Funny title to a blog post, I know. It’s amazing what weird stuff enters your mind when you’re skiing circles on a glacier in whiteout conditions. But, the title is simple, and it refers to my job as a ski racer. In a competitive sport where you’re literally trying to beat the competition, you must be prepared to do so. If my competitors are training 1 hour per day (to make a simple example) and I train 30 minutes per day can I realistically expect to beat them? Probably not. Of course winning isn’t all about training volume…. there are so many factors. Upper body endurance, the capacity of your heart, the strength of your trunk…. your mental fortitude…. your ability to hold it together and excel in tough conditions. There are many aspects and traits that must come together to make a World-class athlete.
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APU girls post interval session – training 3-5 hours per day on Eagle Glacier, June 2011
I have been thinking a lot about my ski racing goals for the next season and many of them involve beating a large chunk of the World Cup field. My preliminary plans have me starting off the season with FIVE consecutive World Cup weekends and preparation for that is now, today, tomorrow, and the next. In order to be competitive in the World Cup field – (and hopefully to beat many of them!) I NEED to work as hard or harder than they are. My training needs to be of similar quality or better yet, HIGHER quality than theirs. Now, that’s no easy feat! Consider the fact that the World Cup is a special collection of athletes that all probably harbor the same goal. That is, to be the best. I guarantee that there isn’t a single athlete out there that hasn’t dreamed about standing on top of a World Cup, World Championship, or Olympic podium. That said, the WC is comprised of athletes doing anything and everything in their power to achieve those goals. Some of those things include spending half their “off-season” away from home in training camps, making social and monetary sacrifices in their lives, walking out the door to train when the weather is horrible, harboring injuries, aches, and pains that come with pushing your body to it’s limits. When you’re trying to be really, really good at something, often other things take a hit.
That said, it’s time to go out training again. I’m trying to hit 4-5 hours per day of training on the glacier. Sounds like a lot, I know. But how will I know if I can do it or not if I don’t try? Here are a few pictures from the week so far:
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Sadie fired up in the helicopter
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View from the Helicopter, approaching the training facility
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Alpine Air gets us here safely…
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Welcome to camp! Goodbye heli…
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The first session was sunny…
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Boys team leaning on their poles after a hard interval set in the clouds
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Most of the pictures published are of the gorgeous days…. many days look exactly like this. Where is the track? Or if it’s a downhill – “WHERE IS THE NEXT WAND!?”
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Forty loafs of bread for carbo loading athletes!
…. As much or more, as good or better! Think about it!
