Congrats to everyone who is winding down (or has already finished) their XC running season this fall. It has been tons of fun to follow along with races across the state and even across the region. This weekend, New Englands will be the final race for many.
Balancing running and skiing can be tough: for one, many runners did not get to do the same volume and overall training load as skiers in the fall. More races and shorter workouts are the reason why.
Additionally, most runners were only able to rollerski once per week, if that.
There’s no need for every high school athlete to train like a World Cup star, and running XC provides a lot of benefits like a great aerobic top-end work and race situations. The goal now is to synthesize the training from athletes who ran (or played other sports this fall) with those who trained specifically for skiing. We all want to be on the same page and ready to tackle focused Nordic training together when the snow flies!
I’ve shared this at the beginning of the season, and this piece from Andy Newell regarding XC running for skiers is worth a quick read once more:
XC Running Advice
A few specific MNC suggestions for runners making the switch to Nordic:
Those who have FINISHED running as of now (11/8) and are not going to New Englands
The weather this week looks really nice, but a break is important both physically and (especially) mentally. Training every OTHER day is a great way to still get outside, but really consider at least one bike ride and one rollerski in order to pull back from the leg-pounding of running. Remember:
-It takes about 2 weeks to see “detraining” and strength loss
-It takes about 3 weeks to see “detraining” and loss of top-end race fitness (level 4, or 5km race pace)
-It takes about 4 weeks to have “detraining” and loss of easy distance training capacity
So that means IT IS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE TO NOT TRAIN EVERY DAY FOR A WEEK! In fact, it is beneficial for your body to go through a different stimulus than repeated training during the shift in seasons. As alluded to before, it is also important for your MIND to have a break. Catch up on school, enjoy some time without pressure or stress of training and competition, and come into the Nordic season with a positive mindset!
Those running New Englands (11/13)
This race puts even less of a break between running and Nordic season, as many will be at Thanksgiving Camp starting on 11/23. For this group, it is critically important to take time off. A week is not long enough to lose ANY fitness gains from cross country running, but it is certainly enough time to get fully burned-out if you try to keep training hard and every day between New Englands and the start of camp.
I really really encourage 2-3 days totally off (such as Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) since we will already be searching for snow by the weekend. Take a break from all training, including running, and then starting on Wednesday gradually ease back with 30-45 minutes of easy activity each day, or even every other day.
Didirk Tonseth, one of the fastest skiers in Norway and also a very competitive runner
