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Old April 23rd 13, 12:48 PM posted to rec.skiing.nordic
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Default Uphill only for endurance? (rollerskis)

I really have two questions - 1) whether I should mostly use uphill for endurance training and 2) if not, how it should be combined/spaced with flats. There's usually a question about the goal. Just for the heck of it, let's say the goal is to do the shorter (27K, I think) skating event in Ottawa (Gatineau).

Before discovering a hilly road about 25 minutes by car last fall, I had been pounding a nearby flat patch for about 5 years, with hardly anything to show for it on snow. The hills brought visible improvement in endurance. That road has a 0.8-mile section that in the beginning I couldn't climb without stopping and still find pretty difficult. It is also where I have to walk down (this strategy firmly ingrained after my padded shorts saved the day a few months ago when impatience took the better of me). The other 1.3-mile section is more varied and less steep. Although this is a small country road, I can really only use it early in the morning, as traffic builds up later in the day. Not sure if a heavy workout is a good thing that early in the day, even though I warm up for about 1.5 miles.

Of course I can only do this on a weekend. Sometimes I would go out both Sat and Sun, and if feels OK, provided there were about 24 hours in between. This past weekend I did the hill Sat afternoon, and the going was pretty tough when I did the same thing next morning.

Other than that, I do an occasional 14 to 20K around the flat patch that same weekend and about 9K every other day after work (depending on the weather) around the development.

So, seeing the results after hill traininig and being skeptical about putting in serious time on flats, I'm wondering if the hills plus short outings during the week would do it for me.

Thanks!
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