Yippie! I am meeting my australian triathlete friend friday for 2-3hours cross country skiing session. It has been years since I have done it, anyone know if val david still rents skis for like 12$ a day? also, what should I wear this time of year? Dev? long run outfit ok?
marisol,
i would be careful with a 2-3 hour xc ski, if you have not done it in years. that will be a tough workout using muscles you have not used in a while. as far as clothes, you have it right. layers, no cotton and do not over-dress it is a very aerobic sport. have fun.
kurt
alpina/madshus xc ski team
Marisol
Kurt is correct, even a studette like yourself might be suprised how worked you’ll be after a 2-3 hour XC Ski! Dress alot lighter than you’d expect with maybe 2 layers underneath and a very, very light wind jacket on top. And don’t forget what your mother told you: If your feet get cold, put on a hat (or a dry hat!)
Dehydration happens even faster in the winter. If you have a small camelback, you might want to consider wearing it under the jacket with a nutrition formula in it (Infinit?).
Have fun!
I know I know:-) I am so excited though! I used to do it a lot, maybe we will be toasted after 2 hours:-) I was thinking of using my fuel belt and we were going to do smaller loops I think. I am sure I will be sore saturday!
Don’t know about Val-David, but you can rent at Mont-Rolland right on the ‘parc lineaire’. They rent very decent skating and classic equipment. It’s only 10 minutes from Val-David.
Francois in Montreal.
francois, is that closer to montreal or 10min further?
Closer to Montreal, so on your way, assuming that you leave from Montreal.
Exit 67 on highway 15 (turn right at the light), keep going for 500 m and you will arrive at the ‘petit train du nord’ parking. You rent the skis in the old railway station.
Val-David is exit 76 if I remember correctly, so only 9 km further.
Francois in Montreal
PS: you cannot go back on the highway at exit 67. At the same light you turned right, on your way back, turn right and cross the village of Ste-Adele. Follow indications and you will get back on the highway at entrance 69. On your way back, you exit at 69 and will enter back at 67.
PPS: Si vous skiez au centre Far-Hills (Val-David), il y a de la location sur place.
Marisol
What has worked for me in the past, in early season, is to ski both classic and skate. For example Classic ski first, in the morning, when it’s a bit easier to was to the conditions. Ski for 1.5 or so hours. Go back in change if necessary, (take a nap?!) and then go back out for a Skate Ski in the early afternoon.
That way you can break up the day, not get so thrashed all at once. What I’ve also found is that Classic and Skate use two sets of muscles, and don’t overuse the same set. Rather you get that total body wash-out!
You also get that satisified feeling of having a really good, gear-intensive day - a must for any serious triathlete!
FWIW!
merci beaucoup francois, j’ai vraiment hate! Ma chum Nat vient de l’australie, ca fait longtemps qu’on a fait du ski!
I agree with Kurt. Personally, I have to take it really slow with Classic skiiing with respect to build up, if not my achilles tendons will revolt. Skate skiing is another thing altogether. I can jump into relatively huge volume XC skiing if I have been doing lots of biking and swimming.
So if you want to go long and you don’t want to do damage for Ironman Arizona (ie calf or achilles injury), mix it up if possible. If you can’t rent classic and skate to mix up the two techniques, then do something like a 1 hour skate ski, 45 min run and then another 30-60 min skate.
oh… I was just going to rent skis and go… maybe i’ll bring my running shoes! I can’t rent 2 differents kind of skis:-)
Eh, I don’t think it’s so bad. I just jumped into XC skiing the past two weekends, and didn’t have any problems, maybe a bit of trap soreness after the first day. Just do it! It will be a fun break from sbr!
Dev,
I am exact opposite. I can ski all day classic. I have a strong double pole, so I usually do a lot of it in all terrain. I actually won (the only one) a classic race last year and never did a single stride. 12K double pole with HR 180+!
I have been skating a lot this year though and my ability to ski slow while skating is better. I used to constantly drill it from the get go. Tomorrow, 4x10min L4 skating. FUN!
Kurt
Yeah, I have lots of friends who can go classic all day and are amazed that I can skate for long periods and recover quickly. I am amazed that they can classic forever. It takes my longer to recover from a 15K classic than a 30-40K skate, mainly cause of the achilles issues.
Marisol, if your lower legs have no issues, then go nuts with classic. You’ll just have a few sore hip flexors 
Dev