It’s my third year as part of the SMST2 Team, but instead of things settling down and getting ho-hum, I feel like this new and revised version of the team is making the summer training more exciting than ever! We’ve had some changes this year, including the roster, living situation, workout formats, and social media (wait, what? Yes, it’s almost too good to be true).
We have a new team website: http://smst2.wordpress.com/ Now we have a new way to connect with the community and post the latest news! Check the website often for new blog posts, community involvement, upcoming projects and dates (like our Women’s Hiking group led the by the SMST2 girls, or an upcoming Fast and Female event). We also have a new Facebook page, Twitter Account and Instagram, all under SMST2xc.
We have a team roster full of returning faces, and some new ones. The biggest changes from last year include Pat O’Brien signing on as our new head coach to replace Gus Kaeding, Ben Saxton joining the team (he was a PG last year) and Eric Packer leaving the team. For fun facts, photos and stats on the team, visit our website: http://smst2.wordpress.com/the-team/
Our lovely quote of the day message board
One awesome situation happening here is where we are living for the summer and fall. We once again have been fortunate enough to have members of the community donate the use of their houses for the summer. It’s so awesome to be able to cook for ourselves and feel comfortable and at home, and the location right in Stratton is perfect for training. We have great roller skiing right out the door, and flatter routes for recovery days but also some monster hills that are perfect for challenging workouts. There’s also the AT trail right in our backyard, so long trail runs are never boring!
Annie, Simi and Sophie dishing up dinner. I love our family meal time!
Perhaps the thing I love the most is that we all function so well as a family, and we train together, cook great food from our CSA together, and live together but we also recognize when it’s time to have personal space. If someone needs to go do a workout on their own to have time to think, that’s totally fine, no questions asked.
I think a key to a team running smoothly is that everyone on the team has an important role to play, whether they are the motivator, the tech-guru, the person who gets in your face and yells during strength, the planner, or the person who gets everyone out the door on time. I’m pretty certain that my role is the same one played by Olaf the Snowman from “Frozen”…boundless hugs and optimism right up to the point of being annoying.
Ben setting the chill vibes for the morning training session
Andy showing us some style while skating backwards
Ben, Soph, Me and Simi picking up fresh good food from the Earth Sky Time CSA
This week, things have taken a turn for the worse better soggy. It’s been misting and raining all week, which, aside from making us feel a little tougher when we come back from a workout dripping wet and making the mud room smell like wet dog, has resulted in a lot of blisters. It’s also made for some really beautiful skis as everything is springing to life and I can now appreciate the subtle differences between 50 shades of green.
The start of our uphill running TT – a tough workout but more fun to run with others! (photo by Sverre Caldwell)
We did some awesome double pole intervals today with the SMS Juniors, and it was one of the more efficient workouts ever despite the potential for things to go horribly wrong as about 4 poles baskets were snapped in the first 10 minutes. Pat had the van and pole kit on hand, and he got us back on track. We were doing anywhere from 3-6 by 8 minutes L3 double-pole only, and we had a variety of terrain to chose from.
Everyone getting the workout outline from the coaches: 3-6x8min L3 double poling, jump in behind the older kids whenever possible! (photo by Sverre Caldwell)
Often times, people only go uphill during intervals and I think that’s a big mistake. I mean, think about it: if the start and finish line of a race are in the same stadium, then half your race is downhill. You need to learn to be efficient at high speeds as well as just grinding uphill! So some of our intervals were on the flats, some were on a slight downhill and some snaked up a hill that changed pitch every 100 meters so you had to be constantly adjusting your technique. We would begin each interval together, and the juniors could jump in for as long as they wanted, and although people would inevitably spread out by the end of each interval we would regroup and start all together again.
Starting up an interval: me, Annie P. Anne H, Erika, Katherine, and Sophie skating it out (broken elbow still healing!) Photo by Sverre Caldwell
Simi, Ben and Koby rounding the corner to start the uphill part of their interval (photo by Sverre Caldwell)
The way our workouts are scheduled is similar to a full-time training camp. All our “key” sessions; speeds, intensity, strength, over-distance are all lined up so we can do them together, with some room for flexibility because everyone’s training plan is a little different. We join the SMS Juniors at least 3 times a week, and they can jump in behind us for intervals or speeds to learn from older skiers. As a warmup before strength sessions, we split into groups and the SMST2 skiers lead the juniors through agility, mobility and balance exercises.
I absolutely love it when we get to work with the junior skiers, not only because I like them and I think they are fun to hang around but also because when I’m passing along tips and technique help it feels like I’m able to help someone else get one step closer to their goals. And that’s an awesome feeling. The Juniors don’t know it yet but they are also helping us older skiers get closer to our goals as well! In order to teach someone technique, it forces you to have a pretty good grasp of what you’re doing, and it helps you remember the important points. In other words, we are all going to push each other to get better all summer long!
