Sarah Goble and I are in Rice Lake, Wisconsin for the Shoreline Rollerski races. It has me thinking about what I can do now, in the off season, to be faster this winter. At this stage in my career, the big ticket items have already been checked off the list. In order to truly make improvements at this level, I will have to make many small adjustments in order to see big gains. So, the real question is: What small things can I do to achieve a big outcome?
There are many small technique cues that I would like to work on in order to connect power to ski speed and fluidity. There is a reason Johannes Klaebo not only wins ski races but also looks so good doing it. He has amazing technique and power application. I personally am working on a few things: how I land on my ski when I V1 (knee in, not out), how to ski more efficiently in soft snow, and forward hip placement to apply power better. Hopefully by improving some small things they will compound into bigger gains come fall. If I had any advice for someone trying to figure out what small changes they should make, it would be to find someone like a teammate or coach to point out some things you could improve and hammer those home, starting now, in the summer.
In the United States, we are quite far behind other nordic nations such as Norway, Sweden, and Russia in terms of flow and course speed. Someone like Johannes Klaebo might have all the pieces to the puzzle, but I believe what sets him apart from the rest is how he skis around the course. The race line he takes and where he applies his power and speed is unlike anyone else. Thus, course speed is one of the most important things that I will focus on this summer. Rather than working so much on all out speed, I will try to spend more time working on cornering, transition, and abnormal speeds in order to get around the course faster. I will ask myself questions like: how can I get over the top of this hill faster (do I feather my effort at the start of the climb to push harder over the top, or do I maintain a high pace throughout the climb to avoid losing time at the beginning), what racing line best suits how I ski and apply power (play around with different apexes and corner approaches). Go home, watch some world cup races, and try to figure out what makes the best skiers move quickly around the course.
At the end of the day, it’s all about targeting your weaknesses and working less on what you’re already good at. It is easy to meet up with your teammates and go through the motions of a training session. Instead, think of ways to work on little things each day. I write this blog mostly as a reminder to myself but by the end of the summer, it will pay off in a big way.
