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Notes on Sprint Racing
Notes on Sprint Racing
\r\nChris Grover, U.S. Cross-Country Development Coach
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\r\nPhilosophy
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\r\nSince sprint racing emerged and was gradually inserted into the international and domestic race calendars over the past several years, coaches and athletes have learned more and more about just how to compete in these events. Compared to traditional distance cross-country ski racing, sprint racing has unique set of demands that differ from the standard warm-up, compete, and cool-down protocol in many important ways. Because many high school and college-aged athletes have limited exposure to sprint racing, they and their coaches are often puzzled as to how to best approach sprint races. Hopefully the following notes can alleviate some of this confusion.
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\r\nFrom my perspective, the sprint is one of the best things that has happened to cross-country ski racing, simply because it teaches young athletes how to be efficient skiing fast. And, isn’t skiing fast what it is all about? I would propose that if a skier learns how to ski 1 kilometer fast, they eventually can learn how to ski 3, 5, 10, 15, 30, and 50 kilometer events fast as well. As the skier ages, he and she should be able to increase endurance and strength, while simultaneously improving technical efficiency, therefore carrying this speed longer and longer into the race. Furthermore, the skills that are developed in sprint racing (quick starts and finishes, passing, skiing in a crowd, drafting, tactics, etc.) are the same skills that are becoming absolutely critical in today’s new skiing formats such as mass-starts, duathlons, sprint relays, and relays. For these reasons, I encourage all juniors and young seniors to embrace sprint racing, even if it appears obvious that they many never become a world-class sprinter, and may be predisposed to distance racing.
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\r\nWarming Up
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\r\nWarming up for a sprint race has been a major source of confusion for athletes. Field testing that we have conducted suggests that athletes usually ski their fastest round of the day in the quarterfinals, second fastest round in the qualification round, third fastest round in the semifinals, etc. Currently we don’t have any athletes in the United States that can qualify for the World Cup round of 16. Because of this, we are spending our energies helping the athletes to make the qualification round the fastest round of the day (i.e. we need to ski fast in the qualification round, if we are ever going to have a chance to even compete)! Looking back at the field testing, this suggests that the athletes need to have at least one full-speed run at sprint course before they enter the qualification round. This helps to ensure that the qualification round is the fasted round of the day. If you are working with young skiers who may not be able to fully recover from a fast run at the course, perhaps have them ski a smaller fraction of the course at top speed. With this in mind, here is a sample warm-up protocol:
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\r\n1.)10-25 min. level 1 ski (let athlete age dictate the time)
\r\n2.)One time around the sprint course at full-speed OR 2-3 x 2 minute intervals (Level 3 and Level 4)
\r\n3.)15-20 min. level 1 ski with short accelerations (practice starts)
\r\n4.)Ballistic stretching
\r\n5.)Start qualification round
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With the recent changes in race formats, good sprinting techniques and tools are increasingly important for distance racing as well.
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\r\nPacing
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\r\nOne important element that many skiers often leave out of their sprint racing is pacing. Like any other distance ski race, a sprint does NOT require 100% of maximum effort for the duration of the race. In fact, I think it is important to never try to ski at 100% of max effort, no matter the race distance, since 98% of max effort is always faster. By this, I’m suggesting that when a skier attempts to move as fast as possible, technical efficiency is almost always lost, and the skier “tenses-up” and slows down. Conversely, when an athlete skis at 98%, they tend to allow the ski to glide, complete a full kick, accumulate less lactate (La), etc. Furthermore, most skiers cannot ski at 98% of max speed for an entire sprint course without lactating-up, and need to create a pacing program that allows them to ski at a consistent pace over the entire course. I encourage athletes to create a pacing plan the day before the race, during course inspection. During the actual competition, they might ski at perhaps 95% of max effort to a certain point on the course (perhaps the top of a hill) and then ski at 98% to the finish line. This type of pacing has helped some of our skiers from losing too much time (due to substantial accumulation of La) in the last several hundred meters of the qualification round. Factors that should be weighed in creating a pacing plan include:
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\r\n1.)Race distance (is the course 1.0 km or 1.6 km?)
\r\n2.)Amount of climb (course difficulty)
\r\n3.)Speed / snow conditions
\r\n4.)Altitude
\r\n5.)Athlete’s current level of fitness
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\r\nCooling Down
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\r\nCreating a solid cool-down protocol is one of the absolute keys to successful sprint racing. The athlete’s accumulation of lactate in sprint race is massive (between 10 and 18 mmol La depending on the individual’s muscle make-up and level of preparation), and the clearing of most of this lactate is critical if a skier hopes to continue to ski fast in the rounds. For this reason, some of the athletes in the National Development Program use a cool-down protocol like the one below immediately following a round:
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\r\n1.)5 minutes level 2 skiing
\r\n2.)10 minutes 55-5s (55 seconds slow skiing, 5 seconds of sprinting, repeat)
\r\n3.)5 minutes level 1 skiing
\r\n4.)Begin next round
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\r\nThe athletes complete a cool-down protocol like this one not only between the qualification and quarterfinal rounds, but also between the quarters and semis, semis and finals, etc. They adjust the length of this protocol to match the amount of time they have between rounds. For example, if a skier has 15 minutes between the semis and finals, he or she might do 4 min. level 2, 4 min. 55-5s, and 4 min. level 1 skiing before stripping off warm-up clothing and heading to line.
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\r\nIt has been our experience that using a cool-down protocol that includes some faster skiing (rather than simply easy skiing) forces the heart to beat faster, and therefore promotes a quicker removal of lactate from the skiers’ muscles. This protocol will seem backwards to the athletes, who obviously will find level 2 skiing more painful than level 1 skiing after a sprint. However, the skier will begin to feel better sooner due to the removal of waste products from the muscle. It is also important that the skier uses his or her legs extensively during this cool-down, (this means actively skating or striding), since lactate tends to pool in the larger muscle groups of the lower body. Double-poling around on stiff legs will not be nearly as effective.
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\r\nSkiing the Rounds
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\r\nWhen an athlete qualifies for the rounds, both the athlete and the coach need to increase their focus level. As coaches, the most important role that we can play is to stick close to the start / finish area and keep the athlete appraised of exactly how much time they have to cool-down between the heats, and encouraging them to be aggressive in those cool-down protocols. We may also be adjusting their race skis by brushing them or freshening-up their wax job. As an athlete, focus is critical since time is short. Silly as it may sound, I encourage athletes not to talk to other athletes once the rounds begin. They don’t talk during a 5 km or 10 km race, so why should they talk during a sprint? I’ve found that if an athlete begins talking to other athletes (usually about something that happened during the last round) they lose their focus and more importantly, time to clear lactate. If they have a problem with equipment, by all means talk to the coach, but otherwise they should conduct business as if the cool-down time between rounds is actually part of the race.
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\r\nDuring the rounds, it is important that the athlete ski smoothly, and tries to relax as much as possible, conserving energy. They should stay away from skiers that are “thrashing” (skiing erratically and wasting energy) since these skiers often will crash and/or tire. If they are around skiers that are thrashing, they should ski beside them, and not behind them when possible. Instead, have your skier stay close to others that are skiing smoothly (these are the 98%ers). These are almost always the skiers that will advance to the next round. Finally, during the course inspection skiers should have identified the best places for passing on the course, and should be encouraged to use they passing areas, instead of waiting to pass at the finish.
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\r\nFinishing
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\r\nOne of the most important concepts to relate to athletes is to never, ever give up, even when it seems that there is no way for the skier to advance to the next round. I can’t tell you how many times I have witnessed two skiers getting tangled up and falling in the finish lanes, or a skier that would otherwise qualify for the next round “stand-up” and relax too soon before the finish line, allowing the third place finisher to pass him. As a coach, I hate to see an athlete fall on the course, and simply give-up, dejectedly waddling through the remainder or the course. Anything can happen in sprint racing, and often does! If the athlete gets knocked-down, they need to get up and compete, no matter how futile! This is the type of mental toughness it requires to become a sprinter, and as coaches, we love to see it.
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\r\nAnother skill that the athlete needs to embrace is lunging at the finish lane. I have seen many sprints lost by an ineffective or non-existent lunge. It is important that a skier practices lunging so that it is not new to them when they reach the finish lane. They should make sure that they don’t lunge too soon (i.e. they might have been able to have another poling cycle before the line), and that they don’t “drag” the following foot too much, and thereby slow themselves down. This skill is obviously not only important just for sprinting, but for all other race formats as well.
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\r\nConclusion
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\r\nThe different protocols suggested above are simply a good place for athletes to begin experimenting. In the end, they need to find warm-up and cool-down protocols that make sense for them individually. Obviously, the time to experiment with these protocols is not at a major championship, but in low-key early-season sprints. If there are not such events on your calendar, it is important to create intervals sessions that replicate the intensity and tactical demands of a sprint (i.e. mock sprints). Good luck!
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Written By: CGroverDate Posted: 6/29/2004Number of Views: 332
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