College

Friday and Saturday were the EISA Middlebury Carnival held at Rikert Ski Touring Center in Ripton, VT (aka Breadloaf). This week at work was fairly trying; two days of a company-wide strategic planning meeting. Lot's of talk of proaction, synergy, et al. On Friday, I could not bring my self to go back to the office, so after about an hour of work, I took the day to head over to Breadloaf to take in the carnival. It had been several years since I have been able to see a carnival. They are a blast. I was able to catch up with my coach from Bates, Becky Woods, and former "boss" Cory Schwartz of UNH. The conditions were excellent. Fresh snow the night before and a broken piston bulley lead to an hour delay, but the skiing was fantastic. The racing was super exciting. Both men and women were pulling a 10K classic. The day was lead by lots of green. Dartmouth men put their 6 guys in the top 11. UVM went 1,2 in the mens, while Bates' Sylvan Ellefson came in 6th after leading the race for the first couple kilometers of the race. In the woman's race, Dartmouth proved their might again going 1,2, 5 and 9. The lady bobcats kicked in hard with little Natalie Ruppertsburger coming in 3rd followed by teamates at 13 and 14, giving them 2nd place on the day. My throat was sore for 2 days after the race. I get so jazzed up athat I end up cheering myself hoarse. It was awesome.

The highlight of the day, however, was getting a chance to catch up with Becky. We talked about the team, skiing in general, and the struggle of skiing fast in college. I wish I had the chance to talk for hours more. The perspective that I have gained since graduating through coaching at UNH, trying to ski train with a family and job, and finally understanding how to train have lead me to a place of near remorse for not taking better advantage of the opportunity that I had while skiing in college. Serendipity as it is, however, I could also argue that I would not be the person that I am today if I had followed a different path: married to the love of my life with a wonderful family. What this translates into is the realization of how much I love this sport. It pushes me out the door into sub zero temps at 8:30 at night, gets me out on the roller skis in the summer, and urges me to put in that extra effort on interval days.

So Good luck to the bobcats, wildcats, catamounts, big green, panthers, mules, polar bears, saints, and knights. For some, this next weekend will be your last collegiate race, enjoy it while you can!