Summertime in Craftsbury

I’m sitting in the Burlington terminal waiting to start my trans-Atlantic trip to Sweden but currently looking out over the Green Mountains and reflecting on the summer in Vermont.  This has been my longest block of training in Craftsbury in quite some time and it was awesome!  While I love being on the road there is definitely something to be said for the quality of training at home.  And with all the new GRP team members we’ve had a great training group.  Here are some highlights of Craftsbury summertime.

It has been a hot summer! If the heat and humidity from the past couple months haven't been enough evidence for the deleterious effects of climate change, read this: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-math-20120719. Luckily there is plenty of water around Craftsbury and I can think of only a few days when I didn't swim. On one particularly hot afternoon I planned my afternoon distance run to hit three different swimming stops. Here is Big Hosmer from the Hosmer Point waterfront

The start of the Black River Beatdown 15km. With lots of single track, swamp sections where I sunk in almost to my waist, and wasp nests, the race lived up to its name!

4th of July biathlon training?

We have been doing lots of rollerskiing! This is the end of a particular 4 hour and 43 mile rollerski from Craftsbury to Willoughby Lake.

I left the Kingdom for a weekend backpacking trip in the Whites. Here's the view from Bond Cliff

Our garden is loving the hot weather and we are barely keeping up with all the produce (and the weeds). It's exciting to harvest veggies and then eat them later in the day as part of the Center's delicious meals.

Blueberry season is also in full swing. Last week we picked 82 lbs one day and close to 60 another day.

Off to women's team camp. Can you tell? I'm super excited for the opportunity to train with my USST teammates and the Swedish National team!