• MWSC Teams Overview
• Cross Country Program
• Cross Country Team
  • Fred Bailey
  • Michael Lessard
  • Hilary McNamee
  • Welly Ramsey
  • Austin Ross
• Biathlon Program
• Biathlon Team
  • Bethann Chamberlain
  • Russell Currier
  • Raleigh Goessling
  • Ben Greenwald
  • Katrina Howe
• Junior Racing Program
• Maine Team
• Alfond Scholars

Michael Lessard

BLOG

Ski Daddle and Learn 2 Skate
February 10, 2012


When I usually get a chance to write for this blog, it always seems to be about my ski racing, training, or something involved with me being an athlete. Although that is what I spend the majority of my time doing, I wanted to talk this time about some of the other things that I do and the programs that I work with.

As elite athletes with MWSC, we strive to be active and productive members of the communities that we are involved with. For me, that means working closely with programs in Caribou, and more specifically, Caribou Rec. Once again this year, I am working alongside staff at Caribou Rec. and their Ski Daddle and Learn 2 Skate programs. These programs take place after school for kids in grades 2-6,

For Ski Daddle, we spend our time in the fields of Teague Park, learning the basics of classic and skate techniques, all while playing games such as Food Tag, Giants Wizards and Elves, or Wiffle Ball. We take the group on epic ski tours and even play around on all of the snow piles, creating our own jumps! It is amazing how quickly they learn the skills, and how willing they are to try anything!

The second program I work with is Learn 2 Skate, which also takes place in Teague Park. There, we work on all types of skating drills, learning to glide, hop, and even skate backwards! The games we play here are just as epic, including hockey with frozen chicken!

The coolest part of these programs is just how much fun the kids have while participating. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t the fastest or best, they all work really hard to make it fun for themselves and the others in their group! The two hours a day I spend with these programs are the best part of my day!

(Also, for anyone who is interested, I will be headed out to Madison, WI next week for a pair of downtown sprint races, then off to the Birkie to watch Fred and Austin rip it up and provide support!)

---

Racing!
Jan 23, 2012


Well, since I last posted I’ve been doing a fair amount of racing. Since my last post was far too long ago, I’ll just do a brief overview of the last two+ months.

The end of November had us in West Yellowstone and Bozeman, MT for early season racing and the first SuperTours of the year. For me, the races were moderate to bad, as the high altitude training and racing didn’t seem to treat me very nicely. I still did learn a lot about racing a high quality U.S. field, and made me look forward to bettering myself for Nationals.

Early December I saw my first Eastern Cup of the year in Vermont, and the man-made rat-race on a small 1.3k loop turned out to be pretty fun. The courses were quick, and after taking some time to recover after Montana, I finally felt like I had some spring in my legs again. My results were fair, and I knew I was in for an upward push from there.

After a short break at home for the holidays, full of the normal family gatherings, I met the team in Rumford for training and racing at Black Mountain, the site of this years U.S. National Championships. Two sprints and two distance races, and each one got a little bit better. The end of the week saw a classic sprint, and although my best result of the week, probably the most disappointing. I was 33rd, and the top 30 qualify for heats… I missed it by 4 tenths of a second. Bummer.

After Nationals was the Maine Eastern Cup in Farmington, and we joined a group of MWSC Devo and Junior athletes at Titcomb for a sprint and distance. In the sprint, I qualified 17th in the double pole race, but chose the wrong skis in the heats which knocked me out way too early. The next day in the distance, I had continual improvement and raced into 12th on a 8 lap course.

This past weekend I was a lone racer from the MWSC XC Team, and headed down to Rumford once again to ski a 10k Freestyle race at the Bates Carnival. The race was another step up in my seasons progression, placing 10th on a soft course. The next day, I jumped in my first Biathlon race in Fort Kent (yes, first one actually carrying a rifle) and I think I bit off a little more than I could chew. After attempting to zero in the freezing temperatures, I started the race before I was really warmed up. That didn’t affect my race too much, as after the first shooting stage, I had plenty of time to warm up while doing circles in the penalty loop, my new home. I skied a total of 7 penalties, hitting 2 prone and 1 standing…I think I need some practice!

Besides the busy race schedule, I’ve been working with the Caribou Rec Ski Daddle and Learn to Skate programs after school. It is so much fun being around kids who LOVE to be outside!

The skiing here in the county is some of the best, and I hope to see you out on the trails!

---

Time Flies!
November 5, 2011

During this time of year, things just seem to fly by. I'm not sure if it has to do with the shrinking time of daylight, or if it has to do with the amount of things that I'm involved with currently. The fall seems to be a time where I just take on, without realizing it, as much as I can. It almost seems like a pre-hibernation of sorts, where I hibernate during the winter (meaning focus exclusively on skiing) and I am now trying to get everything else done that needs to.

A couple major events have happened over the past few weeks. First, our team hosted a fundraiser in Presque Isle that was a Halloween Masquerade, dinner and silent auction. We would like to thank everyone who came to the event to support us!

A couple days after the Masquerade, I was over at Caribou Rec. helping out with their Halloween event. Hundreds of kids dressed up in great costumes doing everything from playing yard games to jumping in a pile of leaves! It was really fun seeing all the kids in a different setting than in some of the after school programs that I've been working with.

Just last week, a few of us went over to help with the Caribou Rec. Youth Ski Rental Program, working beside members of the Northern Skiers Club to issue out skis for elementary and middle school aged kids. Around 40 students showed up to pick up skis, which is great! I'm excited to see them out on the trails this winter!

And finally, on a training note, we are back at it. After a week off from an intensity block, we are back in another one. This morning was 10x1.1k L4 intervals, and we have 4 more hard intensity sessions over the next 8 days! It will be a great week, but when it's over, it's off to West Yellowstone!

Let it Snow!

---

UTAH
October 13, 2011

It has been two weeks of sleeping above 7,000 feet, training in new places, and enjoying the fresh fall air of the west. I've spent this time in Park City, Utah and its surrounding areas with the rest of the crew getting in some great training!

Our altitude camp this year coincided with the US Ski Team camp, so we were able to do a lot of our workouts with the best in the country. We've done some pretty fun workouts here, including a scenic hike up to Guardsman Pass, a pair of uphill rollerskis, and a bunch of time circling the roller loop in Soldier Hollow. You can check out some of the pictures below!

I've made some decent technical improvements while here, and I'm hoping that they will translate into notably faster ski speed this winter. The biggest thing to work on now is tying in the new technique with faster skiing and getting comfortable at speeds. It's always good to have a focus when going to a camp. For this camp, our overall focus was to acclimate and learn how to ski at altitude, but for me, I had other goals as well, mostly focused on technique.

The time has come to leave Utah and return to the County, which will be a nice change of pace once again. Although Utah and Park City are interesting places, I'm ready to be back in the woods, away from the overdeveloped lands of the ski resorts. We will return with a little bit of rest, then a pair of intensity blocks to put our altitude training to good use. Hope to see you out there!

---

Adventuring
September 28, 2011

I've been satisfying my need for adventure over the past couple of weeks. The big training volume that we have been putting in has allowed me to explore the best that the County has to offer during this spectacular time of year!

To start, I've been exploring the many miles of old railroad bed there is. So far, I've tackled from Stockholm to Presque Isle, and as you may have guessed, it's pretty flat. The riding (I was mountain biking) was pretty fun though, as the terrain allows for maximum cruising speeds. I've also been exploring the waters, and doing a fair amount of paddling here in Caribou. The coolest thing is that every time I go, the local Bald Eagle and I have a little race down the river...Unfortunately, he takes a wrong turn before the finish and ends up in a tree, so the winner is still unknown.

I've been adventuring in non-training specific ways as well. Every Friday night, I've been heading over to Copper's Lounge in Presque Isle to listen to Meagan Toussaint play guitar and sing. She plays from 5-7, and I'm still waiting for her to play Hakuna Matata for me...Also during the weeks, I've been helping out at Caribou Rec with their 1st and 2nd grade soccer program. It is amazing what energy those kids have and how they just love having fun!

And before I go, as I am soon catching a flight to Utah for our Altitude Camp, I would like to welcome Apogee Adventures to my team of sponsors. I have spent the last four summers with Apogee and am extremely excited to have them on board! Apogee also loves adventuring, and they do so every summer when they run Hiking, Biking, and Community Service trips to students 11-18. They run amazing programs, and I am privileged to be associated with them.

That's all folks! Look for an update from UTAH!

---

PHOTOS