Ready on Race Day - Peaking 101

For most cross-country skiers our most important races of the season are quickly approaching. Whether you are an elite skier preparing for World Championships, a junior gearing up for JN’s, or a master with your eyes set on the Birkie the basic format for executing a peaking plan remain the same. 

The two fundamental parts of a peaking plan are the Training Block followed by the Taper. These two phases are built into our daily plan keeping in mind the general training guidelines of supercompensation. We are going to put a small stress on the body then recover, but how we reach our true fitness potential lies in the details of the two phases. 

When it comes to peaking, we can’t just wing it, in my opinion it really helps to look at a calendar and work backward from your big event to get a better idea of your timeline. Before we can plan the training block we need to map out how many days we need to taper (don’t worry we’ll get back to planning the taper later). 

When are your travel days? Do you need time for altitude or time zone acclimation? These are all things that can influence how many days we leave to taper, if you are traveling to altitude or across many time zones, pencil in as much as 14 days for your taper. With less travel and variables, a 7-10-day taper can work great for most individuals. 

With our taper days penciled in we can now plan our training block. The focus of a training block can very a lot depending on how much a skier has been competing and by the number of potential races within their training block. Just because our goal is to add in a training stimulus to elicit a peak doesn’t mean we can’t compete in ski races. Races are great training.  We do however want to add in additional training volume in addition to the competitions, this is what we refer to as ‘training through’ races. 

While focusing on a peak some athletes prefer to ‘train through’ some competitions and use the races as intensity sessions, others prefer to take a break from putting a bib on and instead focus on quality interval days. Totally personal preference, but in both cases a training block is best executed when we can commit a good 7-14 days of added volume into our plan. A 1-2 week training block followed by a 7-10 day taper can put you 3+ weeks out from your big competition which is why it’s never too soon to begin planning your peaking strategy. 

The whole point of a training block is to initiate a fitness boost by stressing the body in a slightly different way.  Most of us have intentionally decreased total training hours from mid-December through January in order to sharpen our racing skills, accommodate travel, work on speed, etc. Having a training block allows us to check back in with some of the aerobic systems we have been neglecting and add in more L1 training and threshold training.  In a way it should feel like you are returning to a summer or autumn style training routine with bigger hours and more two-a-days. 

Checklist for a Training Block:

-      Add in an additional 2-4 hours of easy L1 distance training per week

-      1-2 high volume threshold (L3) sessions. 30 – 60 minutes of on time 

-      Slightly harder strength with general strength exercises or max strength 

-      1-2 over distance workouts greater than 2.5 hours easy distance pace

-      Continue with normal speed training x1 every 5-7 days 

5-10 days before our big events and it’s time to start tapering. What makes a taper different than a typical easy training week is that we want to keep our frequency and intensity high but decrease total hours and all-around stress on the body. A general rule is to take your training block hours and cut them by 20-40%. To give you an idea of how much to train during the taper. If you have trained 12-15 hours during your training block week your tapering weeks should drop to around 5-8 hrs per week. 

So, what does it mean to keep frequency and intensity high? Frequency of training refers to how many times you are getting out the door, so if you were training several two-a-days per week during the training block we still want to continue with that kind of schedule just with far less time actually working out. This inevitably means a lot of 1 hour skis, 30 minute jogs, and active recovery mixed into the taper phase. 

Maintaining a high intensity means continuing with interval training approximately every 3 days but decreasing the number of intervals you are doing each session. It also means focusing more on high end race pace rather than threshold. With just 1-2 weeks before our big races we have little to gain from continuing with L3/ Threshold, there simply isn’t enough time to make any substantial aerobic gains. Each interval session should instead focus on Vo2Max style intervals (L4) 1-4 minute range but at a decreased load. Maybe just 2 x 4 minutes L4 or 3 x 1 minute L4. 

Continuing with speed training throughout the taper is important too and can prevent the body from feeling stale during this resting period. I recommend incorporating a few speeds in most distance workouts, just 3-5 pick ups, instead of a longer focused speeds session. 

Checklist for a Taper:

-      Decrease total hours to 20-40%

-      Keep up frequency (get out the door often) 

-      Keep interval days Vo2max / L4 / or Sprint intensity focused but with decreased on-time

-      Include pick-ups and speeds during distance workouts

-      Keep daily sessions in the 1 – 1.5h range

-      Use active recovery jogs and skis to stay fresh under decreased training load

As with all training planning my biggest piece of advice is to listen to the body. Yes, we want to elicit a training response and boost fitness with a peaking plan, but we do not want to over exert ourselves and compromise our results. Above all listen to the body and evaluate your energy before every intensity session and make adjustments accordingly. 

Need help planning a taper plan right for you? Members can email me directly with questions on how to best outline their training leading up to the big day.