After four straight months at Williams, I got to spend the past week at home and it was grand. Highlights included: having all four Cole kids home, watching my younger brother Jude play in his high school hockey game, a cool talk about iron metabolism I had with a former high school teammate who is now working for a vascular biology lab in Boston, getting to catch the first high school nordic race of the season, and baking lots of Christmas cookies.
I also got the chance to hop into a few of our high school nordic practices. This was kind of special because my break typically doesn't overlap with their practice schedule and NY is lucky if it has consistently skiable snow in late December. On one hand it all felt so familiar-- the big team, Coach Bernie's focused yet energetic voice, the excitement of the first few days on snow... On the other, it wasn't "my team" anymore. I had a blast trading stories about epic races and "I can't believe I survived" that practice. I hopped into their 6am strength practice and was quickly reminded of how well the team fosters attitudes of hard work and commitment. I also thanked my parents repeatedly after I realized how wicked cold it was cheering during night races on top of Bristol Mountain.
It seemed fitting to begin my senior season at Williams with a return to where my journey with nordic began (thank you, thank you to the HFL team). I'm excited and hopeful to see what this season holds!
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| High schoolers warming up under the lights. |
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| A volunteer finishing the start line set-up. |
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| A cold, clear night for a race. |
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| Snowy woods from a training day at Bristol Nordic Center. |
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| The "family picture" at our Christmas dinner. From left to right: Christian, Jude, me, and Gabriel. |
If you're looking for some reading to do (MSA camp is the best for this) here are a couple of things I've been reading lately:
- https://ephstrackblog.wordpress.com --> Thoughts, stories and wisdom from the Williams Men's Track and Field Head Coach, Ethan Barron
- http://fasterskier.com/fsarticle/mclaren-report-ii-systematic-doping-continued-sochi-games/--> FasterSkier's report on the 2nd McLaren Report, with link to original article. Both frustrating and depressing, but an important read...
- http://www.letsrun.com/tag/sub-2-hour-marathon/--> Several articles on a possible sub 2hr. marathon attempt. If anything it makes for great dinner conversations
- Any and all of FasterSkier's "17 Questions for 2017"--> A great way to get to know some of the best skiers from the U.S. and Canada
MSA has been unreal. Stay tuned for an update soon!
Hannah
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