when I was in middle school I ran cross-country simply because I was able to walk onto the team due to the fitness I carried from nordic ski race training( cycling, roller skiing, hiking, running). it was a long time ago but as I recall, my cross-country running race training simply involved “running”….without structure. mostly longer distance at a low effort. Kids new to running who are still growing do need to take some precautions. teenage ailments like shin splints are common. basically you need to slowly work up to the mileage. youthful enthusiasm and energy does not counteract the pounding on young bones and muscles. my suggestions 1) try to do volume on soft surfaces( ie not paved roads)…over time the body gets used to the pounding 2) keep it fun. if he can train wit friends to get in the volume, that is good. 3). aerobic condition takes some time…so he will need to put in the months of work 4) speed takes weeks( vs aerobic that takes months)…get the aerobic base and speed is the frosting on a well formed cake and can be developed more quickly
brianbauer
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Participantbrianbauer on August 9, 2022 at 7:15 am · in reply to: What Plan for High School Cross Country? #69770Participant
on steep technical downhills it is basically impossible for me to run fast enough to have a HR above Z1/AeT. but on “runnable” downhills( eg Broken Arrow) it is entirely possible for me to push above LT. eg. if you look at the last few miles of Zegama, its net downhill but so runnably fast that it is a big effort…the upper portions of the same race are so technical you simply can’t push beyond Z1/AeT.
Participantfast downhill running requires exceptional technique in order to do it efficiently. many people tend to “put on the brakes” every step going down, this is inefficient and slow. work on your technique. also, downhills, like uphills, are all different. on “runnable” downhills I push my effort as much as I do going uphill, but I am going much faster. in races, I am looking for a flat HR curve which means a consistent effort going up and down. this takes a lot of practice and is different than “hammering up” and “recovering” down.
Participantif you believe you have ADS, the best thing you can do is perform a drift test and find your current AeT. then do all of your “base” miles at Z1 or a max of AeT. fixing ADS takes months, not days or weeks
Participantbrianbauer on May 31, 2022 at 8:31 am · in reply to: Is Heart Rate The Best Metric For Staying Under AeT In Hot Weather? #67807stress is stress. your heart doesn’t know the difference between: work, family, heat, humidity, pace, altitude, etc
AeT is a numerical value assigned to HR, not a “feeling”. if for example your AeT is 135, your pace may be faster or slower at that HR based on temperature/humidity.ParticipantI also swear by that Leukotape. I buy it by the 10-pack on Amazon. But I use it to tape my ankles for trail running. typical athletic tape( the white stuff), will lose its stick when it gets hot and sweaty…I know this from trial and error. Leukotape has a very aggressive adhesive and is less stretchy than the white tape. in hot weather I apply a resin spray first, then the leukotape. warning: buy some proper bandage scissors. this stuff is hard to get off, and the residue will be on your skin for weeks( unless you use Goo Gone or something I guess). for blister prevention, use some ointment and a bandaid paid then wrap in the tape. if you have a boot/sock combo that is prone to cause blisters, wrap the problem areas proactively .
Participantbrianbauer on March 15, 2022 at 8:20 am · in reply to: Workout for Specific Section of Race – Long Climb #64437610m over 10km puts that climb in the dreaded “douche grade” category of around 6%( btw, I did not invent that term, its a real mashup of French and English. I have heard Chris Horner refer to a “shower grade” in his cycling analysis…its the same thing). its the ethereal line between run/hike…in shorter races for me its always run, in long races and/or at altitude, it may be run/hike.
personally, in a 35km race I would be aiming to run that 6% grade in a comfortable, just below LT pace, finding the line at sustainable. I do a lot of training for skimo racing and sky racing that involves finding the max level of effort that can be sustained for an hour and still enable a full recovery on downhills or flats. so for me, I train the specifics of the races I am going to be doing.
Participantthe funny thing about skimo races is that you “skin up what you are told to skin up”. I suspect that in many races if you take the average of all ascents, you might get somewhere close to 12-14%, but the reality usually plays out differently: with steep pitches and gentle traverses. and what that means is you must be able to power up ascents that are over 20%, and then you must be able to transition to kick and glide when it flattens out. so if you are training for ski mountaineering or skimo racing, I would suggest you train the full range of gradients.
ParticipantI am talking about something like the 4000. I don’t remember the exact model that I owned. I like the idea that a step mill uses your body weight for resistance rather than pedals that have chain resistance. a step mill would allow you to wear a pack or even ski boots(or leg weights). step mills seem to cost a lot more and appear much larger than pedal based machines. if I were to buy another climber machine, I would probably see if there was something that also allowed your arms to be used….for me, this is a closer approximation to skimo. I currently have a treadmill and I have setup variable resistance pulleys to simulate ski poles…but my treadmill only has incline up to 12%.
ParticipantI moved last year and my stairmaster did not make the cut when I was packing. I regret this decision. its hard to say how the stair master would apply to running, but for indoor skimo training I would be using it. stair climbers enable zero-impact uphill type exercise that can be done at a feverish pace( Z4/Z5).
ParticipantI am a big fan of nordic racing and watch it whenever I can. in your example, its not limited to men( like Klaebo) its also true with women( like Diggins). in the olympics this week, Klaebo came apart in the 30k( 40th place) but won the sprint. Diggins was 6th in the 15k and 3rd in the sprint. Diggins is not the strongest classic skier which is likely more of a technique issue not a physiological issue. if the 15k was pure skating, Diggins prob could have challenged Johaug( who btw does not normally sprint).
one of the things that is a little misleading about short sprints, is that racers will generally have to race 4 times within a handful of hours. Qualify, Quarters, Semis, Finals. the efforts stack up and begin to favor those with some endurance. same is true in the team sprints which is more like a 5k for the women, rather than a 1.5k “sprint”.
in track running, it would be like a 1500 or 800 meter runner having to race 4 times in a night. at a certain point it would begin to favor a runner with more endurance.the most elite nordic racers generally have the highest Vo2max numbers of any sport.
to me, what is going to be fascinating will be where the Olympic Skimo winners come from…sky runners? nordic racers? etc
Participantremember that skiing requires 2 major muscle groups: upper body and legs. running only uses legs. when your heart is required to send blood to 2 major muscle groups instead of one, you can expect your heart to have to work harder. I experience the same thing when comparing my trail running/racing data to skim racing data.
ParticipantI race skimo in a race binding. my bindings are always locked whether I am going up or down. I do not have brakes or leashes. if a ski comes off it is looooong gone. 1) it could hit someone and that is not ok 2) my race will be seriously delayed if I have to chase a ski down a mountain. I ski conservatively descending in races to prevent other injuries besides knees. yes I lose time in downhills to racers with better alpine skills, but I have to go to work on Monday…
RE transition speed: it matters a lot. recently we had a race with 21 transitions. the diff between a 30 sec transition and a 1 min transition is over 10 mins.
Participantthank you Kylee. my data from skimo races is showing that I am maintaining 90% max HR for 2hrs, so in general my fitness is there. my problem is the “shock” of going from idle to full gas in the first 5 mins…before my engine is warmed up. I like your idea for the 15 min warmup. I will start doing that. thank you
Participantbrianbauer on January 29, 2022 at 7:19 am · in reply to: winter racing and super high efforts #62678Scott, thank you for the speedy reply. you are dead right about what I was thinking: “if all those intervals were good for me before I just just do more of them”. thats exactly what I was thinking: I need more intervals now!! that said, I spent the last week doing “Lower intensity” uphill skiing…I was thinking of the past week as “putting in the time”. aka volume. one day last week at the end of my volume workout I decided to race a chairlift up a bunny slope. maybe 600 yards and only a couple of minutes of hard effort. racing the lift was a fun way to sneak in a short interval.
my plan for this weekend had been a bunch of crushing intervals(oops)…but, based on your response, I think I will keep doing the volume work and sneaking in a fun interval here and there. I have 4-5 more races this season, and I don’t need wheels coming off!thank you.