By Andy Newell
I’ve referred to September as the ‘month of change’ before because in my opinion September is the time of year when elite skiers should start to make the transition to more specific training and more consistent interval sessions. While many skiers incorporate cross training intervals like running, biking, or swimming into their routine in the summer, now it’s time to make sure that our summer fitness gains are transferring over to skiing.
September is typically when elite skiers start regularly scheduling Level 4 (or race pace) intensity into their weekly schedules. 3-4 L4 workouts during the month of September is a good goal for skiers who want to begin to prepare for a big winter season of racing.
As we progress through fall and get closer to the race season it is my philosophy that skiers should become more specific with their training. More specific meaning that the majority of our training hours should come from skiing specific motions like roller-skiing, bounding, and snow skiing and less from non specific motions like biking and running. By September I would recommend that 80% of our distance training and most if not all of our intervals should be logged in a ski specific mode, the most common being roller-skiing.
Still not ready to give up that running shape yet? That’s ok. This months featured L4 workouts lets us combine the best of both worlds, a perfect workout for September the month of change!
Session:
5-6 x 5 minutes L4 (race pace) Running with poles
Terrain: rolling terrain, ski trails, rolling hiking trails, dirt roads
Warm Up:
15 minutes easy running, use poles on the up-hills
5 minutes L2
5 minutes easy running with accelerations
5 minutes dynamic stretching
(can also use morning mechanics classic as part of your warm-up routine)
Intervals:
5-6 x 5 minutes. 4 minutes rest between intervals
Run with poles on the flats and uphill sections. You can refrain from using the poles on any downhill sections. Intervals should build in intensity so that the first minute of each interval is controlled followed by 4 minutes at L4 (5-15K race pace). L4 race pace does not mean maximal effort. If you are maxing out on the first interval the following intervals will suffer. You should still feel like you can push yourself hard and go as far on your last interval than your first.
Max heart rates during the intervals should be around 80-90% or max HR.
Goals:
Don’t worry too much about bounding technique during this session rather just find ways to engage your upper body and lower body. Try to use a wide variety of techniques from short bounding to longer strides depending on the terrain.
Ski specific terrain like grassy ski trails or running trails are perfect for this workout. Pushing yourself on rolling terrain is more specific to skiing than the long gradual climbs we often find on the road so imagine you are actually skiing while running with poles through the woods.
If you keep the first interval somewhat controlled and keep the first minute of each interval controlled (L3 pace) you will have a more productive workout.
Lactate goal – 6-10 mmol
