Snow, sort of

Snow yesterday, and more on the way. Yesterday the early crew found 3 or 4 inches on the trails at Pineland and more falling - a bit sloppy, but great skiing after the groomer came around. It was heavy, wet stuff that changed to sleet by the end of practice and rain by the end of the day. Classic coastal Maine storm. This morning it's raining lightly, but it's supposed to change back to snow later and leave us with another 4-8 inches. Sweet - we should be all set for a while.

This messy weather has been playing havoc with the Dartmouth Carnival. Things looked hopeful last weekend - then, with rain in the forecast, they announced on Monday that the races would be moved to Stowe for the fourth year in a row. Unexpectedly, Oak Hill got 6 inches on Monday night, with more in the forecast, so yesterday they reversed course and moved the races back to Hanover. Pretty frustrating for those of us making travel plans, but in the end I'm glad - Hanover is much closer, and Oak Hill has a fun, hard course that no one on our team has ever raced on (in college, at least). Good climbs and technical downhills.

These next few weeks should be good for us. We're starting a taper, with a significant drop in volume - 2 rest days a week now. Our intensity focus is on short, fast intervals - stuff that should get people feeling sharp but not tired. Months of planning and training are coming to a head here - it's an exciting time. We'll definitely see a bounce in the next few weeks - when it happens and how high it is depends on how solid the plan is and how well we execute.