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VO2 Journal
Athletes of the USST will occasionally update readers on their training. More specifically, in the near future there will be updates regarding the USST’s new VO2 training regime. Please see the “VO2 Training” article for more info regarding this type of training.
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\r\nVO2 Training Journal
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\r\nBy Andrew Johnson
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\r\nWednesday, May 26th.
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\r\nToday was the first day of the first VO2 training bloc for me. I had originally planned to start this period of hard training yesterday, but after getting roped into helping some friends put a roof on their house I decided to wait a day. In place of intervals yesterday I did a distance rollerski in the morning and a solid strength workout in the afternoon.
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\r\nWith some guidance from the coaching staff, I planned this bloc of hard training myself. It started this morning and will continue for eight days. Barring any unforeseen change of plans, I’ll do intervals every morning for four days. I’ll then take a day off before doing four more interval sessions in three days. The afternoons will alternate between easy recovery jogs, mtn biking, and kayaking, and moderate strength sessions.
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\r\nThis morning certainly wasn’t the most pleasant for training. I didn’t get out the door until after nine. It was so overcast and rainy (with a thick layer of fog) that I figured it might be a little safer to wait for it to clear a little before I went out to share the road with rednecks in trucks and other, slightly more normal people.
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\r\nMy plan was to warm-up for about thirty minutes and then go right into 4-times four-and-a-half minute level four intervals. I would then warm down, and call it a workout.
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\r\nThe roads were soaked, with standing water anywhere the uneven pavement would allow. It was cold. About 40 degrees, I think, with a stiff south wind. South winds, around these parts, mean only one thing: more rain. This kind of weather used to really piss me off. I’d curse Northern Vermont every time I went out to train and got rained on (at one point a few years ago that was over thirty days straight…no joke). But after spending most of my summers in Park City for the last several years, I kind of appreciate this. All the sun and dry air in the west will make a person soft, I reason. It’s growing up in the rain and the mud and the bugs that made me tough, I tell myself. Tough, or stupid. Not sure which, since both would probably have the same effect on me.
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\r\nI got through my warm-up and started to sweat a little, under my jacket. I was ready to start the intervals. (See “VO2 Training” article for specifics on this workout). My first interval goes just as planned; I start relatively easy and ski into the interval, only reaching level four for the last little bit. Time: 4:52. Second interval is good, too. I start a little harder, trying to get my heart rate closer to level four sooner. I settle into a nice pace and battle the pounding headwinds. This sucks, but at the same time I feel good and I want more. The wind and the rain can’t stop me. I battle through and finish the second interval in 4:56. I spent a little more time in level four during this interval, so I was anticipating that it might be a little faster than the first. But I’m still recovering quickly and feel that I could easily go faster, so we’ll see what the next interval has in store for me.
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\r\nThe third interval I start fast, and maintain the speed through the first of two steeper climbs. I want to spend over half of this interval in level four. I’m feeling fast, and I know I’m going fast. I end up spending about two-thirds of the interval in solid level 4 range, and finish the interval in 4:42. That interval felt good but I’m worried I may have gone a little too hard. I figure I’ll let the next interval tell me if that’s the case. I decide to ski the last interval based solely off how I feel, and let the time be of secondary importance. I want to push hard, but feel relaxed and finish as if I could ski another couple minutes at the same pace, as well as easily ski a fifth interval, if I had to.
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\r\nThe fourth, and final, interval turns out to be the coup de grace of the workout. I skied it exactly how I intended, skiing hard and relaxed, in a comfortable level four for most of the way up the hill. Towards the end I push a little harder, but finish feeling like I could, indeed feeling like I want, to ski longer. As an after thought I look at my watch. The time is identical to the previous interval. I feel like I’ve become faster and more efficient in the space of a few minutes. And there’s no doubt I could ski another interval. I’d almost like to try, but all the rain and the mud and bugs haven’t made me that stupid.
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\r\nI finished the workout with an easy warm-down, before going home to eat and rest. In the late afternoon I went for a short recovery jog, and finished my training day with some stretching. I capped off the night by watching the Red Sox beat up on the A’s. The Sox made those men in green look like small boys, actually.
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\r\nNot a bad day, all-in-all…
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\r\nTeam Today is a non-profit organization run by, and for, the athletes of the US Cross-country team. The USST is run on a shoestring budget, and our increasing success at the international level is making for increasing demand on our ever-limited resources. To find out how you can join Team Today, visit www.teamtoday.org, or contact Andrew Johnson bode1978@yahoo.com, or Pete Vordenberg pvordenberg@ussa.org. With your assistance, we will be THE BEST IN THE WORLD!
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Written By: andrewjDate Posted: 5/27/2004Number of Views: 336
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