Special DN Announcement: The Downtown Nordic Recreational and Competitive Online Challenge

 

 

Want to push your pace once in a while?  Whether you ski for fitness or ski to compete, this challenge is for YOU!

 

Downtown Nordic is setting up a weekly online Strava challenge series.   Read on to see how you can challenge yourself this winter against skiers in your class.

 

A little unsure - well, try it one week and see if you like it!

 

 

 

 

 

Rules and Guidelines:

 

For the 2020/21 winter season, two Virtual Leagues will be created and maintained throughout the season.  Two categories will be available: recreational and competitive.

Recreational: For skiers who just want to get out and ski and would like a little kick in the pants of encouragement.  

Competitive:  For skiers who want to see how they stack up against others.

There will also be Classifications based on gender and perhaps age. The league will present weekly challenges to all participants and will be a Strava-based system.

 

You can only join 1 league: either competitive or recreational.

All participants of the Virtual Leagues must use the Strava app on a Strava compatible device (watch, phone etc.) to record your recreational or competitive activity. You DO NOT need a Strava Subscription!  You can use the FREE Strava app version and participate in the weekly challenges at no cost. The League Administrator will have access to the Strava leaderboards and will post results on the League Blog.

How it Works

Each week a Strava “segment” will be posted in the League Blog (where?). Participants will have 3 to 4 days to complete the segment and record it on Strava. Results will be posted early the following week. 

Segments may be a section of trail, a complete trail, or a couple of trails done in succession. Each segment will be clearly outlined so you will know where each one starts and ends. Some segments may be in the middle of a trail. For added fun, a couple of segments may be “mystery” segments (you will know which trail the segment is on, but you will not know exactly where it starts and stops).

All segments will be on trails that are usually groomed but there is no guarantee that grooming will have occurred following a snow event.

All segments will be in Manitoba.

Please respect persons who host ski trails on their private land. Downtown Nordic strongly encourages a small donation to the landowner to help with grooming costs, but this is not a requirement to participate in the virtual race season.

 

 

 

 

Recreational League:

For skiers who want to explore new places to ski and want a bit of a challenge that isn’t racing.

Segments in the Recreational League may not be the same as the Competitive league’s segments, however, in cases where family/group members may be in different leagues, we will do our best to  create segments on the same trail or within a trail in the same trail system (to facilitate group/family participation and travel planning to trails). For example, the segment for Competitive League MIGHT be the section of Bluestem trail in Birds Hill Park from the stables to the Chickadee warming hut, while the segment for Recreational League skiers MIGHT be the Chickadee trail or a different section of Bluestem.

Segments will tend to be shorter in the Recreational League. This league is designed to help you explore some of Manitoba’s ski trails that you may not have experienced previously. 

Recording of Completed Segments

Strava is the tracking app that will be used.  If you use a different device or tracking app you must upload it to Strava before the segment expires.  Any tracking errors must be handled through the Strava help platform. 

 Shortcuts in segments are NOT allowed.  You must ski the trail as published in the identified segment and as groomed.

You can ski the segment any time you like but only results published before the segment expires will be considered for inclusions in weekly results.

Results will be posted for all Recreational League participants, but times will not be published to keep this league fun and non-competitive.

https://www.strava.com/clubs/DowntownNordicXCSkiRecreational

Competitive League:

For skiers who want to see how they stack up against the rest of the pack.  

Segments may not be the same as the Recreational League’s segments, however, in cases where family/group members may be in different leagues, we will do our best to  create segments on the same trail or within a trail in the same trail system (to facilitate group/family participation and travel planning to trails). For example, the segment for Competitive League MIGHT be the section of Bluestem trail in Birds Hill Park from the stables to the Chickadee warming hut, while the segment for Recreational League skiers MIGHT be the Chickadee trail or a different section of Bluestem.

Segments will tend to be longer or on a more difficult section of trail (eg. Hills, etc.) than the Recreational League segments. Segments may be two or more trails linked together. When segments are trails linked together, they MUST be done in sequence, but that sequence will be clearly explained.  

For example: 

Competitive Segment:  Birds Hill Park: Bluestem from the stables to the Chickadee lookout tower. Chickadee from lookout tower COUNTER CLOCKWISE for full circuit then finish full Bluestem.

https://www.strava.com/clubs/DowntownNordicXCSkiComp

 

Recording of Completed Segments

Strava is the tracking app that will be used.  If you use a different device or tracking app you must upload it to Strava before the segment expires.  Any tracking errors must be handled through the Strava help platform. 

 Shortcuts in segments are NOT allowed.  You must ski the trail as published in the identified segment and as groomed.

You can ski the segment any time you like but only results published before the segment expires will be considered for standings. A 2-hour grace period will be given (following segment expiry time) so participants can return to internet connectivity areas and upload their results. Please be aware that the League Administrator will be able to see the date and time you started the segment, and therefore will be able to determine if the segment was started before the segment expiry time. You do not have to finish your ski before segment expiry time, but you must have started the segment before the segment expiry time in order to qualify that completed segment for inclusion in the league results.

 

 

With leagues for both competitive and recreational skiers there is a place for every skier.   Try your speed against others or just get out and perhaps ski a place you haven’t been to before.   With the current social distancing guidelines this is a chance to ski “with” others on your own.

The Incredible Downtown Nordic Ski Passport

 Manitoba is blessed in that it has so many interesting places to Nordic ski.  Sometimes folks get stuck on skiing at the same old places, and never venture out of their comfort zones to try out and discover new ski areas.

If you need help getting started on where to ski in the province, try checking out the Cross Country Ski Association of Manitoba website and the "where to ski" link...

Where to ski in Manitoba

In order to encourage folks to ski in new places, we have created this little skier passport.  You can fill in the place you skied at with a date for the technique you skied.  See how many different places you can ski at before the snow melts.  

This is a personal challenge.  Just save or print out the Passport and start filling it in as you discover new places.

Google Ski Passport

or save and print out the following:  

Happy skiing folks!

Downtown Nordic Ski Meter Tracking Spreadsheet

We all know it is tough to stay positive and motivated during the Pandemic.  However, it is likely more important than ever to get outside, breath the fresh air, enjoy nature and ski!!

In order to encourage some of us that are motivated by setting goals and tracking our progress towards those goals, we have created a rudimentary spreadsheet using google sheets that any DN member can use to track their meters skied during the 2020-2021 ski season.  

Users ideally will have a Gmail account and some basic comfort using spreadsheets in order to sign in and use the tracker on Google sheets.

Please use this link to access the Tracking sheet:

Downtown Nordic Meter Tracker

When you click on the link the following screen should appear.....

The bright red box on the top right of the screen  says "SIGN UP TO EDIT".  You can use your gmail account to sign in.  

Once you have signed up, you should see a version of the following screen.  You would then go to the next available "Insert name" box in row 1 and replace this with your name.  

Beneath your name in row 2, you can add your season goal for the number of kilometers you hope to ski this season.  

Then its time to ski.  You can then add your mileage in the appropriate row under your name that corresponds to the correct date in column A.

You can also download the Google sheets app for your smart phone to make data entry quick and easy.

Please note that the admin will protect your column such that only you can modify your data.

What's this?

https://www.strava.com/clubs/DowntownNordicXCSkiComp?utm_source=com.facebook.orca&utm_medium=referral

https://www.strava.com/clubs/DowntownNordicXCSkiRecreational?utm_source=com.facebook.orca&utm_medium=referral

More to come soon.... 

 Watch  this space for the virtual race season details coming soon.

Scarves!

Instructional sessions - Tuesday!

Hey everyone - adult instructional sessions will start up Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30.   Skate on Tuesday and Classic on Thursday.

If you weren't out for the coaches meet and greet, be sure to arrive early to make sure you  get in the right group - we now have athletic beginner, intermediate 1, intermediate 2, and racing.

Also, if you attend all 3 sessions of instruction for a technique, you will earn a very nice Downtown Nordic scarf!

Steve

New adult categories starting this season!

Meet and Greet with the coaches on Tuesday (the 17th) - 6:30 to 7:30

We are moving to 4 categories for this season:

1) Athletic Beginner -> want to learn to ski and have active/sports background
 - instruction Tuesday and Thursdays for 3 weeks


2) Intermediate - 1 -> "comfortable" on skis
 - instruction Tuesday and Thursdays for 3 weeks


3) Intermediate - 2 -> "very comfortable" on skis - can do multiple techniques at speed on skis.
 - instruction Tuesday and Thursdays for 3 weeks


4) Racing -> focused on building racing fitness
  *** Note ... racing group is intervals and drills on Tuesday /        No Thursday sessions

Steve

Adult Registration is open!!

2019-2020 Registration is now open for adult programs.   Skiing (instruction and training) - will be generally on Tuesday and Thursday nights in December, January, and February.  More details to follow


CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Interval training

Howdy Skiers,

Well I guess we can go ahead and call the season over.  For now.  30+ degrees wreaks havoc on the snow.

We're probably all well into our summer training and have cast off our toques and gloves for shorts and sandals with black socks up to our knees.   Clearly we are the coolest of all athletes.

Here's another write up about intervals from Dr Gabe Merkin's email newsletter:

Short Intervals are Best

 

Interval training means that you alternate bursts of intense exercise with slow exercise until you feel tired. Short intervals are defined as lasting less than 30 seconds each, while long intervals usually last more than two minutes each. The most efficient, time-saving and health-benefitting way to exercise is to use short intervals (Scan J Med & Sci in Sports, Jan 2014). You can do many more short intervals than long intervals because they do not cause much muscle damage and you do not build up significant amounts of lactic acid in less than 30 seconds. Long intervals can cause so much muscle damage and such high levels of lactic acid that you can do very few of them in a workout. They also take longer to recover before you can do your next interval workout. Competitive athletes need to do long intervals as well as short intervals, but if you are not competing in sports, you don't ever need to do long intervals.

The faster you go in an interval workout, the greater the gain in your ability to take in and use oxygen, and the faster you can ride or run. In one study, short intervals improved one-hour race times the most (Med Sci Sports Exerc, May 1999;31(5):736-41). This study compared 30-second all-out, 5-minute all-out, and 40-min all-out bouts of cycling. In 10 weeks of twice-a-week, effort-matched trials, they found that short interval training was more effective than long intervals in improving mean power output and VO2max (the maximal amount of oxygen you can take in and use per minute). VO2 max is the best laboratory measure of how fast a cyclist can ride or a runner can run over a distance.

How to Do A Short Interval Workout
• Warm up by jogging, cycling or swimming slowly for 5-10 minutes
• Pick up the pace for 30 seconds or less, until you feel a burning or tightness in your muscles or shortness of breath
• Then exercise very slowly until you recover your breath and your muscles feel fresh
• Alternate these 30-second-or-less sprints with slow recoveries until your muscles start to feel heavy or tight
• Cool down by moving very slowly for at least 5-10 minutes.

Apply these concepts to any sport or activity that requires continuous motion. For example, if you are riding a bicycle, warm up slowly for 5-10 minutes. Then increase your speed and the pressure on the pedals for 5-20 pedal strokes. Slow down and recover, then repeat. As you become stronger, work up to 50 pedal stroke intervals, or whatever you can do in 30 seconds or less. Do not start your next interval until your legs feel fresh again, the burning has gone away and you are no longer short of breath. When your leg muscles start to feel stiff and heavy, stop the workout for the day and spend 5-10 minutes cooling down by exercising at a very slow pace.

Rest Periods Between Short Intervals
It makes little difference how long you exercise at a reduced pace between your short intervals. The shorter the rest between intervals, the longer it takes to recover from the next interval (Med and Sci in Sports and Ex, August 2005). When an athlete trains for competition, it is far more important how fast he can run each interval compared to how long he has to rest to recover between each interval. I have seen Olympic champions at every distance, particularly the shorter events, coming back to do their next interval when they feel they have recovered enough, not after they have waited a prescribed recovery time. Athletes learn their ideal interval rest durations through trial and error. They may want to rest until their pulse drops to a comfortable rate, or until they are breathing at a normal rate, or until their muscles lose soreness and feel fresh. Competitive athletes can use either active and passive recoveries (moving slowly or standing still) between intervals (Eur J Appl Physiology, March 2005;93(5–6):694–700). Active recovery drops lactic acid levels toward normal faster than passive recovery (Med and Sci in Sports and Ex, Apr 1, 1996;28(4):450-456).

Rules for Short Interval Training
Athletes train by "stress and recover". On one day, they take a hard workout which damages their muscles. On the next day, they feel sore so they take easy workouts, and when the extreme soreness goes away, they take a hard workout again. You should do the same.
• If you are doing interval training properly, your muscles will feel sore on the next day, so do not do intervals on consecutive days. Always allow at least 48 hours between interval workouts, and 72 hours is probably better.
• Plan to go easy on your recovery days; do not plan to take off. If your sore muscles feel better after a 5-10 minute warm up, exercise at a very low intensity. Stop exercising if you feel discomfort.
• If your sore muscles do not feel better after a 5-10 minute warmup, take the day off.
• You can do your next interval workout two or three days later, or when your muscles feel fresh again. Never attempt an interval workout if your legs still feel heavy or hurt after you warm up.

Advantages of Short Interval Training
Interval training workouts take far less time than conventional workouts that maintain a steady pace at lower intensity. We have known for many years that high-intensity training improves performance and is necessary for competitive athletes in all sports. Now researchers are finding that these short bouts of intense exercise offer tremendous health benefits for everyone. See Interval Training Helps Your Heart
Intervals Lower Blood Sugar
Lactic Acid is Good For You
Intervals for Everyone

Caution: Intense exercise can cause heart attacks in people with blocked arteries leading to their hearts, so before you start interval training, check with your doctor.

Source:   https://www.drmirkin.com/