Summer Training

I found this guy on Thursday training hard in Trout Lake, WA with a group of about 50 athletes. My guess is Jordan spent around 1.5 hours at race pace on Thursday between a long classic roll and 7x5min uphill bounding work.  Skiers are born in the summer!

Jordan Fields
getting ready for 7x5 min uphill bounding

Probably A Good Idea

Like Williams Skiing.

Solstice Presidential Traverse

Being father's day weekend a couple of local dads and I woke up at 4am Saturday morning and drove to the White Mountains. It was a beautiful day!

The Range coming into view on
the drive

Summit of Adams (peak # 2)

Rocky Terrain

Found some SNOW and threw a couple
snowballs

The rocks in this picture sum up the footing
we had for about 20 miles

The Cog 

Looking back on some of the earlier peaks

6 hours in we found Olivia at her
summer home!!

It was great to catch up with Liv and to hear what she's been up to. I was pretty exhausted and the potato dill soup was awesome. Thanks Liv!

Elevation profile of the day

It was a pretty long day of climbing and running on extreme rocky train (plus driving from and back to Williamstown), but an awesome adventure. Knees and calves are pretty shot, but the memories will last awhile. Happy summer training to all!

Excerpts From My Journal

The original premise of this post was to give an update on farm life in the Berkshires.  However, at the same time I was gathering thoughts on what the past six weeks have looked like for me, I realized that it has been a year exactly since I applied for the Assistant Nordic Coach at Williams.  With graduation only a week ago, I thought it imperative to include some thoughts on my post-graduation life.  Though I think more than just those that recently graduated can relate to my words and experiences.  Given the title of this post, I think it only makes sense to preface that these are actual entries in my journal (from summers '13, '14, and '15), and though it would seem that I would put them in chronological order, I didn't.  So pay attention.  It will all come together in the end.

Sunday, May 31, 2015:

It’s been about a year since I got the phone call from Jason.  I remember it exactly.  I was at Metwest High School in Oakland, California, in the middle of a lesson for my environmental chemistry class.  My phone started ringing.  Typically, I would have just ignored it, but phones were how the teachers communicated when it came to discipline issues.  So naturally, I answered the phone expecting to hear the Principle tell me he needed to see one of my students, or discuss an issue with a student.  To my surprise, Jason Lemieux was on the other line asking me if I would be willing to set up an interview for the Assistant Nordic Coach at Williams College.  I told him I’d call him back after I finished with my chemistry students.

Sunday, June 16, 2013
Two weeks at Kearsarge Gore Farm (KGF).  My back and legs still hurt.  I've never lived like this before.  Hard work, little pay, no rest.  

Thursday, June 19, 2014

My interview with Jason is tomorrow.  I’m literally in the-middle-of-no-where Oregon after driving for about eight hours.  I pulled of the highway in Roseburg, and drove down logging roads for several miles.  I found a small campsite with some trails nearby.  With my tent set up, I ventured around the trails before starting in on cooking home fries over the fire for dinner.  I’m meeting with Jason at a Starbucks, just outside Portland at 9am.

Prepping for my interview.

Sunday, June 23, 2013
Hot and humid at KGF.  It's only going to get worse.  My body is feeling better.  Not as stiff and sore.  Goals for this week:

1. Stay positive
2. Do at least two or three morning runs.
3. Get more money.
4. Begin plan for heading west.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

It has been six weeks at Mighty Food Farm in Pownal, VT.  The back of my neck is about as dark as the chocolate brown couch I’m sitting on.  The soreness in my lower back, glutes, and hamstrings doesn’t seem to go away after an easy Saturday and Sunday.  Back at it tomorrow - plant, weed, harvest, weed, and repeat!  Gotta get tough somehow!

Not a bad view!

So many strawberries!

As I think back to two summers ago, when I was working at KGF in Warner, NH, the owner, Bob Bower was right.  I told him, as we cleaned and packed fresh picked veggies, that my plan was to follow my then girlfriend to the west coast.  He told me a couple stories from his past that involved a similar strategy of following a girl, only for it to end without the girl.  He told me the same would happen to me.  I didn’t believe him.  I was head over heels for this girl, and ready for anything.  The fact of the matter is that life is about making decisions.  I made a decision in the summer of 2013 to follow the love of my life to California.  I'll never regret this decision given the foreshadowing from Farmer Bob, and I would make it again in a heartbeat.  I later made the decision to leave the west coast to pursue one of my passions – coaching collegiate Nordic skiing.  Jason saw something in me at that Starbucks in Oregon, and he gave me an opportunity.  I am forever grateful for that opportunity.  I truly believe I have the best job in the world.  I am more psyched than ever for ski racing, for next winter, and for helping Williams skiers achieve their goals.

Successions of brassicas. And yes, I do get to weed in between each one of those individual plants...every week.

I've learned a lot about myself since graduating college.  Here a few things I think about on a daily basis, that also serve me when making decisions.

1. Stay positive – positivity always trumps negativity.
2.  Experience anything – go on adventures, meet new people, but above all, have fun.
3. Build as much character you can – you’ll appreciate it later in life (so I’m told...).
4. Serve others, always – there’s no higher purpose.
5. Share it all with a companion – a best friend.

This past year at Williams has been a blast!  I'm super excited for next year, for some awesome ski training, for the incoming freshman, and of course the returnees.  So! Here's to making good decisions.  That includes working on farms in the off season, because if you want to get tough, picking strawberries for four hours a day will definitely get you tough...or maybe just a broken back.  Either way, every day at the farm AND every day with this awesome team, I can check off everything on the above list.

Tomatoes!

Freshly planted melons in front of the Taconics.

Pulling row cover.

Successions of lettuce.

New boards! Time to put them to good use.

Lock it up, folks!

Perry

226th Commencement and Assistant Professor Emeritus!

 This past Sunday we had PERFECT weather for graduation. It was great to see the seniors all week at various gatherings and to catch up with their families to recognize such a big accomplishment. CONGRATULATIONS SENIORS!!!!

Bud on Stage with President Falk

A beautiful day!

 It was tough to catch photos of the seniors as they raced by, but I did manage to get a few:

Elena - off to Philadelphia 

Farmer Perry going in for a
Will smootch

Vanya - ready for Boston!

Ursula Burns (CEO of Xerox) spoke to the graduating class and Bud Fisher now hold's the "Emeritus" title:)

Great work Bud!!!
Adam Falk recognizing Bud
Thank you again for all you have done
here at Williams!

Seniors try to go to Hilton Head

... but accidentally head North to Jackson. Ben and Vanya joined Elena and Hannah Benson in Jackson NH for a nice midweek hiking adventure and some chill time at our favorite Bretton Woods accommodations. We sadly didn't bring skis for the last of the snow but got to visit some sweet parts of the Whites and kick start training for after Williams.

Hannah Cole '17 - 2nd at NCAA Championships

Pretty incredible effort by sophomore nordic skier Hannah Cole!!!

http://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/wtrack/2014-15/releases/20150524z6ndj5

You can find some live coverage here. It's the first event in the D3 Women's outdoor track coverage:

http://www.ncaa.com/video/trackfield-outdoor-women/d3

Berlin Ski Area and exams are over!

A blast from the past cut and pasted from the 1962 Carnival Packet. Looks like a lot of FUN!

The last day of final exams was yesterday. Campus is thinning out and our athletes are dispersing for a variety of training locations around the world. We had a great spring of strength training and transitioning from the race season. We're excited to see some new levels of fitness come September....only 3 months away!

Eli

Here on campus we're working on some upgrades for next season. It's been awhile since the ski rooms have been cleaned out!

Men's ski room ready for a few upgrades

I've also been spending some quality time at the local playgrounds. This guy is growing up quick!

Pure Joy!:)

And I had a great time hanging out with some of the alpine team during kayaking PE class this spring!

Getting ready to roll!

Springtime!

Stopped by the track meet this past Saturday to watch Hannah Cole place 2nd in the 3k steeplechase!

HC led the entire race

Jason and I have been busy with recruits, writing training plans, and doing post season meetings, among other shenanigans!

70Degree Skiing

It was about 70 degrees at Prospect on Monday.  The skiing was awesome!  Maybe I'll go skiing again today...

Plenty of snow on 1/3

View from the top

Crushed the tele-turns!

Who is this Will Sweep character??