Bend Camp
This summer started off with a bang in Oregon on snow! The Prep/Comp team spent 11 days in Bend getting some awesome base training in. The snow at Mt. Bachelor was amazing for late May and we capitalized on the great conditions for nine days of big hours. All the big dogs were in Bend including the US Ski Team, BSF Pro, SV Pro, and the strong junior programs from around the West. Mt. Bachelor had over 25 km of groomed skiing open, which is amazing for this time of year, and trained up to 3 hours a day doing technique work and getting KMs in. In addition to the skiing, we ran and rollerskied at low elevation in the afternoons to get used to summer training activities. We rallied out to Pacific City for a day to get some beach time in. We spent the day getting shacked and enjoying the mighty Pacific Ocean as a team. After 24-30 hours of training in Oregon and many good memories later, the team returned to Jackson Hole and wrapped up schoolwork and finals. The conditions were perfect and we will definitely be returning at the same time next year.
Summer Testing
School concluded on June 11 for most athletes and we immediately jumped into a high quality training period. We kicked off summer training with a testing week to ascertain baseline numbers for the Prep and Comp team members. Numerous personal records were set, which is a fantastic sign for early June! Bridger Stiles set the team record in the Wilson double pole TT, again great for June. The battery of tests included the Canadian Strength Test, the 3000m running TT, and the Hagen Trail TT. In addition, we conducted lactate zone testing by doing bounding intervals and drawing blood on the switchbacks of Snow King. The time trials and strength test give us a baseline so we can evaluate athlete improvement throughout the season and compare against established team benchmarks to give athletes an idea of where they stand relative to their own personal times and the team history. Also - if any citizens out there want to compare yourselves against the athletes, there is now a Strava Segment titled "JHSC Nordic Hagen Time Trial" that anyone can compete on and test their numbers. Get out there! Based off the results this summer we are in for lots of strong performances this winter!
Lactate testing provides individualized feedback for athletes to see what their aerobic threshold and their lactate thresholds stand. The aerobic threshold is the line between aerobic exercise and threshold exercise, which is the point at which lactic acid accumulates in muscles at a higher rate than the body can naturally process it. From these data we determine the heart rates that correspond with aerobic and threshold exercise, which are referred to as Level 1 and Level 3. Every athlete's zones are slightly different so this testing allows us to give athletes specific numbers on which to base their training.
Training Camps
Summer training is in full swing and we are starting to plan out the JHSC training camps! I am excited to announce that we will be hosting a summer dryland training camp on the West Side of the Tetons from August 9-14. We are renting the Darby Church Camp up Darby Canyon with BSF, Park City, and Boise during that time.
Camp cost will be low as the camp is very affordable to rent, so it will not be a significant expense. This will be a great opportunity to train with a strong group of athletes from around Intermountain on (almost) our home turf. More details will follow but the camp will feature a mix of rollerskiing, running, mountain adventures, and mountain biking for those of you who have bikes. We are expecting up to 60 athletes from Bozeman, Park City, and Boise to join our crew for this training camp. Our guests will be around until August 18 and will join us for our next set of tests and time trials.
I understand that many families' summers are filling up so I want to get this on your schedule so you can plan on attending. I HIGHLY recommend athletes attending this camp as it will be an affordable and convenient opportunity to train with some of the best skiers in the country and make some new nordic friends. Block out the dates on your schedule now so you can attend.
In addition, we need to give huge shouts to all the JHSC athletes who qualified for regional elite training camps! Aurora Stiles has qualified for Western U16 camp which will be held in Sun Valley in August. Natalie O'Brien, Kate Brigham, and Mason Wheeler have all qualified for the US Ski Team's Regional Elite Group camp, which consists of the ten fastest men and women under 20 from across the West. With three athletes in attendance, JHSC is tied for the most of any club in the West for number of qualified athletes (not including former JHSC athlete Elijah Weenig). The Blue Team is coming up strong this summer, huge congratulations to all athletes who qualified for regional camps this summer.
Notable Dates
July 14-19: REG in Park City
August 9-14: Darby Training Camp
August 9-13: Western U16 Camp in Sun Valley
September 25: JHSC Black Tie, Blue Jeans Ski Ball
October 16: JHSC Ski Swap
October 22-24: IMD Fall Fest in Park City
October 30: JHSC Nordic Fall Kick Off & Trail Creek Cleanup
