Vermont to the Midwest

After spending a lot of our winter on the road, it was really nice to settle in at home for three weeks (the most time I've spent in one place since the beginning of September). I got to catch up with some of my teammates who I hadn't seen for a while, spend time with my family, and take advantage of the best skiing I've seen in Vermont in two years! I also got to jump into some local races including the Craftsbury marathon (only the 12k race for me), the UVM carnival, and the Jericho NorAm.

Perfect corduroy right up to the back door thanks to the 
Craftsbury Outdoor Center grooming crew!

Craftsbury BKL was well represented at the marathon!

Just like old times! Playing Catan with Sam, Mary, and 
fomer GRPers Andrew and Pete while snacking on 
chocolate chips.

Driving home on one of my favorite roads

A rather snowy quarterfinal at the UVM carnival. It was so 
fun to race at Trapps again after an almost three year hiatus!
(photo: The Mama)

Hanging with Pepa at the UVM carnival

So nice to catch up with some of my dear Bowdoin 
friends/former teammates!

All three of us in one place! I was really happy to get to 
be at two of Hannah's carnival weekends while I was home.

The start of the women's pursuit race at the biathlon NorAm 
in Jericho. So much green! Congrats to Emily, Alex, and 
Hallie who qualified to go to Europe and race the IBU Cup!
(photo: The Mama)

Proof of my personal-best prone stage in a race!
(photo: The Mama)

Starting to feel a bit tired...

(photo: The Mama)

So happy that Dennis and Kari Jo could come watch me race!

Keeping busy with some more hat-knitting

The day after the last NorAm race, it was back on the road again. Our first stop was in Michigan for a SuperTour race weekend in Ishpeming. Who would have guessed that after spending most of our winter in the west, the first warm and sunny weather we would encounter on the road would be in Michigan! The temps reached 55F multiple days in a row, some of us even got sunburned, and I raced without long underwear for the first time all winter. Luckily the snow hung in there for our races...

Ollie walking through food truck heaven at the 
Ishpeming venue

Huge thanks to Jen and Tom (parents of GRP rower, 
Wes Vear) for hosting us at their beautiful 
home in Marquette!

We thoroughly enjoyed our delicious dinners at the 
Delft and Donckers (both restaurants are owned 
and run by Jen and Tom). 

Our SuperTour race weekend consisted of a skate sprint followed by a 5k classic, which was combined with a midwestern college race. Four GRP women qualified for the skate sprint which was awesome. There were 22 women competing so only 16 qualified for heats as opposed to the usual 30. It was a relatively flat two-lap race which was quite different from most skate sprints we've done. Caitlin and I both made the 4-person final where she placed second and I was fourth. Inspired by our teammate Susan's spectacular second-place finish in the mass start at IBU World Champs, the following day's classic race went incredibly well for the GRP culminating in our first podium sweep! I finished first (for my first SuperTour win), Caitlin was second, and Liz was third. Thanks to Nick, Ollie, and Pepa we had some of the best skis I've ever raced on. I had skied the downhills very aggressively during my warm-up, but on the first downhill in the actual race I almost flew off the course because my skis were so fast! I also had bombproof kick. I feel incredibly lucky (and a bit spoiled) that having amazing race skis is a norm and not an exception on this team.

Classic 5k GRP podium sweep!
(photo: Pepa)

Afternoon jog to a lighthouse!

We may have jumped a fence and ducked a
chain to get to the end of this walkway...

Who's who?!

Caitlin exploring a stone wall

Main Street in Marquette covered in snow 
for a dogsled race

Some speedy dogs

After the SuperTour we headed to Hayward for the Birkie. Unfortunately there wasn't much snow there and after a week of hoping some might fall from the sky, the race got cancelled. It was definitely a disappointment, but we made the most of our week in Wisconsin and staved off boredom with relative success.

Chilling in Hayward, waiting for snow...

Good thing we did a lot of grass skiing this
summer in preparation for the Birkie!

Main Street in Hayward looking awfully snowless

Cheering on the Junior and BarneBirkie racers! Just in
case you can't tell, they're running not skiing...

Our favorite Hayward activity... lounging in recliners

Skiing the Birkie trail with Annie, Liz, and Caitlin. 
It was at this point that we decided to turn around...

We got to help out with a fun Fast and 
Female event while in Hayward! 
(photo: Reese Brown/SIA Nordic)

We actually found some decent skiing in Cable on our 
last day in Wisconsin thanks to a light dusting of snow. 
Also, the sun finally came out which made the ski that 
much better.

After returning from the midwest, we spent a few weeks at home before heading up to Quebec City for World Cup Finals. More on that soon!

During my time at home I got to watch my sister compete at
NCAAs. In her last college race she placed 10th to become
Bowdoin's first ever All-American skier! She skied
an amazing race and I'm incredibly proud of her!