New England Endurance Training
All things xc ski, multisport and endurance in New EnglandOvercoming No Snow in New England
It’s February 14th! It seems like everyone is celebrating Valentine’s Day… except for me!
Not to rain on the loving, hugging and valentine exchange, but if you’re like me you just don’t feel much in the mood for any of the above. By this time of year, usually I am excited to reach V-Day. It usually marks the beginning of my yearning to transition from xc skis to my road bike. Yes, of course I’ve had my road bike on the trainer and have logged countless hours, but without any winter snow arriving I am still yearning to get out on my xc skis! I have been a skier since the time I can remember walking and in all honesty I have no recollection of a “snow-less” winter. I also very much love the sport of triathlon, but enjoy transitioning away from running in the winter to give my legs a much needed change.
So… what does a skier do in a “snow-less” winter and triathlete that needs to give her running legs a break do? Well… aside from giving up on skiing (which I will never do) – head north of course and make the best of your training with other activities!!
There’s still snow up north!
The northern portions of NH, ME and VT still do have skiable snow. Each weekend I have been trekking 2 hours north up to Jackson, NH where there are 85 KM of trails open. Thank GOODNESS!!
Mountain Bike
When I am not driving north, I bundle up and go out on my mountain bike. Breathing fresh air and variety are very important to achieving balance.
What else can you do?
Rollerski. If you don’t have a pair already – rollerskiing is a great way to get off your running legs and “glide” your way to a better and more difficult workout than a run any day! V2, SkiSkett, Marwe, and many other brands are available.
Mountain Bike on trails or on the road. For many road cyclists, the preference is to stay warm and keep to the indoor bike trainer. However, hitting the mountain bike trails and/or roads on your mountain bike will feel great once you get going. It’s a great way to break up the monotony of biking inside on your training only. Mountain biking offers a great strength, core and balance workout specific to biking.
In sum…
So – if you’re looking for alternatives – take my advice. Go north if you can (while the snow lasts), get onto your mountain bike, and/or think about investing in a pair of rollerskis!
There’s always March… we may still get winter after all?
Winter, winter — where art thou???
So – I just returned home from the opposite end of the country – Texas. It was the exact opposite weather – dry, sunny and not a spec. of water to be found. It was in the mid-60′s just about every day. I know – some of you would love this… but to me I couldn’t wait to get back home to find a long trail or road to be outside on.
With rollerskis in hand – I attempted to trick myself into thinking that if I skied hard enough in Texas – it would snow back home in Maine.
Nope!! Here it is Jan. 6 and still just a sprinkling of snow to speak of. Almost every nordic ski center that I frequent is still closed. What to do?
Do I fret over it? To top it all off – the Winter Triathlon Nationals were moved to Montana in lieu of the lack of snow here in New England.
Again – what to do.
I have pledged not to give up on skiing or winter triathlon. I instead wrote to USAT requesting that a qualifier be done in New England. We will see what happens.
So – today instead of stewing yet another day of the lack of skiing locally, I put my ski gear on (pants, hat, gloves, etc.) and ran the ski trails! With just a dusting of snow covering them – it was a great change of pace and scenery from the multiple loops that I endured while in Texas (there were no long windy, treed roads where I was in TX – just a loop that I did over and over).
Today I encountered sections of ice in the fields, clumps of frozen hay and mud along with plenty of obstacles. It was great footwork and just a nice change from the norm.
So – I say – instead of giving up on our wacky weather, put your skis on hold until mother nature delivers, grab an old pair of running shoes and head for a new trail.
Breath some fresh air and just live up the quiet peacefulness of winter. UNTIL the snow arrives!!
Getting Ready for Winter
Winter is just around the corner. How should you prepare yourself and xc skis for the winter ski season? It’s October and tri season in New England has officially ended. Time to devote time to your winter training and racing plan. Get your wax box stocked for the winter season with the necessities and get your body ready for the winter ski season ahead.
Next week – I will post details on how to get yourself and your gear ready for winter xc ski season.
100 Miles behind – what next?
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- Laura and Carole finishers of 100 Mile Seacoast Century 2011
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- Elise, Laura, Sean and Carole at the start
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Hard to believe that just 4 days ago I biked up the entire NH seacoast, the southern coast of Maine to the Nubble Light and then back into just a touch of the state of MA. I did not do this alone – my biking buddy Carole (her first time doing a full century), Sean (my husband) and Elise (my daughter) also joined-in as well. For more than 6 hours I felt fully removed from it all… and had a great day of riding! Topped off with a final jump into the ocean with bike shorts on! Awesome for September!
We all started the route together, but Sean and Elise started with a simple goal: ride home from NH which was approx. 30 miles. With Ice Cream as a reward to my daughter – I’ve never seen Elise pedal so beautifully! She was the youngest rider out on the course. She enjoyed so many smiles and “thumbs-up” from all the riders! Daddy and Elise ended up biking 43 miles (when all was said and done) – all the way up to the top of the bike course. Nice job guys!!
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After splitting from Sean and Elise – Carole and I continued our quest. For just one day- It was just my bike and my friend Carole biking along with me for the many hours of work ahead. No race, no clock, no TV, no internet, no stress… The serenity of putting down the mileage over some of the most scenic roadways in the Northeast was and always is just a great feeling. This was my 4th year completing this ride and most likely my last. I say “last” not because I didn’t enjoy it or felt that it was difficult, but because I feel that it’s time to move onto new and different challenges. I’m thinking of entering the Three Notch Century up in the White Mtns. of NH or the Mt. Washington Century in 2012 which would land me in the valleys and mtns. of scenic NH. Awesome scenery and a great change of pace.
So to complete my list that I started in my previous post – why did I do a Century Ride?
#1 reason: great feeling of accomplishment
#2 reason: it’s not a race… it’s a ride… take all day… have fun!
#3 reason: you never know what will happen over 100 miles… the unknown is great to take on.
#4 reason: nice people turn up everywhere. On the last 20 miles when we were pretty tired – we happened to meet a group of 3 guys from northern NH (Thanks guys) let us draft on the back of their wheels for a nice 20 mph avg. all the way back to the start.. that was AWESOME and really motivated us to push it on in!
#5 reason: the best of all… a great dinner following the event with Carole and her family + 2 very good glasses of french wine!! NICE!!!
Happy travels all… I am switching gears to skiing and will be posting more to this tune as I clean the bike up for winter training.
100 miles in the rain?
To my Texas friends and family who have been enduring the worst drought in years – I am sad to report that it has been raining on and off for two days here. I wish I could send it down your way! Our forecast is for more precipitation all the way through next Thursday!
So – I pose this question in this soggy wet weather – how does a cyclist plan to ride 100 miles on a bike in rainy, soggy weather? Yes – this cyclist is me!
Answer: Gore tex and plenty of zip lock bags!!
This weekend marks the annual Granite State Wheelmen Seacoast Tri-State Century Ride. That’s 100 miles on a bike passing through MA, NH and Maine. All on the beautiful seacoast with plenty of ocean views to boot! This year will mark my 4th year biking the course. It’s a beautiful course and draws hundreds of cyclists from all over the northeast & US. I am so lucky this year a have a friend, my husband and daughter joining me for the trek.
Some of you are probably asking… Why do a century ride? That’s a long time to be on a bike.
Number 1: It’s NOT a race – it’s a RIDE !! You can take all day to complete it… and no one cares if you’re first or dead last. Honestly, I love racing, but look forward to just enjoying going long and laughing along the way!
Number 2: The “after ride” dinner and wine!! Who knows where or what I’ll eat… but I won’t have to cook and I haven’t had a glass of wine in over a month!
Number 3: Can’t think of a better way to spend a fall day!! Some people enjoy shopping, others hit the spa and still others go golfing… I hike, bike, run, kayak, etc.. in the fall!
Number 4: Quality “me” time…just me, the road and my bike (and great company)!
Number 5: Great way to build endurance for winter xc skiing!
Number 6: Strengthens mental fitness and teaches me to endure beyond my normal comfort zone…
Number 7: Gotta love those fig newtons, gels and bars after mile 70!
Number 8: For a good night’s sleep …
Number 9: To be continued after the weekend. I will add more after the event…. 
Pumpkinman all weekend
Wow! It’s already Monday and most of my weekend was spent up in or thinking about Berwick, Maine!
On Saturday, I awoke at 4:30 am to eat my usual oatmeal, blueberry, banana, wheat germ and kefir mix + 1 large cup of Java. At 5:45 am I drove up to Berwick, Maine to compete in the Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon (distances of 1/3 mile swim, 14.5 mile bike and 3.1 mile run). The morning was chilly (55 degrees), but beautiful for what I had planned as my last summer tri of the season. The last time I competed in this race was in 2009 – in the Half-Iron Distance Race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). In ’09 – I spent many hours preparing for the rigors and distance of being out on the course for 5+ hours. But nothing could prepare me for the hill run out of the water… and what was to come.
This year – I had mixed emotions about racing on this course again (albeit short course) – mainly due to the hill climb (or the Powderhouse Hill Challenge) directly off the swim portion of the race into T1. The last time I did this race – in 2009 I ran full speed up the hill (taking it head on) and felt a strong “pop” in left achilles, but continued to race the race through to the finish (I was not about to quit). I posted a strong bike leg averaging 19.9 mph on the bike (in pain) and ran much slower than my target pace on the half-marathon portion due to severe pain in the lower left calf/ankle. 2 months later – I found out from my PT (after bouncing around from Dr. to Dr.) that I had partially torn my left Achilles tendon (probably on that hill) and my left knee followed suit (freezing up on Christmas Morning) with no support from the lower leg due to a tendon tear. I spent several months on crutches, forced to hang out on the couch and missed entire ski racing season due to pain. Training was off the table until I repaired. Coaching my ski team was a super challenge in 2010. For 2+ months – I was essentially misdiagnosed by different physicians – who couldn’t figure out the root cause of my troubles.
2 years later… I am finally back to running a 7:31 min/mile (not my fastest, but slowly getting there) and averaging 19.9 mph on the bike over the short course.
THIS Saturday – I had demons to overcome as I started this race…
I took my focus instead and thrust it into the swim. Starting in the very front of the pack in my age group. I decided that – “TODAY.. I was going to be a great swimmer!” “today… I will swim my hardest and if I am passed… I don’t care…I will start strong and hold it as long as physically possible!”
As it turned out I surprised myself… I was the second fastest swimmer in my age group (never done that before) – and ended up passing several swimmers from other age groups…
OK… the swim was done… onto the hill climb….
I decided to approach the dreaded hill using a “side-hill bound approach…” I decided that no matter how silly I looked getting up this hill – I was NOT about hurt my Achilles tendon for a second time. I switched on and off from left-to-right bounding – keying more into my hips/lateral portion of leg muscles rather than my achilles/calf muscles.
IT WORKED!! I was NOT the fastest up the hill – but I survived it WITHOUT INJURY!
Off with the wetsuit and onto the bike. Once on the bike – I felt good! Legs a little heavy from the previous weekend’s 60 mile ride.. but pretty good despite! Mentally and physically – I was in the right place. I knew that today was a better day than 2009. I gave it my all with the exception that I had to slow on a few rough pavement patches as I practically threw myself off on two occasions hitting huge cracks.
Quickly transitioning to my run…
I forced myself to hold a 7:30 min/mile. This was my target for today! Humming a few classic 1990′s rap songs (I have no idea where they came from… they just popped into my head) — I did it!! I WAS VERY PLEASED with my achievement!
I ended 2nd place in my age group of 35-39 with a time of 1 hour and 18 mins. to complete the course. I placed 9th overall in the women’s race out of 401 women and 44th overall in the women’s + men’s race out of 800+ racers. NOT TOO SHABBY for a mental comeback on this course.
Okay – REPEAT ON SUNDAY … except this time it was Sean’s turn and my turn to babysit. Sunday, Sean woke up at 4:00 am and left the house at 5:00 am for his turn on the Long Course (minus the Run portion). I couldn’t think about waking up that early two days in a row… but he managed to wake me… with so many lights going on an off… ARGH!!
He competed in the USAT Aquabike Nationals in Berwick which was a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike. With less time to train that planned – he felt okay in the swim and survived the two lap swim in the lake. On the bike was where he stepped it up… averaging around 21-22 mph over the entire 56 mile course he had another great bike.
Sean finished in 3rd place overall in the men’s event and came home very proud of his accomplishments! Nice job Sean! Next year – you’ll have to spend more time in the pool .
Yes! New England is a great place for endurance athletes
Welcome to New England Endurance Training. This blog is dedicated to all those New England athletes who train here in the Northeast. As a coach and athlete – we spend many months training in the cold raw months of winter either on snow, in the rain or cold. Some of us head inside onto the bike trainer or treadmill and some others head outside and cherish the winter on xc skis. We train in any and all conditions accepting what nature dishes us as part of the New England/Northeast experience.
One day you’re heating the house and the next you’re turning on the AC. That’s the Northeast in a nut-shell.
Yes – there are many great champions and athletes from New England – so for those who may hale from the Western US – perhaps in sporty Boulder, CO… or farther afield… it may not be perfect up here… and the weather may challenge you daily… but we are a hearty bunch and oh so creative when it comes to getting our training done outside.
I speak completely of my own opinion here – we (most of us) enjoy all 4 seasons!
Training and coaching up here offers up a sort of natural poetry that rings in your mind as you bike or run on quiet almost perfect roads of New England. My meanderings on this blog will be wide and varied and I look forward to sharing my coaching and athletic endeavors here with anyone who may be interested.
