Training week of 1/27

EVERYONE:

  1. Attendance form keep it up, y’all.

  2. Marathon thank-yous and kudos: HUGE thank-you to everyone who stepped up and volunteered at our beloved Craftsbury Marathon this weekend. It is the cornerstone event of our little ski community, and you made it a good one. If you raced, big congrats to you, too! It was great to see so many green suits out there.

JUNIORS:

  1. Quarry Rd Eastern Cup: that’s this coming weekend. Allll the info you need to know is in this team travel info packet, including van pickup times and locations for Friday. Once again, we want you to leave your race skis with us Wednesday night, Thursday at the latest, with clean kick zones, and Swix PS6 that you ironed, scraped and brushed in the glidey zones. This is always our Eastern Cup ski protocol — not because the race wax is always the same (we do other stuff to your skis once we have them), but because it’s the best way to harden up your bases (always good), zeroes them out from the last race, and keeps you from having to own a billion kinds of glide wax.

  2. Qualifier races for the Vermont U16 and Eastern High School Championship teams: are Sunday, 2/9, at Rikert. Pretty much all of you juniors should do this race! Talk to us with questions. Registration is here. Sign up sooner rather than later to avoid late fees.

  3. Invoicing for team night equipment purchases, wax fees, and Eastern Cup travel: These come from “Concrete Foundation” - that’s legit. Reminder: if you are not enrolled in the 4+ days junior option, you will be charged $25/race for Eastern Cup wax service. Seems like a lot in some ways, but we have to have a LOT of wax in order to always have the goods on race day. I also cannot find anywhere else that does it cheaper. We will catch up on Eastern Cup invoicing… sometime.

  4. Training logs: if you keep one, update it sometime maybe please?

  5. Strength: tis the season when we do little of this because we get more bang for buck at practices with skiing. It’s a REALLY good idea to do some light OYO strength - just like 15-20 mins twice a week of core, pushups, pullups, some bodyweight squats/lunges, etc. would go a long way! Verbatim from Audrey as Anna types this: “All I have done for strength all winter is a bunch of pullups and I think that’s what got me through the marathon.”

U14s:

  1. Upcoming races: check out the BKL list below.

BKL:

  1. More racing for your calendars: These are OPTIONAL! More details to come as the relevant dates approach. If you’re interested in other races around New England, check out the complete NENSA list.

    • Feb. 1 (Saturday): Silver Fox Trot (skate) at Oak Hill in Hanover, NH. Putting this one out there for those interested, but not currently planning to send a coach.

    • Feb. 2 (Sunday): Tour de Stowe (classic) at Trapps in Stowe, VT (not marketed as a race, but more of an adventure, so could be fun for those hesitant about racing). Currently we are not sending a coach, but if more of you sign up over this week that might change.

    • Feb. 8 (Saturday): A fun, low-key BKL race at the COC! We hope most of you can do this one. More details to come, when your coaches get their act together.

    • March 1-2 (Sat-Sun): BKL Fest at Quarry Rd. in Waterville, ME (families figure out lodging - lot more info to come on this one later in the season)

BIATHLETES:

  1. Home Race: Bayley-Hazen Biathlon Race, February 23rd. Jrs/U14s can do the experienced category (either distance); BKL can sign-up for novice. Friends and family (9 and up) can also sign-up; this is a great opportunity to try the sport. Register early as this event will fill.

  2. BKL: We need you all to do the USBA Basic Rifle Safety Course. If you haven’t get, please get on it ASAP. Link is here.

  3. JRs/U14s:

    Updated Wednesday practice time: 4:30pm because of HS race. Feel free to show up a few minutes late if you need more time to cool down.

    For those going to Empire State Games this weekend, Feb 1-2.

    • Race invite and info can be found here. Registration deadline is Wednesday.

    • Susan and Rick will be traveling to support you. Let us know if you are coming here.

    • You need your own housing and transport.

  4. Always: Bring hat, dry gloves, and change after ski practice.

  5. Other helpful info: Biathlon race opportunities 2024-25. and Club Kick Off Meeting Notes.

ADULTS/MASTERS:

  1. All groups are up and running. Reach out via email or Slack if you have questions!

  2. Fun race opportunities: these are also listed above for BKLers, but they’re citizens races that are open to everyone! TBD whether we’ll have masters coach support at any of them, but let us know if you’re interested in going:

    • Feb. 1 (Saturday): Silver Fox Trot (skate) at Oak Hill in Hanover, NH

    • Feb. 2 (Sunday): Tour de Stowe (classic) at Trapps in Stowe, VT (not marketed as a race, but more of an adventure, so could be fun for those hesitant about racing)

Or this clunky embedded version:

Photo courtesy of Nathan Suter. More here.

Anna Schulz