Split Squad Weekend

Two different directions for the team this weekend.  Ian took a group up to Fort Kent for our 2nd annual County Camp.  They did a 10k skate time trial with UMPI and a couple OSI athletes - good tough competition.  Sean was our fastest guy in 2nd place overall, and Rachel won the women's race - small but comptitive!  They rounded out the week with lots of good skiing on the 10th Mountain Division rollerski loop and some biathlon training - second time this fall we've practiced our shooting skills!  Walt Shepard would be proud.  Nice training weekend at a great venue - thanks to Seth Hubbard of OSI for hosting the team and Tim Whiton of UMPI for setting up the time trial!

The rest of us stayed home and did a time trial of our own - 10k skate at Lewis Hill Road on a bright sunny day.  Renae looked sharp and V2ed up just about everything - really nice high energy skiing and the fastest women's time.  Another bright spot was watching Lily hanging onto Ellie for the whole race after being passed around the 3k mark.  It's invaluable for experience and confidence when a skier can find the strength to stay with a faster racer and I absolutely love seeing it.  The only two men, Cirque and Luca, both battled hard, with Cirque slightly ahead at the finish.  Great to see these two guys coming back into form after injuries and illness compromised their seasons last year.  Really nice skiing overall.

A few members of the at-home group rounded out the weekend with a quick overnight trip to the Bigelow Preserve - a little camping on the shores of Flagstaff Lake and a nice hike up Avery Peak on Sunday.  Good times to wrap up a good week of training.  Now we just need to get a few people rested and healthy to get this team at full strength!