On December 13, Rick Kapala presented the first of three installments in the Sun Valley Speaker Series, designed to help adult skiers improve their performance and enjoyment of cross-country skiing.
“Build A Better BMT,” a presentation by Kapala, a member of the BMT Board of Directors, three-time USSA Coach of the Year, member of the USSA Cross Country Sport Committee, and Director of Sport Development at SVSEF, was aimed at providing valuable insights and strategies for improving performance in the BMT race. The presentation was held at SVSEF’s Lake Creek Hut.
“The BMT is a unique event compared to other races. It’s often perceived as a marathon, but it’s actually quite short and a point-to-point race,” Kapala explained. “Understanding the nature of this event is crucial for effective preparation.”
Understanding where to focus your efforts is key to effective preparation, he said, and then added, “Remember to have fun. Enjoy the journey and the experience of skiing in the BMT.”
While this presentation encompassed the 50 days leading up to the Boulder, which takes place on February 1, there are still four weeks before the race, and implementing his suggestions can pay dividends throughout the ski season.
Start with building fitness through training, skiing for four days, and then taking a day off. Kapala said it takes 30 days of aerobic training to “get a bump” and feel like your aerobic capacity has improved. If you want to increase your capacity, be active for 40 of 49 days, with a minimum of 30 minutes of movement for the first 10 days.
Exercise principles include:
- 20 minutes of easy skiing with 20 minutes of natural intervals. Ski hills of varying sizes. Allow the hills to challenge you.
- 20-20-20, Easy-Rigorous-Easy. This is a great introductory workout. For every five workouts, you ski between 50 and 110 minutes; the sixth workout is two hours long. Training your body’s capacity to use glycogen and possibly fat stores is important.
- Learn how to ski for two hours, as that is how long the BMT is. It will go a long way toward helping your physiology.
Strategic practice:
- Terrain practice. Ski sections that test different skills and capacities. Suggested different routes and ways to ski. Warm up the ski, put the wood to it, back off, and finish how those different sections ski to your energy.
- Structured technique practice: V2 indefinitely? Force yourself to do different techniques. Find a gradual downhill section. Count in your head—100 V2 strides in a row.
- 100s 5 and 5s. Five on the right lead. Five on the left lead. It trains you to be competent on both sides. Also gives your mind something to do when you are climbing bigger hills.
- Tweener terrain. Between V1 and V2. If you tend to drop into V1, force yourself to V2. More efficient to do the technique you can do efficiently.
Mimic race demands:
- Ski intervals on both uphills, downhills, and flats. There is a significant reward factor in doing interval training downhill. Park at Baker and do a warmup. Three minutes downhill at race pace. Recover for two. Repeat. Going down the Boulder trail at velocity, you won’t settle into a fatigue state.
- Longer sessions: Learn to try easier, test feeding, and understand effort.
Managing the day
- Waking: Organizing skis and gear: Bib, chip, boots, skis, poles, snacks, h20.
- Nutrition and Sleep. Eat a normal amount of carbohydrates. Don’t overeat. Eat regularly throughout the day. Eat 100 carbs right after the ski session. Your muscles can absorb a three-part carb/one-part protein combination.
- Decide on your wake-up time and plan the rest of your day.
- The bus ride is the beginning of each athlete’s release of cortisol. After arriving at Galena Lodge, you can have a snack, use the bathroom, and warm up for the race start.
- To the Stadium: Warm up. What is good for you? Some people are doing a serious warmup.
- What is the weather? If you can help it, you don’t want to overdress for an XC race. You need to have enough clothes to stay warm: a big parka, hot hands, and boots in a bag. It is hard to have a good race if your hands or feet are cold.
- Pacing opportunity: Where are you relative to the competition group after about 5k? After Hawk Hill, you can take risks. Get in the double pole track and send it. Grab groups of 20 people by picking a good place and settling in—risk versus reward: Great place 1k straightaway downstream of Owl Creek. There is a long boulevard you can see a mile down the trail.
- Finally, I can ski
- Know group ski behavior and tactical and technical choices. It is poor form not to pull but to try not to do too much. Utilize some advantageous techniques, especially wise application of energy: Only spend energy that is going to result in a return.
Post-race foods should be easily digestible.
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
- Banana with peanut butter
- Unsweetened yogurt with fruit
- Thermos of hot tea with sugar
Kapala says that refinement of technique is a lifelong project, and balance is the foundation of all great skiing.
Some points on positioning:
- Nose over knee over the toe Weight shift all the way over the ski. Move mass all the way over.
- An object in motion stays in motion—the transference of body weight from one place to another. Body weight wants to keep moving.
- Practice enough technique to balance and fire small muscles, which are the foundation of great balance.
- Building an exact position away from skiing is hugely helpful.
- Double poling is your friend. Get a rest. Jump into the double pole track. It is a tool to get past people or give your legs a break.
Building a better ski you:
- Balance, particularly single-leg balance, is the cornerstone of all exceptional skiing. Regular practice of stork standing and V2 extended position can significantly enhance your balance and, consequently, your skiing performance. Three times a week for 15 minutes is more helpful than upper body strength work.
- Must do lateral lunges, push off, and take the foot off the ground to have proper form.
- Elite balance – we can all improve.
- Skiing across the flats with more balance and extension is key to building a better Boulder. Still, play with intentionality.
- Ski Competency and training: get better at gliding on snow.
- Standing straight up while gliding is not a technique. To master the art of balancing on one ski and feeding the speed, you need to practice regularly. Comfort in a racing position comes from consistent practice. Not all tucks are the same, but they can really help. Play the game of getting into a tuck and riding it down. Your back is flat in a tuck.
Strategic practice. Degree of intentionality:
- Manage the big things: Nutrition, Energy Balance, Skis. Practice.
- The interface of our equipment with the snow does matter. Learn to wax your skis or take them to local ski shops.
Kapala will also present Skating Through Winter on Thursday, January 9, and Classic Ski Like the Gods on January 23. On January 9, participants will work on skate technique in front of a mirror. Please bring a T-shirt to the session.
All sessions are at Lake Creek Hut from 6 to 8 p.m. The cost is $25 per person, which includes pizza and refreshments. Proceeds benefit the SVSEF Cross Country Program. To register, go to https://svsef.sportngin.com/register/form/385480873