Successful racing at altitude requires small adjustments in pacing especially during mid distance races. 5k – 15k. With the Junior Nationals taking place in Donner at an elevation over 7,000 feet this is a great time to practice some altitude prep intervals.
In ski racing we have different levels of what we consider low, moderate, and high altitude.
Low Altitude = < 4,000 ft.
Skiers will typically not feel munch change in their heart rates training pace or racing pace in this range. O2 saturation remains high and skiers can still push to their maximal heart rates.
Moderate Altitude = 4,000 – 5,500 ft.
At this altitude skiers typically don’t notice a big change in their training pace or below threshold pace making moderate altitude deceiving. Skiing easy feels OK, but as soon as skiers go into L4, they will feel a small difference in their ability to maintain max heart rates and max L4- L5 efforts. No significant O2 saturation reduction at resting heart rates.
High Altitude = > 5,500 ft.
At high altitude skiers will begin to feel an elevated heart rate while resting and during easy ski training making it easy to go too hard during L1 training. It will become noticeably more difficult to maintain a L4 race effort for long periods of time and recovery on downhills will not happen as quickly. At this altitude the body begins to produce more red blood cells in order to combat the lack of oxygen in the air. Full acclimation to this altitude can take up to 3 weeks.
Above 7,000 ft. is typically where a skier’s natural O2 sat will drop below 94 – 93% meaning now the body is really working to create more red blood cells. This is when an ‘altitude response’ can really happen as your body will be working extra hard at night to recover and produce more red blood cells. This is why athletes usually use this threshold to constitute any high-altitude training and can take up to 3 weeks or more for your body to truly adjust to this altitude.
Successfully racing above 7,000 ft. requires a lot of self-control and subtle pacing. For most skiers this means spending the first half of the race around (or just above) threshold rather than maxing out in L4 and in oxygen deprivation. Skiers can still drop the hammer and go super hard toward the end of the race but timing this effort and knowing your body becomes crucial.
A simple interval session that is great for training this subtle pacing is practicing negative splitting. This is something that is actually very hard to do, especially at altitude, but striving for a negative split can really make a difference at altitude. Especially for junior racers who are racing 5 – 10k’s there can be a lot of time gained or lost in the last 3 -5 kilometers of a race.
SESSION: 3 x 3k repeats. Negative split intervals (make shorter for U16 skiers)
WARM UP:
20 minutes easy skiing
2 x 5 mins L2
5 x 10 second speeds
Dynamic stretching
INTERVAL
Chose a loop with realistic racing terrain with up hills and downhills.
First interval - below threshold (controlled L3)
Second interval – first ½ L3, second ½ L4B (just a few HR beats above threshold)
Third interval – first ½ L3, second ½ L4 race pace
GOALS
I refer to this workout as an altitude prep session because it helps skiers fine tune their pacing below and just above anaerobic threshold which is so important at higher altitudes. Young skiers that are able to start a race fast but controlled and then pick up the pace during the second half will be very successful while racing at altitude. Skiers don’t necessarily need to negative split their race in order to win, but just practicing the mindset helps teach athletes to feather their effort when they need to and go hard when they know they can maintain a high effort to the finish line.
Keep track of the lap times during this workout and take note of how much faster the L4 loop was than the L3. It might surprise athletes how close the times are.
