December Wrap

December is always a funny month for our team.  In a perfect world, we'd hit the training pretty hard, but in the real world we have a lot of things to work around.  Everyone's usually a bit worn after a long semester, and the academic load is pretty heavy in the final weeks of the semester, so we train as best we can and then send the skiers home for break.  Even so, there's always some good odds and ends happening in December.  Here are a few of our highlights:

- 15/20k not-race threshold session at Ridge Road.  This workout has become a tradition over the last few years - the goal is to get a feel for the full distance and pacing of a 15/20k race without taking it that last step and shouldering the full load of a long race effort.  The skiers are under strict orders not to turn it into a race, and these days they more or less obey, with perhaps a bit of gamesmanship in the final kilometer.  We had a beautiful day for this workout - sunny and crisp but not too cold - and the team had a really quality session.

- Aquathalon.  Eight or nine of our skiers joined the annual swim/run showdown between the swim and track teams - a fun outside-the-box chance to get some race prep.  I couldn't be there to watch, but by all reports the skiers held their own.  Sounds like most of our people flailed in the pool but kinda sorta made up for their lack of technique with sheer fitness and willpower.

- Return of the weight drag.  By popular request, we brought back an old workout that's become a bit of legend.  After a short session the skiers quickly remembered why we retired it.

- Quarry Road Opener.  Our last team session of the semester was a 5k skate race at Quarry Road.  Colby was there, of course, along with a good number of junior and master skiers.  The competition was made even more fearsome by the presence of Bowdoin Nordic alum and Colby assistant coach Jackson Bloch '15.  Undaunted, our men took 4 of the top 5 spots, with Elliot and Christian going 1-2.  Gabby led the women in 3rd, with Sara, Ellie, and Renae not far behind.

- Canmore Paralympic races.  While most of the team was racing at Quarry Road, Jake flew across the continent to compete in a couple of Paralympic races to officially qualify him for the 2018 Games.  Just barely off the plane, he managed a 4th in the classic sprint and a 5th in the 10k skate.

- SuperTour.  Kaitlynn Miller '14 won the classic sprint in the Sovereign Lakes SuperTour event.  She's currently 2nd in the overall SuperTour standings.

For the last couple weeks everyone's been off for Winter Break - training hard and enjoying the holidays.  It's quiet here on campus, but it won't be for long.  We'll start up team practices again after New Year's, and by the end of the week we'll have almost everyone back.  Can't wait to get started!