This time of year I like to incorporate some steady state L3 into the training plan. For the past few weeks we have been primarily focusing on threshold intervals in the 5-9 minute range. Now it's time to really lengthen things out and stress the body in a new way.
Warm Up
20 minutes early L1 skiing
5 x 20 second accelerations
3 minutes at L2
3 minutes easy skiing
Session:
Find a section of road that is rolling but also has some decent climbs. We want ski course style terrain but also something manageable on roller skis to either ski out and back on or loops. Even if the section or road is only 5-10 minutes long It's better to repeat quality terrain than just have 30 minutes of pancake flat.
Interval:
2 x 20 minutes (with 1-2 minutes recovery)
1 x 30 minutes
Goal:
The early summer is all about logging lots of controlled L3 and this is a great way to do it as long as the workout doesn't escalate into L4. It can be easy to bump too high on any major climb. Play around with pacing and trying to keep the climbs controlled. Make sure the pace you are skiing is consistent and manageable for 30+ minutes.
Technique, technique, technique... This is probably the biggest benefit of doing a steady state workout. You will find that it will become hard to ski with correct technique and body position the more your muscle fatigue. This is what makes steady state so much different than 5-10 minute repeats. If forces you to ski under more fatigue. Be aware of your technique and make sure your shoulders and hips remains square and stable even late into the interval.
