28 Days and Counting….

That said, we’re putting in a final in-town dryland preparation period.  Training has consisted primarily of roller skiing, with a couple of running sessions (one interval foot with poles) and two strength sessions – each with hard core workouts, one with spenst, and one with fast classic double pole. So far, none of our training has been on snow which is slightly uncharacteristic for Alaska as many other skiers in the US have gotten their first ski before we have.  Surprisingly I’m not that anxious about it. Our dryland training has been very high in quality and I know we’re going to find PLENTY of snow this winter. 

Last weekend we had two time trials. It was awesome to go as fast as you can without holding anything back. The first was a classic roller ski sprint race.  Each racer completed two prologues which is used to qualify for the heats – afterwards, we simulated two sprint finals using a “hunting start” or backwards pursuit.  The person that won the prologue started last with the idea that all skiers would theoretically arrive at the finish around the same time. The following day we had a grueling 8k uphill skate time trial.  We started at sea level near Potter’s Marsh and skied to the top of Prominence Point through neighborhoods.  I will be competing in at least two hill climbs this year so it was good to experience the “pain train.”  Uphill skiing is somewhat equivalent to mtn running and I love to go uphill so the time trial suited my strengths.