I was thinking about doing a 50k cross country skiing race. Any training plan suggestions? The race is in January 28ish…
What type of fluid/nutrition plan have you used? Is there any nutrition/drink on the race? Thx any input helps…
Never done a CC race before
I’ve done dozens – have been xskiing since I was 6 and am now 46:)
Not sure if you are doing classical or skating, but
here some general suggestions.
If you can, get on snow as early and often as possible.
If not on snow, here are some general, somewhat ski-specific stuff to focus on:
hill bounding (with poles), roller skiing, speed skating with/without poles, swimming .
Running and biking, don’t have a lot of ski carry over, except of course for aerobic exercise.
Nutrition-wise, treat a 50K like an Ironman -
Treat the 50k like an Ironman huh on the nutrition aspect? Really? Wow…I thought it was more equal to say a marathon. I saw the finish times were around 4-5 hours, sound right
the race is called TD bank craftsbury classical race 50k.
I don’t own any skis yet any recommendations? Thx bro
If it’s a classic race I think the most important thing is to learn to wax, believe it or not. You can spend twice the energy necessary to do a race. Learn the conditions, learn the course, anticipate the weather, and be prepared to adjust.
For a properly prepared skate event the distance is not really an issue. Treat it like a slightly longer half-marathon.
I’ve done that race a lot up until about 8 years ago. (it’s about 1 1/2hrs away from where I live) –
Fastest guys (all top national / olympic types) will do around 2:30.
Hope you have a blast.
I agree with your sentiments about getting the ski gear right. I have only done a couple of 11km cross country skating ski races. I don’t have my own gear but if you were doing a 50km race then I think you would need your own ski’s to train on and get used to. I really enjoyed the skating ski races and thought seriously about buying the ski’s, maybe this Winter as will be living 30kms from the main cross country field in NZ.
The last race I turned up late on the day and got the last set of skis and boots. Went hard out and our team won, but the skis I had were slipping unusually. At the last hill I was burning up from lack of fluids so if you were going longer then I guess you would want one of thoses backpacks with a tube and fluids. Wearing layers of clothes you could discard when you or the day heat up would also help.
I would first race 10km, then 20km + before embarking on a 50km race. If you don’t build up properly or something slows your training then you will need to be careful to hold back on the day of the 50kms.
I just did a couple of skating races but did consider doing the ITU Winter races. Chose to photograph this one as it was the first(in NZ), rather than do it :
http://www.triathlonshots.com/ituwintertriathlon.html
Now the above link is a good challenge for you, but you will need spaecial running shoes, special bike tyres etc.
As a side note --aka hijaak-- Bjorn Dæhlie (probably the world’s greatest ski god) holds the world record VO2Max – 96.
hey - i forgot to answer your question about food – I know things vary from year to year but there are plenty of food stops on the course --gels/powerbars/hot and cold liquids /etc…
based on what I can remember – I’m burning about 600 calories per hour with a big variable being the weather – I’ve done this race in the rain, in the 30s and below 0 so…
Whoa, reality check. A 50 km classic XC race is a big undertaking. I’m primarily a cross country skier that swims, bikes and runs to stay in shape.
Firstly to be successful you need to have a lot of km’s of skiing under your belt. A rule of thumb is to ski about 120 km a week for 8-12 weeks before the race to be ready. If you are not a good classic skier, get some lessons and practice. If you can’t get at least 8 weeks of skiing prior to the race you need to roller ski.
And when race day comes, waxing is key as mentioned by a previous poster.
Good luck
You don’t own skis and want to ski a 50K nordic race that will attract some top notch skiers? Good luck. It isn’t going to be easy. Even more so if your skiing “skills” need work. I’m doing at least one ski marathon this year but I have a background of 25 years of skiing even if I am just another pack filler.
I did the Birke on my first year on skis. Don’t be intimidated from attempting (with preparation).
Nutrition - I used a combo of gels (2-3) and a fuel belt bottle with Ensure (wish I had 300-500 more calories).
Caution - feed zones can be pretty chaotic, slow and sometimes no guarantee of calories.
Training - other than skiing, running for classic, biking for skate. The best dryland training I’ve seen was grabbing a medicine ball with both hands and slamming it down on the ground, crouching to pick it up and repeat to simulate double polling.
Try to glean any info on technique - UTube, Olympics, lessons…etc
Nutrition-wise, treat a 50K like an Ironman
You know that national and International caliber nordic skiers can skate a pretty demanding 50K course in around 2 hours, sometimes faster, and can classic ski the same course maybe about 10-15 minutes slower( classic times will be more dependent on waxing/snow conditions).
Good/fit recreational skiers are looking at a time of 3+ hours.
So it’s hardly an IM.
Nutrition-wise you treat it like any other aerobic activity in that beyond the 90 min to 2 hour mark you need to start to take in carbohydrates at a rate of roughly 250 - 400 cal/hr.
YMMV!
Of course you are free to do whatever you want. However, I agree with others here that if starting from scratch, doing a 50k race at the end of January may be a bit much.
Where do you live?
How soon will you be able to get on snow?
How many days/week will you be able to ski once the snow comes?
Have you skied before? If you live near the snow belt, it makes it much easier. Roller sking is possible but an added expence .
I would try a shorter race first to get familiar . Once you get the hang of it , it is really fun .
Most younger skiers skate ski then get into classic.
I have skied 7 Birkies, I live 2 miles from the trail so I am spoiled. Hope this helps.