I recently saw these talked about on another ski forum. people seem to like them
brianbauer
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ParticipantParticipantbrianbauer on January 15, 2022 at 9:33 am · in reply to: Improvement for acclimated athlete going from 13’k to 4’k elevation? #62162
the problem is that math does not predict how an individual athlete will actually perform going from sea level to 10k feet etc. going from sea level to altitude is highly personal. some people suffer from Edema at 10k feet, some people can go from sea level to climb Mt Everest. There is however plenty of evidence that describes how altitude acclimated athletes perform when they compete at sea level. the only way to know how an individual will perform at altitude is empirical evidence…they need to do it. even then the advice is complicated: arrive at altitude 2 weeks early vs arrive as close to the altitude event as possible. when I ran Broken Arrow at the end of summer last year, I arrived from sea level 3 days early. I did short training runs and hikes for 2 days before the race. what I wanted to know was “how did I feel at altitude”. turned out I felt great, and this gave me the confidence I needed and went on to have a great race. for what its worth, on one of my prep days at Squaw, I randomly bumped into Courtney Dewalter as I was running down part of the course. she asked how I was feeling( she’s such a cool person !). I said surprisingly good. I explained that I had spent the summer running Ultras in east coast heat and humidity …she replied “ah, poor mans altitude training”…I believe she was right…stress is stress.
ParticipantI use ski bounding ( uphill leaps) as part of my skimo training. I use poles when I do them. its dynamic power and a gets me into Z4 very quickly. I do short sets on a steep hill for not more than 60 seconds at a time. I tend to pick a long uphill, do a set of leaps, hike to recover, then do another set, but always moving uphill. I let the terrain dictate how many sets. I do these for skimo prep, but I also race Sky Races and consider them relevant.
Participantdo you track respiratory rate? I have seasonal allergies that pop up from time to time and the biggest signal is my respiratory rate. after that, temperature matters quite a bit. when its hot( above 80F) or cold(below 20F) my HR goes up higher during exercise.
eg. in mild conditions my respiratory rate while running/racing is under 20. this past weekend I had a skimo race and my respiratory rate was 40…it was 5F and windchill of 0F. my HR during this race was also about 10bpm higher than normal for similar efforts in mild weather.Participantin running you are normally using 1 muscle group: your legs
in skiing you are calling a second muscle group into action: your armsin skiing, your heart needs to service 2 muscle groups instead of 1. this will take a little bit of time to adjust to.
Participantbrianbauer on January 10, 2022 at 12:42 pm · in reply to: XC skiing as a substitute for running? #61874I’m an ex nordic racer, current skimo racer and ultra trail runner.
all XC skiing is not the same:you can shuffle along at an effort similar to walking.
you can kick-through and glide in your classic skiing technique while pushing hard with arms.
you can also skate ski.your comparison of XC skiing to walking really depends on how you are skiing.
Participantwhen I race Broken Arrow Skyrace this past fall I brought 2 pairs of shoes: Hoka Speedgoat and Hoka Evo Mufante. a bit of testing the day before the race concluded that the Evo was the better shoe for the conditions. for what its worth, I also wear these 2 shoes in East Coast mountain races that are typically wet, muddy, rocks, roots and all the other nastiness that the Beast Coast is known for.
Participantfitness aside, another aspect is your choice of skins. I have a number of ski/skin setups. eg. I have some 106 width tele skis with full length BD skins. I believe I could climb a tree with these skins…I can also stand facing the fall-line of a 40% degree slope and they will not slide forward…aka zero-glide. pushing those skins forward with each step has a huge amount of drag…which uses energy. at the other end of the spectrum I have skimo race setups with tons of glide. if you are able to experiment with skins, my advice would be to use just enough skin grip to accomplish the task at hand. more grip than you need uses extra energy and will slow you down.
also, experiment with the length of your steps. technique is important. when I first was learning to skin, I took baby steps and shuffled along. I marveled at how I would be passed by people with a similar or slower cadence, but taking “giant” steps forward. experiment with step length on different terrain. also experiment with step vs push of the ski forward.
lots of tools in the tool box for you to experiment with.
Participantnever tried skis on a nordic track, but the thought has occurred to me. my indoor setup is in this pic. my treadmill only goes to 12% incline, but the variable resistance pulleys do a decent job. I also have 5lb leg weights that I use occasionally. leg weights are controversial, but in my opinion they have a purpose.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.Participantbrianbauer on December 19, 2021 at 8:10 am · in reply to: Fueling right before and/or during long high intensity workouts #60962I can tell you what I do, not scientific, but works for me. for durations of 4hrs+, I train the way I race, i.e take in nutrition before and during efforts. for training efforts 2hrs or less, I do not take extra nutrition before or during, but I always eat some protein within 45 mins of completing the effort. if I am racing 2hrs, I will drink a Maurten or Beta Fuel drink before the race.
all of that said, I definitely get a positive energy bump if I take a carb drink 30 mins before 2hr training efforts…I just generally don’t do it.
Participantbrianbauer on December 17, 2021 at 7:01 pm · in reply to: what does this tell me about my AeT and AnT levels? #60927I added the 1×3 at the end of the last 20 min interval today. because I was not sure what kind of bump I could sustain for 3 mins, I did a ramp of 1×2, and 1×1, increasing incline and speed on each ramp. what I learned is that I should be able to go at the 1×1 pace for the full 3 mins…will do that next time.
Participantphysics is a factor. moving more mass over the same terrain requires more calories.
Power(watts), work(joules, kinetic energy), mass, velocity, etc are all part of physics.one calorie can produce something like four units of work(joule). you are more than 2x the mass of your wife, and therefore you are doing far more work(measured in joules) than your wife to move your mass over the same terrain. in simple terms, you need to consume far more calories than your wife to support your efforts over the same terrain.
if you are taking in calories suitable to your mass, and your wife is still outperforming you on climbs, her sustained power/weight ratio(FTP, etc) is higher than yours.my explanation here is not perfect, and physiology is very complicated and unique to each person, but if nothing else, you need to eat alot more than your wife.
Participantmy own personal observations over the last 12-18 months tell me that building a really solid aerobic base takes months and months, but once you have done that, the benefits of increased aerobic intensity, LT etc, can be achieved in weeks.
Participantyears ago I raced road bike crits. crits were always about an hour. I did not need to hydrate during these 1 hr races, but I always carried a bottle. I referred to having the bottle as “psychological water”. meaning, it can be refreshing to have a swig of cold water, and that refreshment helps mentally, but the sips of water were not needed physiologically.
ParticipantNutrition in training is another topic similar to fatigue training, but also a little different. fatigue training, eg. back-back long runs, is done intentionally to train your body for “running when tired”. there is another kind of training that might be a little more controversial: training your body to deal with lack of calories, eg training long runs without taking in calories…but this should not be confused with under-hydrating. in my longest training runs, I train “the way I race” by taking in calories, but on occasion I decide to not take in calories on medium length workouts. but I never, ever under hydrate in training. I know first hand from ultra races what happens when I am dehydrated, and I don’t see any value in replicating that in training.