During the summer and fall preparation period it is uncommon for us to prescribe any type of combination intervals. Meaning, from a physiological standpoint it usually makes sense to either focus on L3 (below anaerobic threshold) or L4 (above anaerobic threshold) and try to log sustained on-time in either zone rather than a combination of the two.
However, during the winter it is more common for elite skiers to incorporate some combination intervals into their routine. Why? As you know, the closer we get to the race season and peaking we want our interval sessions to become more specific to the events we compete in. Typically, during a mid to longer distance ski race an athlete’s heart rate might hover just below, at, and above their anaerobic threshold during different points of the race.
From a pacing standpoint, successful skiers should be able to feel what it’s like to start a race below threshold and push above when they need to. Furthermore, elite skiers are good at pushing above their comfort zone at specific points during the race and then recover to a more controlled pace when needed.
This L3/L4 combination interval session is designed to train the physical and mental strength needed for an athlete to go from ‘kind of hard’ to ‘really hard’ efforts within a ski race.
Session:
L3/L4 combi intervals
5 – 6 x 6 minutes w/ 4 minutes recovery
First 3 minutes of each interval L3 – last 3 minutes L4
Warm Up:
20 minutes easy skiing
2 x 5 mins L2
5 x 10 second speeds
Dynamic stretching
Intervals:
Choose terrain that has a nice combination of climbing and flats. If possible, looks for trails that start flat and trend into a big climb. With a 6-minute interval, skiers will cover a lot of ground which makes this is a great opportunity to practice carrying speed through different terrain and transitions.
Goals:
There are few intervals session that are totally fine to do without a heart rate monitor and this is one of them. L3/l4 intervals are really great at allowing skiers to dial in their own RPE (rating of perceived exertion). Most of the time we are not glancing down at our heart rate monitors during races, instead we need to gauge our efforts accordingly.
For this workout our goal should be to start each interval at a fast but controlled race pace then have a distinct effort change half way through and push harder for the remaining 3 minutes.
