First Ski of the Season!

by Elyse, Sarah H, Liza, Tucker, and Caitlin
With last night’s early snow, most of the team headed up to the fields of Lyme for the first ski of the year. It was very cold (32 degrees - ed) and windy (northwest under 10 mph) but there was a very good view (verified - see team picture). There was grass poking through and the snow was heavy and wet, sticking to the skis, making gliding hard.  But, after a few laps, the feeling started to come back and everyone began to enjoy themselves.  Everyone had a few falls so it was quite easy to remember how eating snow felt.  The team skied around two fields for an hour and a half and then went to Scottie's house for a post ski treat.

Coaches Keeping Busy

The season of meetings and organizing continues... nothing here deserving of a picture, but I hear there will be photos posted shortly of last night's first-of-the-season backyard skiing!

Last Thursday evening, Dennis and I went to the New Hampshire Nordic Coaches Association fall meeting at Moultonborough Academy.  With a new president who is reaching out to all athletic directors and coaches throughout the state, it was the largest turnout in years!  There are many great initiatives underway, including a move of the NH Series races to late January/mid-February.  This shift will allow more ski time before the races, and holding these qualifying races closer to the J2 and EHSC championship events has been a goal for years.  There is also a move to take a more regional approach to the high school racing schedule to minimize travel costs and missed school.  Look for cross-division (may also include prep schools) Regional Championships in early February.  For the Connecticut Valley region, this event is likely to be in the Upper Valley!

Sunday afternoon/evening, Dennis, Tim, Dave & Nancy Lindahl, and I attended the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum's Hall of Fame induction dinner at Killington.  John Morton, long-time teammate of Dennis's and men's coach during Dave's and my years at Dartmouth, was one of this year's inductees.  There was a strong Upper Valley/Ford Sayre contingent there to celebrate with him!

Tuesday evening brought a USSA coaches' education webinar on "Effects of Altitude on Training and Performance."  Take-aways from the 90min presentation... the most important things a sea-level athlete can do to prepare for competition at altitude are stay hydrated and stay healthy... and Dennis will need to 'live high, train low' to be ready for his duties as a NE Junior Nationals coach in Utah!

Alum Update: Chelsea

an update from Chelsea Little... from Eugene OR (click any photo to view a larger version)

Hi everyone! I’m a Ford Sayre alum that many of you have seen kicking around on the Eastern race circuit for the last few years, first skiing for Dartmouth and then the Craftsbury Green Racing Project. At the end of last season, I decided not to continue as a ski racer, and so now I’m being forced to grow up and get a real job! Although negotiating municipal water and electric bills and not having my dad around to help me troubleshoot car problems has been a big change, it’s actually pretty fun, so here’s a little update.

I moved all the way across the country to Eugene, Oregon, where I am working as a research assistant in the biology department of the University. I studied ecology at Dartmouth and did a lot of field research there, so it feels great to get back into science.

It’s nice to like your job, but the best thing about Oregon is that there is a ton to do outside, especially in the summer. I have been on some amazing hikes up big volcanoes, a great backpacking trip in a national wildlife refuge, some summer skiing, and plenty of trail running. It’s a little strange after so many years of training to know that I am only getting more out of shape with every day that goes by, but I’m still fit enough to do the hikes and runs that I love so I can’t really complain.

One of the most fun things I got to do this summer was the Hood to Coast relay, which I think is the biggest running relay in the world. It’s like Reach the Beach, but bigger – there are over 12,000 people racing! The relay is 200 miles long, and the twelve people on each team run three legs each. I managed to sneak in with a group of runners from Eugene and Portland and we had a great time. We all ran in red dresses and our team actually won the best costume award! I had the hardest leg because I claimed that I could run uphill... it was a good challenge and I actually ended up running two of my fastest 10k’s ever. That was a huge surprise and the icing on the cake of a weekend that was just pure fun.

Now I’m looking towards winter, which won’t be very white in Eugene: it just rains all year, no snow. Luckily, though, the mountains aren’t too far away.  A couple of my old Craftsbury teammates are living in Bend and I’ve already been over for a nice visit. I’m hoping to jump in a few citizen races as part of the XC Oregon squad, and I’m also going to be helping out with the high school team here. Since there isn’t any snow in town, it’s a lot of rollerskiing, running, and circuits during the week, with some trips to do real skiing on the weekends. A little bit different than the training I’m familiar with in New England, but the other coaches are really great and the athletes all have wonderful attitudes, so I think I’m really going to enjoy coaching. It will be nice to give something back to the ski world after being a giant sponge on society for a few years.

Stay well, Ford Sayre, and I’ll miss seeing you on the trails this winter!

Hood to Coast: At the top of the hill on my third and final leg of the Hood to Coast relay - it felt like a victory even though the team was still hours from the finish!

Oregon Coast: The Pacific Ocean is just over an hour from my house, and the coastline is beautiful, like a western version of Maine!

Steens: I did a three-day backpacking trip in a 185,000 acre wildlife preserve with a friend from college. There were big views.

Wild Horse Lake: This was our camping spot on the second night: on the edge of alpine lakes overlooking a huge canyon, with jagged ridgelines in the background and not another person for miles.

Thielsen: I did a fun hike of Mount Thielsen with some friends. It's described as one of the "pointiest" mountains in the world and is hit by lightning more than any other peak in the Cascades.

Fall Variety

by George

This fall has been filled with lots of training for both skiing and also running. Sam, Noah and I have consistently been heading out on rollerskis most weekends. While we balance running for the cross country team and training for this winter we have as a team stayed much more involved in skiing this year. Staying connected with the sport has been beneficial by letting us maintain a level of fitness without the impact of running.

Even though we are in the middle of our fall sports seasons many of us have made an effort to stay connected to skiing as we train through the fall. We have been holding roller skis most weekends. I was granted the opportunity, and am the only member of our team who made it to all of the previous 3 roller skis. Two weekends ago we didn't have a cross country race so our team planned to go on two roller skis, however many people were only able to make it to one of them. On Saturday we had a roller ski out Route 10 starting from the Lyme park and ride and heading out to the far end of River Road. After skiing Spencer, Cailtin, Helen, and I helped out at Scottie's house to clear more of the brush and wood that was recently cut down. The next day with the news of Kate's arrival back to the Upper Valley we planned a roller ski out on Dogford. Sam, Noah, Kate, Helen, and I showed up for a roller ski that included specific strength and classic technique filming. This past weekend Sam, Spencer, Caitlin, and I showed up at the Huntley park and ride (Norwich) to begin a mixed distance ski, we started out with some specific strength and speeds on classic rollerskis (which caused some of us trouble with our balance). After finishing the hour ski we ran up onto the power lines and connected to the Heyl trail. Considering how busy we all are with fall sports and homework it is an astonishing accomplishment that we have made it out for so many skis throughout the fall.

The Season for Meetings

With many of the JNT skiers getting their introduction to organized skiing through the Ford Sayre Bill Koch League program, we're committed to helping our coaches acquire tools and skills to ensure that the 'little kids' have a blast on skis.  On Saturday, Ford Sayre hosted a NENSA BKL coaching clinic at the Lyme Center Academy Building.  Many thanks to Abby Weissman for organizing all aspects of the clinic, all of the presenters, and everyone who came and shared ideas!

This week: Ford Sayre Q&A night (Tues, 6-8pm, Montshire), and the New Hampshire Nordic Coaches Association fall meeting (Thurs, 6pm, Moultonborough Academy).

Ongoing: Dan and the Ford Sayre Council are putting a lot of time into getting ready for the season, including the move to all-online registration... check it out at www.fordsayre.org.

Dan has also been schooled in all things web, so look for ongoing updates to our part of the Ford Sayre website: http://www.fordsayre.org/nordic/junior-nordic-team.

Thanks to Abby for sharing her photos from the clinic!

Sunday Roller Ski - Caitlin

This morning, a few of us gathered on Turnpike Road in Norwich for a distance roller ski. Spencer skated while Emily, Helen and I classic skied. All was fine until 20 minutes into the workout, I broke my right pole and had to head home to find a replacement. Of course, it wasn't that easy, I found another set of poles, but had to switch the ferrules, so more delay as I heated a pot of water and got out the glue gun.

For me, a lot of no pole work and a bit of strength and a bit of frustration. And yes, the pole did break, see the picture, and I did change the ferrules.... look at the tip.

Saturday OD

Saturday we combined roller skiing and a trail run into a two and a half hour OD. (Editors note: We have a rule here at the JNT, if there is no picture, video or GPS track, it didn't happen. As there are no pictures of the roller ski, assume the worst.)

(The run however) was glorious, following footpaths so lightly used the freshly fallen leaves had almost made them disappear. An approaching cold front brought light showers and at one point the sun broke through to make a rainbow. The vista from the highest ridgeline all one could ask for when the fall colors are out. The run was 1 hour and 20 minutes long and 10 minutes after we got back to the car, the cold front arrived full force with gusty winds and pelting rain.

Video proof of run:

Dutton Hill Intervals

The team has been getting together for some early fall training, last Sunday morning it was intervals in Dutton Hill Road in Norwich. For those that don’t know this road, its dirt and I wouldn’t be exaggerating to describe the first section as steep.

Caitlin's Early Fall Cycling

Because I’m not doing XC this year, I’ve been on the hunt for other races and events to do. Last Wednesday, I went down to Proctor Academy for a high school mountain bike race that is part of a series I’m hoping to continue all fall. It turned out to be quite a learning experience; they started the girls (all 9 of us) with the 60 or so category C boys on to a tight 3 mile singletrack course. I realized that girls race a lot differently than boys. Boys fly out of the start, elbowing and pushing for the lead whereas girls prefer more of a “I’ll give you space, you give me space and we will see who gets there faster” approach. The race was a lesson in aggression for me but I still had an awesome race - it felt good to back racing. I ended up in second for the girls, behind Erin Donohue, an old riding buddy and 10th place in the C boys.

This Tuesday, in an effort to continue finding ways to keep my fall exciting, I headed down Paradise Sports in Windsor, Vermont for their weekly tuesday night cyclocross training session. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the sport, Cyclocross, according to Wikipedia, “consists of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5 km or 1.5–2 mile) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike whilst navigating the obstruction and remount.” It was a pretty low-key scene down there; a core group of middle-aged guys intermittently raced around the course, pausing to rehash the last lap every once and while. Being my first time riding ‘cross, I just rode around the course, practicing the barriers and corners while trying not to humiliate myself to badly. Towards the end, I was fortunate enough to receive a bit of expertise on the barriers from some of the experienced riders. I definitely improved a ton over the hour or so we were riding and I’m hoping to go down again next week.

belatedly: Dan's Summer Adventures

I like winter, but will freely admit I look forward to getting back on my bike when the snow melts. This spring was college tour time for daughter and JNT skier Caitlin, thus I found myself visiting a college near Mt.Graylock, in western MA. These tours were providing a good opportunity to “double-up”, college tour in the morning; bike ride in the afternoon.

Misjudgements tend to be a prelude to misadventure, and that proved the case when I figured the best ride here would be up Mt. Graylock, the highest point in MA. The map suggested a route switchbacking up from the north, a short spur to the summit followed by a decent to the south and a return route up a valley west of the mountain. At the start for the climb, things couldn’t be better, turns out the road to the summit was closed, so after slipping around the gate we were on a trafficless road with superb views.

After climbing for a while, we hit some snow and after a bit had a problem. The road was covered with small patches of snow and we had been walking the bikes across assuming things would improve as we got nearer the open summit. Naturally this wasn’t the case, the snow was getting deeper, I think the pictures best describe the situation.

Ultimately, the question was really getting to be, “what was the fastest way down?”, back through the snow, or hope the road on the south side of the mountain, which the map indicated was relatively close, was clear. We opted to push over the summit and take the southern route, and I will never know if that was the better decision. We made it back to the car, five hours after the start of the ride and having spent the last hour riding in the dark.

Sound judgement and good planning ruled for my real summer holiday, canoe tripping in the LaVerendrye Wilderness Reserve in Quebec. I don’t think Goldilocks could find a better place for tripping, the lakes: not too big, not too small, the rapids, not dull but not too scary, and the navigational challenges.... just right. Combine that with great weather offering blue skies, brilliant stars, sandy beaches, plus generations of family: all ingredients for a great trip.

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