Injury Prevention & End of Summer Update
Mile 12 of a 24 mile run in the Tetons
We all blinked…
… and now its September!!! I can’t believe how summer has flown by and how much training and travel has happened during my third training cycle of upping the volume, intensity and specificity of training. I’ve been walking a tight rope remaining injury free this summer but I am glad to say I have been lucky with this dry-land cycle’s increases.
Bit of an update here since the last update had me heading off to Casper, WY in late June for a training camp. Casper has a paved roller skiing loop and shooting range making it a great place for some biathlon specific training close to home.
Training kept rolling on and soon I was off for 16 days in New England to train at sea level and put in a very productive block of shooting in Craftsbury, VT while seeing as much of my college mates as I could. The time in Vermont ended with the summer National Roller Ski Trials on the Jericho National Guard base. It was my first true national level biathlon races since switching from FIS racing and I was very pleased to see my progression in the sport is still on a steep upward trajectory. In fact, the first of the 2 races I hit ever single target and placed 6th overall in the nation that day. Needless to say, my goal of racing in Europe this winter for the US Biathlon team is burning strong and I am continuing to work as hard as I can to keep that progression going for a great season abroad.
Following Vermont, I cruised down to the Tetons for 2 weeks of glorious trail running, lake swimming, meat eating, and adventuring. It was an amazing reset and I returned to Bozeman with a full heart and soul. In fact, I just clocked over 100 miles of mountain trail running in the last 20 days and am just in awe of how amazing the trails are in the WY and MT mountains. Much gratitude for the trail crews and National Parks and Forests enabling access to these wild lands.
It has been a great summer of training and cross training and I’m excited to increase racing focus over the next 2 months with the last volume bock of summer next week, training camp #4 in Park City in 3 weeks and the trials for World Cup and IBU Cup (the international tier feeding the World Cup) at the end of October.
Below I talk about how I’ve avoided injury with the ever increasing training load, focus and my no longer college aged body. My daily routine practically needs a scheduling agent, whenever I am not actively training, I am actively recovering and working on preventing injury. And always eating, even in the middle of the night…
Biomechanical analysis for shooting positions in the MSU Lab
Racing in Jericho,VT at Summer Nationals (I’m to the right)
Staying Injury Free
One of my biggest take-aways from re-entering the professional skiing world is how much the little things matter. In particular, the little self care and injury preventive actions, can truly make a difference. My goal for almost 3 years now has been to train as smart and as much as I can which means recovering as smart and as much as I can in order to keep the cycle going. There is rarely a moment of the day I am not working towards this goal.
However, the other cycle competing against the recovery rhythm is the toll training takes on my energy level, so I hit snooze in the morning, then rush to training, skip a warm-up, put in high hours, come home tired and crash; all withOUT those little things. And this lapse in the body maintenance immediately results in a nagging hamstring issue, an inflamed rib issue, and an aching knee… Issues very difficult to overcome once present while training the maximum load I can.
Enough ranting, the importance of recovery, pre-hab, activation, stability strength and balanced training loads is obvious. Here are some of the key parts of the recovery habits and routine I have developed for taking care of my body and boy is it worth it! I hope all my friends and everyone I know take some of these habits into their skiing, hiking, kayaking, gardening, rafting, and everyday lives. You’ll feel better!
Waking up at a consistent time and early enough to not be rushed in the morning.
Taking 5 minutes to stretch once awake. Stretching and movement after sleeping is really nice for your body.
Eating a good/clean (and large enough for those highly active) meal before starting the day. And maintaining adequate fuel and hydration throughout the day.
Easing into physical activity, especially high heart rates and high movement activities. Not jumping into the steepest and deepest terrain on first chair, in non-nordic speak that is.
Stretching or foam rolling or massaging stiff areas after activity. Quick warm baths/hot tubs/soaks have worked really well for me when dealing with an irritated area as well.
Making sure to eat a good/clean dinner early enough in the evening to allow digestion before the need for sleep.
My all time favorite: getting my legs up (usually up a wall, but at least above the heart) for a few minutes before I go to sleep to kick start the healing system (the parasympathetic nervous system) before sleeping allowing sleep to maximize healing and recovery from the day.
And a few times a week taking 10-20 minutes to do some strengthening exercises. Such as the video below!
Lastly, as mentioned above, I’m very excited to share the first of a few videos I have been making on stability, mobility and activation exercises targeted at key areas of the body. This update’s video is on knee stability and strength. It’s a few of my favorite exercises, accessible for every situation and hugely beneficial in everything you may do. Especially for my alpine skiing friends, you will feel the benefit when you hit the slopes! Eventually I’ll convert you all to Nordic skiers and you will all see the way of the truth and the light.
Thanks for reading a marathon update. Happy changing seasons. I hope to see all of you soon.
Check out the video of my favorite knee strengthening exercises for stronger and more resilient legs in everything you do!