US Ski Team Member Andrew Johnson

What is one of you favorite non-skiing accomplishments?
I’ll be closing on a condo in Park City in a couple days. I’m pretty
excitied about that.

What do you do to pass the time when you are on the road at races and training
camps?
That question depends an aweful lot on whether or not the hotel we’re
staying in gets Euro MTV…Actually, life on the road is generally sop focused
on resting and recovery between workouts/races that I spend a lot of time doing
very relaxing activities, like reading, playing cards, watching some TV, stretching,
and napping. Napping is a big pastime. And, of course, the internet is used
a lot to keep in touch with friends and family and to keep track of what’s
going on at home.

What were your best and worst races last season?
One of my best races last year, in terms of feeling like I came close to my
potential at the time, was probably the 10 k freestyle at US Nationals. My worst
race was probably two days later. The 10 K classic didn’t really go my
way.

How do you deal with bad races?
Generally, if I have a bad race, I’ll give myself and an hour or two to
be pretty pissed about it. But by the time I return to our hotel or wherever
we’re staying I’ll have returned to a little more levelheaded attitude
about the day. Always, shortly following a bad performance, I’ll talk
to coaches, wax techs., etc., about the bad race and things we can do in the
future to prevent it from happening again.

What are your racing goals for the upcoming season?
Early in the season I’d like to win a few Continental Cups, and I’d
really like to be skiing equally well in classic and skate. By Nationals, I’d
like to be skiing fast enough to win a National Championship, and then the rest
of the winter I plan to be on the world cup. There I’d like to ski into
the top twenty in distance races.

How do you feel about the changes in race format over the past few years?

I like most of the new race formats. I’m still not crazy about sprinting,
but that’s only because I haven’t done that well at them and don’t
really enjoy that format. I think that sprinting is good for the sport, though.
I really like the increase in the number of mass starts. Mass starts are good
for spectators and media, and I for one find them more fun to race than the
traditional individual start. I also think that the new pursuit format is a
good race. I think it’s much easier on athletes and staff than the old
one day pursuit, and I think they’re more exciting for spectators and
racers than a two day pursuit. Generally, I’m favorably impressed with
the direction of racing in regards to race format right now.

What is your take on the issue of doping in cross country ski racing these
days?
Clearly, I don’t think that doping has been completely irradicated from
our sport. However, large strides have been made in the past few years, and
I think WADA is doing some really good things. From my knowledge, I think that
steps still need to be made in most areas regarding out of competition testing
and surprise testing. But I think WADA is trying to address these issues and
is doing what it can to clean up the sport.

What changes will you be making to your training plan for this year?

Nothing much has changed this year. A little more intensity, particularly earlier
in the year, and a little more focus on my approach to training in terms of
trying to stay rested and fresh throughout the prep period.

How many time-trials on foot and rollerskis did you do last summer and fall
did you do and how long were they? Last season we did about three running
TT and three rollerski TT. The running TT’s were on the Soldier Hollow
10K course, which is really hard and slow. A really good time for that is in
the 36 minute range. The rollerski TT’s were also at Soldier Hollow, on
the rollerski loop. These were about thirty minutes in duration. We also did
a couple on snow TT’s in New Zealand in August, both around 10 K.

Do you have a favorite interval workout?
I like simple interval workouts. One of my favorite is 5 or 6 times five minutes
running uphill…level four. It’s good. It’s hard. It’s
simple.

What was your most memorable workout(s) last year?
While in New Zealand last summer a few of us took a couple days off from skiing
in the middle of the camp and headed to the west coast of the south island for
a couple days of camping and exploring. Vordie, Trond, Justin and I decided
to go for a run one morning. We had no idea where to go but started up a small,
rough trail. It was rainy and a little cold, and after about a half hour of
slogging along this muddy little trail through some incredible rain forest,
we came to a small river and completely lost the trail. So we decided, for lack
of anything better, to run down the river. An hour of running down this beautiful
river dumped us out on a small, deserted and completely isolated beach. By this
time the sun was out and the day was warming up. Trond went swimming, Vordie
hunted for cool shells, and all of us admired the scenery. This was probably
one of my top three greatest runs ever.

If you had to eat lunch at a fast-food restaurant, where would you go and
what would you order?
I’m not sure if it qualifies as fast food, but Park City’s El Chubasco
serves up a great chicken enchilada with rice and beans.

Can you give us a single piece of advice for aspiring Junior skiers?

Don’t ignore the fundamentals. Ski imitation drills, strength, and technique
work may not be the most exciting training, but for young skiers it’s
the most important.

How about some advice for Masters skiers?
Don’t train too hard. Consistency, and training at the right intensity,
will provide more gains in the long run than training less often but at harder
output.