In case you’ve been wondering, the humidity we had the last week has been unequivocally kicking my butt. I am finally starting to wrap my mind around the fact that every time I train I will likely need to jump into a river afterwards. Don’t worry, I’m definitely ok with that…especially since the training that we’ve been doing has been going really well! I’m psyched with the training group we have here and we have been doing a lot of quality speed work, agility practice, L3 intervals as a group and technique work with the video that Pat gives us on the daily.
At the moment I have a Cheshire cat grin on because I am writing this from my new computer! After my old PC crashed and I found myself dealing with over 2 weeks of not having a computer (which, it turns out, really isn’t that fun), I got my new Mac set up. I’m pretty psyched with it. In even bigger news, our SMST2 team grew by one for the next 2 months! Ian Torchia is PG-ing with us for the summer before he heads to NMU next year. It’s always great to have new faces and more training buddies around, and it’s going to be fun showing him Vermont while he’s here.
I was looking for the right words to explain to Ian why exactly he was going to be so psyched on spending a couple months out here, and I realized I couldn’t do it with only a couple sentences. I needed a top-10 list. So without further fluff, from the eyes of a self-proclaimed “East Coast Rookie”, here are some of the very best parts of being out east and living in Southern Vermont. If you are coming to visit, here’s a handy checklist you can take with you.
1. Go hike up one of the green mountains! If you happen to be a chick, do this hike with the Summit Sisters! This is a hiking group the SMST2 women started this summer, and we are leading hikes up different peaks in Vermont. It’s for all girls of all ages and abilities. We just had our first hike today, and it was really fun to meet more of the community and see new faces! I also got well acquainted with the girls from “Girls On The Run”, and by the end of the hike I had myself a new nickname…turkey-jurkey-Jessie. In case you couldn’t tell, we all got kinda hungry by the time we’d hiked Styles Peak and come back down!
The Summit Sisters hiking group at the top of Styles Peak
Hiking is very serious business…sort of…
These little newts are everywhere!
The top of Styles!
2. Go get lunch from the Hapgood store in Peru, Vermont. It’s been around since 1827, which is pretty sweet. If you want to get hippie with it, sit out on the sunny deck while drinking their Kombucha on tap from a mason jar. Smile and enjoy.
3. While we’re on the hippie thread…check out Wanderlust. It’s happening at the town of Stratton right now and I’ve never seen so many crazy styles of yoga pants wandering around before.
4. Run a segment of the AT trail. It’s a really beautiful way to see more of the woods, and the time flies by as you’re scrambling around rocks, hopping streams and dodging roots.
The trails are incredibly, impossibly green!
5. After a run or hike, find a good cold body of water to jump in. I recommend the Stratton Snowmaking Pond, Little Rock pond if you’re into cliff jumping, or Pikes Falls if you want to stand under a chilly waterfall.
The crew last summer at the snowmaking pond: Chase, Erik, Ben, Andy and Erika
6. Go to the local fair (we like the Bondville fair) and watch the tractor and truck pulls. For bonus points, show up in overalls, a hat and boots!
7. Get on the “selfie” bandwagon and take one at the top of a mountain. There are so many and because they’re covered in trees they might not look as epic as the ones you typically see on postcards when you’re standing on the bottom, but the view from the top is well worth it. #fitness! #hiking #sweatingalot
Warning: you will get muddy when running on the east coast in the fall
8. Accept the fact that you will not pronounce things the way locals do. (This is especially true if you’re from the Midwest.) If you ask for a “pop” you probably won’t receive a fizzy drink. And then accept the fact that you will never have so many awesome varieties of maple syrup to chose from again.
9. Get into, embrace and love the small towns spaced out one every 20 miles or so. They are awesome and have some great character.
The Londonderry 4th of July Parade
10. Last but not least…jump in for a workout with the SMST2 team, of course! (you saw that one coming, right?)
SMST2 training with the SMS juniors at the school (photo by Sverre Caldwell)
