Sophie Caldwell: Calm Before the Storm

And just like that, we're heading to Europe in two days! Tidy is not a word people usually use to describe me, and as a result, packing and unpacking are two of my least favorite activities. Instead of leaving packing until the night before, this year I've tried to start organizing my life for the next three months with two days to go, so things are looking up. The past two weeks at home have flown by, but they've been the perfect balance of training, spending time with friends and family, and resting. With the World Cup season ending in Canada this year, my time away from North America will be three months instead of the usual four and I've found a lot of comfort in that. Before I begin making myself miss home when I haven't even left yet, here's a little update on what has been happening here.

Winter hasn't quite arrived in Vermont yet

At this time of year, everyone needs something a little different when it comes to prepping for the season. Luckily, between the nine SMS T2 athletes and the huge team of SMS nordies, it's usually pretty easy to find someone to train with. We've been jumping in a lot of workouts with the high school kids, which has been awesome. We did a sprint simulation on Sunday and I had a lot of fun trying to keep up with some of the SMS junior boys.

Distance double pole with the SMS T2 and SMS girls (SMS Nordic photo)

Sprint practice at BMD

Post sprint with Ben and Annie P.

Starting one of the heats with Kam and Will

Skate speeds with Annie H.

In addition to training with the big kids, I've been able to attend a couple BKL practices. Last week I went to the first practice of the season with the West River club. This is the club I grew up skiing for and it was fun to see that not much has changed. After a warm up jog, we spent the next hour and a half playing games. When you're in third grade, a competitive game of sharks and minnows is probably one of the best workouts you can have! Yesterday I headed over to Putney to attend a Putney BKL practice. My brother, Austin, is the coach for the program this year and they were doing bounding intervals yesterday. Noah Hoffman, Emily Hannah, and Zach and Amy Caldwell were also at practice, so we had a great athlete to coach ratio and by the end of the workout I was exhausted. I was really impressed by their bounding technique and how tough the workout was.

The Putney crew (Caldwell Sport photo)

Bounding up the hill with my second cousin, Gunnar (Caldwell Sport photo)

Leading the kids in a dynamic warmup (Caldwell Sport photo)

Boys bounding hard (Caldwell Sport photo)

One of the best days since being home was on Sunday when we had our annual SMS T2 send off dinner. Within the next week, we will all head to Europe for the World Cups or out west for the Super Tour races. We had a send off dinner to bring our supporters together for one last evening before we head off for racing. We had a great turnout and are extremely appreciative of all the support we receive from this community. My favorite part of the evening was when some of the devo kids we work with during the summer presented us with a going away gift. Inside our beautifully decorated bags were a pair of Darn Tough socks and a bar of Lake Champlain chocolate - the perfect gifts to remind us of Vermont!

Table settings and favors at our dinner

Gift from the kiddos!

The last couple weeks at home have been just what I needed before heading overseas. I'm excited for the season. I feel fit, happy, and healthy and I know that's where I need to be to ski the fastest I can ski. Having this time at home with friends and family will hold me over until I'm back in February. On Friday and Saturday we will fly to Gallivare, Sweden for a week and a half of on snow training and some FIS races before the World Cup season kicks off in Finland the day after Thanksgiving. Check back in for updates from Europe!