Sophie Caldwell: Time for a Rest Week (or two)!

We just finished up our two week camp in Lake Placid and now it's time for a rest week. This was the biggest summer of training I've ever done, and I think I was beginning to feel some of the effects in Lake Placid. So in my case, it might be more like a 10 day rest week to make sure I'm all set to go again for the rest of the fall. During big training camps, almost everyone is tired by the end and that's how it's supposed to be. You push yourself, then you recover, and then you come back a little stronger and repeat it all over again. When you're tired, chances are that you are going to feel great some days and really not great other days. It's also pretty likely that these days are going to be different for each person, so this is when we get good at taking the lead on our good days and allowing others to pull us along on our tired days. We had a bunch of tough workouts in Lake Placid and the last hard workout was my favorite, the Climb to the Castle. Just kidding, the Climb to the Castle is actually one of my least favorite workouts because it is five miles of uphill skating at 8% grade, but hey, regardless of how it goes or how you feel about it, it makes you a lot tougher. It was also pretty impressive to watch some of my teammates fly up it. I think some special recognition goes to Liz for galloping up it the fastest once again and giving us all something to strive toward, Katherine Ogden for placing an impressive 3rd OVERALL as a junior in high school, and Simi for double poling the monster significantly faster than most people skated it. Here are a bunch of pictures from our second week at Lake Placid!

Jessie pulling our group along in a distance double pole workout

3.5 hour run to the top of Mt. Marcy and back (in a cloud)

Jessie going for a post workout dip...

#Annies showing us how (not) to ski

We hosted a Fast and Female event in Lake Placid with the Biathlon girls. Here are two of the girls sporting their new F&F swag

Sophia twins!

Skiing up the Climb to the Castle with my SMS T2 teammates (Pat photo)

Our final workout of the camp was a 3 hr ski. I skied with Annie Hart and we skied at the back together. As we went by Matt once, he jokingly asked if we were tied for last place. We were and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Who is ready for a rest week? We are.

Women's start of the Climb to the Castle

The crew after our final workout (Matt Whitcomb photo)

Pat bikes along next to us for a lot of our workouts. He has mastered videoing while biking, chatting while biking, and coaching in general. Thanks Pat!

Ida and me catching some air during classic speeds

Matt giving me some encouraging words during the Climb to the Castle. Matt is one of the most inspiring and hard-working people I've ever met and I feel pretty lucky to have him as one of my coaches.

On the way home from Lake Placid, we stopped in Montpelier to have dinner with Gus and his family. Gus made a guest appearance in Placid for a day and it was great to see him for another day in VT. It was awesome being able to work with Matt, Pat, and Gus all during one camp. Fall is coming to VT and this is one of my favorite times of the year. The transition between summer and fall is hard to beat. The days are still warm, but the nights get cold and the humidity drops. The leaves are starting to change and I'm looking forward to a relaxing rest week at home where I can soak it all in.