Continuous bounding intervals

One of the tougher workouts we do, very Scandinavian in style, effort and even setting. A set number of loops (5 for women, 7 for men) run continuously (no standing time) around a hilly 1.5-2k loop at Higley Flow. Mostly old logging roads and the trail we cut a few years ago...mossy, leaf-covered trails through pine trees with a setting sun in the background reminded me of Finland. Or pictures of it at least, since I've never been there.

I set up cones on all the uphills, the goal being to bound hard from cone to cone, with running recovery in between. There were four sections of bounding each loop, two longer ones at the beginning and end of each loop, and two shorter middle sections.

The first few laps are conservative. The team generally adheres to the policy of recovering in between bounds. After about 2 or 3 laps, however, rest becomes less and less effective. By the last few laps, the workout is simply a hard effort non-stop; hard running mixed with hard bounding. In a lot of cases, this is discouraged, but this is a good workout to put the hammer down and really see what you've got. Ethan took video, and I ran everywhere around the loop (another benefit of a set and circular course) jumping in with groups as they came by and trying to exaggerate powerful bounding to encourage explosiveness. Here's the footage:

Higley Digley Doublepole Derby 2012

Ethan and I tested out a new TT yesterday: The Fist Annual Higley Digley Doublepole Derby!

While the Doublepole test is a good indicator of fitness and strength, it does little to simulate the kind of double-poling situations found in an actual race. So what better way to achieve that than by holding a longer-format, mass-start double-pole race? It's incredible how fortunate we are to have Higley Flow State Park at our disposal...the hills may not be too steep while descending on snow, but the twisty camp loops make for a perfect rollerski course: good pavement, varied terrain and no cars (which allows for the mass-start format). The women raced 5k, the men 7k, roughly.

I arrived at the park early and swept the pine needles off the side loops, and the race went off with only one broken rollerski tip for damages. Obviously rollerski speed varies, and especially comes into play more on a course such as this with substantial sections of gradual downhill, but the benefits outweigh the negatives in this case: A good chance to practice skiing in a group in a race setting, navigating tricky turns and descents, and a difficult effort that also has specific-strength benefits.

The men's race was led out most of the way by a pack composed of Reed, Eric, Austin (Meng) and Will. Near the very end Meng and Eric broke away to sprint for the line, with Eric just taking the win. Will lost a pole tip but still hung on for third with Reed close behind.

Kate led the women's race from start to finish, but never really pulled away from Cassidy, who was on the hunt the entire time just out of contact a few seconds back. A few of the girls skied together in pairs: Sienna and Margot worked together for the majority of the race, as did Melanie and Kelsey. Kate held her slim lead to the finish over Cass, and Lauren took the bronze. Here's the results and a quick video I put together. I was filming from a bike and obviously need a little practice with the technique of it, but I'll get the hang of it soon.

MEN
Lustgarten 21:33
Meng 21:34
Frielinghaus 21:43
Reed 21:52
Hart 23:42
Dier 24:2-

WOMEN
Mulcahy 17:40
Cichowicz 17:48
Olson 18:45
Searles 19:34
Margot 19:35
Perryman 20:28
Nichols 21:05
Swick 21:10

Foliage week

Fall rolls on, and the team wrapped up another solid week of training under peak foliage today with a long point-to-point ski through the Adirondack foothills in Colton. Austin Meng, Reed Likly, Kyle Curry and I made it just under 3 hours before we were finally rescued by Ethan and our team bus, piled high with bagels, trail mix and granola bars forgotten by the crew team over the weekend.

Key workouts this week were the introduction of morning circuits, some hard classic intervals at Irish Settlement road, a rainy ski-walking and bounding at Seven Springs, and a specific strength workout at Higley. For the specific strength workout Ethan and I designed a set course to be skied continuously, with stations along the way involving either drills or repeats of double-poling and single-stick. We ended with a few head-to-head sprints, complete with a K-Mart capgun I bought this summer to set off each heat. 

Here's a quick video of  the guys going through one of the balance drills that I think is particularly effective. The goal is to stride only once per cone, holding the striding position between each as well. Also included is some footage of Reed and Evan Turner getting some additional balance training in while skateboarding around outside the ski room after practice. 

The Legend of St. Regis

Testing week has come and gone...Brown's Bridge testing went well, with the men's double-pole record being taken to a new level by Eric. This marks the third year in a row the record has been broken. With his 7:13 on Friday, Eric took 6 seconds off the time we shared together last year. Additionally, Will was only a couple of second's off former coach and athlete Zach Wetherell's no-pole skate record from 2008. Kate took the win in both women's tests among a field that had very encouraging times.

But the real test of tests is the St. Regis mountain run. With standard conditions for this test being a rainy, typhoon-style mudbath, the relatively light drizzle Sunday morning had me anxious to see some records broken. And if there ever was a record to break, it was Tommy Lepesquer's 29:21 performance from 2006, the longest-standing record of all SLUSKI's tests. And if there ever were two guys to do it, it was Will and Meng. They didn't disappoint, with Meng clocking in at 30:11 and Will at 30:20. Counting those two times, there are only 8 finishes under 31 minutes, and still only Lepesquer can lay claim to a sub-30 Regis effort. With Meng and Will so close, and with a stellar performance by first-year Kyle Curry in 31:04, the stage has been set for another great showdown in 12 months time...

Speaking of stellar performances, the guys team in general absolutely murdered the mountain. From 2006 to 2011, only 17 men have gone under 32 minutes.

In this year's test, 7 of the men were under 32:00.

Kelsey hits the summit for 3rd place

The women's race was no less impressive, with first-year Cassidy Cichowicz clocking a 36:19, challenging Caroline's record only a year after it was set. For reference, Caroline's record of 36:07 was a full minute over the previous record, so essentially in the last two years Cass and 'Roline have been in a class of their own.

Kate and Kelsey rounded out the podium, both also posting times in the top-10 overall.

Check out the testing archive, updated to include this years results, by clicking HERE

With testing week over, the focus shifts to classic fall training: cold days, dark and rainy intervals and morning circuits. Eric asked me on the drive back from Regis: "Why have testing results gotten so much faster these past few years?" and I replied that it probably stemmed from a few causes. The rollerski tests and St. Regis have likely seen improved times because skiers realize their benefit. Club teams and groups know that specificity is important, and access to rollerskis for younger athletes has grown tremendously in the past 10 years. Skiers come to college with half a decade of rollerskiing under their belts, and they're able to really nail down the specific strength tests. Club programs and teams also realize the value of uphill tests. "That was probably the third uphill running test Meng has done this year" I mentioned, before Meng piped up from the back seat, "actually, it was my 5th."

These tests work, and if nothing else they force a hard effort that pushes one's body and mind to extreme levels...sort of like a ski race.

The girls team and coach Terko on top of Regis. No view, as usual...