Mud Pond Combo & Skate at La Range - Pictures

This past Saturday we went out for a rollerski on the roads in Williston, followed by running at Mud Pond. It was a humid and buggy day! However the weather has been exquisite for the past few days - and we had lots of sun at the Range yesterday during our skate workout.

Even though we have a lot of new-comers to rollerskiing, I can already see a lot of improvement this summer. For some, the goals include learning to snowplow, learning to navigate the downhills at the Range, and how to keep the rubber side down. Others are working on more advanced elements of technique. I'm constantly reminded of just how challenging a sport we are in... and even though rollerskiing is like 2nd nature for me (after 20+ years), it is actually insane!! Hmmmm, let's put tiny wheels on a hunk of metal and bomb down hills without brakes - brilliant! Rollerskiing might as well be a different sport - it poses so many new challenges.

Here are some photos from last Saturday and yesterday:

Patrick, Henry, EthanT and Coach Enman working on the tight slalom

Alice and Erin leading a group of girls through some dryland drills

Jordan working on quick feet and agility... by skiing into the grass

Leslie Roberts has come a long way already this summer. Look at that double-pole!!

Lukas from BHS - well known for his jumping ability - working on strength and agility on skis

Autumn and Amy are great training partners - even if they do attend different high schools

Ethan followed by Callie (back from a tough GMVS camp!)

Warming up in Williston.

Liam, Patrick and Ethan representing Essex & SBHS

Running @ Mud Pond with Nigel, Alyssa, Tatum, Claire (behind tree), Lucy and Ben

The "Big Dudes" are too fast to be in focus

Tatum practicing the downhills. She has come a long ways in just 1 month of rollerskiing!

Training July 9 - July 15; skiers at local running races

Scanning results from local running races yesterday, I see that the South Burlington boys were out in full-force at the Clarence DeMar 5km in Grand Isle (organized in part by former SLU Skier Liz Hollenbach and current EABC Coach Eric Tremble). Congrats to Patrick Hickey and Taylor Spillane for representing as nordis! I'd be willing to bet that the overall winner, Stephen Donahue (16:23), is the same Stephen Donahue that used to be a top collegiate skier at Dartmouth in the late-90's.

Also representing MNC were a few athletes and coaches at the Colchester Fun Run - organized by the Mallorys. Ethan Thibault and Nigel Sarrazin (both Colchester HS/MNC) ran around 18:20 for the 3 mile race on a hilly course. Coach Erin Mallory ran with her fiance, and I jumped in with some friends and managed to win in 17:24. Second overall went to former Colchester HS coach (and former Middlebury ski teamer) Kyle Dezotell.

TRAINING NEXT WEEK:

Monday 7/9: 8:30 - 10:30 @ The Range. Classic ski + specific strength.
Wednesday 7/11: 8:30 - 10:30 @ Sleepy Hollow. Running, bounding and games.
Thursday 7/12: 4:30 - 6:30 @ The Range. Skate rollerski + speed.
Saturday 7/14: 9:00 - 11:00ish @ Honey Hollow Road (Bolton). Running/hiking and bounding.

Other upcoming events:

Camel's Hump Hike (mark your calendars!):

• Bring the whole family, bring a friend, bring a friend-of-a-friend
  
• Tentatively scheduled for Sunday August 5th
• Let's see how many people we can get on the summit for a photo!!

Learn to Rollerski Day:

• Saturday 7/21
• 1-3pm
• at CVU high school in Hinesburg
• Bring a helmet and ski boots; we provide the rollerskis!

Rollerskiing and Shooting at the Range w/Algis

Our athletes had the opportunity to get an introduction to biathlon this morning as a part of our training at the Range. In partnership with EABC, the National Guard, and USBA, we had Algis Shalna present to give a basic shooting clinic. It was another perfect day for training!

From what I heard and saw, Amy Bruce was the best shooter -- hitting 9/10 targets. Ethan Thibault was a close 2nd, hitting 8/10! According to Algis, the girls were better shooters than the boys!

Former Olympian Algis Shalna showing how the scope should center on a target

Alice with Leslie and Autumn following

Ethan and Casey followed by Lukas and Thomas - relay races

Sam, Patrick, Craig, Nathanael and Parker working on the core strength

Charlie Maitland still smiling at the end of training

Claire working on keeping the upper body quiet

Erin leads a group of gals doing no-poles

Ethan doing his best to carry a bowl full of water without sloshing it around

Some of the gals shooting

Paul Smith (L) has the J2 boys stretching!!

Lukas and Casey skating

Murray with Olivia and Martina (BKL'ers) working on balance

Rick and Martina Costanza in the background as Olivia Cuneo shoots

Another beautiful day in Vermont!

We had another beautiful day of training this morning in Richmond. The group rollerskied along Cochran Road, working on specific strength and double-pole. After an hour of rolling, the athletes changed into their sneakers to do some trail running along the Winooski River. Towards the end of the workout, most everyone did about 15 minutes of moderate intensity running to work on some leg speed and fitness.

This afternoon is our first "Learn to Rollerski" clinic in Jericho!

Here are some pictures from the past week. Click to enlarge!

Will Solow leading a group of boys on Cochran's Road (6/30)

Nigel and Griffin practicing their double-pole (6/30)

Craig, Parker and Bill practicing their starts

No-pole striding last Saturday in Williston

Amy, Tatum and Anna pausing in the shade!

Rollerski sprints around the penalty loop @ The Range last Thursday

Sam and Liam sprinting.

Training Update and Pictures

Training for next week (July 2 - July 8):

• Monday 8:30 - 10:30am at the Range. Skate rollerski plus intro to biathlon!
• Wednesday - Next Wednesday is the 4th of July and we will not have organized training. Coach Erin Mallory will be at a 5km race in Colchester (longtime Colchester coach Leigh Mallory organizes this event), and I will hopefully be at the GMAA Clarence DeMar 5km race in South Hero. The Clarence DeMar race is organized by Jessica Bolduc and Liz Hollenbach -- both skiers on the NWVE Ski Team! Last year had nearly 400 participants on a flat, fast course.
• Thursday 4:30 - 6:30pm at Charlotte Beach. Skate rollerski.
• Saturday 9:00 - 11:00am at Mud Pond (Williston). Classic roll + running.

Pictures from the past week or two:

Sunday morning ride in Shelburne. Jake Hollenbach chucking the deuces up! (6/3)

At least 2 junior national champs in this photo! (6/3)

Lukas, Casey, Ethan and Jordan getting their bound on (6/27)

Charlie Cobb under the eye of coach Paul Smith (6/20)

Getting ready to ride...skies clearing (6/3)

Coach Alice Nelson leading some bounding drills with the gals (6/20)

Eli, Alice and Murray leading core (6/20)

Ending training with capture the flag! (6/27)

First official day of summer training. (6/18)

Leslie Roberts sent all those other people to jail (6/27)

Patrick Hickey smiling and Sam Longenbach exploding (6/27)

Forrest Hamilton leading a group doing plyos (6/20)

Looking across Shelburne Bay towards BURLINGTRON - THE CITY OF THE FUTURE (6/3)

Schools (almost) Out For Summer!

As school and spring sports draw to a close, our MNC training group is growing. We are up to 37 athletes registered for summer training - and we've already been meeting 1-3x / week for the past 5 weeks.

Summer Training Schedules:
Please use this weblog as your first point of reference for our summertime training. I will update this site on a weekly basis with info regarding locations and formats for the following week of training.

June 18 - June 24:
Monday @ Range, 8:30 - 10:30am. Classic rollerskiing + specific strength.
Wednesday @ Range, 8:30 - 10:30am. Skate rollerski + bounding/running.
Thursday (Comp Team) @ Shelburne, 4:30 - 6:30pm. Skate rollerski + speed.
Saturday @ Mud Pond (Williston), 9:00 - 11:00am. Classic roll + run.

...

Yesterday was a combined rollerski and strength test day. Eric Tremble from the EABC took our group to do some fitness and strength testing. Below are a few pictures:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qga5eONXU_4

Skiers REPRESENT at Track & Field State Champs

I caught a few events at the State Championship meet this morning, which had skiers written all over it.

Copley in the lead at 350m. Jordan Lamay in 4th (also blue/white singlet)

Autumn Eastman (CVU) came through in 3rd place in the 1500m, along with other skiers in the B-finals Riley Carbone (MMU), Kathryn Maitland (CVU) and Acadia Dinardo (MMU).

Brendan Copley (Colchester) lead most of the 1500m A-finals, eventually finishing 2nd in 3:58.88. The winner broke a 26 year old State Record in a time of 3:57.4 or so. Other top skiers were also in that event, including Jordan Lamay (Colchester / Mansfield Nordic Club, 7th overall), Jake Van Buren (Burlington HS, 8th overall) and Jack Hegman (MMU / Burke Mtn / UVM, 9th overall).

Jake Van Buren (3rd from right) and Jack Hegman (far left) in the 1500m

I saw lots of other skiers warming up and cooling down, including Sam Longenbach, Emmett Peterson and Sean Delaney (all CVU / MNC).

Monday Training 6/4:

• 4:30 - 5:45 at the Range
• Running + skate rollerskis
• Led by Erin Mallory

Wednesday Training 6/6:

• 4:00 - 6:00 at the Range
• Running + classic rollerskis
• Led by Paul Allison (Mr. 2:36 Marathoner) and Murray

Week of 6/11 - 6/17:

• tentatively Monday 6/11, 4-6pm at the Range
• tentatively Wednesday 6/13, 4-6pm at the Mills Riverside Park