November 14, 2014 – Here’s another super reader question for USST skier Sophie Caldwell in today’s edition of Sophie Caldwell’s Q&A, part of our exclusive “Sodie” Training Rap feature with her friend and teammate Sadie Bjornsen. We all want to get faster, so Bob Biddle’s inquiry about when to do speed work is a good one. See what Sophie has to say. Also check out Sophie’s training rap HERE and check her MAILBAG for all Q&As thru the season.

Sophie Caldwell’s Q&A – Speed Work

Sophie, you have incredible talent at 1.5km sprints – a 2-1/2 minute race. However, much of your training seems focused on longer distances. Typically, an athletic event of 2-1/2 minutes duration like a 800-meter running race or 600 or 700-meter rowing race is 70% anaerobic and 30% aerobic. Do you do speed work later in the season on snow? What do you think of your training mix for x-c ski 1.5 km sprint races?

Thanks,
Bob Biddle

Hi Bob,

Great question! With healthy elbows, my training usually consists of a lot more speed workouts. We typically do 1-2 workouts per week that are focused on speeds. Since breaking my elbow, my coaches and I didn’t think it was worth it to try to do one-pole speed workouts because of the risk of falling. I’m still trying to throw in some running speeds, but I’m saving the skiing speeds for the snow, when I can hopefully use both poles!

Luckily, speed workouts have been one of my strengths in the past, so I’m hoping my speed will come back quickly. Even though sprints are only 2.5-4.5 minutes, making it through the sprint rounds requires quite a bit of endurance. I’m hoping to improve my distance racing as well as my performance in the sprint heats, so that is why a lot of my training is still based around distance training and endurance.

I think there are some differences in the training of a sprinter and a distance skier, but the basics are the same. When we come together for camps, we all do the same training. The people who excel at distance racing still do speeds and the people who excel at sprinting still do long workouts. It’s important for distance racers to be able to finish with speed and it’s important for sprinters to be fit enough to last through the rounds.

Cheers,
Sophie