Happy Fall!

We celebrated the transition from summer to fall with our annual 100km skiathon last Sunday. It always ends up being an all-day adventure and while it's usually a lot of fun, I've found that the best approach to skiing 100km is not to think about it too much. Wrapping your head around skiing the distance of three 30k races (the longest race we ever do) plus a 10k race, or being on your rollerskis for 6-7 hours, or worrying about how to properly fuel, or wondering if your legs, butt, elbows, and back can handle it all generally causes a lot of anxiety. So this year my approach was to get excited about the ski without thinking or worrying about too much. I just wanted to enjoy spending the day outside on what I would argue are some of the most beautiful roads in the country with my teammates. It worked pretty well. We switched from classic skiing to skate skiing at about 50kms and there was an hour there where I wasn't sure my legs could handle skating any longer, but then I got used to it and on we went! We had a very supportive cheering section consisting of Sverre, Jason Cork, and Pat for coaches, Annie P.'s parents and boyfriend, and Simi's mom, aunt, and uncle. When you have people smiling and cheering you on around every corner and up every hill, you never really question whether or not you're going to make it to the end. So thank you to everyone who supported us. Here are some photos from our epic adventure and you can check out the SMS T2 website for more.

The crew before the start - Annie, Annie, Jessie, Andy, Erika, Ben, Paddy, Sophie, and Simi (Annie P photo)

Coach Patrick calculating our route (Annie P. photo)

Thanks to Podium Wear for our matching tanks! (Annie P. photo)

The coaches marked every intersection with encouraging words and directions (Annie P. photo)

There were a few hills that were a little too big to feel comfortable skiing down, especially with tired legs, so we used the vans to help check our speed (Annie P. photo)

Fuel. When you ski 100km, you probably burn 3,000-4,000 calories, so if you want to be alive at the end and feel semi-okay the following day, you need to eat enough. As long as it doesn't upset your stomach, you can eat anything with calories. Bars, PB&Js, donuts, apple cake, gatorade, jelly beans - yes please! (Annie P. photo)

When the vans weren't an option, the coaches were there to slow us down. Here is my dad braking Erika, Annie, and Jessie down one of the bigger hills

Draft. Some people like classic skiing more, while others prefer skating. Some people are really good on the ups and others are good on the downs. We took turns pulling during our strengths and when no one was feeling great, we recruited Pat to do a little pulling on the bike (Annie P. photo)

If you smile long enough, you will become happy. Fake it till you make it. Just kidding, it was actually really fun, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't a few times my smile probably wasn't that genuine. (Annie P. photo)

Aaaaand that's a wrap. (Annie P. photo)

Start together, finish together. Or at least finish with the girls ;) (Annie P. photo)

We did it! (Annie P. photo)

That has to be some kind of record.

In addition to skiing 100 km, we've been enjoying the perfect fall weather and watching the leaves pop more and more each day. After a couple weeks of recovery, I have a big week before I head out to Park City for our next USST Camp. I'm going to get back on my bike tomorrow for the first time since breaking my elbow in May, we're going to go apple picking, we're going to check out the Peru Fair this weekend, and I'm running in the Vermont 50 mile relay on Sunday morning with two of my cousins! We are also hosting a clinic in Hanover on Sunday afternoon. Check out this VIDEO Annie Hart made to get you psyched for ski season!

Enjoying a date night with my sister and Annie at the Hapgood Store in Peru

USST coach Jason Cork is town for the week. Not only is it awesome to have him supporting us at our workouts and giving us feedback, but he also happens to be an amazing chef and has been cooking up some tasty meals. A man of many talents who is just a pretty cool person to have around! Here he is taking his try at karate with me. (Jessie photo)

My favorite time of year

Jessie, Andy, Simi, and I did a school visit to the Burr and Burton Mountain Campus the other week. My sister is working there this year and is happier than can be. I now see why. It's a really incredible program where students go for a semester to focus on environmental education. You can read more about it HERE.

This is a photo of my sister and the rest of the Mountain Campus at the Climate Rally in NYC on Sunday!