Even though it had been four days without skiing, I decided to go for a run with my Saturday morning group. I guess I missed them more than I missed skiing. I ended up with a nice 12 miler around the lakes – and 39 miles for the week.
Sunday started a nice string of skiing; 32K on Sunday, 13K on Monday and 16K today. I’m feeling a lot better about my Birkie prep after that 32K outing. But I do need to keep in mind that I still have another 18K to go. If I were training for a marathon and my long run was a comparable 16-17 miles, five weeks from the race, I’d be a little – okay, a lot – freaked out. But the long skis don’t beat you up like the long runs, so I think I can still get in at least 3 more of them. And I don’t know anything about tapering for a 50K ski race, but intuitively, I think the “normal” 3 week taper I do for a marathon would be too long. We’ll see… one month from tomorrow!
Quote of the Day;
“I'm already worried about the snow next year.” – Scott LaFrenz
One week taper from a non-skier. The extra time you can fit in skiing will probably be beneficial.
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My experience with tapering for a 50k ski race (Noquemenon, this Saturday) is to start about 10 days before the race. I ski about as often, but shorter, with some brief higher intensity stretches mixed in. Of course, I haven't really tried any other method. But I've always felt good on race day. My longest ski is usually about 40k. I always wish for a couple of longer ones, but it's hard to make the time for 3+ hours of skiing.
ReplyDeleteI was kind of thinking 7-10 days would be ideal.
ReplyDeleteAdam, do you run much during the ski season? I ran 39 miles last week when it was cold. Now this week I haven't run a step because the skiing is so nice.
In November - December, I was averaging around 30 miles / week on 4 runs, vs. closer to 40 in the spring/summer. In January, skiing takes precedence, but I usually end up getting in 2-4 shorter runs, and usually one of them has some kind of intensity to keep the foot speed (or at least the memory of foot speed) intact.
ReplyDeleteI think that next winter I'm going to experiment with more skiing (roller/snow) and less running starting in October. I'd like to see if a more dedicated approach to the ski season makes a difference. My fear is that if I let my running lapse too much that won't come back. I know that's irrational.
Adam, good info. Thanks for sharing.
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