Sophie Caldwell: Last Week in VT

It seems like yesterday when I was looking at the calendar and realizing I had three weeks to relax in VT before heading out west. I'm not sure where all the time went, but I suddenly have to be all packed up and ready to leave tomorrow! My first USST camp starts in Bend on Sunday, then I'll be going to Park City for the first three weeks of June for testing, an altitude block, and rookie camp. This weekend I'm going up to Hanover to visit my siblings and friends, going to UNH for my cousin Anya's graduation, then heading to Boston for a night before flying out on Sunday. That's why I need to be all packed up by tomorrow! I also need to pack just about everything because I will be skiing on snow for half the trip and dryland training for half the trip.

The past few weeks have been very relaxing and I've started to get back into the routine of training. The SMS T2 team is slowly trickling in and by the time I get back at the end of June, we will finally all be together! I've been doing a lot of road biking because I'm still trying to rest my foot and be smart about that. This was difficult at first because running is my favorite kind of exercise (well, 2nd to snow skiing) and road biking used to be one of my least favorite forms of exercise. In fact, road biking in the rain is my all-time least favorite form of exercise. I think of myself as a fair weather biker. Luckily, we had about 10 days of the most beautiful weather I've ever seen during a spring in VT. Each day was in the 70s and sunny and this made it easy for me to get my bike on! Unfortunately, that weather didn't last forever, but I think our cold rainy period is just about finished. I've also started my strength training for the year and as a result, I am constantly sore in one place or another, usually a little sore all over. It's fun to get back into the gym, but let's just say I have some work to do after taking an extended break from strength training. Here are some photos from my last few weeks at home!

The SMS crew heading out for a bike ride

biking isn't bad when you have a group of boys to break the wind for you

rollerskiing with the SMS girls

Ana and Pip skiing through the Stratton village!

biking next to Iz

watching Dudley Rose get her head stuck in a glass

Erika and I made homemade bibimbap

My dad and I were in charge of making the Mother's Day feast and it consisted of watermelon gazpacho, baguettes with steak, pesto, avocado, and cheddar cheese, a big salad, and mint chocolate chip meringues for dessert. We thought it was a success and the moms at least pretended they did!