Month: February 2023

“But you’re no Ben True,” exclaimed my friend some years back as I was attempting to explain my then future plans for running.

After more than a decade living in Alaska I had returned to my home state of Colorado for work. I didn’t move back for the skiing, although Colorado is a ski mecca. I returned for work and maybe to get away from the six or seven months of winter we had in the 49th state.

Maybe I set myself up for the slight, although I wasn’t actually trying to compare myself to the skiing-running accomplishments Ben True. That wasn’t even the point in the conversation with my friend, but he cut me off before I could finish. I was going to say that like True, I was ready to hang up the skis in favor or running and I was hoping to have some success as a masters runner into my late 50s and early 60s.

Mixing Up Cross Country Skiing and Running

I want to discuss how to balance the two sports. There is now one way, but I’ll weave in my personal experiences, going back to the mid-1980s.

In this day, the respective sports have become much more specialized. In fact, True is a bit of a throwback. It is now relatively rare for an NCAA Division I athlete to compete at the level of all-American in both cross country skiing and cross country running or track. He did all three! His former college teammate Glen Randall (infamous for taking a huge lead at Boston Marathon on a hot day and then fading badly) was one of the last to do that, ca. 2008 or 2009. Such crossover was more common in previous decades.

I mention that because the approach is now much more one or the other (trail and mountain running aside), even at the masters level.

Through much of my career as a post-college athlete and masters runner I typically lived from season to season. Only for a few years I did not do much extensive ski-specific training in the off season. I preferred to run into or through most of the fall, and then would ski once we had some snow. That was to the detriment of skiing because of the lack of upper body work, and I would often peak very late in the season, like March when others were already winding down. I worked, and I was able to compete at the higher levels of citizen racing, sometimes knocking heads with elite or sub-elite skiers from “factory” travel teams.

In Interior Alaska where I skied from my mid-40s to mid-50s, winters were so so long that dryland training was something of an option. I found a reasonable compromise. I’d do weight training (while coaching youth teams) through the year and a bit of dryland work–including roller skiing, hill bounding, ski walking–in the summer and fall. But we’d be on skis by mid-late October and some years through the month of April and I’d be putting in 150 days of skiing a year. In most of the lower 48, you can’t really get away with that if you want to be competitive on skis. You’ll need to do the weight work through most of the year, as well as some ski-specific training.

How Runners Can Prepare for Skiing

If you’re young or nimble enough, roller skiing is probably the best off-season training because it’s obviously the most ski specific. I did a bit of roller skiing in my early-mid 50s, but mostly from a coaching perspective. I tried to pick it up a couple years ago but was not comfortable, popped my shoulder after just 25 or 30 minutes of rather wobbly rolling, so I think my roller days are past.

If you have access, or can buy one, using a Ski Erg is a great way to keep your upper body and core in ski shape through the off season.

Ski bounding with poles is an excellent quality workout, and I think that’s why so many cross country skiers are such good mountain runners. In the 1960s and 70s Arthur Lydiard included bounding as an important component during base phase training. Now runners do more plyometrics and exercises that are specific to running, but hill bounding probably still has it place as a good crossover exercise that benefits both runners and skiers.

Ski walking/hiking is also good for classic ski workouts, but it’s slower and takes some patience and the right kind of incline. And runners other than mountain/trail runners probably prefer to run, not power hike. Moreover, to get a sustained workout you need some good vertical like a very large hill with over a 1,000 feet of vertical, or just do a lot of reps on a shorter hill and jog back down. Skiers often do long run/hikes (2-4 hours) with poles and carry them on the flats and downhills and then on the ups they will ski walk.

Although the amount of weight work runners do on a regular basis has increased a lot in the past 10-15 years, and weight training is essential, skiing requires more training. Body work (without weights) is still important, and for a non-pro runner about all that you need. However, lifting is necessary to prepare for cross country skiing if you want to be competitive.

When I was coaching youth skiers in Alaska a decade ago, we had a 2X per week routine throughout most the entire year. Sessions would start with 10 minutes of core work, planks, leg lifts, crunches, obliques, v-ups, etc., usually 1 minute per exercise.

Then we’d move into the weight room, and usually do about 6-8 types of weights, with an emphasis on triceps and shoulder development. We would sometimes do squats, deadlifts, and lunges (the kids more than me). Dumbbells were a staple with, curls, reverse curls, and bench presses. We would also do some body work like chair dips and pull ups (with or without weights), and push ups. Using machines, we’d do pull downs, wood choppers, and various pulling exercises to work the triceps. The weight session would take 20-30 minutes, and it would be periodized. So there would be a 4-6 week adaptation period with fairly light weights. Then a base-phase, usually doing just doing 2X 10-12 reps per weight at a reasonable weight. After that a maximum weight phase building to heavier weights and fewer reps each week until we’d do a test day or two, where skiers would do up to 3 reps at the highest weight they could handle. After that we’d lighten up and work toward maximum reps with lighter weights.

A serious runner-skier could do something like a routine described above, or just do lighter/moderate work. Personally, I have stepped away from most of this work (except core and a bit of body work) for the past 5 or 6 years, but I think after this ski season I’ll work on a moderate routine a couple times a week for body maintenance and ski strength. I am not the skier I was 8 or 10 years ago, and besides not skiing nearly as much, not doing the weights has been a big factor.

Let’s Flip the Switch, How to Maintain Running During Ski Season

I’ll describe some scenarios from the runner who only skis occasionally (1X a week or less) to the more frequent skier (2 – 4X a week), and high frequency skier (5-7X a week).

If you are not skiing all that often, say 10-15 times a season and you are running the rest of the time, there probably isn’t a lot to consider other than you are likely to be a little stiff and sluggish for the next day or two. An outing of an hour or less probably won’t even be that noticeable, but say you go out for 80 to 120 minutes. You’ll feel it the next day and you’ll probably just want treat it like you would after a moderate long run. Take an easy day or rest and you’ll probably be fine after that. Go 3 hours, yeah you might need 3 days of recovery.

For the consistent skier, it might depend on what your winter running goals are (e.g., racing vs. base building). You can have it both ways and can actually integrate the skiing into your weekly schedule. Say you did a hard running workout on Tuesday and plan for another on Thursday or Friday. If Wednesday is a mid-long or recovery day, just do that on skis. And if you are a bit sore or want something different for that second workout of the week, you can do it on skis. The crossover benefit might not be 100% but unless you are a pro or high level college runner, you body will hardly know the difference in a few weeks or months. You might be able do do more volume with skiing because you do not have to be concerned with joint injuries, but you probably want to be in the same ballpark for a given effort level.

With this mixed approach, you won’t be achieving maximum level for either sport, at least within that time frame (few weeks to a month) because you are not getting the full amount of specificity by going back and forth. Nevertheless, you can achieve a fairly high level in both. And as a runner for example, if you skied consistently for 6-8 weeks of the winter and have an early spring road or trail race, you’ll be primed within just a couple week of returning back to full time running.

If you are more of a skier, and skiing is your primary winter sport, it’s still a good idea to maintain a bit of a running base. For a number of years that I trained through winter I almost exclusively skied, but I found that transitioning back to running took longer and there was more chance at developing an injury during that time. At the very least I would run about 3 times a week for 20-30 minutes. Toward the end of the season maybe add a day or a little more time, unless there was a peak race that week and I was tapering. Another common way to keep your running legs going a bit is to run for part of your warm or cool down running instead of skiing. That’s an easy way to get in an extra 20-30 minutes of running a couple times a week.

The transition back to running most days still takes some time and you have to be patient for the first month or month and a half. I found I could build from about 10 miles a week to 40 miles in a month and the I would hold that for 3 weeks before adding more mileage. Meanwhile, late spring skiing can be a lot fun if there is still snow on the ground, and during that time you can still ski once or twice a week to maintain all that aerobic base you built up over the winter.

That’s some of the basics for runner-skiers. How about Ben vs. me!

So Me and Ben True How Do We Compare?

True is obviously light years ahead of what I accomplished as younger athlete. https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/ben-true-14253490

No doubt he would continue to excel as a masters athlete if he choses to do so, and I wouldn’t doubt that he stays active in one sport or the for years to come.

Ben True	Me age 16-39	Me as a masters athlete
3 time NCAA all-American for Dartmouth skiing best finish 4th	1 year skiing NCSA club team for Colorado State University best finish 27th at Club Nationals	—
2 time Footlocker finalist (high school)	did not run in high school	—
2 time all-American for cross country running at Dartmouth	ran varsity for 3 years at Grinnell College, did not qualify for nationals, best finish at conference meet was 25th.	—
Top 10 finishes at US ski nationals	38th was best finish at US ski nationals (1987)	2 time winner at US Nordic Masters Nationals
lifetime personal bests for road running 1 mile: 3:57 5000: 13:20 10000: 27:50 1/2 marathon: 1:02 marathon: 2:12	lifetime personal bests for road running (all altitude converted) 1 mile: 4:26 5000: 15:14 10000: 31:45 1/2 marathon: 1:10 marathon: 2:29	age graded lifetime PBs 1 mile: 4:11 5000: 14:02 10000: 29:22 1/2 marathon: 1:02:57 marathon: 2:21
6th at World Cross Country	165th at USA Cross Country championships (1990)	3rd at World Masters Cross Country
at least 8 USA road running championships (5K to 20K)	39th at TAC 10K road championships (1989)	7 USA masters age group road running championships (1 mile to 1/2 marathon)

I did not plan on it January was ski race month. I did four races on for consecutive weekends. Probably haven’t done that in 35 years, because even over those 10 Alaskan winters I never race every weekend and rarely did more than two in a row. There just weren’t that many local races over the long winter and I would only travel once or twice a year for a race.

2022

Frisco Gold Rush last year was my first outing in eight years and results were mixed. Racing at an elevation of 9000-9500′ was more difficult than I remember, and dang the age group competition was tough. I was top 25 overall in the race, but was only 5th in my age group and I only gained that final spot over the last kilometer. So if any type of age grading were used in these races, 60-64 would be the toughest on the Colorado citizen race circuit.

2023

The Grand County Nordic Series is new this year, and it’s somewhat overdue. They have several Nordic areas, but in the past eight years since we moved back to Colorado only three races a year (if you combine the Snow Mountain Stampede 25K/50K skate-classic on consecutive days). With such great skiing and a couple hundred Ks of trails at Snow Mountain, Devil’s Thumb, and Grand Lake it’s nice to have a series of five race weekends, the four races in January and then the double in March. February is a good month to go elsewhere, like the Alley Loop in Crested Butte, now a popular race, and the venerable Frisco Gold Rush. Add in the Birkie in Wisconsin and state high school championships, it’s a busy month.

The schedule for January was the 7.5/15K skate race at Snow Mountain on January 7, 7.5/15K classic at Snow Mountain (same course) on the 14th, 15/30K Stagecoach Classic on the 21st, and the 15/30K skate at Grand Lake on the 29th. They are keeping points, but it’s either for the long race or short race (no mixing) and for some reason combined the 50-69 in to one big age group, even though participation-wise in Colorado, this is probably the most active age range for citizen racing. Interestingly, the 60-64 age groups are more or less leading the score, with the leader in each short and long being 60+, and currently four of the top six in the long are 60+. Go figure.

Here is how it has gone for me so far.

January 7, 15K skate, Snow Mountain Ranch – This was just my second race in nine years, and I had only been on skis maybe five or six times in November and December, I was rusty. Pretty tough course, starting and finishing at 8500′ with four climbs of 150-200 feet (long grinders, taking 5-10 minutes apiece). With only a short warm up (traffic delays getting to the venue) I went into oxygen debt half way through the first lap and really had to back down on the second climb, heading back toward the lodge. But I pulled it together somewhat on the second lap and actually had a negative split. Finished 5th in the 60+ age group and 10th for the 0fficial 50-69 year olds. About like the Gold Rush last year (with most of the same skiers up there). 57:30 (3:50/km).

However, the most exciting part of the day was running into Bill an old friend from the mid-1980s. Bill taught me how to V1 skate in 1985, that was cutting edge back then, only World Cup/national skiers were doing that. Even the universities were skiing mostly classic. Hadn’t seen Bill in more than 30 years but we caught right back up.

January 14, 7.5K classic, Snow Mountain Ranch. I did not want to do the full 15K so signed up for the shorter race. This was my first classic race since 2014 and. that was hard. My main competition was 12-15 year old girls, and the got the better of it. I kind of folded on the last pitch of the last hill, and probably lost 30 seconds over a couple hundred meters (walking). 2nd in my age group, 29:30 (3:56/km), but something like five minutes off 1st (guy’s a Norwegian phenom).

January 21, 30K classic, Devil’s Thumb Ranch. I think it was wise to go shorter the first week, but had always wanted to do the Stagecoach Classic at Devil’s Thumb Range, near Fraser. Devil’s Thumb is rated the number one Nordic resort in the country. Not sure about that, but that’s what they say. Very upscale, and they do have some nice trails and a magnificent mountain backdrop on the leeward side of the Continental Divide.

I had a decent start/first few kms and was right in the thick of it, but think I blew it in ski and wax selection. It was mid-low teens and for kick I had three layers of blue, and a layer of Blue Extra in the middle. It was a little too grippy. That and I chose my softer skis. The course was gentler than at Snow Mountain, where either you are climbing or descending–with only a half K or so per lap of double poling. At Devil’s Thumb it was 70-75% double pole. So I held up on the ascent (first lap at least) but got swallowed up on the easy downhills and flats because the other skiers had better glide. My arms were aching by the end! And the race ended up taking 20 or 25 minutes longer than I had expected. 5th in 60-64 age group, 6th for 50-59, 2:27:50 (4:56/km)

January 29, 30k, no make that 32K skate, Grand Lake Nordic Center. I last raced in Grand Lake in 1985. It was my first ever skate race. Just before the start at encouragement of some friends, including Bill, I scraped off the kick wax from my Fischer Air Carbons and raced 10K, doing the marathon skate and single pole up the hills. I was a 30 minutes on fast spring snow.

This was January, and in addition to the fact that I’m 38 years older now, a lot has changed. The East Troublesome fire ripped through Grand County in the fall of 2020, and devastated the forest around the golf course and forest trails. Other than the steep herringbone climbs, the narrow 7.5K loop was unrecognizable.

I lined up in the third row, so top 15 but quickly got swallowed up by 8-10 skiers. After that it was just a slog. I picked off a few in the later laps and there were several drop outs. Each lap was a struggle. The snow was slow and soft, the course was very technical, and it feature numerous small but steep hills, on one 2.5 to 3 minute climb that thwarted your efforts.

Each of the four races had its challenges, but this was the hardest. I ended up in 18th overall, 3rd 60-64, and in 2:24 (4:30/km). I have skied faster for 45K on a cold day. And I won national masters titles at 50K in 2009 and 30K in 2013. But that was years ago. Will have to take it as it is now, and just glad I made it through!

What’s next? I’m doing a higher elevation (9000 feet) but easier course at Frisco next weekend. I actually won that race one year in the late 1980s. After that? Might go back to running, or might hang on for another month to do Snow Mountain Stampede 25K or (less likely) the 50K skate.

2024

We’ll see.

It’s a no duh to point out that all too frequently social media can bring out the worst in people. I spent years, I don’t know a decade or so, being somewhat sarcastic myself and mixing it up on running or tangentially related message boards. Typically not so much about running itself but politics, culture wars, and sometime it was just personality clashes. I think I have mellowed, but for the longest time I kept at it on Letsrun.com. The trolling and just plain meanness of spirit there are nearly unmatched unless you look at 4-Chan or the comments on Fox News, or the Yahoo News feed (all of which only peak at once every few years. But Letsrun would draw me in with running news, training threads, and some of the latest scuttlebutt and gossip. That part is okay I suppose, but the pervasive drumbeat–perpetuated by the moderators and site owners themselves–is unavoidable even if you try to stick to running only (I have tried!).

So Letsrun had been my guilty displeasure. A site I loved to hate.

However, even for the thickest skin its toxicity is too much. So I pulled the plug in December and haven’t looked back. At the same time, for similar but opposite reasons I stopped posting on another site I have frequented for quite some time. It was a spinoff from an old Coolrunning.com forum, a site that was quite active for about a decade starting the late 1990s. Some, folks there have known each other for 25 years! It’s kind of the anti-letsrun, with politically and socially opposite stances, but anymore just a few dozen regulars. I contributed for a good 15 years but as a later arrival never quite fit in. I was a moderator for many years but quit that as well. I’m also done with the CH. Wish ’em well.

It’s nice to have a supportive and engaged running community, but I don’t know if one exists for me. Probably it’s not them (users who frequent these places) it’s me. I’m older for one thing and I think that makes people uneasy. As of today, I’m officially on Medicare. Turning 50 or 60 was kind of a joy. It was so fun to take on the new challenges of a new decade. Likewise, 55 was fine I was on a roll, particularly with cross country skiing at the time. However, I also had some epic races (shattering the course record at the venerable Equinox Marathon–known as “Alaska’s oldest and toughest” not once but twice.

65 is different, it’s officially senior citizenship. Anyway, I’m not cool, never did fit in with the cool crowd. I’m not quitting that scene, and I’ll encourage others along the way, but I just don’t want to put anything out there about me as a person anymore, or even much as a runner. Done that for awhile, but what works for others doesn’t seem to be working on my end. In college, I remember friends (or where they frenemies?) that people seemed to bounce off me. So must be something about my personality and how I interact with others.

So not done on those venues, but limited in scope and measured. That said, my blog here is mine. I can put some stuff here, a site which is hardly even read.

What about real life? Yeah that too. I have been on a competitive masters team for the past 6 years and it’s wearing. My better friends from the earlier days have moved on, gotten injured or battled long-term health issues. And the travel budget is now meager, and the club is nickle and diming us for time, ancillary commitments, and even prize earnings. However, that’s actually the small stuff. More at issue is the dreaded T-word.

Toxicity.

I don’t need people throwing digs my way. As a young man I was an easy target and I put up with a lot. After my early 20s I built an amount of distance in relationships, and have kept that. Now, I have no tolerance for subtle or not-so-subtle digs or interpersonal challenges. For example, passive aggressive remarks on social media or while going to a race or on a run. Or simply a bit of one-upmanship in everyday conversation. Kind of like a dominance thing, like a dog pissing to mark its presence.

With that my exit will have to be quiet and and subtle, maybe passive, in its own right. I don’t like confrontation. Participate less and fade out. Eventually, I’ll have to say it, that I don’t want to be on the competitive team anymore. End of this year.

Meanwhile, looking forward to some big races! 25K road in Michigan in May is my primary race this spring.