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This report will be brief due to a busier month than planned because of the Nordic Equipment bankruptcy (see May 23rd posting), planning for the upcoming FasterSkier June Training Camp and preparation for a three-week trip to Norway at the end of June. We will post some reports/travel letters from this trip starting in early July.
Torbjorn’s May 2002 Training Report.
I did 39 training hours in May, which was right on target with my goal. The majority was biking, running and weights. The best 4-day stretch was over the Memorial Day weekend where I biked the Colorado National Monument loop 3 times and the East Orchard loop in Palisade, Colorado (just outside Grand Junction) once. The East Orchard loop is a road bikers dream. Vinyards, long easy rolling stretches with hardly any traffic and nice scenery.
The loop itself takes only 1.10-1.30 but there are many opportunities to add to the loop.
Every bike workout that weekend felt good and I could push hard on the climb to the top of the Monument for a full hour (logged this part as level 3 and 4) when I did the third of the Monument loops on the fourth day. My legs felt rested, I felt strong and ready for more training in June. I hope you all feel this good!
Gordon told me that he did the Stein Eriksen road bike time trial as a medium hard effort in 17 minutes (his PR is 14.38) the same weekend and that shows that he is coming along as well. We are now talking about doing a " real test" where we have a "mass start’ – Gordon and myself – sometime in June.
I did four "hard" sessions in May. This included two pace/time trial workouts at a medium hard effort and two interval sessions. Some of my distance workouts involved some intensity 3(medium hard pace) as well.
June Training Suggestions.
The goal for June is to continue to build a training base through distance, weights and circuit sessions as well as some carefully planned hard sessions. The actual time spent within 10-15 beats of max heart rate should be kept low but don’t avoid it. By doing some hard training in the summer without spending lots of time close to max you are improving without wearing down. You are also avoiding peaking early in the fall since it leaves room for harder quality sessions in September – December.
I’m suggesting 4-6 quality sessions in June. The breakdown can be 1-2 pace workouts/timetrials (one on rollerskis and one on foot) and 2-4 interval sessions. The length of the timetrials should be between 3 and 10 kilometer (10-40 minutes).
Example for interval sessions: 3-4 x 3-6 minutes.
Don’t rush the hard sessions; the first 1/3- 1/2 of each of these sessions in the summer should be at a moderate pace like intensity 3 (30-20 beats from max). The second half can be at intensity 4 (20-10 beats from max). Crank it up to intensity 5 at the very end of the session only if you feel good and/or feel a need for going hard. It won’t hurt you!
Use rolling terrain or uphills for the hard sessions.
For speed and explosiveness: 4-8 x 10-15 seconds hillbounding/moosehufs style once per week.
I’m suggesting the same as for May for weight and circuit training:
1-2 weight room or circuit sessions per week. These sessions can last from 10-15 minutes to 1 hour. They can be separate sessions or added to distance or quality sessions. I prefer relatively heavy weights and 5-30 reps when using weights.
Use more reps like 30-200 when doing stomach, back and other exercises where body weight is used as resistance.
Last chance to sign up for the FasterSkier training camp and learn more about training and technique before the summer is NOW. Camp start is June 5th at 8 a.m. Weekend participation from Friday through Sunday at a prorated price is also possible. Email us if this is of interest.
Read the May suggestions for more background stuff.
Train well and enjoy it!
