Last of the Fall

It's been a beautiful fall here in Brunswick - mild temps, not much rain, and surprisingly long-lasting colors.  Last week we made the most of it with some high-volume training - we spent a lot of quality time outside doing a series of long workouts with some specific strength and threshold mixed in.  We finished the weekend with an OD rollerski/run - here are the women post-workout on the Pineland trails (photo courtesy of Shelby):

I'm really happy with how everything has gone so far - the skiers have done a great job of executing the workouts and staying focused, and I think the overall fitness is very good at this point.  Now we're taking a big rest week before we head into the "early darkness" phase of the season.  Time trials, lots of intensity, and Thanksgiving Camp are right around the corner, but for now we're taking it easy.

2012 Phil Soule Phlail

On Sunday we hosted the 7th Annual Phil Soule 5k Phlail, our annual Homecoming race in honor of the legendary Bowdoin coach Phil Soule.  After a rainy week, we were lucky to get a beautiful sunny day for the race.  We had a great turnout, with 131 finishers - a good mix of alumni, students, and community members.  Our numbers were no doubt boosted by the Dri-Fit t-shirts that we gave to the racers, courtesy of a generous anonymous donor.  Eric Sofen '07 of Seattle won the men's race, with Morgan Lake-Adams of Portland winning the women's event.  Michael Costello '04 of New York City was the top alumni lineman.  Overall, a great day and a very successful event.  Thanks to all who participated!

Results and Photo Gallery

Pineland Sprint

After coming back from Acadia, we jumped right into an intensity week, with three VO2max workouts in a 4 day span:  classic intervals up Gloucester Hill, double pole intervals on Highland, and bounding intervals at Bradbury.  We finished the week with a skate sprint time trial with Colby (and one Bates skier) at Pineland.  We used the same format as we did for our sprint TT with Bates last year - prelim, then heats with the skiers matched up against others of similar speed (ie, 1-4, 5-8, 9-12).  In the ensuing 3 heats, the top skier moved up and the bottom skier dropped down, which gave everyone something to race for.  Despite coming off of several days of hard training, our skiers gave a good account of themselves.  Shelby won the prelim by a wide margin and dominated all 3 of her heats, and Tyler quickly worked his way up to the top heat and stayed there, finishing 3rd in the final round.  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised - we're looking much sharper than usual at this time of year.  So far, so good!

Here are results for the prelim:

Nick	Michaud	Bates	2:54
John	Dixon	Colby	3:02
Henry	Austin	Bowdoin	3:05
Tyler	DeAngelis	Bowdoin	3:08
Chris	Burnham	Colby	3:08
Jake	Barton	Colby	3:11
Jordan	Richmond	Bowdoin	3:11
Jared	Supple	Colby	3:13
James	Crimp	Bowdoin	3:14
Calvin	Wight	Colby	3:20
Jackson	Bloch	Bowdoin	3:22
Jonah	Belk	Colby	3:32
Shelby	Aseltine	Bowdoin	3:30
Sarah	Brockett	Colby	3:40
Jenna	Hill	Colby	3:42
Emma	Donohoe	Colby	3:44
Hannah	Marshall	Bowdoin	3:48
Olia	Golovkina	Colby	3:49
Kim	Bourne	Colby	3:49
Stephanie	Lynn	Bowdoin	3:51
Tess	Hamilton	Bowdoin	3:52
Molly	Susla	Colby	3:57
Sierra	Frisbie	Bowdoin	4:01
Alice	Hotopp	Colby	4:11
Abigail	Mahoney	Bowdoin	4:52

Acadia 2012

 Last weekend was Fall Camp in Acadia.  For the third time in the past 4 years, we headed up to Trenton to stay at the Askins family camp.  Our first stop was Bald Mountain in Dedham, where we did a tough bounding workout - 30 seconds bounding up alternating with 30 seconds of an easy walk/jog down.  After a joyous reunion with Maren (just back from New Zealand), we did an easy recovery run around Witch Hole Pond in the park and then enjoyed a fantastic pasta dinner prepared by Joanna and Greg.

The next day was our big run/hike over several peaks - Gorham, Champlain, Dorr, Cadillac, and Pemetic, with some adding on both Bubbles at the end.

 The mountains of Acadia are small - Cadillac is just over 1500 feet - but they're rugged, with lots of roots, rocks, and steep slopes.

We also enjoyed some stellar views - nothing better than an October hike overlooking the ocean.

We wrapped up the day with a mini golf game featuring 5 holes-in-one (4 by Tyler and 1 by Hannah Marshall) and another delicious dinner cooked by our hosts.  Thus fortified, the team was able to rally for another long workout on Monday - a run on the Around the Mountain loop.  This is a roughly 11-mile loop on the Acadia carriage road, with some very long, steady climbs.  Not content with this level of challenge, the team added on some extra distance - the boys intentionally, the girls by accident.  Nonetheless, everyone finished the workout looking fresh, putting a nice cap on the weekend.  Overall, a great camp - three long days of quality training with lots of positive energy.  Thanks so much to the Askins family for making it possible once again!

 Descent from Dorr Mountain.

 Happy hands on Gorham Mountain.

 Girls at the peak of Pemetic(?)

This little pond between Gorham and Champlain was one of the most gorgeous spots of the trip.

The boys and Steph hiked east-west, while the girls and Mike hiked west-east.  We ran into each other on the side of Dorr Mountain for this charming photo op.

A mysterious group of hikers atop an unknown peak.

Bike Path TT & More Fitness Testing

More fitness testing this week - we did a low box jump test and a 200m sprint on the ergs.  Tyler and Steph were tops in the jump test, with James just ahead of Jordan in the erg sprint and Emma and Steph tied.  It was good to get a clearer picture of people's strengths and weaknesses - we'll make some small adjustments to individual training plans to try to address any problem areas.

We also did our bike path time trial - a 4.2k skate, and deceptively hard - the path is very gently rolling, so you're working pretty much the whole time.  Shelby absolutely crushed it, while Tyler was the top man.

We'll do a specific strength workout this afternoon, and then we're off to Acadia for fall camp!

Morse Mountain 2012

At last, we're underway.  We started out with fitness testing on Saturday - after a one-year hiatus, the Morse Mountain time trial is back (at least until I find something better).  Very solid effort all around - at first glance, it looks like the team as a whole is fairly fit, despite a number of injury/illness issues plaguing our women's team.  Times were a bit tighter than usual - everyone reasonably close, with no one off the back - which was encouraging.  Congratulations to James for breaking Chris Sanville's 4-year-old team record!  Good start to the season, completed with a dip in the balmy Atlantic for the bolder members of our group.


RESULTS

Women
Tess	7:20
Shelby	7:40
Emma	7:54
Lucy	8:00
Abigail	8:02
Steph	8:03
HannahM.	8:17
Eva	8:17
Men
James	5:34
Henry	6:05
Jackson	6:20
Jordan	6:26
Tyler	6:32