Evaluating Daily Fatigue

Have you raced to your expectations this year? How has your body felt racing? 

While xc skiers must endure some fatigue during periods of high training and racing, this time of year it's important for skiers to listen to their bodies and adjust training loads, or race loads, based no how they feel. While overtraining is rare, it usually manifests itself when skiers push too much training and intensity (racing) at the same time without giving themselves enough time to recover. 

I always recommend athletes wear heart rate monitors during all types of training, including time trials and races. Reviewing race heart rate data can help identify fatigue. Suppressed heart rates while racing can be an early sign of overreaching. 

While there are many advanced ways to monitory recovery, there is no replacement for honestly evaluating how you feel each day. The best skiers in the world become their own best coaches if they can honestly evaluate how they feel and what they might need to change TODAY to make sure they can race their best in the future.