A two-hour interval session featuring longer, standardized efforts at medium intensity to practice maintaining the right pace.

At Birken, many participants often struggle with starting too hard, leading to a total time loss when they “hit the wall” during the climbs up to Midtfjellet. To avoid this, it’s beneficial to familiarize oneself with the feeling needed in the early ascents to ensure it’s sustainable all the way to the finish line.

Session Facts 

Training benefits 

The purpose of this session is to practice pacing for longer ski races.

Warm-up 

• Ensure you are thoroughly warmed up before starting the intervals.

Intervals 

• Efforts of 10-12 minutes at medium to high intensity.
• 1-2 minutes of rest.
• The goal is to complete all rounds progressively or at least at the same speed. It doesn’t need to be overly strenuous—aim for the intensity you plan to maintain during Birken.

Cooldown 

• Include a good cool down after the final interval.

Description

Find a standardized loop that takes 10-12 minutes and perform intervals on it. Take 1-2 minute breaks for hydration/nutrition. The aim is to complete all rounds progressively or at least at the same speed. It doesn’t need to be overly tough—aim for the intensity you plan to maintain during Birken!

This session can be performed nearly weekly in the final phase of preparation for the ski season until you are confident you can replicate it in a race setting.

This session was developed by coach Vetle Leander Johansen from Team Swenor-Splitkon, who is responsible for athletes including Calle Halfvarsson and Oskar Svensson, as well as several of Norway’s fastest elite skiers.

See also: 
ROLLERSKI TRAINING: Improve your double poling – on two kilometers of asphalt
ROLLERSKI TRAINING: Standard session on the ski erg

Also Read
ROLLER SKI TRAINING: VO2max intervals
ROLLER SKI TRAINING: Standard session on SkiErg
ROLLER SKI TRAINING: Strengthen your skate technique with just two kilometers of asphalt

Are you interested in training for Ski Classics, long-distance, traditional cross-country skiing, and biathlon? Click HERE and read more about it.