Crunch Time

At around 8:30, every week, I open my Bates email and die a little inside. My brain is exhausted from class, homework, and everything in between. I consider marking all as read until I see the training schedule. Then, it sinks in, the undeniable fact that it's going to be another busy week as a college athlete.

Every day I tell someone (usually the same people over and over again) that I can't believe it's already November. Three weeks until Thanksgiving break, five until finals, six until Christmas break.. Yikes! It's officially that time of year, and I'm not talking about the holidays, even though they will be here before we know it. The academics are picking up fast and at the same time we are in the midst of a huge volume block for training. It's crunch time.

Last week was the first of our volume block. We had double workouts, two tough interval sessions, lifting, an OD, and somehow we managed to get to class in between. I got to thinking on my cool down after Level 4 intervals in Lost Valley on Wednesday. I realized that it's pretty impressive what our team is able to do on a daily basis. After a morning workout and a long day of classes, the team was still able to "bring it" to the workout. Everyone was able to let go of their days and focus on the goal of the workout. It was awesome to see the MENS and women's teams working together as we bounded up the access road, encouraging and pushing each other to new limits. More than anything, I recognized the effort. On everyone's faces I saw pure determination because we all knew that this was a workout that would make a difference.

This effort sustained through the whole week. On Sunday morning, the team was up bright and early to put on the 5k race. We ended up getting more participants than we thought we would and it ended up being a great event. Despite the cold, the team showed their nordic pride and were all smiles during the event. Afterwards, we headed out on a skate overdistance from campus. Even at the end of a hard week, everyone's spirits were still high. The girls were still able to play telephone and laugh our heads off and the boys were all smiles when they returned from four hours of roller skiing.

It's bound to be another busy week, especially the weekend when we'll head out to Acadia for a mini training camp. I can't wait. Our team as a whole is really stepping it up for this busy time of year. I know we're all ready for the challenge and that everyone is going to give it their best every single day. It's this spirit that keeps us all going, that reminds us what we are capable of when we put our minds to it. To be honest, it's pretty inspiring.

-Laurel Fiddler