Hitting the Road, and the Transition to Snow…

Sat, Nov  18, 2006 - By Pat Casey for TeamToday.org

Update from the Continental Cup Squad.

Matt, Liz, Morgan, Leif and I arrived in West Yellowstone yesterday. Morgan and Liz came up from residency in Park City while Leif made the short trip down from Bozeman. The skiing is great here.  The whole trail network is open with the exception of the ever-elusive Windy Ridge. There is a lot of excitement associated with being on snow for the first time each winter. The three athletes have put in some amazingly professional work through their tough transition into winter. 

It is a tough time of year for training. Last week I bundled up for a miserable hour and a half sweat-fest near Soldier Hollow, and the other workouts were downright chilly/ muddy/ rainy/ and sleety (probably not a word). The weather this time of year rarely cooperates with your training plan. The key is to be flexibly stubborn about what you do this time of year. Change the mode of the workout that you planned to fit the changing weather, but don’t give up on the type of workout.  Keep the same number of intervals, easy distance, over distance, and strength sessions. Stay healthy and have fun in your own misery because it will all pay off.

‘moment of Zen finally on snow’ Leif doing threshold intervals on Rendezvous Trails.

 

Morgan doing threshold intervals on the So Ho access road.  Temperature minus 4 Celsius.

 

Liz rollerskiing on the treadmill because there are 7 inches of fresh snow on the roads that she was supposed to do intervals on this morning.

 

Article by Pat Casey - USST Continental Cup Coach. (Pat Casey Images)

(editor:  What is the Continental Cup Team… This is the USST bridge from domestic racing to the World Cup.  It is a big jump to make from super tour racing to racing the best in the world and so the Continental Cup team was created to help athletes not yet ready for World Cup to prepare more adequately for that level.

Liz Stephen and Morgan Arritola have been training consistently with us all summer.  The kind of improvements they have been looking for are preparation based.  We want consistent training, a rise in training volume, intensity and specificity (and professionalism).  Out of this age athlete we are looking for improvement, commitment and perseverance – results will come down the road, and the road is long.

My expectations of this level of athlete is that they maximize what they do every day.  When it comes to racing that means going as fast as possible every single time – even when the wax is not great or the body is not feeling great.  That is the meaning of Team Today, and that is how you get faster.  - Pete Vordenberg)