When the going gets tough, the tough get going

By Gabby Wangler '21

Hello all! 

Eliza '21 contemplating the next set of intervals on Tuesday

Jumping for joy on completion of the TT at the top of St. Regis on Friday
(Jordan '21, Eliza '21, and Gabby' 21)

Coach K. Curry stopped the van on the way back for a great photo opportunity!

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Truer words have never been more appropriate for this week of training for the Saints ski team! This week concluded the last of our fall time trials as well as morning circuits.

On Tuesday, we tried out a new course by Higley State Park on Little John Road with classic intervals. The pavement was really nice, and the beautiful fall evening made the work fun! Coach Townsend and Kyle set out cones along the road to mark L4 intervals zones where we got our stride on.

We ran near Stone Valley on Wednesday evening along some nice mountain bike trails. The trails weren’t that explicitly marked, so we rocked climbed and bushwhacked for a little bit before finding the right trail which was pretty adventurous! At one point we had to cross a stream by stepping on these rocks, which was more of a challenge to some people (cough, Tim, cough) rather than others but we all survived with scrapes and smiles. Sophie (Coach Townsend’s pupper) was more than happy to join us for the run, too!

Thursday was an easy day of skate skiing with mixed in specific strength. We mostly focused on one pole intervals up Taylor Road and kept everything L3 for the last time trial to follow the next day.

And Friday was time trial day!! We loaded into the vans and drove around 1.5 hours down to the base of St. Regis. The weather was much cooler and windy, so Kyle and Coach Townsend carried up an extra layer in their backpacks for the summit.  

After a good warm up, we were off! The first 2 miles was a good sized uphill, a downhill, but the last mile was straight uphill. The mud and leaves made the trail slicker than I thought, but I was amped to get in “race mode” again and really go after it. Everyone pushed his or her limits and we got to see a great view at the top. (Kudos to Lucy who crushed the women’s record!)

Here are the results:

Women

Lucy- 34:53

Jackie- 37:05

Kate- 38:36

Gabby- 39:04

Eliza- 39:20

Dana- 40:00

Dani- 42:30

Jordan S- 43:10

Emily- 45:16

Women's Avg: 39:59

2016 Women's Avg:  42:02

Men

Tim 30:59

George 32:25

Nathaniel 33:00

Matt M 33:19

Brendan 33:46

GH 34:26

Ben 35:17

Ryland 40:52

Men's Avg 34:15

2016 Men's Avg: 36:19

On Saturday we applied more specific strength with some classic skiing and really hammered away with single stick and double pole up this one hill with video analysis to follow. 

And Sunday was a fun skate ski in the pouring rain!! But not as much fun for others, as it did not stop for the duration of the ski, and it was chilly, but like I said.. the tough got going this week! Next week should be an easy week, stay tuned!

Until next time,

Gabby Wangler