September Recap

Somehow, it's already reading period (not quite sure how that happened), which means that we have already started practicing with coaches. September definitely flew by. We (the girls team) started out the month with our traditional first run up Taconic Crest on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon after the first day of classes. Some of the river crossings were a little high after the end of summer rains, but overall it was a great beginning to the fall.

Welcome (back) to the Purple Valley

You too, Olivia

We were lucky to have a lot of good weather over the next month for our workouts. Apart from a few days of torrential downpour (read: running from class in science quad to the gym, ~3 minutes, meant you were totally drenched) and some randomly hot days, the Berkshires delivered warm and beautiful afternoons. We've visited most of the normal rollerski loops without getting lost on the way there or back, though there were a few close calls. Special thanks to our captains for shuttling us around in their cars all month!

Classic specific strength on Whitman Rd

Not a cloud in sight

 It's been nice to be back with the team, catching up on summer events and getting to know the freshmen. Our longer runs and rollerskis especially have led to a lot of interesting discussions and learning random tidbits about one another (Trivia: Who had a Japanese princess stay with them this summer? Which member of the team has lived in Germany? Who would you talk to if you wanted to learn about pop culture in the Middle East?). We certainly miss our teammates who are abroad or taking semesters off right now and can't wait to hear all of their stories this winter.

Cloudy Sunday morning on top of Berlin Mountain

The last Sunday practice before coaches was the same day as the Real Food Bike Farm Tour, which a few  team members helped to organize, so some of us pushed our long workout to the afternoon and headed out on mountain bikes to visit local farms in the morning. Though it was supposed to rain, thankfully it held off, so we had a great trip with fall foliage, baby animals, and locally produced cheese and skyr. It was definitely a good way to wrap up our month of captains practice.

More alpacas! (and Eli)

Laura and a 5 day old calf

All and all September was an awesome start to the fall; now we're settling into normal practices with the benefit of vans, quality time with Bud and Jay, and, of course, free laundry.