New Beginnings

The spring is starting to come around. Despite frost advisories in June, we look to be getting some warmer weather soon. For someone that studied climate change in grad school, I can't tell you how funny it's been to hear all the discussions about "global warming". Hearing someone wax poetic about how New England is going to "benefit" from global warming, that is more snow with cooler summers, is especially hilarious. Fact is - there are many, many models out there that describe many, many ways that the earth will warm, but they all say -unless they are funded by Exxon/Mobil- that it will warm and warm substantially. But I rant...

Today is second practice of the Onion River Nordic Junior Race Team, or ORN JRT. I started this group up with the help of Nick Petterssen as a way to bring the junior skiers in the area to the next level. There is a ton of enthusiam out there for this program! I have put together training plans for each of the twelve skiers. We are meeting twice a week through the summer and in to the fall to work on ski specific movements and strength. This morning we will be doing a creative run. It's a pretty standard workout of mine that I picked up at a camp with Cory Swartz and Bob Fitzpatrick back when I was a junior. You basically run, then stop to do core strength, plyos, and other calistenics for a couple minutes, run again, then repeat for a total of about an hour. It all ends with the "circle of fun", which has come to be a bit of a hallmark of mine. It involves lots of tuck jumps, quick feet and silliness.

I will post pictures of the group once I remember to take some.