CROSS COUNTRY RUN OR SKI RACE PREPARATION
Our competitive skiers are expected to take personal responsibility for your race preparation. We want you to learn to be independent from your parents and coaches. We encourage you to copy and print this race preparation document. Use it at home and bring it with you to share with our coaches at our practices and race competitions.
For our elite athletes, we challenge you to improve your race preparation by responding to steps A, B and C below.
A: Choose 3 objectives from the list below that you decide you need to improve for your next race. IF you don't take the time to identify 3 objectives, then you will not be able to improve your race preparation.
B: Two or three days before your race, explain to your coaches your 3 race preparation objectives.
C: After each race, evaluate what you learned from your race, and, discuss your 3 objectives with our coaches, to make changes to your race preparation for your next race. We ask you to pay close attention to little details, because each little detail is very important.
For our elite athletes, we challenge you to improve your race preparation by responding to steps A, B and C below.
A: Choose 3 objectives from the list below that you decide you need to improve for your next race. IF you don't take the time to identify 3 objectives, then you will not be able to improve your race preparation.
B: Two or three days before your race, explain to your coaches your 3 race preparation objectives.
C: After each race, evaluate what you learned from your race, and, discuss your 3 objectives with our coaches, to make changes to your race preparation for your next race. We ask you to pay close attention to little details, because each little detail is very important.
Most important, it is your responsibility to develop your personal race preparation system. For our race competitions, our coaches will focus our attention on the athletes who make the effort to improve their race preparation.
Many people have asked me how Beckie Scott and Alex Harvey prepare to race. My response is simple…they live the elite athlete lifestyle with a healthy personal balance of self-family-friends-school-other interests; they train 5 or 6 days a week for many years; and, they focus their attention to prepare to compete. They are able to race 2 demanding competitions on a weekend, because they prepare themselves to race each day. After 20 years of coaching athletes, I have developed a list of actions that an elite athlete can use to develop their personal race preparation routine. These are the things that Beckie and Alex do before every training practice and every race they compete in: intervals, time trials, regional races, provincial races, national races and international races.
1: The day before your race, train easy in zone 1 for 20 minutes (midgets-juveniles); 30 minutes (juniors); or 40 minutes (seniors-masters). The best training is classic skiing or jogging on easy flat trails with no steep uphill climbs, because if you train on steep uphill climbs, you will create muscle fatigue and waste energy that you want to conserve for your race the next day.
2: Eat an elite athlete’s supper, with lots of good proteins and carbohydrates, to build up your body energy reserves for your race the next day. After you wash the dishes, go for a 15 minute walk to aid your digestion. In your training journal, write down exactly what you ate for supper, until you find your best “pre-race meal” for yourself.
3: Prepare your 2 or 3 lunch bags for tomorrow. Bag #1 = “finish line recovery nutrition” (see #19 below). Bag #2 = “after cool down recovery nutrition” (see #22). Bag #3 = “travel home meal” (see #26) because sometimes we will not be stopping to eat a meal while driving home. Put your 3 bags in the refrigerator for the next morning.
4: Prepare both pairs of your skis for tomorrow = your warm up skis and racing skis. Glide wax and scrape your skis with the race waxes that our coaches suggest. Clean your kick zone and prepare your kick zone with sandpaper.
5: Prepare 3 changes of clothing. One change for travel and your race warm-up; one change for immediately after your race; and one change (plus a towel if there is a shower at the ski centre) before for your ride home. Always bring extra clothing and extra gloves-mitts-toques-biffs-neck warmers for rain, wind, very cold weather, warm weather. Pack all of your clothes in a bag for the next morning.
6: Go to sleep early, to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep. Before you go to bed, follow your pre-sleep routine so that you are relaxed: a 15 minute fresh air walk, or, 15 minutes of easy stretching, or, a bath-shower to relax. Go to bed happy with positive thoughts for happy dreams.
7: Before breakfast, dress warm to go outside for 15 minutes of fresh air. Walk for 15 minutes, or, walk for 5 minutes and jog slowly for 10 minutes. IF you are staying at high altitude, do not jog, just walk, to keep your heart rate low.
8: Eat an elite athlete’s breakfast at least 2.5 hours before your race start time. Start your breakfast with one or two eggs, while you are cooking your oatmeal. Your second choice for excellent digestible protein before a race is a cup of cottage cheese. Cook slow cooking 15-20 minute large flake oatmeal is the best complex carbohydrates for racing. Do not eat the instant oatmeal that comes in little paper packages, that you just add hot water to, because it does not contain complex carbohydrates nor energy, so it is as bad as the most of the non-athlete boxed cereals that line the grocery stores. If not oatmeal, cook your other favorite complex grain whole wheat cereal, but not high fibre nor high sugar cereal. It is important to over-cook your oatmeal or hot cereal with, to break down the fibre. And, use too much water to cook your hot cereal, so it is liquid smooth versus thick. For better flavour, throw your favourite dried or frozen fruits into your water before you start to heat it up: raisins, chopped dates, chopped apples, cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc and add cinnamon for flavour. Do not drink or use much milk = lactate acid. Yoghurt and molasses and (or a little bit of honey) are good to add to oatmeal. Or, 100% whole wheat bagels with molasses or honey, or, 100% whole wheat toast is OK. Do not eat bacon or fats (peanut butter) or meats or milk before races. Some older athletes like a cup of coffee or green tea a couple of hours before races, for caffeine-energy metabolism during the race. Do not eat 2 hours before your race, because your stomach will need the blood and energy to digest food at the same time your muscles need energy to race. In your training journal, write down exactly what you ate for breakfast, until you find your best “pre-race meal” for yourself. After breakfast, prepare a thermos of your favourite hot beverage or soup for after your race.
9: After you wash the dishes, organize your transportation to the race. Shovel the snow from your walkway and driveway parking garage, and, clean the snow off of your vehicle. Load all of your race preparation bags into your car. IF you do not have to shovel snow, go for a 15 minute walk to aid your digestion.
10: Drink lots of water or your favourite herbal tea during the morning of your race, and, sip on your room temperature water bottle while you are driving to the race.
11: Arrive at the race centre one hour (or one and a half hours) before your race start, so that you have time to register for your race; pick up your bib; ask about changes to your race course (your start time, the entry & exit of the start-finish stadium, which race trail, which colour of flags to follow, number of kilometres, number of laps-loops, start line order and finish line directions, warm up trail location). The extra half hour will give you a chance to say hi to your team-mates and friends.
12: Find our “team place” at the ski centre, to find a quiet relaxing place to rest. Find a chair or some floor space to sit down, so that you are NOT standing for 1 or 2 hours before your race, to save your legs for the race. Leave your bags here; prepare your after-race food bag and your after-race change of dry clothing bag, and, look for all of the toilets and change rooms. Put your ski bag in our “team place” waxing room, and, organize your warm up and race skis with our coaches. Ask the coaches to suggest a good kick wax for your warm up skis, and, kick wax your warm up skis by yourself.
13: IF you did not have the chance to familiarize yourself with your race trail the days before the race, arrive two hours before your race, so that you have time to walk or ski your race trail before the race trails are closed for the competition. Be selfish and go by yourself, so that other people do not interfere with your race course memorization. As you leave the start line, push your nose button to record your mental video cassette to memorize all of the details of your race course. Think about your personal individual race course strategy while you are memorizing the course. Walk or ski really slowly, to save your energy for your race. “Whoever skis the course familiarization the fastest…loses the race, and, whoever skis the course familiarization the slowest…wins the race.” Walk or ski the steep uphill climbs very slowly, to save your energy for your race.
Seniors/Elites x 40 minutes: athletes who train 11+ hours/week or 500+ hours/year.
Juniors/Experienced x 35 minutes: athletes who train 7-10 hours/week or 350-500 hours/year.
Juveniles/Youth x 30 minutes: athletes who train 4-6 hours/week or 200-350 hours/year.
Minutes before start time:
40 minutes (seniors): ski zone 1 for 20 minutes; ski slow up the hills.
35 minutes (juniors): ski zone 1 for 15 minutes; ski slow up the hills.
30 minutes (juveniles): ski zone 1 for 10 minutes; ski slow up the hills.
20 minutes : ski 3 minutes zone 2 x 66% race pace effort.
17 minutes : ski 3 minutes zone 3 x 90% race pace effort.
14 minutes: go to the wax room or the stadium; exchange your warm up skis for race skis, take a sip of water; take a pee; mark your skis; remove warm up clothing; put on race bib.
10 minutes: during the last few minutes before your race, never stop moving. Move continually on your feet or on your skis. Ski or Run inside the stadium, close to the start line, where you can see the race bib numbers of the athletes in the start line in front of you, and, where you can hear the race officials calling race bib numbers and race categories.
*repeat 5 accelerations of running or skiing at 100% race pace tempo for 5 seconds and then ski slow or jog-walk for 55 seconds.
*while you are lined up in the start line, keep your legs and arms moving.
*arrive at the start line: body warm and ready to race; with a medium pulse of 120-150/minute; and a big smile of confidence that you are ready to race
0 minutes: START YOUR RACE WITH A BIG SMILE. During your race, focus your thoughts on your favourite key words for tempo and technique.
*start your race with a big smile and “quick relaxed tempo”.
*key words: smile; think 100% positive; “YES!”; quick and light; relax; breath; focus perfect technique; fast tempo; “FUN!”; fluid technique; push the flats; “GO!”; attack the hills in control; push over the top of the hills; push my limit; PLUS your favourite 3 key words that motivate you!
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14: WARM UP ROUTINE FOR A CLASSIC TECHNIQUE RACE: (we have added 10 minutes to give athletes-coaches time to change kick wax during warm up)
*50-45-40 minutes before your race start, take a good drink of water, take a pee, dress to ski, put your race bib around your neck; find your skis and start your wrist watch time at 50-45-40 minutes, and, begin your warm up
Seniors/Elites x 50 minutes: athletes who train 11+ hours/week or 500+ hours/year.
Juniors/Experienced x 45 minutes: athletes who train 7-10 hours/week or 350-500 hours/year.
Juveniles/Youth x 30 minutes: athletes who train 4-6 hours/week or 200-350 hours/year.
Minutes before start time:
50 minutes (seniors): ski zone 1 for 30 minutes; ski slow up the hills; test your kick wax.
45 minutes (juniors): ski zone 1 for 25 minutes; ski slow up the hills; test your kick wax.
40 minutes (juveniles): ski zone 1 for 20 minutes; ski slow up the hills; test your kick wax.
20 minutes: ski 3 minutes zone 2 x 66% race pace effort.
17 minutes: ski 3 minutes zone 3 x 90% race pace effort.
14 minutes: go to the wax room or the stadium; exchange your warm up skis for race skis OR give your warm up - race skis to our stadium coaches for kick wax finish; take a sip of water; take a pee; mark your skis; remove warm up clothing; put on race bib.
10 minutes: during the last few minutes before your race, never stop moving. Move continually on your feet or on your skis. Ski or Run inside the stadium, close to the start line, where you can see the race bib numbers of the athletes in the start line in front of you, and, where you can hear the race officials calling race bib numbers and race categories.
*repeat 5 accelerations of running or skiing at 100% race pace tempo for 5 seconds and then ski slow or jog-walk for 55 seconds.
*while you are lined up in the start line, keep your legs and arms moving.
*arrive at the start line: body warm and ready to race; with a medium pulse of 120-150/minute; and a big smile of confidence that you are ready to race
0 minutes: START YOUR RACE WITH A BIG SMILE. During your race, focus your thoughts on your favourite key words for tempo and technique.
*start your race with a big smile and “fast-quick relaxed tempo” over the top of the first big climb, and then “GO HARD!”
*key words: smile; think 100% positive; “YES!”; quick and light; relax; breath; focus perfect technique; fast tempo; “FUN!”; fluid technique; push the flats; “GO!”; attack the hills in control; push over the top of the hills; push my limit; PLUS your favourite 3 key words that motivate you!
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15: After second last big climb; for the last 1 or 2 kilometres; challenge yourself to maximum tempo to the finish = push your limit to attack the flats; attack the last big climb with your “physiological finish line” over the top of the hill; sprint over the top of the last big hill and sprint-attack the last 1 kilometre to the stadium finish line.
16: Finish Line: “the finish line of this race = the start line for your next race.” As soon as you cross the finish line, your preparation immediately begins for your next race. Finish and start with POSITIVE THOUGHTS and a BIG SMILE!
17: Three seconds after you cross the finish line, ask yourself: “What is more tired, the muscles in my legs and arms, or, my breathing and cardio-vascular system?” “What kept me from racing faster, my muscles or my motor?” This information is really important for our coaches, to know what you need to concentrate on in your training: either more muscular short speed intervals of steep climbing and double poling sprints, or, more long aerobic hill cardiovascular intervals.
18: Ten seconds after you cross the finish line, give some encouragement to your competitors, while you take off your skis and pick up your warm up clothing. Put your skis at the start of the cool down trail. Before you start getting cold, immediately walk to the ski centre to our “team place” to immediately change into your dry clothes. Keep moving and do NOT sit down.
19: Three to five minutes after you cross the finish line, eat and drink your bag #1 “finish line recovery nutrition” = chocolate milk and your favourite healthy homemade squares or energy bars or cookies or cake or granola bar or your favourite healthy dry cereal or real fruit juice or yoghurt. After a race, your body immediately needs good nutrition to replenish the energy stores in your muscles, so that your body can recover from your race and prepare for your next race. Each 5 minute delay in your digestion of nutrition will add about 30 minutes to your energy recovery. For example, if you do not digest anything after your race for 30 minutes, you add 3 extra hours to your recovery time. No nutrition for one hour adds 6 extra hours to your recovery time.
20: After you drink and eat bag #1, fill up your water bottle and put some more snacks in your pockets, dress with dry warm clothes-toque-gloves to avoid getting sick from being wet & cold. Go for your cool down ski or jog. Drink as much water as you can each ten minutes during your cool down. Use a flat trail with no big hills for your 20 minutes cool down zone 1 ski or jog. Avoid skiing up steep hills during your cool down, and, slowly walk up any steep uphill climbs. Or, take your ski poles and walk with our 3 step double pole along the race trails, to encourage your team mates in their races. Eat & drink as much as you can while you are cheering.
21: During your cool down, evaluate your race. Start with your race preparation; warm up; race strategy; race psychology. Give yourself a percentage score out of 100% for your race effort. You must evaluate your race before you know your race result! Your evaluation of your race and your personal best effort are much more important than your race result!
22: Return to our “team place” in the ski centre to drink and eat your bag #2 “after cool down recovery nutrition.” Eat a good variety of healthy proteins and carbohydrates: boiled egg; 100% whole wheat sandwich with eggs or tuna or salmon or beef; peanut butter; cheese; humus; apple; orange; banana; raisons; dates; figs; nuts; carrots; tomatoes; yoghurt; more healthy homemade squares or energy bars; granola bars; real fruit juice; and DARK CHOCOLATE! Bring a thermos of hot beverage soup or herbal tea or hot chocolate.
23: While you eat, take five minutes to write down your race evaluation in your journal, and, write down the things you want to change for your next race. Do this before you see your results, because your evaluation of your performance is more important than your result. You need to focus on your feelings and your thoughts about your effort in your race.
24: Before or after you eat and you do your race evaluation, clean your skis and travel wax them for the journey home. Before the medals are presented, pack all of your bags and skis and load them into your vehicle.
25: At the medal presentations…IF the medals are presented outside, you MUST wear warm layers of ski clothing, with warm boots and toques and mitts! Please respect the medal presenters and listen to them, and, cheer for competitors from all clubs.
26: After the medals, IF there is a shower in the ski centre, it is ideal to have a hot-cold-hot-cold shower to help your muscles recover. Always bring a towel to every ski race.
27: During your return trip home, drink and eat bag #3, your “travel home meal.” If your drive home is longer than one hour, stop each hour for 5 minutes to skip walk and swing your arms for 4 minutes and twist-turn for 1 minute.
28: When you arrive home, unload your vehicle and clean up your stuff. Make a snack and hot drink. Then have a hot-cold-hot-cold shower or bath.
29: Before supper, go for a 15 minute arm swinging walk to help with your recovery. Eat an elite athlete’s supper, with lots of calories and carbohydrates, to rebuild your body energy reserves for your race the next day. After you wash the dishes, go for a 15 minute arm swinging walk to aid your digestion.
30: Dream about your next race…start your next race preparation with your dream.
Sweat Dreams!!! Les
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Race Evaluation: share your race evaluation from your training journal with your training group coaches this week, to help yourself prepare for your next race. Each competition is your opportunity to learn from your race experience. What did you learn? What went well? What do you need to improve?
Our coaching team asks each of you athletes to take personal responsibility for your own personal race preparation. We want you to learn to be independent in your race preparation, and not dependent on your parents and coaches. After each race, evaluate what you learned from your race, and, discuss your 3 objectives with your coaches, to make changes to your race preparation for your next race. We ask you to pay close attention to little details, because each little detail is very important. Most important, it is your responsibility to develop your own individual personal race preparation system and routine. For all of our race competitions, our coaches will provide feedback to the athletes who make the effort to improve their race preparation.
Write down your race evaluation in the back of your training journal; evaluate your race, start with your race preparation; warm up; race strategy; race psychology; give yourself a percentage score out of 100% for two things = your race preparation, and, your race effort; answer THE question (Question = 3 seconds after you arrive at the finish line, demand of yourself: “What was more tired, my leg muscles, or, my lungs-breathing-aerobic-cardio-vascular?”...this information is really important for your coaches, to make changes to your training program to add more short speed sprint intervals or leg strength running up hills, OR, to add more long zone 3 intervals, OR, to add more long distance zone 1 aerobic distance running); write down the three most important things you want to change for your next race; AND, share this with your coaches.
NOTE: If you would like a copy of our race preparation document, please email me to ask me to email you a copy:lesparsonsgreen@yahoo.ca
