NE 10 Championship: One for the books

Well its been some time. Since my last post I raced rollerskis up Whiteface Mountain in NY, ran in four more cross country races, and nearly went crazy with the school work this semester. But I'm not going to talk about all of them. Too far gone.

James Buck/NE-10 photo

This weekend was what is possibly the last home cross country meet of my career, and man it was a good one. The Northeast 10 Championships looped their way through campus this past Sunday, with 300 runners from 15 teams from all over New England and New York converging on little Winooski Park for the second (or third) to last race of the season.
James Buck/NE-10 photo

It was a chilly but comfortable start, right around 50 and breezy. And it was a fast start, as we went through the mile in 5:03. The last time I went through the first mile in under 5:10, I struggled to hang on to a sub-30 finish.

Oh Boy.
Josh Kessler Photo
I managed to hang on to that 5:03 first mile and turn it into a 5:17 second, while flying by the hundreds of spectators that were lining the course. Never have I had a race with such an enthusiastic (albeit slightly confused) cheering section.
James Buck/NE-10 photo
In the end, my teammate Ross and I duked it out for a full 8k, with me in his step until the 7.5k mark. Thats where things got interesting.
Brian MacDonald photo
It had been since the Shacklette Invy since I had beaten Ross last, and with him in my sights the whole race, I wasn't going to let that opportunity slip by. I matched him as we were cresting the hill in Gilbrook, and we had the biggest kick for the last 400 meters.

James Buck/NE-10 photo
Ross and I PR'd with times of 27:02.6 and .7, where I finally came out on top again. It was an amazing race for 50th place overall, my best placing at Conference, and hope to improve even more going into regionals in a couple weeks.
Finished my 8k season with a battle, wouldn't have it any other way.

Summer Update

So school finished a while ago, and summer is here. Just thought I'd throw out a little bit about how things are going!




To be honest, not a whole lot has been going on lately. I'm living in the Burlington area and working at Local Motion, Vermont's Walking and Biking advocacy group! Most of what I do is based out of the Trailside Center (or TC), and involves renting out bikes to people who would like to enjoy the Champlain Valley, but without being confined to a car or bus. 
Look, the outdoors!
Also, this is right next door to the TC. Rawr
I started off the summer with a couple of weeks at home (in NH), training (riding my bike) and visiting friends and family around New England, capped off by a trip to Rhode Island for some Allie's Donuts with Pete (and a Paw Sox game too!), then by my longest ride to-date, a 115 mile ride up and over the Kancamagus Highway and back through Plymouth and Sandwich. it was a long day.
Sports that aren't endurance based!
The Highest point.

Just over 175km with a part of it on Route 175.

That brings me to Vermont, which, like I said, hasn't had much going on. 
 I've been training, working, training some more. 
Riding Dirty-ish

Rollerskiin'
 I did, however, get the amazing opportunity to 'travel' to Montreal to watch part of the FIFA Women's World Cup! The atmosphere in the Stade Olympique was electric for both the Brazil-Spain and the South Korea-Costa Rica matches, a 1-0 victory and a 2-2 draw respectively.

What a time...

These past few weeks involved some heavy racing, some flying, a lot of driving, and snow...

I never thought about how much time I actually put into my competitions, but having spent almost more time away from campus in the past few weeks than I have on campus, it's been a weird period.
Scott Nichols photo

Things led off with the first Saint Michael's carnival since 2011. It was nice racing at my new home course, even though it was a double classic weekend. The races didn't go all that well, it was bitter cold and snowing all weekend, but I managed a 49th place finish in the 10k, while my relay team placed 28th.

'Twas a cold and snowy day... (Silke Hynes/EISA photo)

Dartmouth was better, much better. Day one was a skate sprint, which, although not my forte, did not go horribly. I ended up 104th overall in the Supertour results (52nd in collegiate). The men's sprint course at Craftsbury is a doozy, with a tough climb through the 1k mark. It was there where I somehow managed to pass the starter in front of me.  Neat.

It was also cold for the sprint. (Silke Hynes/EISA photo)
Day 2 was also skate (a nordic combiners dream). Even better, it was a 10km. When I woke up that day, I honestly wasn't really ready to race. My legs still felt tired from the day before, and it was still pretty chilly. But somehow, everything clicked. 
The Craftsbury 5k Race Loop is one of my favorite courses to ski, and I loved it that day. I ended up 64th in the SuperTour, and recorded my first top-40 finish on the Carnival Circuit, coming in 33rd.
I was the eighth starter. I was the third one across the line. (Silke Hynes/EISA photo)
That night, I was in Salisbury, CT, prepping for the Eastern Ski Jumping Championships the following day. It was a long drive. The jumps went alright, as it was my first time jumping since August. 

In flight. (Scott Nichols Photo)
That night I drove back, in a storm, from Connecticut back to Burlington. Ugh.


Jump to this past weekend. Middlebury Carnival double 10k weekend. 10k classic, 10k skate. This weekend, I had my career best classic finish, a 46th place that felt about accurate. It was cold, so cold that they delayed the start of the race by 3 hours.
Why has it been so cold!!! (Silke Hynes/EISA Photo)

Following this was the 10k skate. Yes. Mine again. I surprisingly did not feel that great, nor did I look great out on course, but I somehow pulled out another top-40, coming in 39th, in a tight group where 30th was only 15 seconds away.
Still cold. (Silke Hynes/EISA photo)
After Midd, I travelled to Holderness, NH for the Cheri Walsh Memorial Classic Race, another 10k and my last shot at qualifying for Junior Nationals. I did well, 38th overall, but not well enough to drop my points. Oh well. Now to focus on the rest of my collegiate season and planning my spring skiing adventures!

.tl