[patrick.nygren]

I’m currently in the midst of Luke Nelson’s 50k plan, and it’s been going great so far. I have a week long hut trip coming up in week 8 of the training plan (which is a rest week). I plan on doing 3000-5000 foot days for about 5 days during this trip.

My question is: Is it better to shift the rest week to be before this trip and then do a 4:1 cycle that includes the ski trip, 3 weeks of building, and then the next rest week? Or should I shift the rest week to be after the trip, and do just a 2:1 cycle after that (ski week, rest week, 2 weeks of building, and then the next rest week?

I’ve seen lots of advice on how to fit in a single day event like a race, or a period of time where it’s hard to train (like a business trip or family event), but I haven’t found anything about how to adjust training when you have a mid-training cycle interruption that will increase the load for an extended period of time.

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on April 9, 2019 at 8:37 am #20229

Patrick;

This depends on how well you are handling the build week training loads currently and how well you want to perform on the hut to hut trip. If the over all load in Luke’s plan is quite tolerable then you may not need any taper and can roll from a build week right into the hut trip. If you’re worried about feeling fresh for big ski days with lots of train breaking I’d suggest a short taper before the trip. Perhaps not the whole week but certainly 2-3 light days. As for after the trip I definitely suggest a light week. At least for 3 full days after you get home. It has been my experience that after a big over reaching week, like we often do in focused training camps with athletes, the residual fatigue does not surface until Wednesday following the final day of the camp on Sunday.

I blame endorphins for masking the fatigue although I don’t know if it is true or not. Just be cautious of jumping back into training where you left off. It could well be that you need a full week of recovery post hut trip

Scott

[patrick.nygren]

patrick.nygren on April 9, 2019 at 4:21 pm #20255

Thanks Scott – that’s super helpful. After my hut trip last year, I felt amazing for 1-2 days, but wasn’t in structured training at the time, so your point about being cautious and adding recovery time after the trip is well taken.

Patrick