March 20, 2009 – I was reading through some of my old (and even new) articles recently. And I enjoy reading other skier’s advice on how master skiers like myself should train: how to fit in intervals, strength, flexibility, etc. It kind of makes me laugh. People like (pre-baby) me spend all this time thinking about how to plan the optimal balance of training modes and all we (post-baby me and the rest of the master skier community) are worried about is when we are going to train, period.

Here is the real training secret I have discovered in three years of fatherhood: the difference between not skiing and skiing is way bigger, whether in terms of psychological reward or of fitness improvement, than the difference between training badly and training perfectly.

How do I fit in strength training these days? Well, sometimes I miss the wax, and so I end up doing a lot of double poling. I only spend so much time waxing each day: once that time is up, I ski (or just double pole) on what is on my skies. Or maybe it is a day I am pulling one or both of my daughters in the Chariot. Pulling 60 pounds of sled and children is a great way to build strength. Actually, so is sitting on the couch doing leg lifts with a two-year-old holding on to your knees, especially when she keeps on demanding to go faster. Another good leg training technique: get so frazzled trying to get out the door you forget your poles! An hour of skating without them will really help your quads.

When do I fit in interval training? Sometimes I just feel good one day and decide to throw down with some kind of speed. Or sometimes I am 20 minutes from the lodge and my daughter in the Chariot starts screaming at the top of her lungs, and all I want to do is get to where she can get out. Speed and strength all at once! And sometimes I am skiing alone and realize that I have promised my wife I will be back at a time that will be impossible to achieve unless I bump it to race pace for the next 20 minutes.

How do I fit in over-distance? Well, the other day I planned to go for a ski while my wife had the kids at open gym. She had trouble getting them out the door, so I got extra skiing time before we met up. The plan was that I would ski with our two-year-old and pull our 3-month-old while my wife skied alone. I figured my workout was over. But then the two-year-old demanded to be pulled as well, so I got an extra hour of skiing in!

How do I make sure I get rest? Well, I don’t. But I do get days without skiing by letting my wife ski for a change, or by taking care of sick kids, or taking the car to the mechanic to get fixed. Actually, since I often go alone and need to get back somehow, going to the mechanic also means cross training: it is a six mile run home – and six miles back when the car is ready.

Is this training plan going to make you an Olympic champion? No. It probably won’t even win Masters’ Nationals: somewhere someone with more talent is letting the rest of their life slide more than you can. But I guarantee it beats not training. And it beats setting unrealistic training goals and pitting one part of your life against the other.

So if you are at a point in your life where you can afford to make detailed plans, by all means do so. Carry the plans out, check off the goals, ski fast, be happy. But if you can’t, just grab some skis and poles – and maybe your family – find some snow, slide around on, and have some fun. Figure out if it was a level three day or specific strength after you get home. And smile. A bad day skiing beats … well, anything except a good day skiing!