2020 Marathon Training Tips #6 - 1/27/2020

from Caitlin & Adam of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project

This winter, Craftsbury Green Racing Project athletes Caitlin Patterson and Adam Martin are offering weekly guidance via an email newsletter, to help you prepare for the Craftsbury Marathon or any other ski marathon. We (Caitlin & Adam) hope that this will be useful for those training for their first ski race as well as veterans of many previous marathons. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.

Each week, we will explain a suggested workout and a technique tip that we feel is important to think about. While this newsletter will not constitute a full training plan, we hope that you can incorporate these suggestions into your preparation in order to arrive at the start line with more confidence in your efficiency and fitness!

The Workout: Keep it Light Before The Race

We’re approaching the heart of ski marathon season, with the Craftsbury Marathon happening this weekend, February 1st and 2nd. If your target marathon is the American Birkebeiner in late February, or one of the European ski marathons at the end of February or in March, you’ll want to keep training consistently and with good volume right now. However, remember this advice for whenever your event is coming up — in the week prior to the marathon, make sure to take ample rest and keep the workouts light!

Fitness is not built in the week leading up to an event; it’s built during the months or even years prior. Spend the week ahead dialing in your equipment and nutrition plan, reviewing course details in person or online, and completing a few light ski workouts as your schedule allows. It’s not wise to put in your biggest or hardest week of training right before the event; this is more likely to make you tired or sore than particularly well-prepared. Instead, opt for a low-volume week of training, maximize sleep and minimize stress, and take moments to review the logistical details of the marathon such as how you’ll get to the start, what you will wear, and how you’ll choose to wax your skis. 

If you’ve been incorporating intervals into your training plan, consider putting one light intensity session into your plan one to three days before your event. By light intensity, I am referring to a speed or interval workout, where the total intensity on-time is short; the type of workout that does not create long-term fatigue or soreness from its unfamiliarity, but instead helps a racer feel more awake and energized for the upcoming competitions. This could be 4x2 minutes at a speed slightly slower than your race pace, 6x1 minute at race pace, 8x15 second all-out speeds, or any other variation that is appropriate to the level of intensity you’re used to and that will help you feel energized. Refer to our week 3 newsletter content here for guidance on the execution of a speed workout.

Otherwise, enjoy a few easy skis and trust in the hard work you’ve put in — show up to the start ready to reach for your ski marathon goals!

Technique Tip: Race and Pre-Race Nutrition

The objectives when fueling for a marathon are to arrive at the start with topped off muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrates) and consume adequate carbohydrates during the race. So why will this help? While fat stores will be enough to power even the leanest individuals for an entire marathon, the oxygen cost per ATP (energy) produced is higher when burning fat than carbohydrates. Since oxygen delivery is a limiting factor in marathons, it is beneficial to utilize carbohydrate metabolism. Unfortunately, glycogen stores last on average only 90 minutes to 2 hours. Therefore, an effective nutrition plan first maximizes these stores and second minimizes the rate at which they are depleted.

1 to 3 Days Before the Race:  To maximize the stores of premium aerobic glycogen fuel, in the days leading up to the race, try to consume a modest excess of calories and a higher proportion of carbohydrates. Two days before the race is a particularly effective day to consume extra carbohydrates for the body to store as glycogen. Additionally, avoiding large amounts of fat the day before and especially the pre-race evening may improve how you feel on race day.

Breakfast: On race day, stick to your normal breakfast, but eat at least 2 hours before the race begins. After the ingestion of food, the body releases insulin which signals for the uptake of glucose around the body. It is important to eat long enough before the race, so that this insulin spike does not coincide with the start of exercise. Food ingested during and within 5 to 10 minutes of the race, doesn’t have this effect, because the working muscles gobble up the resulting blood glucose and inhibit a large insulin spike.

While Racing: Once the race starts, it is important to begin fueling early in the race. Aim for 100 to 200 kcal of carbohydrates per hour. It’s also important to drink liquids during the race, but this will vary per individual and weather. The rate of carbohydrate absorption is limited to about 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour, so once a bonk happens, it’s too late to correct by taking a feed. Instead, prioritize feeding early, and prevent a bonk from happening in the first place. Additionally, water will speed up emptying of carbohydrate from the stomach, so drinking a sports drink or additional water alongside a sports gel can help alleviate an upset race stomach.

With these guidelines in mind, hopefully you can push hard and enjoy your next marathon all the way to the finish line.

Your Authors

Caitlin Patterson is a member of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project elite team and the US Ski Team. She is a 9-time US National Champion, a 2018 Olympian and a 2019 World Championship team member. Caitlin considers herself a distance specialist, racing primarily 5k to 30k events, but loves the high-paced action of sprint heats too.

Adam Martin is in his third year training and racing with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project. He has started 8 World Cups and raced in the 2019 World Championships. Last year Adam won the freestyle Craftsbury Marathon. He is supported by Fischer skis and boots and Swix poles.

The Green Racing Project is an elite team of post-collegiate athletes who train and live in Craftsbury, Vermont. Their athletic dreams are supported by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center and Concept 2. In return for this support, the athletes engage in professional development by working on a variety of projects at the Outdoor Center.

Questions or Feedback?

Send feedback about this newsletter, or requests for future content, to caitlinpattersonskier@gmail.com. While we can't promise to respond to every request, we'd love to hear what topics are most interesting and write content that will help you become more comfortable on skis!