The Torch

It is the final week of winter for us rowers here in Craftsbury. Next weekend we begin training at our southern campus in Clemson, SC in preparation for the National Selection Regattas which begin at the end of April. 

It's interesting to gauge the feelings of the team as we approach our departure. There's no doubt people have grown very fond of life up here. It is certainly not a lifestyle for everyone. But I have been continually impressed with the way this group has embraced it and even made it their own. Being a member of the Green Racing Project inherently implies a great deal of giving of yourself to the Center, to others, and to the community. However, with that comes a tremendous amount in return. It has been a dream of Dick Dreissigacker and Judy Geer's for many years that this type of program could thrive here in Craftsbury. That with the proper resources, personnel, and lifestyle, a group of athletes could bypass the day to day detours/struggles of the typical post-college athlete's life and produce world class speed. When I came here four years ago, I adopted that dream, as well. I believed in it wholeheartedly and still do. It's incredible to see how close Dick and Judy have come to recreating that dream. A few weeks ago, during the final lap of the Craftsbury ski marathon, I came up one of the hills hurting pretty badly after about 2.5 hours of racing. Dick was standing at the top of the hill with others cheering the racers on. Once Dick recognized it was me and that I was in a respectable position, he seemed both surprised and excited. He immediately began screaming at me and encouraging me up the hill. I had never quite heard that type of excitement out of Dick. It pumped me up. Fatigue vanished and I started cruising up this hill. It was a moment of clarity where I knew I was the embodiment of his dream. The embodiment of our dream. Sure I was way off the lead pack of national team skiers, but he saw how maybe this experiment could work. Dick has done so much for me, provided so much for me, that no amount of pain was enough to stop me from earning his applause on that hill. So, that is the type of fuel that I have in the tank as we venture south in an effort to translate our fitness into international caliber speed. There are a lot of people who are behind us in this effort and I am so thankful for it all. 

This week we have some VO2 testing and some more ski racing.