Lactate Tolerance feedback follow-up

A couple of readers submitted comments regarding the last post on lactate training. As I was responding, my comments were getting verbose (big surprise) so I thought I would create another post with them in case others find the dialogue helpful...

Hi Brian, another really great read and for me, some food for thought as to prep for next season. I have to say that so far this year that I have held my own and been happy with the up's but suffered and lost time on downs. Don't know what the courses are like in North America, but here in the Alpes some of the down hill is like the dark side of the moon!

Do you know of any other sites or literature that suggest season long planning or programmes for ski alpinism. I have tried to build a basic programme for the winter to fill the weeks between races using the base principals from bike coaching, but even here in europe, info for ski rando is very thin. Plenty of info on gear and how to spend lots of cash but the euro racers seem to keep their training secrets close to their chests,

Once again, thanks for the articles, look forward to the next,

Simon

Simon and Ray, once again, thanks for the comments.

I have actually never looked for information elsewhere on the subject of training for rando racing. Thanks for doing the work for me! At least I don't have to waste my time poking around. However, I don't think it needs to be that mysterious as, demand wise, it is very similar to mountain bike racing and nordic skiing. As such, I don't think there is any shortage of advice out there on those two topics.

I do not have a nordic background so take what I am about to say with a grain of salt but I do have a friend who is well-versed in the area. He made a comment to me years ago that nordic skiers, while phenomenally fit, cannot dig quite as deep a hole during the bulk of a race as some other athletes because of the technically demanding aspect of the sport. If you are drowning in lactate, your technique is going to suffer and you will go slow. If that is true, then their steady-state intensity level may be a bit lower than a rando racer where technique is less important on the uphills and you can just flog yourself into submission. Same goes for MTB racing. Stomp on the pedals 'til your heart explodes! Aside from staying upright on tricky terrain, you can typically push pretty hard. The reason I make these comparisons is as a caveat to my belief that a nordic approach to training would be almost ideal for rando racing. Slight race intensity level difference notwithstanding, these programs probably provide the best preparation for the uphill portion of the discipline.

Go to this link for a comprehensive discussion on nordic program design. This is really great stuff and says more than I could here in a very concise product.

Now, this takes care of the bulk of time in rando races. However, as Simon points out, there is this little detail in rando racing called the "downhill" that, while not accounting for much of the overall race time, can be soul crushing when it does not go well and may make the difference of a finishing place or two when racers are close. The previous post addresses some dryland techniques for improving our ability to weather the downhill storm. Even better is to ski A LOT on your race gear. I think you will find that the most successful racers both in Europe and in the states are superb alpine skiers. Put them in traditional alpine gear or beefier touring gear and they would rip!

I have over 40 days out this year and, until yesterday, all of the skiing was done in my race boots. For deeper snow days I use a pair of 171cm Trab Free Randos which is still a light ski but has more float than a race ski. If it has not snowed in a while then I will go back to the full race set-up. You will end up burning off most of your traditionally shod ski partners doing this and I actually ski by myself a lot because of this. In some ways, it is also not as much fun. You just cannot go bashing through it on light race gear. But this is training and the commitment to the gear will pay huge dividends come race day. It all depends what you are trying to accomplish when you go out. 

Unfortunately, I have not raced in Europe but, oh, how I would love to someday. I've watched enough footage of the Pierra Menta and Mountain Attack to know that it is way cool! I do have friends and fellow competitors who have done both the PM and World Championships so I have heard enough about the style of racing over there to make general comments. As a rule, the skin tracks are lower angle and allow for some gliding while ascending. Great technique and a huge VO2 are required to take advantage of this, of course. In the states, liability issues keep most of our races out of the back country so the downhill portions may be a bit more tame some of the time. That said, most events here take full advantage of challenging off-piste terrain and test competitors' downhill ski abilities plenty. Most race organizers are keen to adhere to certain standards when it comes to race course length and design so we are probably on par there within the limits of the ski areas. Of course, you really don't see roped up glacier sections or 4th class rock sections in state-side races so that is a huge difference.

With the popularity of the sport in Europe it is surprising that there is not more out there that specifically addresses training programs. It may simply be that, as is my suspicion, the sport is similar enough to other disciplines that there is little market (or other reasons) for it.

As for spending lots on gear, well, I say spend all you can afford! Weight matters, period. And with the huge improvement in downhill ski performance of the new boots, that would be money well spent. I did not do it this season as I am coveting a carbon fiber disc for my bike but new boots are on the short list for next year. - Brian

Comments

[Jared]

All rando racing is done at or over threshold. If you're under threshold, you aren't going hard enough or you already went too hard. So it's important to do exercises that boost your threshold and your efficiency at threshold. Brian and I have gone back and forth on this and with his advice, I have two core workouts: 1) 4 minute intervals -- anywhere between 4 to 8 per session, and 2) steady state intervals, 20 to 30 minutes. These are exercises that nordic skiers have done and continue to do. The rest of the time spent (ideally) is at low intensity for purposes of buildilng efficiency, endurance, and strength. Although, it is hard to do low intensity when you are 10k and skinning up a steep mountain.

[brian]

To further expand on Jared's comments, with which I agree, 4-6 minutes seems to be a nice range for these intervals. My personal opinion is that somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes of work time is about right and typical of these types of intervals across a variety of sports. 8x4 minutes would be pretty brutal and perhaps something done once a high state of mid-season fitness is achieved. Starting with 3 of them and then adding one every week or two is a sensible approach as training progresses. You can also do more or less depending upon how they feel. The longer versions are fun to do in the BC on longer tours where you get the added benefit of actually getting somewhere.

I also agree that as you throw in touring during the training week it is easy to spend too much time in that "too hard to form full sentences" level of intensity. Easy is what really does it for the bulk of our volume. More intensity is not the answer (IMO). Let yer buddies break trail!

If readers have any doubt about this stuff working, simply witness Jared's performances this season. There's your proof. Nicely done!

[Simon]

Brian and Jared,

thanks for the 2nd post on this and the comments. I carried out some on line searches last night on the net, using different combinations of the words for training,ski alpinism, randonee race etc, in Italian,French, Spanish and German. It has paid off as I found this 2007 document published by the university of Laussane. It pretty much seems to cover the whole aspect of the training cycle. It does translate 'OK' using google but the translation is literal and some of it needs reading through a couple of times. I have copied the link below.

Must go, it's 06.50 here, last nights full moon is still visible in the cold but bright sky and I have a training session to complete before the local resort opens.

Simon

http://www.teamlatrace.ch/team/fichier/sportendurance.pdf