Welcome to our Training Log Relay. In these articles we will feature
the training plans and logs for some of the World’s best Cross-Country
skiers in history. First out in our relay is 1992 Olympic Champion Vegard
Ulvang, who will give you an insight into his training from when he was
15, 20 and 27 years old.
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/oldsitearchive/upload/030624VU_mini.jpg width=134 height=153><br />
<BR><font size=1 face=verdana>Vegard Ulvang</font><BR><br />
<P>From my training log dated June 13<SUP>th</SUP>, 1978 I read:</P><br />
<P>"Putting out Sport-Orienteering markers, and did four good intervals on<br />
the way…"</P><br />
<P>Browsing through old training logs is like looking through an old photo album.<br />
The memories from specific workouts over 20 years old become "clear as<br />
crystal" in my mind. Perhaps we can learn from such old notes, even when<br />
we browse through with today’s eyes and opinions? Were all the workouts<br />
equally well planned? How much did the junior skiers train 30 — 40 years<br />
ago compared to today’s junior skiers?</P><br />
<P>If any of you wonder how great skiers trained in the "old days",<br />
we, langrenn.com & fasterskier.com, and the web based training log system<br />
"STAA PAA" (translated: KEEP GOING) have ambitions of starting a Training<br />
Log Relay. This means we’ll try to show you monthly training examples including<br />
comments from some very experienced skiers.</P><br />
<P>In a World that more and more is depending on science and research, the good<br />
old training log is still the best tool a skier has in developing and improving<br />
his or her results. Through the training log you can control the increase and<br />
change in training from year to year, and perhaps avoid doing the same mistakes<br />
twice. No new science can be compared with going back and finding out what you<br />
did those times you skied fast, and those times you didn’t. I have written<br />
a daily training log since I was 12 years old, and the most interesting and<br />
helpful training advise were those I learned in bits and pieces from great skiers<br />
before me. After May 1990 I started logging my training electronically. This<br />
gave me a much better opportunity to collect data and create useful information<br />
along the way. It is sad that so much important knowledge and experience is<br />
collecting dust sitting on shelves in the homes of good skiers and coaches around<br />
the country.</P><br />
<P><b>This is reason for our Training Log Relay.</b></P><br />
<P>Are you curious? Well, then we’re starting. But remember! A training log<br />
is a personal diary, and there are many ways of logging information in it. This<br />
information should be used as an inspiration for training, and not as a manual<br />
for great results.</P><br />
<P>Here are some comments to my training during the months of June in 1979, 1983<br />
and 1991.</P><br />
<P><b>Training all year long</b></P><br />
<P>In Finnmark, were I grew up in northern Norway, the spring arrives late, but<br />
fast. Often we could ski our last race on the first weekend in May, and do the<br />
first cross-country running race two weeks later. I did sports all year long,<br />
and have never believed in long breaks from training. In 1991 I left straight<br />
from the last ski-race to Greenland to cross the inland-ice on skis, perhaps<br />
my hardest and most demanding physical experience ever. It was however a great<br />
mental break that made me ready for a new training season as soon as I got back<br />
home.</P><br />
<P><b>All-around skills</b></P><br />
<P>The summer activities were always a mix of traditional activities, such as<br />
running and rollerskiing, a bit of soccer, a few Orienteering races, a track<br />
meet, some bicycling and kayaking, as well as many long fishing and hiking trips<br />
in the mountains. Neither intensity nor volume changed much from June through<br />
October. Especially for young skiers, I believe in this mix of training and<br />
competition all year long. When I read the old comments in my training log,<br />
they are good examples that summer training for Cross-Country skiers can be<br />
many things. My summers were always very active, with many fishing and hiking<br />
trips in the mountains. These trips are logged as training, since they always<br />
were done with such intensity that they were both training and relaxation at<br />
the same time.</P><br />
<P>Orienteering races, cross-country running races or a track-meets usually covered<br />
the quality training, and when I did not compete, I did lots of natural intervals<br />
during the summer (running with bouts of higher speed where the speed was decided<br />
by the terrain and how I felt that day). I thought this kind of training was<br />
fun, and therefore trained hard without really thinking about it. More systematic<br />
and specific interval workouts didn’t start until the end of August. However,<br />
the basic principal of training close to competition speed once or twice a week<br />
was always fundamental.</P><br />
<P>These June months show well how the training volume changed with time. From<br />
15 hours and probably not very consistent logging at 15 years, to 33 hours combined<br />
with hard military duty as a twenty-year old, to 60 — 70 hours as a senior<br />
racer.</P><br />
<P>When I was younger I logged only specific Cross-Country training. Later developed<br />
my own system where I included and estimated all activities with above 100 heartbeats<br />
per minute. If I hiked far up to a mountain lake for fishing, I logged the time<br />
it would have taken me to run the same distance. The most important is that<br />
you develop a system that can be compared from year to year.</P><br />
<P>Below is three typical sequences from my training logs for June 1979, 1983<br />
and 1991.</P><br />
<P> </P><br />
<P>1979: 15-year old looking forward to summer after a long winter:</P><br />
<TABLE class=small VALIGN=)
1983: End of military service in the King’s Guard. A short trip home north
to Kirkenes, then back to military exercise again.
| 16/06/83 | Kirkenes | RS – CL | Distance | 1:10 | Easy, warm and nice |
| Kirkenes | General | Strength | 0:20 | ||
| Kirkenes | Running | Interval | 0:45 | Natural interval w/ Nils | |
| 17/06/83 | Kirkenes | RS – CL | Distance | 0:25 | Nice pace w/ Nils and Ketil |
| 18/06/83 | Kirkenes | RS – CL | Distance | 1:20 | To Buholmen – easy |
| Kirkenes | Hike | Distance | 0:45 | Hike to the cabin w/ backpack | |
| 19/06/83 | Kirkenes | Running | Distance | 1:40 | Back from cabin, around Haukberget |
| 20/06/83 | Kirkenes | RS – CL | Distance | 1:30 | Easy – headwind |
| 21/06/83 | Kirkenes | Running | Interval | 0:45 | Natural interval w/Jan. Good pace |
| Running | Distance | 0:30 | |||
| General | Strength | 0:20 | Normal circuit | ||
| 22/06/83 | RS – CL | Distance | 1:00 | Travelling south | |
| 24/06/83 | Oslo | Running | Distance | 1:20 | Great running outside Oslo, swim in pond after |
| General | Strength | 0:20 | |||
| 25/06/83 | Oslo | Running | Distance | 0:50 | From Sognsvann |
| Running | Interval | 0:20 | A few intervals during distance | ||
| 26/06/83 | Oslo | Running | Distance | 2:50 | Long distance |
| 27/06/83 | Kongsberg | Running | Interval | 0:20 | Soccer |
| Running | Distance | 1:00 | Soccer before military exercise | ||
| 29/06/83 | Kongsberg | Running | Distance | 0:15 | Tired after military exercise, short jog |
1991: Next year is Olympic in Albertville, and am already thinking about it.
Very tough trip across Greenland, but after Hawaii I’m back to regular
days in Norway
| 06/06/91 | Greenland | RS – CL | Distance | 1:10 | Easy, warm and nice |
| 07/06/91 | Greenland | General | Strength | 0:20 | |
| 11/06/91 | Hawaii | Running | Distance | 0:30 | Tried running — cramped up |
| 12/06/91 | Hawaii | Running | Distance | 0:20 | |
| General | Strength | 0:15 | |||
| Running | Interval | 1:00 | Soccer | ||
| 13/06/91 | Hawaii | Biking | Distance | 2:00 | Road biking |
| 15/06/91 | Hawaii | Running | Distance | 1:00 | |
| 18/06/91 | Oslo | RS — FR | Rollerski | 1:55 | Skate |
| Running | Distance | 1:10 | Easy distance | ||
| 19/06/91 | Oslo | RS — CL | Distance | 1:30 | |
| Running | Distance | 1:30 | Run with Sigmund | ||
| 20/06/91 | Oslo | RS – CL | Distance | 1:40 | Maridalen w/Paal |
| 21/06/91 | Malung | RS — CL | Competition | 0:20 | Rollerski-race |
| RS — CL | Distance | 0:15 | Warm-up | ||
| Ski — FR | Competition | 0:20 | Summer-ski race | ||
| Ski — FR | Distance | 0:20 | Warm-up | ||
| 22/06/91 | Krageroe | Running | Distance | 0:15 | Warm-up |
| Ski — CL | Competition | 0:15 | Summer-ski race 5 x 300 m | ||
| 23/06/91 | Nannestad | Running | Distance | 2:50 | Running with Daehlie |