Moments in Mediocrity

Zoe

2008-09-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

The not really final countdown

2008-02-20T08:05:00.000-08:00

So I wish I could say something like "I gave my all in the last interval session of the year" but it might not be my last. While Middlebury wraps up the college season, if a race comes up in the next few weeks before spring break I might do it. I am going to start running for track next week, but will probably keep skiing a bit to break up the boring winter running.

Yesterday went well though, which of all things was frustrating. 4 by 2 minute classic intervals. Felt great. But I was sick. I don't know I wasn't even going to do the workout because of my sore throat and cough but jumped into the first one and felt good. Stuck with it and now I am feeling much better so I just don't know anymore.

The senior countdown is weird though. Everyone else has the number of days and everything in their head. I didn't even know what month it was when I was filling out paperwork today, let alone what day it was. So as much as these little mile markers are supposed to mean something in my senior season (ski-son) I could care less. As much as the last four years have meant to me, in the long run four years doesn't mean much. I gave it my best, but thats not the end of me, no way.

That hurt

2008-02-16T16:06:00.000-08:00

So after another "well I feeling better on the second lap" weekend we were driving home today and I had a few too many cups of coffee and had to go potty. One of the times we stopped was as close to peeing my pants I have come in a while. When Ethan finally pulled over I ran out and relieved myself on a snowbank. As I am standing there looking at the woods, Pepper comes around the corner of the van and chucks a snowball at me (and my little buddy) and I almost pass out.

Well I thought it was a funny story.

And I can't classic sprint very well.

It's pretty crazy that next weekend is my last college races ever. I'm gonna miss it. Today as cold as it was, I got to hangout with my best friends and eat some great food (Thanks to Knut's parents for dinner last night too!). The last Four years have been pretty awesome, and while the last two have been tough, there isn't too much I would have changed, well except making a quick pit stop at the bathroom at Trapps before I warmed up that one time... Anyway, it's been fun. One more week of ski training to go, gonna make the most of it.

Slu Bandits

2008-02-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

It was a little bit colder than normal yesterday for the teams intervals and everyone seems to wear bandannas now to cover up their mouths to keep the lungs warm, we looked like a bunch of outlaws. What I don't get is that we (as a team) have been skiing really well all fall and winter and nothing good seems to come of it. I very well know that their are ups and downs in ski racing and that you can do everything perfect and it might now work. But it gets to a point. This weekend was tough for sluski. Our top finisher was 44th on Friday. yikes. Saturday was a little better but I know that Knowles can and has skied way higher than that. As for me it was the same sorta flat feeling in both races. No blowup or equipment malfunction, just blah.

Williams is this weekend.... last year I crashed 5 times in the skate race and in one of them I crashed into a hillside. I also crashed in the sprint. haha I am actually laughing right now because I want to say "well I hope to do better" but it can't get much worse than crashing in front of a bunch of hot girls.

Which brings me to my next point. Thank you hot girls for cheering for me on Saturday. Yes I know, I used to do this ski racing thing a lot better, but you're still there, cheering. And I keep saying the same thing, damn that girl is hot.

Too bad you hot girls broke my heart and didn't give me a flippin' Carni Crush. I watched in disbelief as Pepper the rat boy got one of the hottest/dirtiest/disturbing poems I have ever heard. For those of you who don't know, Carni Crush is every year at Dartmouth when you choose an unsuspecting person to be your crush and try to say the most inappropriate things possible in front of their parents. Anyway I didn't get any so I was bitter all day long.

The only exciting thing that has been going on in my life is that the Westminster dog show has been on for the last two nights and I have been glued to the TV yelling "Thats the dog! Thats the dog!" as I make my plans to be an independent man child next year.

This was the teams favorite last night. Its a NEOPOLITAN MASTIFF Matty couldn't stop laughing when he saw it.

My favorite was the Pharaoh Hound. Since I am broke and I have nowhere to live I should probably get a dog.

SO my life has been centered around riding in a van playing solitaire on my Ipod and watching dog shows... wow.

Everyday I'm Hustlin'

2008-02-04T11:21:00.000-08:00

Last couple of weeks have been pretty good. The rest week has been a good addition to the EISA schedule. Got a good training week in and raced the Higley Hustle on Sunday... What's the Higley Hustle you ask? oh you know, only the BEST race of all time. It was at the place that we train at and the whole team did the race. It was pretty much a SLU Clarkson TT. And we DOMINATED. hahaha we were doing tele turns down the first few hill talking the whole time. The woods were a bit thin so we skied the pine needles on on rock skis. A few of the Clarkson guys tired to take down sluski, but it didn't work. I think we swept the top 7 or something. Pepper and I put the hammer down on the last few kilos for one of the slowest finishes of all time.

Last week we did some speed work and I started feeling a bit more snappy. The races at Trapps were sweet! Staying on sight was probably the most pimp thing ever. Out the front door after gourmet breakfast made things pretty awesome. The mass start was tough for me, I don't get off the line very well. One the EISA website you can see the video of about a k in... I was tenth to last. Worked my way back up though even after some idiots skied nearly killed me in some really bad pass attempts. Anyway I felt better than I have all year, I am hoping that with 10k more of racing I can move up even more.

And the skate sprint was... um well it was a sprint. I can't blame the wind, or the soft snow, everyone else had that. I just need to work on the sprinting. Beano and I were in the same consolation round, it was pretty epic. haha he ended up winning our duel.

Sunday's OD was solid. Had a good ski, solid snow and everyone was having fun before Super Sunday, Super Funday. The Pats lost and all my Giants friends in the room rubbed it in but it was a good weekend.

Looks like we aren't racing at Oak Hill for the 4th year in a row so I am not sure where we are going to be this weekend but I am feeling good.

I look good doing it

2008-01-23T18:12:00.000-08:00

So I held off from writing about the weekend because it was another set of let downs.

I totally blew in the 10k skate to my worse carnival finish ever(which used to be a stronger event for me) worked into an ok pace in the 20k classic and thought I was doing a lot better than I ended up. Again good skis. Again feeling good warming up and in training. I dunno.

Stuck around Placid for Saturday night with a really messed up back (from classic race) to watch World Cup Aerials, which were actually really sweet. Got to hangout with the alpiners and the lady friend. Woke up Sunday morning in horrible pain with my shooting pains in my back. Laid around on the heat pad on Sunday and watched some football. Took Monday off as well. Tuesday I can honestly say that the whole team skied as easily and as smart as we have all year. A lot of the guys are having the same problem finding race form. We have all took a step back to look at our training (which has been great) and see how we were going to make it work.

For the first time this season I really felt like crap training and was wondering what the hell I am doing. I am hitting the wall. I have worked through the tough times with no problem through my roller coaster "career" but the low blows have really taken their toll. I woke up super achy this morning and exhausted. Today I was supposed to do intervals up opted for an easy ski instead hoping that I can turn the corner for intervals on Friday. I shuffled around today stopping every few minutes to be pissed, but it was too nice out at the Higley flow. Cold, clear, new snow over pine needles and dirt. hahah but seriously it was nice out there.

To get my chi or che or whatever its called, in line we re arranged the room tonight. I am proud to say that I have come out of the closet! (why does that sound funny?) haha I made the closet my office with a desk and everything!

So yeah the only good thing so far this race season has been the sweet pictures (except of the guy with ears on his hat passing me, and the one of me slipping on classic skis). Every time I have races poorly I have done something stupid. I painted my toenails (thanks Sophie...), pierced my ear, grew a moustache, all in the hope to force myself into race form, rather than look as good as a model. Now I look like a metrosexual pirate.

Also I have no clue what I am going to do with my life next year... yikes. One more semester, four more carnivals, 8 races (one of them being a sprint) and my best hope of a good results at the Dartmouth 20k has been switched to a mass start classic race. Bummer. Well that's enough bitching for now. Happier things to come I hope.

Wheels keep rolling

2008-01-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

Canton to Calais, to Burke, to Manchester, to Calais, to Stowe, to Canton, to Michigan, to Canton, to Rumford, to Canton... All in the last month. lots of bad weather, fast food, bad drivers (Kalie Dunn), bad results. I'm not sick of it yet.

Another off day again Yesterday. Good skis and kick though. Feeling a lot better though, glimmers of hope. The team is struggling with me though.

Back at school now, only sports teams are here. We had an awesome day of training in Rumford with blue skis and firm snow. Pepper was throwing 360s over everything and we straightlined some sweet backcountry lines. I love skiing at Rumford. Anyway training here this week before our carnival. Rest day tomorrow. Trying to makes the pieces fit.

bad yet again

2008-01-11T17:16:00.000-08:00

Well not really just me this time either. Most of the team tanked today and we were cleanly beaten. This is coming off easily the best Fall of training that we have had since I have been here. It doesn't add up. I am struggling to find daylight after the last few weeks. There are no excuses. I have had good skis, I am healthy again, tons of rest, tons of sleep... I don't know whats going on. I feel flat, my tempo is slow. blah. Training I feel great, snappy, peppy, full of energy. I guess its just not clicking in races. This is the worse string of results I have had since I have been in college by far. My first weekend of racing in college started here at Black Mountain. I was 10th. Today I was 35th.

Freshman year I would have been throwing wax benches and pouting. This year it doesn't even phase me. I have gained control reaction but lack whatever it was that made me ski like a mad man before.

It's frustrating. I don't know there have been tons of funny things I wish I could write about, epic adventures on the road. I don't know maybe I will do it tomorrow.

blah

2008-01-08T18:54:00.001-08:00

so this is a quick one while I have internet. We are back in Canton for a night after a horrible drive through Canadian fog and rain. The races were pretty bad. I dunno I wasn't snappy didn't feel very good, just not good. Not much else to say. I was going to do the team sprint but the kid from western state that I was supposed to race with left early so I just trained. Had some ok intervals today in soft snow on the drive back. Headed to Rumford tomorrow. A bigger update soon.

Well I dunno

2008-01-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

So as we were driving back to the hotel this afternoon I realized that I have done worse at Nationals every year since my freshman year... Not that I have gotten that much slower, just not as fast. or something. I dunno. 116th today in a hilly 10k skate, which used to be my bread and butter. I have no excuses, I just felt really flat and awkward.

Christmas break was really fun, didn't get in the greatest training but rested up well. Did a lot of bird hunting. Didn't get any birds. Got in a few good skis with Isaac at the end of break then met up with Kalie for the drive to SLU where we stayed at Ethan's. Got up early and started the drive to Michigan, made pretty good time even though it was a bit boring.

Felt good yesterday when I was training so I don't know what is up, it was my first race of the year so maybe I just need to race more. I don't know.

Anyway Sac raced pretty well a bit ahead of me. Vargo wasn't too happy with his race even though I Ethan said he was skiing well, it's clear he is in damn good shape so SLUski is looking forward to throwing down hopefully in the coming days. Kalie raced well on the girls side and Robin is a bit sick so she didn't race. Anyway that about it, I am exhausted and hungry, I will write something witty once I pull it together.

Lord of the skis

2007-12-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

Jake, Hunter, Matty and Pepper before the OD today.

My inner nerd is taking over on the Sunday night before exam week starts up as the final Lord of the rings movie is playing. Pepper Matty and I have watched all of them fri sat and now tonight.

The fellowship of the skis had a good weekend. After finishing up a solid week of training, Ethan the Enthusiastic had us do a 17.5k (yes .5) TT on Saturday. Middle Earth was cold so Hunter Baggins had to wrap his cloak around his neck and face. Felt pretty good double staffing, a little slow prancing up the hills but held on to second place 4 seconds behind the not slow dwarf scuba. Felt pretty good, still had some energy at the end even though it was as cold as Mordor is hot.

Saturday night back at the Shire as the team dined in the great hall, the fellowship of the nordi' ski decided to have the manliest of bonding experience of all. An old fashioned sleep over... haha Beano is back at home and Pepper and I are lonely young men so we pillow fought and tickled until the wee hours of the morning before we headed off to tour the enchanted Higley Forest.

K after K, Jake, Me, Matty and Pepper ran into magical friends like the Ent named Lanky and Axtel the Amazing, searching the lands for the best Chinese downhills and steezy jumps. Skiing the land the travelers began to grow weary. Thankfully Knut the Knowledgeable allowed the travelers to ski a less than the prescribed 3 hours.

Ok that was a little lame... I don't know, with finals coming up I need a little fantasy to escape the hell that is coming this week. For real though, this week has been good, going to try and keep up my hours next week and then push for some quality over Christmas break. Thats about it from here. Its been awesome watching the US results on the world cup. Congrats to Kikkan for an awesome result in Russia! And for Newell who continues to be in it regardless of what happens.

Good snow

2007-12-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was a pretty good workout, 5 mass start intervals on a fixed loop starting hard and holding on. Missed the hole shot the first few times. 32 degrees and snowing made for interesting kick for the rest of the guys, luckily I had to be that guy that buys waxless skis. I was kicking well, felt ok, the speed isn't there but the fitness is I think... With me its hard to tell, I was looking at old video tonight of last year and I was killing it in some of the intervals but raced not so well mid season. Who knows anymore. Today was a good easy skate, started off warm but when the sun went down the snow set up so nice and fast, we were hauling up to the van at the end. Then I had to rush to class.. blah. Actually I am in class right now waiting to do a critique and I and I had some downtime.

Finals are almost in full swing and I am in the senior slump. I am really sick of schoolwork. I need this semester to be done. Anyway tomorrow I have to miss practice for class so I might lift in the morning and ski the golf course in the afternoon. Thats about it for now.

I had to upload some raw footage for my media class, here is some vids of me skiing. I am a goofball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-LONT7Klpo

It's mostly from last year. I hope to take some video from this year and make a legit movie.

Hunter looks pretty when he dresses up in pink shirts

2007-12-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

Wow Hunter looks fast in this picture. So fast in fact that the camera couldn't keep up.

After pouting all of yesterday afternoon sitting in front of the TV eating ice cream in pink sweatpants and Power Ranger shirt watching lifetime's made for TV movies while doing his nails Hunter crawled out of the man cave (closet) for some fun. He blew off some steam dressed up all nice at the running teams Christmas formal. After a great night Hunter had a good ski this morning thrashin' the gnar gnar with the boys in the woods on a classic OD. Hitting jumps, doing tele turns, talking about the nights gossip and stories makes bad days like yesterday go away.

Anyway Hunter is going to go take another nap.

nothing good came of that

2007-12-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

(Photo of start stolen with no regard from Midd site)

Hunter felt good about his fitness. Then Hunter decided to do a ski race. He tried to win the race. After leading for a K or so Hunter didn't feel very poppy. Not tired, out of breath, or crappy, just not fast. Hunter kept falling further back. He still beat Ziz and this made him smile. Ziz had many of the same things go wrong as Hunter.

Beano wins race killing Tim Reynolds who deserves much worse since he makes fun of Hunter a lot. SluSki in general did quite well in Placid but there is an I in the way that Hunter spells team.

Hunter got great sandwich at the lakeside deli on the way home which made him feel better.

Now Hunter is going to nap

Hunter would like to thank the McClelland family for being such great hosts last night. He thinks his results would have been ever worse if he hadn't eaten like a king last night and got to chill by the fireplace. And the pancakes this morning were sooo dope, nothing like waking up to the smell and taste of home cooking.

Hunter is going to push over freshman girls girls at practice in the morning to make himself feel better.

And so it begins

2007-12-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

It has been a long wait for the race season to start. From feverish dreams all summer to the first TTs of the fall it begins tomorrow. I have been feeling pretty good but I never know how this stuff is going to go. My left calf is still bothering me and I have this REALLY strange feeling in my back. The skin on my lower back is wicked sensitive to the touch with a little bit of muscle ache. Anyway some of the mens team is heading down to Placid at noon so we can ski the course and spend the night at Matty's which will be sweet not having to drive very far in the morning. So yeah I don't know, I'm not super nervous but I really want to see what I can do. Time to pack. Peace.

Good shtufffff

2007-12-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

Another good ski on Saturday, a few sets of thirty second skate pickups to finish off a solid weekend. Went for a quick snow run with Ziz before my Monday ritual of the sauna with old sweaty men. gross. Tuesday Ziz and I tried to sneak in a ski in the morning before class but my skis were in a van that was getting worked on and we couldn't find and by the time I found it, it was locked, and we were out of time. Went back and did strength and focused on my calves the whole time. haha. I got out of class after the team left so I tried to go on a trail run in knee deep snow... sorta worked. sorta sucked. Anyway my calves are killing form either the toe raises or the dumb run.

Today went well even after my sore calves. Slept in beyond late, was lazy till I got hungry, ate, went to practice, got in a REALLY good skate interval session with Knut. Finally feeling pretty good, lots of stuff to work on but it felt good. I need to work on the initial power phase of my V2 even if it mean slowing down the tempo. On the ride home I went over the video that Ethan took then waxed up the boards so they are fast for this weekend. I am doing the 10k in Placid. It will be my first on snow test of the year. Sorta nervous. I don't usually race well at the beginning of the season but I want to see what I can do.

On a sad note, again I had issues with the Vdub last night going to the store. After a half hour of ice scraping my exhaust fell off before the cherrybomb and then my wipers stopped working... blah. Still runs at least.

SO the snow is good. Finals haven't started. I have been sleeping a lot. Been eating too much. And I might see those dirty Midd boys this weekend at the race.

Can't complain too much

I say good

2007-12-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

After being grumpy the other day things are looking up. Friday we had a really good set of long hard bounding intervals. Pretty badass icy hill with snow falling like crazy with the boys getting the job done working real hard. I had clam strips for lunch and thought I was going to color the snow but kept it down.

After a lazy night staying in I got a good nights sleep and we drove up to Gatineu Ottawa and got in a solid 2.5 hour classic ski. Zizz and I branched off in the beginning and skied some crazy ungroomed Backcountry trails tearing up the rock skis and committing to some sweet rock riddled lines. I forgot my wind briefs though and paid the grimacing price when the ski was over. Feeling good back on snow though. Skate ski tomorrow.

Oh yeah and pretty cool that Newell got 4th today along with the dope biathlon and combined results from this weekend.

Off to a warm Rodeo Chicken Quesadilla. yummy.

The Darkness

2007-11-30T08:09:00.000-08:00

Last night I got out of class after practice started so I went out for a run alone. blah. Luckily I saw Matty finishing his run when I started and he was nice enough to go with me. Ten minutes in we can't even see the ground its so dark, the wind is just tearing along, its cold and I had short shorts on. Anyway so Matty heads in after finishing his run and I am left to roam the streets of Canton alone. Black ice and shadows everywhere I just wandered around. Then it hit me. I really, really hate this time of year. Snow one day, none the next. Cold, but not cold enough. I love bitching about this. I mean I really HATE this time of year.

Wednesday I was on snow which was nice, first on snow intervals of the year. Level 3 double pole, Beano Scuba and I did 5 by 4 min. if i remember correctly. Felt good, still some junk in my lungs. We skied a loop out in the woods near a big radio tower near SLU's old snowbowl. Some fun little downhills in the loop, had to track the girls a million times but it was fun (we yell BWARP instead of track now on the mens team). I am sick of school though. I just want this semester to be done and to be on snow, just training sleeping eating and watching bad TV with the boys, even if that means enjoying the drive Houghton.

Lazy Friday right now, no class but I have to meet with some teachers and work on some projects. We have team photos today but I am going to show up late so they have to use my Unibomber shot from last year. We might be skiing in Canada or Placid this weekend.

Man I hate Masters

2007-11-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

Before I go any farther, I don't really hate masters. Just most of them. So from the cabin I went Bambi in tow to my house took my first shower in a week. Headed up to Stowe on Saturday and hiked up under the gondola with Noah and Tele skied down. Nice powder in the woods and I only coughed up 2 pounds of phlegm on the way up. After an entertaining night in Stowe I woke up and tried to go skiing up in the notch. My skis looked like sandpaper on the bottom they hadn't been waxed in so long but I was having fun cruising along. Well that was until I bumped into Mr. Master Blaster who must have just robbed a Louis Garneau museum from the 1980s. As I am skiing up on this guy (cause I am SO fast on Sunday mornings) I am watching him literally ski over small children so he doesn't have to slow up. There were a bunch of families walking up in the Notch and this guy wasn't having any of it. So as I catch Jean Claude working his neon ass up the hill I try and make some small talk before Northug by him. Of course in the matter of ten seconds he not only drops the fact that he's going out easy cause he wants to ski 4 hours but tells me about his focus on making the first wave in the Birkie. With an already weak stomach I thought I was going to blow chunks. I can't stand it. Then he started tearing into me about how it must be nice to have such good rock skis. The whole thing was stupid.

Anyway after getting a nice ski in and not feeling to sick I settled in for the long ride back to SLU, sun glaring in my eyes the whole way. From huntin' guttin' cookin' hikin' and skiin' I had a pretty good break, wish I hadn't been as sick, but I was able to rest up a bunch. Now the fun begins catching up on work. Went on a sketchy run this morning where everything seemed glazed over with ice with a light mist falling. I hate this time of year, I just want snow everywhere.

Gut Deer?

2007-11-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

I am at home hoping that dial up service will work to upload some pics of my deer. Yes thats right, I finally got a deer. My buddy and fellow Burke Alumn Adam Cota came up Sunday night to the cabin to do some hunting with me. After working hard Monday morning pushing for a few miles and not seeing anything we took a short breakfast/brunch/lunch break incorporating as many calories as we could. Switching spots we worked the same hillside. I worked right off of Johns Notch which is a place I have skied by a few hundred times while training at Burke. As dusk drew close I was getting real cold but held out that last couple minutes to have a three pointer work in from the side. I took him from about ten feet broadside. Cota heard the shot and came up, I had already tracked it not more than a hundred feet from where I shot. Then the fun began, with it being my first deer and Cota's first solo attempt we got elbow deep and did our best cleaning it out. After a half hour drag (the hardest work I have done in a week) we had some solid light from the cabin and cleaned up the rest. What felt like a solid 125 pound deer was only 93 pounds down at famous Rick's Gun Shop when I brought it in the next day, the smallest on his list so far, but the rack was legal (must be a three pointer with an inch long spike) so I couldn't complain. Dragging it up to my dad's truck this morning my brother noticed that I was probably the only person to ever drag a deer in tights. The baby blue NE ones none the less.

With hunting out of the way and some improving health I managed to get up the mountain twice. The first time I had to stop on the alpine trail and dry heave as I coughed up the better part of my lungs. With just enough snow I managed to do some no pole skiing at the top of the toll road and skied most of the way down. Today I skied most of the toll road up and rallied down on crust. I am feeling better but still cough every few minutes. Anyway I am almost looking forward to getting back to school healthy to make the month long push to race season.

Hunter likes talking in the third person

2007-11-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hunter is in Burke and is sick as balls. Nasty sore throat started honest to god exactly at 2:10 Thursday in class and sure enough I had the whole sore around the eyes, shoot me I am so tired thing going on. Long drive home on Friday after a long nights sleep. Made it up to Burke Saturday and I have just been chillin at the cabin. Just tried to ski on the soccer field here at the academy but my lungs feel like there is glass in them. It sucks. I am going to keep it easy till I am %100 because this time of year is rough and I don't need to start of the ski season with a nasty cold or whatever. I didn't travel with the team which is good because it would have sucked to get everyone sick. So yeah I am just drinking tea as fast as I can and deer hunting till I get better. This makes the last two weeks really frustrating with training but I am hoping to get back on the ball.

Here is my new sponsor for this winter. Pepper and I watch these videos probably 6 times a day.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=M0fWUJosjak

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z9Y_fogrZ8I&feature=related

If I only had some of this to really get on my training. haha.

I am bored so I will probably creep around campus all week and write two meaningless posts a day! I BET you're excited!

Hunter says goodbye

Hunter goes Hunting: Gets bored. Then gets cold

2007-11-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

So Everyone thinks its pretty funny that my name is Hunter and yes I do hunt (poorly). Opening weekend of Rifle season is big in the Karnedy family. I drove home Thursday after class, trained at home friday and drove up to Burke. On my way up 91 the Golf decides that it wants to be heard and my mid pipe on my exhaust snaps right before the pre muffler. Running straight off the headers my car sounded like it was from Mad Max, I mean I love loud cars, LOVE them, but after about a half hour of ear shattering backfires and my ears bleeding when I mashed the throttle it got old. It did make for a grand entrance into deer camp I got settled in and chilled with the insane Karnedy posse. Opening morning I remembered why I had taken a little break for deer hunting. First off its early as hell, I mean it was still dark out, that early. Number two its cold as balls. These things make me angry and I had no stand to hunt so I just wandered out looking for a place to take a nap. Then these Doe decide to ruin my nap and get me all excited thinking that I Buck was pushing them into my clearing. To make a long story short I didn't see another damn thing all weekend, didn't train as much as I wanted (it was a recovery week though which worked out real well) and all I got was cold and bored.

What did I learn from this?
-I should stick to skiing.
-I have no patience.
-Gloves are important for staying warm, I should bring these hunting.
-My brother is better than me in the woods. A LOT better.
-Again I should stick to skiing.

Intervals on the track this afternoon. Back home for Thanksgiving as soon as tomorrow. The team minus me was going to West Yellowstone but might not now, maybe following them if they go to Canada.

I do school work

2007-11-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

These are some pics I took for my Digital Art class working on my skis. SO artsy

Woof

2007-11-04T15:41:00.000-08:00

SO I am pretty tired. Big Sunday morning, again I didn't have a watch like always but the mens team put in a solid 3 hour classic roller today. Found an awesome new road off of our traditional river road out and back. Good pavement and a controlled L1 pace really paid off and everyone was on their game. Sac Beano Knut and I put in a few more minutes and Ethan picked us up. This week was a bit easier but we also had solid L3-4 intervals on Friday at #9 road. Saturday was trail work at Higley followed by a easy run.

I can't stress this enough, the team is really dialed right now, every workout has gone off without a hitch and we haven't had any serious sickness on the team. It's hard to stay %100 when school work stacks up this time of year.

I'm not going to West Yellowstone with the rest of the team so the next few weeks will be interesting. Next week I am leaving for Deer Camp in Vermont on Thursday because I don't have friday classes so I will be doing my workouts at Burke and doing some hunting if I can find my deer tags in this messy room.

The week was really finished off nice with the guys getting lunch off campus at the Meadows. Beano managed to eat a solid pound of hamburger get two Jethro burgers and eating them before I could eat one. I have been too tired to even shower yet today so I am going to get on that before my smell makes me throw up. Woof.

Oh Man

2007-10-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's Monday afternoon and things have been pretty crazy and I finally feel like I am settling back in after a bonkers weekend. Training last week was really good. Had a hard time trying to get my legs to recover from some of my stupid workouts. I was going out for a double pole and had a tip break and instead of going back for a new tip I tried to no pole classic for an hour, my legs paid the price. My left ankle is still messed up after coming off this summer's sprain. It's hard to get my left ski to track well since I can't stay stable. Anyway after a nice easy Friday ski we had a rainy time trial out on river road. Felt good, not really fast, but I felt in control and got some speed going in the end. Zizzy won for the second year in a row, Beano was second, I could see him in front of my for about half of the race and our gap was about the same but he made a big push on one of the easier hills and pulled away. I was third and happy with my result. Being such a social minded team we help out at Make a Difference Day and cleaned a playground in town. Saturday night was the world famous OC Halloween Party. Everyone made it out and the weather held out for the most part. The band was dope and I couldn't have asked for much more. Sunday morning was pretty funny hearing the stories filter out as we got in a good running OD. Anyway another week in the books and the season has really started now that the world cup has gotten going. I am taking today off, maybe throwing in a light easy run before the sauna.

I really want to get on snow soon, it sucks that it has been so warm lately. The team seems to be coming along really well, good efforts by both the mens and womens teams and everyone seems fit. I think as a mens team we could really crack into the top this year. Everyone is focused and Ethan and Knut's attention to detail is awesome. Training at Higely state park is nice too because the road is closed down so we can ski four or five wide in double pole intervals without watching out for cars. We also found out that dragging our rollerskis on the pavement makes the bolts shoot sparks, everyone thought this was awesome (well the mens team). Thats about it from here.

rain and soccer

2007-10-23T21:36:00.001-07:00

Woke up tired as shit this morning and went to lifting, same old but felt good. Classes were ok, had an alumn in my printmaking class show some of her work. Poetry was fine but my third class was pushed back because of my teacher. Snuck in a solid hour skate rollerski in the pouring rain on wet leaves which was sketchy as hell. Almost went into traffic trying to snow plow on leaves on a downhill... of couse I didn't have a helmet on since it wasn't team practice. Played soccer with the team and got schooled on by all the girls, I suck at soccer. Solid day of training though. Reading all the other blogs everyone is putting their training up like they are blowing the doors off everyone else. I have made the results before and I know I can do it again, it just has to click, days head down in the rain help for college skiing where anything can happen. As the season sneaks up I am trying to get dialed while sneaking in the needed deer camp and fun. With the moustache growing and the days getting shorter I think I am on my way.

Good weekend

2007-10-21T17:53:00.001-07:00

So last week was a really solid block for me with some really controlled solid interval sessions that I felt were done near perfectly, which is hard when I usually find a way of messing up everything. So I had an easy run Monday, L3 ski walking Tuesday that was two hours long, Skate on Wednesday, uphill running intervals Thursday, Friday I did an easy double pole on my own and was totally friend and started feeling a bit sick after skiing in the rain.

Friday night I drove with my buddy Graham to the premier of the new Matchstick movie, Seven Sunny Days, a freeskiing film. It was soooo dope. Two of our other buddies that are apart of our "Crazy Wimo" brotherhood were in town and we were all at the premier with some other friends that work for ski companies. The movie was so good and we had a great time. After the lights turned on I noticed that my favorite skier was there for the premier. SARAH BURKE (Rated as one of the top 100 hottest women alive by FHM). The head of Nordica skis introduced me to her and I had stolen a sharpie and had her sign "crazy wimo" on one arm and she wrote in huge letter I (HEART) SARAH BURKE XOXOXOXO. I was in pure heaven. About half an hour and a few ginger ales I went back to say hi again after Ingrid Backstrom had signed my stomach and had Sarah sign me again and I started talking.... Put me anywhere near a beautiful woman that can ski and it is going to lead to trouble, luckily Graham saw this and pulled me away before I asked her to marry me. The start to a good night.

Saturday we chilled in Burlington and decided that it was going to be my day off for the week. My legs were totally maxed out and it just worked out better that way. I finished off the week doing a 2.5 hour rollerski this morning followed up by a half hour run. I felt really good, Zizzy accused me of going out too hard in the start by my heart rate was totally under control along with my breathing. So I wasted all day watching Mad Max return to Thunder Dome and I am tired and still have some work to crank out so I can train in the morning. I hope this little cold I have goes away soon and that tonights work passes by quickly. Thats about it from here.

Back on my game

2007-10-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

So last week I took some personal time and left a few days before mid semester break started to go see my brother in Maine. I need a break, school was really stressing me out and I was exhausted all the time. Break was really good, I didn't get any pics but I was at our cabin in Burke for most the week doing some training and bird hunting, but mostly sleeping. I also read possibly the best book ever written and I encourage everyone to read it. I hope they serve beer in hell by Tucker Max, get it, I almost pissed my pants reading it. So yeah just a lot of rest and some nice workouts out on the pipeline in Burke and in my woods at home. I was actually sort of glad to get back to school and I feel a lot better. Went for an easy run Monday, yesterday was L3 ski walking out at seven springs and I felt really good, in total control. Today I felt pretty stiff so I woke up and went for an easy run before settling into the library to get some work done, we have a skate ski this afternoon. The rest of the week is looking pretty tough but it will be good to really step it up as winter draws ever nearer.

I am really sick of school though, every Senior says it but I mean come on, so close, yet so far away, I just want that degree. The only thing that's keeping me going is flannel lined chinos and calling Steve Vargo "scuba steve". hahha. Anyway, back to work....

Peaking

2007-10-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Right before Beano decided to destroy me in the 3000 last week.

Peak weekend is coming up and most of the guys team is pumped for the annual tradition of running ourselves into the ground. Every fall SLU puts someone on 46 of the tallest peaks in the ADKs. Every year the nordic guys get stuck/choose MT Allen. 6 mile run in, bushwacking up for 4-5 back down and out. It gets pretty ugly, the first year I had to walk the last 2 miles out in dead last. It vaporizes shoes and makes you resort to eating some pretty gross stuff. The best part is that we have St. Regis the day before. St. Regis is one of our fall tests, around 40 minutes I think of all out trail running a smaller mountain. I have never won, I was second freshman year, off the back sophmore year (a formal the night before, Kalie almost caught me) and last year Beano got me. So we will see, Beano has been killing testing winning no pole testing and the 3000 but Ziz and I ran up the mountain all summer... so we'll see.

Zach and I had to test this week because we missed it over the weekend because we had planned on going to a concert at Burke months ago. It was a sick show, highlighted with Grace Potter (Slu alumn) killing it on a perfect fall night. Zach, Graham and I stayed at the cabin and it was almost worth the horrible drive from SLU.

Anyway Zach and I did testing by ourselves and Ziz ended up setting a new best time for double pole out at Browns Bridge (8 min uphill) I was really happy with second since I never really test well and I wasn't feeling %100. In no pole testing Beano's best held out winning by over a minute over Ziz, I was fourth with Pepper ahead of me.

So testing was good, this weeks training has been good with a skate on monday, good long hard skate tuesday with Beano involving my first fall on rollerskis. Testing Wed, easy run out at the Higley Wiggley yesterday. I feel like I am soaking up my training pretty well. Next week I go on mid semester break on wed so I am heading up to Burke I think for a little rest and some good training.

Thats about it from here, I will post some pictures of the epic weekend once I get them. adios.

Once These Boys Get That Syrup In Em They Get All Antsy In Their Pantsys

2007-09-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

Finally shots from Beano, this is my moment of hope before Robin crushed me

3000 meters of mediocrity today. Actually it wasn't that bad. I was second to Beano with a 9:53, in High School I was running 9:28. Even though I am slower I feel like I am in pretty good shape. I have had my eyes set on this test for a while because I a firm believer in the 3000 because fitness gains can be clearly seen and there are no variables like with rollerskiing. Lining up I was all ready to go with spikes and short I mean real short shorts. All the guys were ready to go given the fact that we had moved it back a day given the heat yesterday (I wanted to just go for it yesterday). While I wasn't very snappy I felt solid which is all I can really ask for. Team practice also started today which isn't much different than normal practice except that I really don't want to be late. All the guys seem really dialed and were pretty close. Our training so far this fall has been good, hopefully more good results this winter.

Other than that I just feels like I am always scraping by when it comes to getting work done and stuff. I have been doing everything but given my schedule it's hard to find realistic time to do work and avoid watching discovery channel ALL day.

Bahh I don't know maybe I am just bitching. All I need is some snow and for Graduation to come faster. 6:30 practice in the mornin' and I am actually in class right now (7-10 at night sucks) so I should stop screwing around and get shit done. Peace.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

2007-09-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

With another weekend in the books, ski season (or as we call it skison) is right around the corner with team practice starting Tuesday. It's hard to tell if I am really ready yet. I walked onto campus with a solid base of training that was mostly based around trail running and biking. With a few weeks of intensity and specific strength I can feel some snap finally coming around. There is still the awkwardness of starting up my spenst routine and dealing with sore legs the next day.

School has been ok, not great. I'm not having too much trouble keeping up with work but I know things are going to get crazy in a few weeks with some big projects ahead.

Regardless I have a lot ahead of me and I want to make it work. It's my Senior year and I am being pulled in a million directions but skiing, as it always has, is keeping me grounded. Taking today off and just going for a quick run, sauna, food, shower, school work, bed and call it good. Looking forward to using the 3000 on Tuesday as my first comparable test from last year and see how my fitness is.

More importantly here are some things that you must see.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6258079268983722281

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3551511052421059027

Body Slam

2007-09-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

SO I was holding out on writing my blog until I had some dope pictures of Jello Wrestling but Beano has been doing to much school work to help me out. Anyway last weekend Sac and a few of my buddies made $200 worth of Jello for a week and got a kids pool with an old mattress underneath. Throw in a few hundred people down at the townhouses and you have yourself some of the craziest stuff I have ever seen. After watching for a bit I somehow managed to convince Robin Brooks to wrestle me thinking I could make a huge scene body slamming a girl. Then I got wrecked. Robin was relentless in making me look like the most pathetic man on the face of the earth nearly drowning me in red jello. Jello Wrestling is my cross training for the year. Robin watch out.

Needless to say I was sore as hell the next day at the xc running race. Training has been going really well I think. I felt really good during the running race on Saturday but didn't really have any leg speed. This has always been an issue for me and it makes doing track frustrating in the spring because I am in my best shape after skiing but can't even put up a fight. Sunday we had our first OD of the year out at River Road which is some of my favorite rollerskiing around here because there are barely any cars and you can go out and back and make it a three hour workout. We put in a two and a half hour Skate and I felt good the whole way.

The OD capped off a really solid week for me. Monday is the team's day off and all the guys get together and sauna in the afternoon, went for a short run before. Yesterday we got a hour Double pole in the morning and did 8 by 400 meter repeats at "threshold" in the afternoon. I was on pace with negative splits up until the last interval when everyone decided to smoke me. I am taking this morning off even though I don't have class till 7 tonight just so I can get a solid workout in this afternoon rather than two mediocre one.

I found a few pics of Facebook of wrestling. One of them is Robin on her way to dominating every match she was in.

Seven Springs ski walking

2007-09-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the team headed out to Seven Springs and did ski walking intervals. Felt pretty solid except that I ate some food right before practice that didn't sit too well. Still really sore from the weekend and we had lifting in the morning yesterday so I was pretty stiff warming up but it felt good to open up a little bit in the intervals. All the guys were pretty close but Beano was making a good push at the end of each one. We were hoping to do 6 intervals with about 4 minutes of up time (maybe more? I never wear my watch...) but at the end of 5 my legs weren't feeling like I was at threshold, most of the other guys agreed and cut it there. Weather has been pretty good for training which is always nice and it feels like I am finally settled into school. Without class until 7 tonight I didn't wake up till noon today which is strange because I usually have a hard time sleeping in. I was hoping to get in a easy DP this morning but I guess I needed rest more than anything

http://www.fasterskier.com/training4519.html Nice little article by Liz on Fasterskier, I don't know if John Caldwell agrees though, I heard Bill Koch climbed ropes 37 times a day back in those golden days.

Speaking of washed up old men I better get some school work done before practice. Peace

-H

Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight

2007-09-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

SO I am living in the closet, no really (please no jokes, I hear them every morning) I am living in a triple with two other former Burke guys, Graham Flinn (alpiner, graduated with me but is a sophmore, do the math) and the famous Zizzle. Anyway being the last one to show up on campus I ended up being put in the closet. There is a pole to hang stuff off of right over my bed. Anyway I am really glad to be back and be a Senior. Training has been good, glad to be back on the back roads of Canton with little or no traffic. Sunday we dragged ourselves to Giant Mountain in the ADKs on Sunday and got to climb a slide which was pretty sweet. After chillin on the summit on a nice clear summer day we hauled ass back down to the car, I was doing fine until I rolled my sensitive ankle and slowed down a little. I had to be that guy holding the group back a little but I my ankle ended up being fine, just a little sore. My schedule worked out well if I manage to put it to my advantage. Monday and Wednesday I have one class that starts at 7 at night, Tuesday and Thursday I have class straight through from 8:30-4 but no Friday classes. I hope to use this extra time on Monday and Wednesday to train on my own in the morning and Tuesday and Thursday we have team lifting. Today I managed to get out of bed and rollerski even with the soreness from the weekend and then run in the afternoon and do a sauna. It's nice to be back in routine and I am looking forward turning it up a little.

New Rig

2007-08-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

So I have been fighting off the urge to get a new bike all summer even though I finally pocketed some money for a change. I now have a track bike, road bike, hard tail cross country bike, dirt jumper and now I have a Gary Fisher Rig 29 inch wheeled single speed trail bike. I can't stop. I got it used so it didn't hurt the wallet to bad but I am looking forward to sneaking off a few weekend this fall to ride up in Burke. Riding single speed can be a real killer but its also damn fun to just go out and hammer a bit and do some queeb killin on the weekends. Been working all weekend trying to finish off some projects around campus before the Burke kids come back from Chile. Leaving for school on Tuesday.

Just when I thought I was dumb

2007-08-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.fasterskier.com/opinion4472.html wow this seriously sets the standard in Master skiers ranting about shit they know nothing about check out the link and read some of the stuff on there. I might only be able to bite my tongue for so much longer. Seriously is every one out there bonkers? When I can absorb all of the stupidity I might write a response. Anyway been riding the bike a lot the last two weeks, finally I feel like I can hammer everything around here now, lots of level two training, hahah. Heading back to school next Tuesday so I am trying to bust out a few more projects here at Burke and fight off this nasty sore throat thing I have going. Peace

breaker breaker, this is night rider

2007-08-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

So it has been a few weeks since my trip to Boulder and I am so glad I went. Not that the summer has been boring up until now (well I am writing this on a Friday afternoon when I should be having fun) but it was nice to not only get out of the Kingdom and Vermont but out of New England all together. After some really lazy packing Stefan and I hit the road at about two and hit traffic just right so that we hit the major cities at night. At one point I had the cruise control on for three hours straight through western Iowa at 90 miles an hour (we had a CB so we could hear if cops were around) only to have a tractor trailer ruin my streak when he was in the left lane. With only a short stop in Iowa to see some family we made it to Boulder in one solid push and in one piece. While the drive was done in 30 hours total we hadn't slept much in the previous nights and while exhausted we still hit the town pretty hard.

So yeah it was a great trip and I was glad to take a break from training and work with a buddy. Since being back I have settled back in for my last little push before school starts. Things were going well till last weekend I blew out my back trying to pull a paddle boat full of water on to a dock... I am still able to mountain bike and work but it is an issue I have run into in the past so I am trying to keep up with stretching it before work and training. The only thing that has kept me inside was the tornado warnings last night that brought a ton of rain and lightning.

Weather is looking pretty good for the weekend so I am going to try and get in some no pole skating and see how the back holds up tomorrow and throw in a montain bike ride after that to get some hours in. Other than that I am just looking forward to endless hours in the library and rollerskiing in Canton.

so sorry

2007-07-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

I reallly doubt anyone has been reading this but I have been so bad about updates and I am about to leave for a week or so. Anyway I am in Killington about to leave to drive to Boulder Colorado driving my friend Stefan (see stuck truck) to college. Anyway I am ending a pretty solid training block and taking a little break. Anyway pictures of the adventure will be up and my pre school training when I get back. peace

-H

Gone Fishin'

2007-07-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well the Ankle is finally starting to heal up a bit and I was able to head out and give the rollerskis a try on Monday. Double poling felt fine but kick double pole put some un wanted pressure on it so I stuck to striding and double pole. The time I spent in the gym on the Vasa and the Double Pole machine that Pete built made the transition on to the pavement a lot easier and I felt little or no soreness the next day. I am still delaying long runs because my few attempts at running so far have really made the ankle swell and ache so I am sticking to mountain and road riding. The Fourth is turning out to be pretty low key, took the day off from work and went for a dope mountain ride with Zizzle and we are planning to go out on the conoe fishing. Hopefully I can get in some intensity in by the end of the week here, maybe a race, anyway the fitness seems to be coming along well and I haven't quite gotten bored up here yet. Gone Fishin'

Update?

2007-06-12T15:27:00.000-07:00

I wish I had something interesting to post but it has been much of the same for the last week or so because of the ankle. I wake up, work, do strength, eat, go bed. Very interesting I know. Only really big news is that I tried to ride the stationary bike today without much discomfort in the ankle. It is really frustrating to be living on the side of some of the sickest mountain biking trails in the country only able to hop on one leg from the tractor to my car to the gym. I hope this gets me worked up enough so that when I get back on my feet I am ready to go. Looking back the last two years have been really frustrating for me and I was hoping that this summer would help polish up my fitness for my senior year but like always I have another set back. I guess I can say something like the summer is early and that my track fitness will carry over but last time I said that I ended up "recovering" up until the first day of school. Anyway the weather has been good so my mood hasn't been too bad. I am hoping to be road biking by Sunday or Monday if the ankle holds up.

I don't get how I can sprain my ankle trying to get cell sevice but made it through steeplechase training all spring. I guess its just the way it goes.

Starting Back Up

2007-06-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Over the last year or so I have been out of the loop on my blog since the nensa system got messed up and I stopped writing. Coincidently the last year has been the toughest year I have been through as an athlete. Last summer after school got out I switched things up from living at Burke and tried living in Burlington for the summer. I was convinced that I was making the right decision but after taking a few weeks “off” I had no interest in doing anything physical let alone serious training. Anyway I came back in the fall ready to give it another try and tried to get settled it again with training. Even with some positive results in physical testing in the fall I ended up racing like crap. While I agree that some of it had to do with taking the summer off I was racing below my fitness level every weekend seemed to be marred with broken poles and falling or just feeling flat. The only races I walked away from content were US Nationals and the weekend I took off from the EISA circuit to race the Lake Placid Loppet.
After a frustrating ski season I made a second attempt at running collegiate track and to make a long story short I had another frustrating one only able to compete in one steeplechase race. Regardless I felt like I had a good boost to my fitness and was looking forward to spending the summer at Burke to prepare for my “senior campaign” or something hokey like that. After a few weeks of getting my mountain biking legs back I was thinking about dusting off the rollerskis when I sprained my ankle… so here I am stuck up at Burke with only an hour of core and strength to keep me busy all day.
Since it’s a boring rainy Sunday I figured I fire up the blog again and try to be as diligent as possible to keep it going throughout the summer into my senior year and possibly beyond…. (?)
While there are about a million blogs going out there I’m going to try and keep it as real and down to earth as possible and sometimes even a little off topic from skiing. That’s about it from here, time to go hobble over to the gym and work on the beach muscles. Adios.

After living out at my cabin in the weeks leading up to Burke Graduation (so I could live in the dorms) without any problems former best friend Stefan Hughes ( former US Ski Team Member) decides to get his truck stuck in my front lawn the last night I am there. This is the picture of the local who tried to tow Stefan out but got stuck himself. While this is going on I am limping around having a panic attack. What a great way to start the summer!