Weekend Training and T-Minus 7 days

Yet again, the (fool)hearty group of roller skiers converged at the break of 8:30 for some preseason training. This time, though, things were a little flatter. This time, a few more people in tow, we skied the Passaconaway Road in Albany. This ski was a little more technique intensive, with some of us skiing with Nat Lucy, former US Ski Team Biathlete (1980-83). We worked on V2 technique on the way out (6.1 miles) and then double poled the entire way back (6.1 miles and hills). The DP section was when I began to appreciate the hills we had climbed, but wasn't a huge fan of the ones we had once descended.

B to A... and back.

All in all, it was a good, long, ski, and was a great workout.
And now, we begin the countdown to dryland training. With this being a rebuilding year, we will have to work hard in the upcoming weeks before our first race (see calendar, light blue). I see a good future ahead for both the Kennett High Boys AND Girls teams this season.
Ski Well.

Yet another day of rollerski

On Sunday, myself, along with about seven other foolhardy skiers, congregated at the base of Bear Notch Road in Bartlett, NH. All of us (except for one biker) were all there for a common purpose: preseason training at 8:30 in the morning.
The road: 4.9 miles A to B.
Elevation Gain: 1000 feet
Temp: Not cold enough.
Direction: Uphill

Two teenagers and a 50 y.o. were the first three to finish...

PIE!!!!! and rollerskiing.

I was sore, cold, sick, and tired. And that was before the race.

Today was my first 10km anything in the Eyes for the Pies Rollerski Race at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, ME. The course (two laps of 5km) skirted the perimeter of the former Pineland Center for the insane, which is now home to NENSA, a working farm, as well as a number of other businesses. The two races, a 5km and a 10km freestyle, were a combined mass start with competitors mostly coming from the Yarmouth area (I was the lone NH resident racing). After the first lap, I was second only to Jack Elder, whom I have beaten once in my short career. He then had me by about 10 seconds, growing to 30+ by the finish.


The prizes were well worth it though, with a wide selection of homemade apple and pumpkin pies, which competitors got to choose from. I ended up going home with a nice apple (which i have eaten a third of in the time it has taken me to write this).