Training Log Archive: Carbons Offset

Myotatic crunch with 7.5 lbs. weight was good
Cat vomit
Front plank 2 min
Side planks 75 sec
Push up
Triceps pull down
Bicep curls

(Ski bases were stone ground and hotboxed prior to this session, at 123.5 km this year since last wax.)

Signed up for 10 weekly lessons with Canmore Nordic, held at the Nordic Centre. 5 weeks of classic and 5 weeks of skate.

Got some pointers, some that I have heard before and some that gave me another chance to see if I could get something to click. A couple of things worked.

I know there are a lot of people on this site who know about xc technique, so feel free to chime in on any of this. Some of the tips didn't match some of the latest techniques I have been told at super camp, but some of them helped me.

Classic ski tips from lesson 1:

Eyes move side to side from one track to the other, torso moves as one from the hips up, this shifts laterally, no side bend and not just the head.
Look about two meters ahead, in one track and then the other.

By being able to glide long on one foot, it shows you have committed the weight to the foot properly. If you hear slapping, you aren't committing the weight to the one foot.

Drive the next foot forward. This really felt like it increased my speed.

Elbows keep some bend but I need to reach my arms forward further. Also make sure I let the pole go all the way back and let go.

Be ready to pull as soon as you pole pant or before, but don't let this Increase your cadence. Also don't place the pole so vertically. Keep it angled back so that pull is useful right away. Otherwise you have to wait until you get ahead of your pole plant before you can pull on it.

Don't oscillate up and down with each stride. This is wasted energy. Rising up was causing me to lift my arm up and plant my pole too vertically. Instead the upper torso stays down and doesn't move, except for the side to side weight shift. Just reach forward, not up.

C • Thanks! 9

Warmed up with some E3 drills
Main set was a team time trial where your four riders aimed to ride a total of 100 km as fast as you could while the coach called out changes in slope. Ride 25.9 km in 45 minutes.
Was pretty drained afterward. Fortunately all we did after that was about 20 minutes of spinning high cadence in small ring at E2-E3 cusp. After a few minutes, the legs started feeling better.
Next week's 20 minute time trial will feel mentally easier. That was probably the point.

Avg cad 90 rpm
E1038
1:04 < 170w
:28 170-210w
:24 >210w

16.4

On the rollers at home while watching Snowden.
Planned to do a workout from the homework that didn't look too intense, just some 20 minute blocks of E3 and high E3. It felt way tougher than I expected, like I'm tired. Just spun at about low E3 most of the time. Would try going higher but wouldn't hold it for long before it seemed more intense than it should have felt.

avg cad 91
1:06 < 170W
:32 170-210W
:00:23 sec > 210W
avg watts 150W
E897

Cascade fire road with a big crew: Carbon, Violet, Emily, Ruchel, Kim, Bruce, Tom, Heather, Andy and Saira.
-14C. Started on green wax and the grip was a bit light. Added a couple of layers of blue but it didn't improve much. Didn't have much kick all day, couldn't get much push or much speed, but this is usually the case for my classic skiing, it seems like I have a good idea of everything to do but it doesn't quite come together to generate much speed. It feels like I should be able to move faster for the amount of effort I put in... Or when I can't get good grip (despite following lots of details from coaching) I just can't get much push/grip/kick to generate any power.

16.1

Canmore Trail Culture "Friday Night Lights" ski. Looking forward to making this a regular thing. Cold off the start and barely stayed warm while moving. Thermometers said -12C but it felt quite cold; need to wear more next time.