.: Ski XCOttawa.ca :: Skiing in Ottawa and Gatineau Park

Back at it!
By:  Megan McTavish   (2008/05/09)

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We are now almost done our second week of official training for the 2008/09 season. This is the time of year that we start making goals for next winter, getting a new training plan organized and refined, and get started on the dryland training that we will be doing for the next 6 months.

Megan bounding with tire

This is the time of year that you feel sore almost every day because the activities you are doing are ones you haven’t done in a long time. Running, weights and cycling all leave you feeling stiff and sore after the first few workouts. Basically we are trying to get our bodies adapted to the new types of training that we haven’t done in about 6 months, so that we will be able to use them over the coming months to actually build significant fitness. We call it “training to be able to train again”.

It is also a fun time of year because you feel fresh, recovered and excited after taking the month of April away from training plans and schedules.

During May and the first part of June, I usually do lots of running, cycling and weights. I also usually register for a race at the Ottawa Race weekend and do some speed workouts on the track to get my "running legs" back after a long winter of skiing as well as spend some time exploring trails in the Gatineau Park that I haven't seen in a while. Paddling is also a fun spring activity to get your upper body into it as well (I usually hold off on rollerskiing till the end of May). We also tend to take advantage of the less ski specific nature of the early part of the summer training and get some long road bike rides in, culminating with the Rideau Lakes Tour (Ottawa to Kingston and back) in early June.

My calendar is already filling up with lots of fun activities between now and the middle of June and its looking like it will be a fun summer. This year, there are more XC Ottawa members in town for the summer and I am looking forward to the formal team practices that will be starting in a couple of weeks at Mooney’s Bay (bring out the tire!) and rollerskiing in the park.

Welcome to the new season everyone! Hopefully it’s a good one.

Megan bounding with tire
 
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