Skiing on high
I went skiing with my dad today at the Washburn Ski Trails in my hometown of Rhinelander, WI. We parked at the Judy Swank memorial shelter commemorating her battle with cancer.
Bill Pierce at work glide wax testing.
“If you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves.” —Joe Paterno
I felt GREAT skiing today. It could have been the fast snow or rolling terrain, but there are probably a number of contributing factors. I just returned from 31 days of altitude. The quick and easy explanation is that my increased red blood cell count has provided me a boost. That is true, but I know there is a lot more to it. Simply standing on the sidelines doesn’t boost fitness regardless of elevation.
Today, I felt the best I have in quite some time – probably the best in three years. Coming down from elevation is a contributing factor, but likely a small piece of the puzzle. The simple fact is that this ski was void of testing and coaching, allowing me to free my mind and simply enjoy the ski. That no doubt was a major contributor.
Brian Gregg in the middle of skate intervals
INTERVALS
I jumped into a number of interval sessions with the athletes in the last two weeks. The intention was to gauge particular athlete technique, pacing and tempo on various sections of the race courses. The training plans have diversified greatly from one athlete to the next to the point where there was an athlete doing intervals each day in Silver Star. I would tend to jump in and provide suggestions in “real time” while they did the intervals.
Wax testing also requires the need to elevate into fast paces, so the combination of jumping into portions of the athletes’ interval sessions and all the wax testing provided me a consistent dose of interval training.
Testing wax uphill.
TECHNIQUE
Silver Star is a very challenging course. It is impossible for me to maintain a level 1 pace around the race course. Skiing at elevated paces can improve technical proficiency if it doesn’t totally wear you down. Hills require the most efficiency, so all the hills in Silver Star presented me two options – get more efficient and keep skiing Or herringbone around the course.
Kristina and Maria staying warm and maintaining a smile even on the cold and slow conditions.
TACTICAL
The cold and dry western snow is much slower than the snow in Wisconsin. There is a relatively high content of surface moisture which makes the snow in the Midwest much faster than most of the snow out West. The neurological adaptation from Western snow to Midwestern snow may be the MOST SIGNIFICANT difference in the radical shift in “perceived” improvement in performance. This adaptation is critical for racers to adjust to. Athletes that go back and forth from rollerskis to snow, fast snow to slow snow and wet snow to dry snow develop the neural and tactical (pacing, etc) adaptations rapidly. This is a skill that needs to be developed by our athletes due to all the travel. This neural component is very difficult to quantify yet is a critical aspect to learn.
OD classic ski with Garrott after the West Yellowstone SuperTours
CONSISTENCY
Coaching doesn’t always provide an opportunity for consistent training. The attention to detail necessary to work with the athletes during the off season can erode my personal fitness. I try to get out with the athletes for one workout per week during the off season. I join in on the OD workouts. We tend emphasis the fitness and not focus on drills during OD sessions, for I feel the athletes need a mental break from all the technique integrated into our training sessions.
My general health and fitness typically needs to be done outside the timelines of coaching. I made a personal commitment to try to reverse my eroding fitness by including some consistency in training in my weekly routine. My goal was to get out 2-4 times per week for a total of 4-8 hours per week.
My “training” has been limited but somewhat balanced. I re-introduced occasional early morning runs in the off season and end the session with 15 minutes of strength. Garrott and Brian give me a tough time because I live in one of the best locales for trail running and I tend to run down the highway and by-way roads in Seeley. I defend “my loop” because it is short and sweet. The morning run gets me revved up for a productive day. Igor has inspired me to continue this habit, for he frequently heads out for a 5AM, 5:30AM or 6AM run. Maybe it’s the abdominal wheel Caitlin let me use in Silver Star that has made all the difference :)
Adam Swank & I on an epic paddle in the Apostles
Running along the Lake Superior shoreline
EPIC TRAINING SESSIONS:
I went on some epic training sessions that over reached my stable level of fitness. The most notable was when Adam Swank came over to Hayward for a mountain bike. We were in the saddle for just shy of 5 hours and 80% of the riding was single track. Another session Adam and I did was a long kayak, cliff jumping and running session in the Apostle Islands. Josh Tesch invited me for a sweet trail run in Duluth in October. I also had the athletes leave me at the Mosquito Brook trailhead after a rollerski interval session and I ran the Birkie trail back to Seeley. All these sessions put me back a couple days, but took me out of my comfort zone and elevated my fitness after a long recovery.
Fitness requires more than simply going to altitude or logging hours. It’s about commitment, consistency and pushing your boundaries.
