Photo by: Ross French
Check Out Brittany Reimer's Cross Country Blog From Mammoth Mountain
9/23/2010 4:50:34 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
UC Riverside cross country sophomore Brittany Reimer kept a blog from this year's high altitude training at Mammoth Mountain, and has shared it with gohighlanders.com. Now you can see for yourself what high altitude training at Mammoth Mountain entails by reading below. Don't forget to check out the 2010 Mammoth Mountain Photo Gallery and check out Brett Valencia's blog as well.
August 20th has finally arrived! Excitement fills the air as the UCR cross country team heads up Highway 395. As we engage in appealing conversation, we inch our way up to the magical place we call Mammoth.
For some it may be a summer camping trip, or a winter weekend getaway, but for us it’s an experience to train our bodies, bond with our teammates, educate our minds, and allow ourselves to grow emotionally and spiritually. In other words, for the UCR cross country team, it is a special treat. We know the three weeks ahead of us will be filled with various challenges and memories.
We begin our journey with a 15-mile long run around the beautiful lakes: Mamie and Mary. Immediately we experience difficulty breathing due to the thin air we are attempting to breath in. This is what makes running in Mammoth so difficult, yet so beneficial to our bodies.
Dealing with this challenge, we continue down the well-known Old Mammoth Road and across the famous rock trail. While running we are blessed with the beautiful atmosphere of the Mammoth Mountains, the shaded tree trails and the crisp fresh air.
We converse about how fortunate we are to be in such an amazing place as well as how nice of a change it is to get away from the grueling heat of Riverside. As we finish our run through the meadow and back to the condos, we take in a breath of accomplishment. We take a moment to reflect on our completed task.
Although we are done with the physical task, we know we soon need to pursue the process of recovery. We grab a banana and some Gatorade and head to one of our favorite places -- the creek. Here we dip our bodies into 40 degree water and join our voices in unison as we sing childhood songs. We describe these as good times.
Over the next few days and throughout camp we engage in endless games of taboo, pictionary, cards, and apples to apples. We enjoy our daily trips to the library to surf the Internet. We watch various “Lifetime” movies, “Made,” and “Wife Swap.” On the nature side, we go fishing, exploring, and even take a trip to the beautiful waterfall that overlooks the town.
We happily take in the perks Mammoth has set out for us. We take advantage of the opportunities we have to connect with our teammates through endless conversations, jokes and laughs. We also get the chance to listen to our coaches speak about valuable information.
A few nights a week we all meet in the guys condo and listen attentively to our Coaches’ speeches. They share knowledge with us on how to become excellent in not only running, but all areas of our lives. We listen and take notes as they speak. We also have the opportunity to talk with our coaches one on one in order to communicate about the awesome season ahead.
As the second week roles around, we look forward to our short escape from Mammoth. On Friday, September 3rd, we head to Reno, Nevada to compete in our first race of the season. We are excited to finally race after a long summer of training!
We execute our strategy well, taking a solid second on both the women and men’s side. Happy that we raced well, we head back to the hotel to celebrate with a delicious meal. After dinner, we amuse ourselves by playing in the arcade as we attempt to win giant stuffed animals. After an entertaining day, we head back to our rooms to get a good nights rest.
After Reno, we look forward to putting in a great last week of training. We kick off the week with a 6-mile lactate threshold. We all push each other until we finally reach the end of Sherwin Creek Road. After completing this workout, we feel confident that we are in great shape.
A few days later we attack a mile repeat workout. Although we have five miles to complete, we simply take it one mile at a time. For most, this is the most challenging workout both mentally and physically. Regardless of its challenge, we yet again achieve another workout, which only adds to the excitement about the season.
As our days our narrowing down, we reflect on our time that we have spent in Mammoth. We realize and appreciate the benefits it has provided us. We are given the opportunity to express our feelings at the Rock Ceremony held on our last night. The men, women, and coaches all speak about camp, running, the season, and also about life in general.
This is a great way to conclude the UCR cross country team’s experience in Mammoth. Sadly we have to wait a whole year until we can return to this magical place, but happily it gives us a great boost to the excellent season ahead!
August 20th has finally arrived! Excitement fills the air as the UCR cross country team heads up Highway 395. As we engage in appealing conversation, we inch our way up to the magical place we call Mammoth.
For some it may be a summer camping trip, or a winter weekend getaway, but for us it’s an experience to train our bodies, bond with our teammates, educate our minds, and allow ourselves to grow emotionally and spiritually. In other words, for the UCR cross country team, it is a special treat. We know the three weeks ahead of us will be filled with various challenges and memories.
We begin our journey with a 15-mile long run around the beautiful lakes: Mamie and Mary. Immediately we experience difficulty breathing due to the thin air we are attempting to breath in. This is what makes running in Mammoth so difficult, yet so beneficial to our bodies.
Dealing with this challenge, we continue down the well-known Old Mammoth Road and across the famous rock trail. While running we are blessed with the beautiful atmosphere of the Mammoth Mountains, the shaded tree trails and the crisp fresh air.
We converse about how fortunate we are to be in such an amazing place as well as how nice of a change it is to get away from the grueling heat of Riverside. As we finish our run through the meadow and back to the condos, we take in a breath of accomplishment. We take a moment to reflect on our completed task.
Although we are done with the physical task, we know we soon need to pursue the process of recovery. We grab a banana and some Gatorade and head to one of our favorite places -- the creek. Here we dip our bodies into 40 degree water and join our voices in unison as we sing childhood songs. We describe these as good times.
Over the next few days and throughout camp we engage in endless games of taboo, pictionary, cards, and apples to apples. We enjoy our daily trips to the library to surf the Internet. We watch various “Lifetime” movies, “Made,” and “Wife Swap.” On the nature side, we go fishing, exploring, and even take a trip to the beautiful waterfall that overlooks the town.
We happily take in the perks Mammoth has set out for us. We take advantage of the opportunities we have to connect with our teammates through endless conversations, jokes and laughs. We also get the chance to listen to our coaches speak about valuable information.
A few nights a week we all meet in the guys condo and listen attentively to our Coaches’ speeches. They share knowledge with us on how to become excellent in not only running, but all areas of our lives. We listen and take notes as they speak. We also have the opportunity to talk with our coaches one on one in order to communicate about the awesome season ahead.
As the second week roles around, we look forward to our short escape from Mammoth. On Friday, September 3rd, we head to Reno, Nevada to compete in our first race of the season. We are excited to finally race after a long summer of training!
We execute our strategy well, taking a solid second on both the women and men’s side. Happy that we raced well, we head back to the hotel to celebrate with a delicious meal. After dinner, we amuse ourselves by playing in the arcade as we attempt to win giant stuffed animals. After an entertaining day, we head back to our rooms to get a good nights rest.
After Reno, we look forward to putting in a great last week of training. We kick off the week with a 6-mile lactate threshold. We all push each other until we finally reach the end of Sherwin Creek Road. After completing this workout, we feel confident that we are in great shape.
A few days later we attack a mile repeat workout. Although we have five miles to complete, we simply take it one mile at a time. For most, this is the most challenging workout both mentally and physically. Regardless of its challenge, we yet again achieve another workout, which only adds to the excitement about the season.
As our days our narrowing down, we reflect on our time that we have spent in Mammoth. We realize and appreciate the benefits it has provided us. We are given the opportunity to express our feelings at the Rock Ceremony held on our last night. The men, women, and coaches all speak about camp, running, the season, and also about life in general.
This is a great way to conclude the UCR cross country team’s experience in Mammoth. Sadly we have to wait a whole year until we can return to this magical place, but happily it gives us a great boost to the excellent season ahead!
Day in the Life: Leilani Juan
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UCR Student-Athletes cheer on our students.
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UCR Athletics Director Introductory Full Press Conference
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Athletics Director Greg Paules Introductory Presentation Recap
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