Sprints and musing from Huron Meadows
Sat, Jan 28, 2012 - By Mike Muha
Almost everyone is up at the Noquemanon Ski Marathon, but there were a few of us who remained down south for various reasons. Three of us headed over to Huron Meadows Metropark to ski on the man-made snow, the only skiable snow in southeast Michigan.
The 0.4K loop made a perfect interval loop. Because it was in the woods, we were protected from the increasing winds. The trail had a firm base several inches thick, covered by an inch of new dense snow. The rain from yesterday made the base damp but firm, great for skating. A good track had been set for classic skiing.
We started out doing 1 lap intervals with a three minute rest. The first was skating without ski poles, the second a doublepole-only lap, and the third a normal skate with poles. It was interesting to see who was faster in one style than another. I could skate without poles faster than I could doublepole, while it was the opposite for Tony and Doug. We all took time off the lap when we skated with poles.
| Skate No Poles 1 Lap |
Doublepole 1 Lap |
Skate 1 Lap |
Skate 2 Laps |
Skate 3 Laps |
|
| Tony Percha | 2:01 | 1:52 | 1:45 | 3:50 | 5:53 |
| Doug Heady | 1:53 | 1:48 | 1:36 | 3:19 | 5:06 |
| Mike Muha | 1:53 | 2:09 | 1:49 | 4:00 | 6:15 |
Then we skated a two lap interval then a three lap interval. Pace per lap below:
| Pace 1 Lap |
Pace 2 Laps |
Pace 3 Laps |
|
| Tony Percha | 1:45 | 1:55 | 1:58 |
| Doug Heady | 1:36 | 1:39.5 | 1:42 |
| Mike Muha | 1:49 | 2:00 | 2:05 |
Doug had the most consistent time per lap, and the least variation between legs-only and arms-only.
Me? Train your weaknesses. Looks like more doublepoling is in my future...