Training
Getting Started: Training Goals for 2001-2002
For the last several years, I haven't been skiing much. It all started in the fall of 1997: I was looking for something more fun than roller skiing in the dark. I came across a coached inline speed skating team practicing in Ann Arbor. Indoors and under lights! Warm! No rain or sleet! I figured "Great cross-training for XC skiing!"

Before long, I was trapped - I found inline speed skating so interesting that skinny skiing was pretty much ignored for two full seasons. Instead, I attended skate practice four or five times a week and raced once a month. (Unfortunately, the team only practiced in Ann Arbor for a month. Then it was all over southeast Michigan for training at various rinks and outside locations).

During the fall before the third winter, I injured my back - over extension issues. That huge crash during a relay race didn't help any. I ended up taking the winter off to heal. My first winter I can ever remember as a coach potato.

The following summer (2000), my back was in much better shape. The skate team had fallen apart, so I mostly did distance skates - up to 48 miles. As winter rolled around, I started heading to the gym to run, bike, and lift a few weights. I also put the skis back on and - would you believe it? - realized what I had been missing. I probably put in a dozen days of skiing. By the end of the winter, I decided I wanted to be an XC ski racer again. I wanted the thrills and chills of racing on the Michigan Cup circuit.

Reality sets in. The spring of 2001 brought several realizations: Here I am, 43, almost no skiing over the past four years, no upper body strength (you don't use your arms in inline speed skating...), and here I want to race again. Not only that, I don't want to embarrass myself or the team (assuming Dick Fultz allows me back on the Cross Country Ski Shop Ski Team).

Time to be realistic. I only have so much time to train, maybe 6-8 hours a week. If I'm going to be serious about racing, I need to be serious about training. 

Based on this background, here's the goals I decided upon:

1. Train quality, not quantity. I only have 6-8 hours a week - I'm not a full time ski racer. Every workout has to count.
    
2. Train as specific as possible. If I'm going to race XC, I need to train XC. Maybe an occasional inline skate or bike ride for variety, but I need the upper body work that only comes with using ski poles. So its rollerskiing and running/ski walking with poles that will take up the vast majority of the year. It's the only way I can even attempt to catch up to all the competitors who have been skiing while I've been skating.
    
3. Improve my skating technique. My classic technique is pretty good, but I can't climb hills on my skating skis worth a damn. I need help. I need coaching. Goals: read up on technique and attend a race camp as soon as possible. Fortunately, XC Oregon scheduled an on-snow race camp for June! I sign up. 
    
4. Don't ignore the wife and cat. Jill was pretty unhappy when we first got married and I left her every weekend for racing. This year, I'll do races every other weekend. And I'll consciously make sure I don't ignore work around the house during preseason training.
    
5. Stay motivated during "the dark season". I hate late fall. Daylight savings time ends and its dark when I go into work and when I get out of work. It's cold and wet and miserable. What do other people do to stay motivated? I think I may need a training partner and/or search for safe places to rollerski or run at night.

There they are: the five goals that will get me into race shape. Hopefully this strategy will work. Read some of the other articles to see how I'm doing...