Hey everyone!
To recap on the previous week, we had a pretty intense volume
week that everyone CRUSHED and here’s the highlight reel.
On Tuesday, we did classic intervals up White Hill Road in
Parishville. It was a great opportunity to really get after it and get a pretty
nice view from the top with the last of the fall foliage. Etown and Dana drove
us down to the base after each climb which was also awesome…yay for team vans!
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| Lucy '20 and Steph '22 cruising through the intervals |
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First years Cam '23 and Charlie '23 rolling!
Jackie '20 looking strong! |
We started our first morning of circuits on Thursday in Leithead,
and nothing wakes you up quicker than your heart rate spiking up at 7am! I
really do think these are a great way to build both physical and mental
toughness and still have time to hit your 8:30 AM class.
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| Go men's team! |
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| Here we go Saints! |
In the afternoon, we
did sprint simulations at Higley. The conditions made for some tricky skiing
(it had been pouring rain all day with needles and leaves on the road), but nonetheless
Dana and Etown brushed most of the debris off the road and we were off. We originally
started the qualifying heat with a 2k loop starting at the beach, circling up
to the pump station and heading back down, but was cut shorter for quarters,
semis and finals. Men and women were separated for each sprint and the positive
energy we had was reverberating! It could’ve turned south because of a number of
reasons, but we all set out determined and had a blast in the process. This
team never ceases to amaze me.
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| Gabby '21, Nat '23, and Lucy '20 on the line (left to right) |
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| Graham '22, Cam '23, and Matt '21 starting the qualifying heat with Etown timing (left to right) |
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The weekend was BIG. On Saturday, we left campus at 6 AM and
drove up to Gatineau Park to get in some longer L3 intervals. Robyn ’22 lives
close by to the park so we had a good idea of what it entailed before we got there.
They closed down the roads of cars until 10:30AM, so when we pulled up there
were SO many skiers milling around. It was pretty cool to see recreational
skiers, clubs, and teams all skiing on the frosty road before the sun peeked
out from the trees. The roads had long climbs with good pavement, so sending it
on the downhills was fast and furious. Everyone looked strong! We stopped by
the Asian market on the way home to get some food for the road and man, that
place was crowded. The food all smelled great and most of us grabbed samples
from the free sample stations. And the weirdest food? Had to be the whole cooked duck because the head was still on it.
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| Beautiful Gatineau roads! |
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| Charlie '23 and Emily '20 cheesing for the camera |
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| The ~whole~ cooked ducks |
On Sunday, we left campus at 6 AM to drive down to Saranac
Lake for a run/hike OD. We started at the Haystack trailhead on 86 and took
off. It eventually comes to an intersection where left takes you to Haystack,
and strait takes you to McKenzie and further onto Moose. The summit of Haystack
had a great view of the (snowcapped!!!) Mt. Marcy and Whiteface. McKenzie was
very, very muddy and wet. Fortunately, that moisture turned to a nice ice/snow
mixture at the top! I didn’t make it to Moose, but I was told by others who did
that the trail was so icy it had turned into a bobsled run. Again, it was so
awesome to see everyone really digging deep after a long week. On the way back
we stopped by the ‘Dack Shack for amazing 46er sandwiches (which, by the way,
tasted like the best thing on Earth!).
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| View from Haystack summit |
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| Someone's excited we found snow! |
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| Alex Honnold, is that you? |
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| Time to get WEIRD |
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| See you soon, snow! |
Thank you Dana for the photos, as well as Cam, Tim, and Charlie for taking some photos as well.
Overall, I think everyone finished the week pretty tired,
but it’s only because we CRUSHED it!! Can’t wait for the snow to start falling
up here! Until then, you’ll find us cruising on the blacktop.
-Gabby ‘21
