Before starting our intensity we did a twenty-minute warm up in zone one and closer to the end of the warm up we did zone two, which allowed us to warm up our muscles before a hard intensity workout. It is always important to do a good warm up before an intensity or speed workout because this insures that you will not strain any muscles or ligaments during the workout. It also allows for better results during the intensity workout. You will feel sharper and less sluggish.
We did our intensity in the classic technique. Most of us had around 20-30 minutes of intensity. I did two minutes on, zone four intensity and three minutes rest. Let me explain what I mean in greater detail, for the two minutes on, I was training in zone four and for the three minutes off my heart was in zone one. I repeated this five times.
After we finished our intensity we all went for a thirty-minute cool down. It is always important to finish an intensity workout with a good cool down as it allows your body to recover.
Tom, Ed and P-O starting off.
Tom, Ed and P-O in full stride.
Erika, Eva and Sheila getting started.
Last wednesday one of our training sessions consisted of an intensity workout at the Nakkertok Nordic Ski Centre. We are practicing at Nakkertok regularly so we can become familiar with the terrain for Eastern Canadian Championships, which is being held this weekend, February the 4th and 5th. We tend to pick more difficult and challenging sections of the course to do intensity on so we will be prepared for the races.
Unlike the park, Nakkertok has a wide variety of terrain packed into a short loop. This is great for training, since this is a true race course where you are forced to use a variety of techniques and make frequent transitions between techniques.
It was a beautiful day, the trails looked great and I think I speak for everyone when I say we are all looking forward to the races this weekend!