Happy Halloween! We've been rolling along for the past few weeks, and despite some obstacles we've had a really good October. Here are a few highlights:
- Due to a last-minute NCAA rule change, we had to push back our first practice date. Fortunately, our skiers had already been training hard all summer and fall, and a few more days on their own didn't derail them.
- Despite the delay, we were still able to pull off Fall Camp (minus one head coach who was down with covid). Once again, the team headed up to Brooksville for a few days of dryland in an amazing training environment. Day 1 was a rainy run in the Camden Hills, followed by a short afternoon roll. Day 2 was a fun and challenging rollerski interval session and an easy trail run. Day 3 was an OD hike/run - the traditional crown jewel of Fall Camp. The skiers started at the base of Gorham Mountain on the east side of Acadia National Park and hiked/ran across most or all of the peaks on Mt. Desert Island - a fantastic adventure at one of the most beautiful spots in the country. By Day 4, everyone was pretty tired out - after a nice easy rollerski, the crew headed home happy. For the third year in a row, we were hosted by the Eysenbach and Hamill families, who provided incredibly hospitality and delicious meals. We can't thank these two families enough - this camp would not be possible without their support. Shoutout also to Leslie, who led this camp solo for the second time in three years - not an easy task! The team had four days of great training as well as some important conversations and a lot of quality bonding time - just a really successful camp and a great experience for everyone.
- After a quick post-camp reset, it was time for fitness testing, which had been delayed by our late start. This year, we tried something new, trading in the classic Morse Mountain time trial for a standard 3k on the track. It was a bit sad to give up our quirky little run and the traditional post-test beach celebration, but the 3k is logistically much easier, and it's nice to have something a little more standardized. Morgan scorched the track to lead the women in 10:09, just a few seconds off the Bowdoin track & field record - not bad for a ski racer! Sophomore newcomer Lars Sorom led the men with a time of 9:31. Later that afternoon, we were back at it with our 2000m erg test. Once again, we saw a brilliant performance, with Mia setting a team record with a time of 7:53.8. I would never say that a record is unbreakable, because all records get broken eventually, but unless Mia or Morgan breaks this in the next few weeks, I think it's going to stand for a long time. James led the men in 6:52.1, with Zach and Silas also under 7 minutes and first-year Sawyer Chapin just missing by a couple tenths. Overall, the erg times were the most impressive I've ever seen from our team - this group is showing really great upper body power right now, and it'll only get better with a couple months of specific strength work.
- A small but enthusiastic group headed up to Rumford for the Maine Event, a rollerski skills competition hosted by NENSA and Black Mountain. It was a fun change to do this at a new venue with some ups and downs instead of a fully flat loop. The weather was rough - cold rain and high winds - but our skiers did an amazing job of keeping their spirits high and staying positive. Emma and Jori qualified in 2nd and 5th, respectively, and went on to dominate the heats - they both advanced to the final, where Emma narrowly edge Jori for the win. First-year Eli Shifrin won the qualifier by a good margin and was looking unbeatable in the heats until a crash on a wet ramp in the semifinal knocked him out - still an impressive showing. Carson and first-year Mirra Payson each qualified in 6th and were both edged out in the first heat by tough competition. Overall, a great showing by our team, and a surprisingly fun day. I'm incredibly proud of how well our group handled the mental game on this messy weather day - happy people ski faster!
- Along the way, we've done all the usual grind (lifting, rollerboard, spenst, etc) along with several other fun workouts. We tried grass skiing hill sprints for the first time ever - it was a rousing success. We followed these up with a great batch of intervals on perfect pavement by the creamery at Pineland. And last weekend we did the traditional Bradbury to Pineland trail run with minimal getting lost thanks to great navigation by James and Mia. Overall, a fun and productive month despite some small setbacks. We've got some momentum now, and November is shaping up to be a good one - more updates coming soon!
