Continuing the conversation

Last week, within an on-campus study dealing with athletics and body image, a good friend of mine shared Hannah Halvorsen's Breaking the Silence video (it's now up on FasterSkier.com too). While certainly appropriate for the study's discussion, the video really, really resonated with me. I have to say that it is powerful to see your fellow teammates, role models and worldwide competitors sharing their own challenges and ways in which they seek peace with themselves and their quest for athletic achievement. As a far too prevalent yet hardly talked about issue, I admire Hannah's simple, yet thoughtful, approach to raising awareness on the subject. If anything, now that it has "broken the silence" it gives friends, teams, programs, etc. a common ground from which to start a conversation, which is usually the most difficult part.  

Earlier this year, we used this podcast to jump start a similar conversation within the women's cross country team. The podcast, mediated by Julia Hanlon, features professional runner, Lauren Fleshman, and clinical psychologist, Dr. Melody Moore. Again it hits hard. Lauren speaks freely about her own experiences, while Dr. Moore offers tools and resources with which to begin to combat the issue. However, once again, part of the power of the podcast ended up being it's ability to act as common ground for us (runners and coaches) to build from.


Personally, I have found it freeing to talk more openly about this topic. Whether hypothetically, voicing my own insecurities, or trying my best to support a teammate or friend, I have no doubt that a continued discussion is at least part of the answer. While Hannah's video was limited to female athletes and the cross country team's discussion was limited to the women's team, I also caution the idea that this is solely a female-specific issue. Everyone is susceptible and everyone is part of the answer. We really have a great opportunity to continue the conversation and support one another within the Williams Ski Team, and the greater nordic community.

I'll leave you with my favorite quote mentioned in the podcast above: "Comparison is the thief of joy."

Hannah

PS: It SNOWED yesterday. That's exciting.





 

Gueule de bois

(un poème écrit par Jack Schrupp)

J’allume une cigarette et respire profondément.

Le train est en retard ce matin.

J’allume une deuxième cigarette.

First of all, you are very welcome for the tasteful poem. Furthermore, I would like every one of you to know how excited I am to return to the Purple Valley (once Donald Trump is securely in office) to be part of the greatness that is Williams Skiing. My time away has made me realize how fortunate I am to be a part of such a program, and I urge you all to cherish every moment you spend together. That being said, have fun studying dweebs! Know that while you are swimming in a frothy sea of lab reports and problem sets I am doing the backstroke in a pool of baguettes. I have, contrary to popular belief, been notching some most excellent training hours in the stomping grounds of Maurice Manificat (I even chase Martin Fourcade around on roller-skis). I also eat a lot of chocolate . . . like a lot of chocolate. Bref, thinking of you all !

Au revoir from Ibiza . . . I mean France.

Bizous,

Jack

Sheep Hill, is that you?

A Day in the Life: A Photo Diary

6:00 am. Wake up and enjoy how quiet campus is while walking to lift. 

7:30 am. Choose from one of five boxes of the same kind of Kashi cereal for breakfast. Turns out Hannah Cole and I like the same cereal so we stocked up thanks to handy-dandy Stop and Shop discounts.

9:00 am. Walk to class or the library. Campus is boasting the full array of autumn colors right now!

The library. A Williams student's home away from home. I will avoid putting the number of hours I spend there but at least my carrel has a nice view!

Inevitably I spend a large amount of time watching the local Williamstown wildlife while in the library. The spider in this photo lives on the window of my carrel and I watch him eat bugs and spin his web. I also spent a lot of energy trying to get a picture where it looks like he is on top of Pine Cobble. I would say I was successful. There are also many bunnies that live near the library and I saw one last night. They are very cute and I was happy to find out that Lucy loves bunnies just as much as I do!

1:45 pm. On Tuesday's, Perry will sometimes get me coffee from the mythical coffee machine that I finally caught a glimpse of for the first time this year. Despite all appearances, Perry is in fact allowed to be in this room and normally does not look this sketchy. As for the coffee, I would say it (mostly) lives up to its reputation.

4:00 pm. Practice! Tsaina has recently been trying out new water bottle belt carrying techniques on our runs. Her alternative style has not yet caught on, but who's to stay that it won't take the EISA by storm this winter?

7:00 pm. Head back to campus for dinner! Sonya is very excited and hungry for dinner most nights, while Dylan appears to be slightly less stoked about the promise of Driscoll's finest cuisine.

7:01 pm. Hydrate with sports drink. Note the time frame on this... you can't wait too long, 'cause then you won't replenish your glycogen stores and maintain your energy! Ingrid was very excited about finding the jackpot of sports drink at a gas station in Wilmington VT.

7:30 pm. Dinner! Though this is not the hallowed halls of Driscoll, this was the scene of a wonderful and nutritious meal prepared by the women's team before the Purple Valley cross-country race. Roasted veggies, pumpkin muffins, salmon and a surprise appearance by Perry... what more could you ask for?

Trees!

Hello all! It is very exciting to be finally contributing to the legendary blog. It's been a grand first month and a half here at Williams. I hail from Washington State, and I am slowly adjusting to the humidity, the shocking lack of Starbucks, and the general autumn grandeur. Mountain day has come and went (I'm sure there will be much more on that in a later blog posts), and the trees are becoming truly magnificent. I've spent the last few days in a constant state of awe. Unfortunately I am not a prolific photographer, but here are some snapshot from the single workout I remembered to bring my phone on.

We froshies know to always wear helmets in moving vehicles

Double poling up Petersburg pass! So fun!

That neon autumn aesthetic 

Benson making good use of the time spent waiting for the slow people (me) to make it to the top

We love fall!!!

And now in the lastest edition of our freshman featurette I interviewed the one and only Carmen Bango.

Hometown:

Woodstock, Vermont

Cool fact about hometown:

It also happens to be the hometown of legend Jfields 

Spirit Vegetable (like a spirit animal, but a vegetable):

Kale

Favorite place to run:

Any deserted beach while the sun is setting or mountain ridge while the sun is rising

Favorite Starbucks order:

Large Chai latte with extra whipped cream 

Worst race experience: 

Causing the notorious Mid eastern cup pileup last year.

Ultimate pre-race song:

Come on Eileen

Favorite coast (there is only one right answer):

After spending this summer in Bend, I'm pretty obsessed with the west coast now (Ivy did not bribe me to say this)

If you could only eat of type of food for the rest of your life what would it be?

Mangos

Most inflexible muscle group:

I don't know I'm pretty flexible

         *editor's note: this is 100% true. Carmen is disgustingly flexible. 

Favorite Ben Husaby quote:

"If you think, you're dead." and "GO TEAM ROJO!!!"

More from Long Lake

Some more photos and notes from last weekend's adventure in the Adirondacks:

Captain Carr! This was a big weekend for all of us but especially Carr. Evan saw his first moose -- along with several bald eagles, a coyote, and big buck. Call the Adirondack Daily Enterprise! It's been a year of wild animals for the men's team, which we think is fitting.

Braden's opinion of New York state has drastically improved. 

And then there's Hans, who is really, really handsome.

Huge thank you to Evan's parents, Liza and Don, for sharing their beautiful home -- and the fantastic lasagna!

Gardner was there. Did you know that Salem Sue is the World's Largest (fiberglass) Holstein Cow? No, of course you didn't. If you look closely at Nick's sweatshirt you can see the Missouri River outlined on Sue's udder. How bout it?!

Also did some training.

West Coast freshman learns about mud. The Alaska freshman struggles mostly with roots.

 We missed Jordy, of course. It's been good to have the whole squad together this week.

 Thanks for peak foliage and great times Long Lake!

Hello World Wide Web! I am no English major, but I decided to have some fun with my first blog post. Enjoy :) 

We've been on campus a month and it's finally October

the trees burst with color and the weather is colder

As we settle into the rhythm of homework and classes

it's a nice break to work on pole timing up black velvet passes

Becker, Sonya, and Ingrid cooling down after a scenic interval session up Petersburg pass

We've had minor injuries and sickness with which we have grappled 

but the women's team is looking strong, excited, and ready to battle

as clearly demonstrated by Becker's sweet skill of splitting apples

Sunday was a fun day with a morning OD

snack-filled water belts were certainly key

The blur was definitely intentional...

We even saw a real, live porcupine 

who knew that these cuddly creatures could climb! 

They are deceptively cute

Overall, the past week was a success, 

we had our first coaches' practice yesterday and it was the best! 

Enough of the rhyming, time for the Freshman Featurette! This week, Ingrid! 

​Full Name: 

Ingrid Caroline Thyr

 

Hometown: 

Minneapolis, MN

 

Age: 

18

 

Weirdest reaction received while roller skiing: 

"So what do you guys do when the snow falls?"

 

Favorite post race food: 

Peanut butter toast

 

Coolest wildlife spotted:

Part of the caribou migration in Alaska

 

If you had to eat one item from the Mission dining hall for the rest of your life, it would be:

Greek yogurt mixed with granola, obvi

 

Favorite workout: 

OD ski into Yellowstone National Park to see bison, geysers, and other cool stuff

 

Dream adventure:

Backpacking trip in Patagonia

 

Winter hats: pom-pom or no pom-pom?

Pom-pom all the way

 

Guilty pleasure: 

Cheese Puffs

 

Most excited about ____ this year:  

Skiing the East while wearing a purple cow suit

 

Favorite slang word/phrase from home: 

You betcha it's "Oh fer cute!"

 

Go-to pump up song: 

"Hot Cheetos & Takis" - Y.N. Rich Kids

Most thought-about existential question: 

If a plane crashes on the border of the U.S. and Canada, where will they bury the survivors?

That's it for this week! Happy trails! 

Weekend Getaway at the Carr Cabin

This weekend Evan Carr graciously invited the men's team to stay at his family's cabin on Long Lake in New York. We left on Friday night, and after a long 3 hour drive and many conversations about the depth of lakes around the world, we arrived at the cabin. The next day, we did an OD run and summited Seward's Peak. The view was downright amazing.

That afternoon, we had a heavy homework and napping sesh. 

The Carr family cabin

Overall it was a solid weekend spent training with the mens team, and I can say I'm pretty dang stoked to be a part of this team. Fingers crossed for an early snow this year!