Tour of Stockholm and Training

The past weekend was full of a few of northern Maine's signature summer training events. Starting with the Mars hill uphill running time trial. This workout was a fitness test/sufferfest. The Mars hill run is extremely simple. You run from the bottom of the Mars hill ski run to the top. It takes 12-20 minutes to run hill depending of fitness. I was 4th in our group and made the first page of results on the all time list. It was foggy and rainy during the race, so much so I couldn't see the top of the hill from the start, which made pacing difficult. That afternoon I saw the new Harry Potter Movie which was very entertaining. The following day was the annual Tour of Stockholm. (Stockholm Maine that is) Stockholm was originally settled by Swedes to strengthen the United States claim to the land when it was first being opened up of settlement. It is also the hometown of MWSC athlete and National Team member Russell Currier. The Tour of Stockholm consisted of a 30min Kayak, a 1 hour rollerski, and an EPIC, BUGGY, mountain bike ride. The highlight of the ride was the 45 minutes I spent pushing my bike through a bog while being eaten by Jurassic Park sized horseflies. The last half hour was ridden on logging roads in the pouring rain and hail. This bike was supposed to be 1.5 hours, but turned into 2.5. After our misguided ride the run portion of the tour was canceled. After we has all cleaned up a bit we headed over to Will's house (the local MWSC coach) for a BBQ. This week was a high volume week for me with 19 hours of training. Next week is my last week here before I spend two weeks in Jericho Vermont. This week is a a recovery/prep week before the camp in Vermont. I'll be sending my bike back to Minnesota and other non essential items. I am also currently ordering my race skis for next winter. (Rossignol WSC's if your interested.) Stay tuned for Jericho pics and updates.