Cross Country Skiing

[madscot13]

um, I have a question: how do you train for this sort of thing?

[Skierchickie]

um, I have a question: how do you train for this sort of thing?

Hi Madscot!

Ski races? 50ks? It would be easiest if you didn't have one of those pesky jobs.

By skiing as much as possible, possibly doing intervals, etc., just like running or biking. If you mean training for long distances, I gradually work my long skis up over several weeks - this year I got a couple of 50+k training skis in a few weeks beforehand. I've never figured out how people do ski marathons in January, though. Lots of roller skiing in the fall, I suppose.

And I really don't know how Bron raced 30k one day and 42k the next - she's awesome!

[Bron]

So, Bron, how did your series standings go?
.....
Oh, and my 2:52 50k was purely due to the fast conditions and mild course.

I came third which I am really pleased about. The first two girls are just in another class, I would never have a chance of beating them.
There are plenty of other skiers around who are better than me, but they didn't do enough races to get a higher position, so my result is thanks to persistence and a lot of technical improvement.

Even with fast conditions, that's a good 50k result and one that I would be happy with.

I like the pursuit concept, it certainly adds something to a race when you are determined to chase someone down/not be caught.

um, I have a question: how do you train for this sort of thing?

I did a couple of triathlons in the summer and then in autumn mainly ran and used the rowing machine with a mxture of long sessions and intervals. Oh, yes, the job tends to get in the way of training

Hi Madscot!
I've never figured out how people do ski marathons in January, though. Lots of roller skiing in the fall, I suppose.

And I really don't know how Bron raced 30k one day and 42k the next - she's awesome!

Mainly by telling myself that it was the last race of the season!
Our series involved six weekends each with two races, usually short (17-25k) on the Saturday and long (34-55k) on the Sunday, so by the last one I was used to it.

We started in December with a training camp which was a big help and I concentrated the most effort on the skating races, so one race each weekend would be a big effort and then the other one less important.

Next year I need to improve my classic skiing and maybe not do quite as many races.

[madscot13]

I am going to work on properly classic skiing before I move up to skate (plus I don't want to invest in another set of gear). Skate is beautiful to watch. It looks so intense too.

I think rowing and cross country skiing are the best workouts a person can get! I row for my warm up but I don't have the patience to do more than an hour without a team.

I got back into cross country a few years back. I have my own gear now but I am not particularly fast. I never felt that biking really got me into good shape for it though. I'm not particularly fast but I go to family style places and so I feel fast. I think I should work on my technique with some classes. that oughtta help.

[Skierchickie]

Hey Madscot13 - classes can make a big difference! Especially if you ski on your own, too, and practice what you learned.

Woo-hoo! One more race! The skiing was sooooo good over the weekend, my DH said somebody really should put on one more race before it's to late. I told him that, since he's unemployed right now, he'd be the perfect choice! So, he was all excited, then wasn't going to bother, then was all excited, then it was too much trouble, then ...., well, you get the idea. He called me at work this morning and said "It's on!". Now he's talked to enough people, he can't back out. So, one more 20K, hopefully lightening-fast, spur-of-the-moment event, this Saturday. Clearly, a low key race. I've hardly skied in 3 weeks, but what the heck?

Anybody else still getting out?

[madscot13]

did anyone else take lessons? I know how to ski already so i want to bypass the family style lessons. Minnesota is great for cross country skiing. it is my favorite thing to do when I am home.