym and took on the Canadian Strength Test. This is a test used by many of the college ski teams and Juniors around the country (and, I can only assume, in Canada as well). The test is simple but brutal: one minute on, one minute off, for ten minutes. As many of the following as you can in each respective “on” minute:
-Pullups
-Situps
-Pushups
-Box Jumps
-Dips
Everyone partnered up and pushed hard. Ali, Aidan, and Magda will do this test as part of the National U16 Camp they qualified for in a few weeks, so part of the plan was to get a test in so it’s not such a shock at the main event. But of course, we all should take part in the fun (including Adam and Sara). Here’s a spreadsheet of results. MNC Juniors or Masters, if you want to do this test on your own just have a partner to validate and send in your scores to add to the sheet!
2) Easy days stay easy!
On Wednesday we set out for a trail run, but as you can imagine most everyone woke up feeling like they got “hit by a bus” as Jenny put it. The first few minutes of running were excruciating but luckily we made sure to do our Morning Sport exercises (mobility, dynamic stretching, and more) to get ourselves loosened up. Still, it’s worth noting that for us a nice easy trail run is about 12-14 min/mile pace and we’re just fine with that!
3) Towing and mass starts
Time for towing after an easy day Wednesday! We like to use old bike tubes and tow partners for some specific strength, and also to get the hips forward and powerful. We usually do a bit more of this in the fall, but we’ve started earlier this year and we’re already looking strong and powerful. Usually every 2 weeks in the fall we increase the length of the towing “course” and this year will be no different.
We ended the session with some mass start practice! It’s been awesome to have 20+ skiers at the Range pretty much every Tuesday/Thursday. So with a big group, how can you NOT make it exciting and work on those close-quarters mass start situations?
4) Bolton test, round 2 of Summer 18
It was a hot and sunny day for the second round of our Bolton uphill run test. About 1.4 miles of all uphill gravel terrain from the Vista base are to the summit just past the wind turbine. This test is just short enough (14-20 minutes) to mean there isn’t much pacing involved, but long enough to be a full effort on your engine for pushing the limits.
A glance back in the records show that this is the biggest group we’ve had for the test in quite some time: a good indicator of how strong the motivation is with this group, since often the uphill run test is one of the more dreaded things we do all year. We also were joined by MNC Master skier Michael Gaughan who is part of a growing group of Masters prepping for Climb to the Castle in September.
Bolton Historical Record (bottom tabs for individual tests/athlete record)
There was a PR performance by nearly everyone, and Rose smashed the course record by 50 seconds to earn a pint of Ben and Jerry’s on Tuesday! Rose and Meredith took the top honors in most-improved as well, with Dith knocking 1:24 off her previous best time and crossing the line under 19 in only her second test ever. Also PR runs from Sammie, Ben Carnahan, Dakota, Julia, Jenny, and Marika. Charles took the win in the men’s race with an impressive 14:45, going under 15 in what was his first uphill test ever!
Shout-out to the hiker who took our group photo!
Girls team gettin RAD this summer
5) Long skis and summer swimming
On Sunday we geared up again for another favorite session; our long ski in Milton down to the shores of Lake Champlain and back to the Lelito house for lunch and a swim. The girls ended up skiing 20 miles and the guys 30 on a hot, sunny day. With the combination of heart-rate monitors, vests, and water belts there were a lot of interesting tan lines after the 2-3 hours endeavor.
Kai rolling along the shoreline
Magda, Ali, Julia, Meredith on some pretty perfect-looking rollerski roads
Thanks to the Lelito family for hosting us after for lunch and a swim. Next up, be sure to make sure you’re registered for the App Gap Challenge rollerski race in 2 weeks! We’re looking to have a BIG club presence there for such a cool event. Find more HERE.
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