With a big slate of intense workouts (and a camp in Utah) coming up, this past week was the calm before the storm. That didn’t mean a lack of great sessions, especially with cooler temps and bright sunshine. After a really busy summer full of weekend training camps (and one wedding) it has felt great for me to sleep in my own bed for what’s now been two straight weeks uninterrupted…it was 5 straight weekends on some sort of journey, mostly ski related:
MNC U training camp -> NENSA RDG Camp -> Mountain Camp -> Wedding in Montana -> Mini Mtn Camp
It’s a reminder that all of the cool trips and training camps in the world sometimes can’t outweigh the benefit of just solid, consistent work. Obviously not all of the MNC skiers have been at all of these camps, and Mountain Camp in particular was scheduled earlier this year in order to have more time/weeks training consistently at home before Utah. It’s all a big jigsaw puzzle!
Rolling at the Range
We had our usual Tues/Thurs sessions at the Range this week, but our two speedier days were actually on foot. We worked on footspeed with some short repeats at the MMU track, which has been a goal of ours this summer. Little speeds and fast efforts have found their way into more of our training both on foot and on skis.
Trak Attak
Our other running day was a workout we’ve repeated several times now. L3 mile repeats on Governor Chittenden Rd…this is the dirt road connected to Catamount, and if parking at the outdoor center it’s a perfect 2 mile warmup down to the edge of Rt 2. You’re then ready for a half mile out/half mile back interval on a flat dirt road that stays mostly shady…doing more of our L3 as running intensity was a goal for several reasons this year:
- Less ability/experience-dependent than rollerskis, meaning more skiers can push together
- Easier to control from a heartrate/effort sense than the steep ups and downs of the Range trails
- Great prep for the XC running season, with our athletes able to enter and sustain themselves through that phase of the year
Warming UP for intervals
Elsa getting after it
Having done this workout 4+ times this year, it has been to see improvements…improvement not just measured in faster times, but also heart rate info, lactate numbers, and even just the feeling of how the effort is internally over time. With 4-5 repeats for some, things have really grown!
Now…it’s time to push really hard! Intensity week up next!
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