Penny Rd Time Trial & Exams

We wrapped up fall semester practices with a classic time trial on Penny Rd to close out our intensity week - 4.5k of rolling climbs to the top of Gloucester Hill.  It was a messy day - temps in the 30s with intermittent cold rain.  The roads were covered with fresh sand - a pre-emptive strike against snow and ice that never materialized.  So, not the greatest conditions for fast skiing, but a good chance to practice racing in tough conditions.  The skiers did a nice job - no complaints, just focused warmup and a solid race effort.  Kaitlynn had arrived in town the day before, having just gotten off the plane from Svalbard - she crushed the time trial with an impressive performance under tough conditions.  She's clearly in great shape despite her somewhat unorthodox training situation in Svalbard (eg, skiing in a roadside ditch, training with a shotgun on her back, occasional week-long research cruises, not seeing the sun for 2 months, etc).  Kevin was the top man - even though he's done minimal rollerskiing this summer and fall, his fitness is outstanding after a season of XC racing.  I should also mention that Coach Mike posted a faster time than any of the athletes - he's at that nice point in his coaching career where experience and residual fitness allow him to compete with the athletes despite sporadic training.  I miss those days...  Overall, a solid workout despite the nasty, nasty conditions (the skiers were little icicles by the time they finished their cool down - luckily no one came down with pneumonia in the days following).

After a pleasant recovery run at Bradbury on Sunday, team training for 2012 was over.  Now the skiers are working their way through exams and trying to get as much rest as possible.  We'll get back together on January 2nd to start our final push before the carnival season starts - until then, hopefully everyone will have a couple restful weeks with some good training at home.  I'll post a few updates with race results from the Craftsbury Eastern Cups, US Nationals, and any other races that people can dig up.