In the middle of June, I went to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, on the
Sibley Peninsula in order to attend a training camp put on by NTDC Thunder
Bay and the Canadian National Ski Team. The camp was attended by the entire
NTDC with Chris Jeffries, Devon Kershaw, Sean Crooks and Chandra Crawford of
the National Team coming as well. Other people who attended were invited
based upon results at the 2004 Canadian Championships and coaching was
provided by Eric Bailey (NTDC), Lisa Patterson (Lakehead XC), Alain Parent
(National Junior Team) and Dave Wood (National Senior Team). The weekend
portion of the camp was open to others, and a large number of Thunder Bay
Juniors arrived. For the whole week, we were well cared for by a group of
volunteers from Big Thunder Ski Club who cooked all of our meals while we
stayed in the staff cabins in the park.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Lakehead, Sibley is a large peninsula
jutting out into Lake SUperior that helps form the bay on which Thunder Bay
lies and makes it a great natural harbour. The peninsula has many small
lakes and some rolling climbs but is highlighted by a rock outcropping that
looks like a Sleeping GIant when viewed from THunder Bay. One day we ran
into the head of the giant and climbed it. This provides a number of
spectacular views of Superior, small islands and THunder Bay itself. Other
days were spent with more conventional ski training and included a trip to
Ouimet Canyon to rollerski (a decent climb to skate legs only).
The training generally consisted of easy distance workouts, with 2 workouts
every day and all non-intensity workouts being about 2 hours. The only
exception was one day we did a 3.5-4.5 hour run (time dependent on
individual) with only 30 minutes of core strength in the afternoon. The day
we did an intensity workout, it was 4 x 1600 m at the fastest pace that
could be held for all four intervals. Coaches were standing there with
stopwatches as we ran out and then back along an 800 m stretch of dirt road.
The only thing that mattered when doing intervals was speed, no one checking
heart rate or lactates and effort known to be hard. I understand this is a
fairly common approach to intervals with the National Team, and its emphasis
on speed (the thing we are after when racing) can be learned from. I also
realized that it is possible to train hard earlier in the year than many of
us are used to (this could be essential for senior athletes since World
Championship selection races are in December) and that the National Team is
doing so.
The biggest thing I noticed from training with national team members was
their approach to training, racing and life. The four skiers who attended
were focused in every workout and except for easy running seemed
concentrated on maximizing the workout. Other places people were joking
around during strength but Chris and Sean would avoid that in order to focus
on maintaining a better body position. Also, Chris and Devon appeared to be
at a slightly higher level than the rest of us at everything. They were
running a little faster and were a little stronger with a slightly faster
easy distance pace. The difference in fitness levels is small enough to be
bridged but it is important to realize that it exists. Skiers who wish to be
faster must get in better shape in order to compete with the Canadian
National Team. Devon also emphasized the need to race hard and to put a full
effort into racing. This was seen as the most important aspect in skiing
fast and can be learned from.
I also noticed that Devon, Sean and Chandra are high energy people who seem
to be always doing something. In the evenings after 2 solid workouts, Devon
and Ian Murray would put a picknick table on a dock and then huck back-flips
into a small lakes. Another day, Devon and Sean got really excited about
floating down a creek that crosses a road though a culvert. It is running
water and functions like a waterslide. As a result, they went there one day.
I just noticed a constant restlessness and search for excitement in those
guys, also contributing to the large amounts of rock climbing they do in
Canmore and the backflip pictures from Mt Assiniboine. They exhibited a
level of energy that I don't often see in slower skiers of a similar age and
may provide something to learn from.
Overall, I really enjoyed the camp (as I do every time I am in the North
West) and learnt a lot. Normally, I don't like dryland training camps since
they seem either pointless or overly focused on education. In this one we
trained well and also managed to learn a lot about how the national team
approaches things.
Interesting Reading. . .