It was a hot week out there, but it only takes one day of forgotten sunscreen or a water belt left in the car on a ski to never forget either for the rest of the summer. The watch tans are forming rapidly for the Juniors, as prep for a few of our fitness tests got underway.
Often, we do these tests once in the spring, twice in the summer, and once or twice in the fall (weather can play more of a factor in autumn). There’s the double pole test, our 1km uphill double poling competition at Greystone in Richmond. There’s the 3000m run on a track. And there’s the Bolton uphill run.
Instead of just going right into the tests this year, we took a few weeks to get in at least one prep workout aimed at helping us come into each test with a good sense of effort. With a track workout already under us, it was time for the first double pole intervals of the season on Thursday, and some uphill running L3 efforts on Saturday.
Out on the rollerskis in Southridge!
As the weather continued to heat up, we took to the shady hills of Honey Hollow road for some uphill running in prep for Bolton. Many a skier knows this iconic road, where running and bounding intervals have taken place for decades (literally! Just ask UVM skiers from bygone eras). With ultrarunning vests starting to outnumber water belts, people were making sure to stay on top of fueling. The leaves were just beginning to emerge and it was a classic Vermont morning.
The recognizable Long Trail bridge off Rt 2
A note on photos: I’ve tried to upload photos from training to our club’s Flickr page which can be viewed here!
With training getting more and more challenging this summer, and a group more excited than ever to work hard, I wanted to take a minute to share some resources on training theory that parents and athletes may find helpful. I have tried to begin incorporating notes and photos from these books into the follow-up emails from training sessions (along with the usual video links for technique). All are great reads, and can usually be found pre-owned for reasonable prices online.
Quickly becoming one of my most often-referenced books at training. This book is focused on strength training, but many underestimate just how much strength and mobility play into everything we do related to athletics.
Training for the Uphill Athlete
This is the most complete and modern book I have come across that explains training theory…almost too much to write about here. Volume? Intensity? Lactate? Strength? Science? Physiology? It’s all here.
A really good read for anyone, not just female athletes. Tons of information related to helping your body succeed. Most of the team probably doesn’t realize much of my input on hydration, fueling, and travel for races comes from this book!
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