getting a little better

Like I said going into the weekend I wasn't expecting a huge turnaround. This only happens when you have some key people who are sick or really miss the wax the previous weekend. We simply are just not racing that well right now or we just aren't as good as we though we were. I am going to continue believing in the former of those two possibilities because I know that we have prepared well and worked hard through the fall to continue building on the success of the previous season.
We have two weeks to get things on track. This week will be some really high intensity intervals. Most of the team just needs to find that upper end gear and get into it.
It hasn't been all bad though Kristen has come back ready to race after a semester abroad, and Ben started to show his stuff a little bit on Saturday with a 10th place. I was keeping splits as best I could and from what I have he went from the low 20s to 10th in about 6K of racing, taking around 45sec out of the top of the field. I would also like to give mention to Robin Brooks. Her dryland training has to be almost entirely rollerskiing or biking due to issues with her knees which come November isn't all that pleasant. She kept at it though when I think most would have cited the excuse and bailed. Its paid off and she has been a big impact on our team score.

Looking ahead

Well here we are again, mid January in the East. Cold, icy, and not a whole lot of snow. Not to get down on Eastern skiing but this seems to happen often. I think the fantastic conditions during December have left us expecting much more, oh well.

Unfortunately this also has prevented us from hosting a mass start in the classic race on Saturday. However mass starts in an open field Carnival race can be rather ridiculous with near and sometimes more than 100 entrants per race. You could certainly argue that an individual start race will be much more fair. However I think everyone was looking forward to a mass start, its just more fun.

I am not expecting a huge turnaround yet from last weekend. We have tried to rest a bit more this week but the effects of that may not show until UVM and DAR weekends. Even so I think the team would prefer not to wait until then for some redemption.

Horrifically Horrible

I hope we just hit rock bottom. Today was the opening day of the Eastern Collegiate Carnival season. 5/10K freestyle hosted by Bates at Black Mountain in Rumford.

You can see the results for yourself at eisaskiing.org but be warned we got beaten, soundly. There probably are a couple of decent individual performances but make no mistake about it this is probably the worst day results wise I have had as a coach at SLU.

Before anyone takes that the wrong way, I am not upset with the team. In fact I am rather impressed with how they are handling it. No one has made a single excuse for our performance today, there is ownership.

We are much better than this and are going to move on.

Congratulations to the Colby men's team, truly impressive.

10/15 K Classic, US Nationals

Well not really any better than the freestyle race, no excuses though we just are not racing that fast out here. I think Robin and Steve had decent races but nothing else to get excited about. The sprint race is tomorrow, no real expectations here as we don't have any of the better sprinters aside from Robin possibly out here with us although her strength typically lies in classic. Everyone else should be doing well at Mt. Saint Anne if they can stay warm.
It seems as if the hotel has just been overrun by a bunch of little puckheads (youth hockey). My experiences in the past with these groups has not been good, hopefully right now will be the worst of it and they will settle down tonight.

US Nationals 5/10K freestyle

Not a great day but not that bad either. Kalie had the best performance on the day placing 64th in the womens 5k. This is still a bit off of some of her best results last season when compared to other college racers from the east but all of her best results came in February last season which is when we want the best results anyway. Robin is still getting over a cold, probably could have raced but we opted to rest.
For the guys Isaac had a decent day but is looking to be one of the top racers in the EISA this season and is expecting a bit more from himself in the classic race. Hunter did okay but we are looking for him to get back to where he was freshman and sophomore year particularly now that Zach is out with mono. Steve had a slow start and then did better on his second lap even though the course started to get slower.
The skiing is great and more snow today and overnight will certainly keep it that way. I am not going to read very much into this race or the entire week really. US Nationals is difficult for college racers because most don't really have much at stake, although maybe that should make it easier. Do we really want to be our best right now? Certainly not but its great to race well here so I am never quite sure what to make of it.
What I do know is that I am going to get a pasty tomorrow after skiing, maybe two.