Norwegian Kristen Skjeldal is no longer on the National team, has changed his training routines and is incredibly excited ahead of the upcoming races at Beitostolen.
 Skjeldal skied on the Norwegian 4 x 10 kilometer relay team that captured Gold at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. He also captured an individual 4th place in the same championship.
 chases the medal pack in the Olympic 30K. He finished 4th (third without Muehlegg)</font><BR></p>
<p>His name was however left out when the Norwegian 2003-04 team was announced this spring. That was surprising to many and it is arguable whether it was right decision. We might know the answer to that very soon.</p>
<p>Kristen did not quit but continued on his own with coaching help from former World Cup skier and National team coach Pal Gunnar Mikkelsplass and Arild Jorgensen.</p>
<p>“It’s not longer possible for me to test myself against the best skiers in the country in training. I’m therefore more insecure and curious than in the past.â€</p>
<p><B>Less volume</B></p>
<p>Skjeldal felt that he over-trained a bit last season and has taken the consequences from this and made changes in his training.</p>
<p>“In retrospect I can see that I was hampered by the hard training we did at the end of last fallâ€</p>
<p>This made Skjeldal take it very easy this spring in order to recover. He was also thinking long term in order to avoid getting the same symptoms again.</p>
<p>“I have read that in order to recover from over-training you need to recover over time, not just take it easy for a short periodâ€</p>
<p>This is why he has made one big change in his training.</p>
<p>“I might have trained similar to what I did in the past, but made one main adjustment. I have reduced the volume and cut out what I’ll call garbage.â€</p>
<p>He has not compensated by increasing the intensity. He is doing the same hard sessions as in the past. The reduction in volume has caused the intensity to now be a higher percentage of the total training.</p>
<p>“I believe that younger skiers might need the volume training to build a foundation or base. I have on the other hand trained high hours for many years so this might be a solutionâ€</p>
<p>How much have you reduced the training volume?</p>
<p>“I haven’t added it up but I will say it’s substantialâ€.</p>
<p>Â <B>Like Mikkelsplass</B></p>
<p>Â This is a training adjustment Marit Mikkelsplass (Pal Gunnar’s wife) used the last several years of her skiing career when studies prevented high training volume. Skjeldal's coaches, Mikkelsplass and Jorgensen, suggested that he tried this approach. Skjeldal is also pointing to the fact that Per Eloffson recently made a nice recovery after over-training.</p>
<p>“I have for many years felt very fit. I don’t have that feeling this year and are therefore more insecureâ€</p>
<p><B>Want to ski fast from the season start</B></p>
<p>Skjeldal has recently been training at Beitostolen. He tested himself in several hard workouts.</p>
<p>“We did one interval and one pace workout. We were supposed to have a time-trial, but that did not work out. I felt good in the hard sessions.</p>
<p>How important is the opening at Beitostolen for you?</p>
<p>“It important both physically and psychologically. I have to take it as a signal that I was left out of the team. My goal is to be among the best skiers. I should have a good chance in qualifying for the upcoming World Cup races judging from how I skied last year.</p>
<p>Skjeldal is despite his years of racing and experience as a National Team member more excited than in a long time.</p>
<p>Let’s get it on!</p>
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