Occassional thoughts about orienteering
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| okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering |
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Thursday, January 20, 2005 T is for TrainingSeveral readers took a look at my training and training questions and sent me responses. I haven't yet read them all.Here is Peter Gagarin's analysis of my training: Spike's training - easiest to answer Training volume? even year round or lots of up-and-down? If the volume is uneven, is it because of periodization or something else? Spike's training is reasonably even, looks like a bit more during the cooler months when the KC woods are more runnable. Doesn't seem to be any periodization -- no definite base period, no period of higher intensity. (I'm eyeballing Spike's weekly/monthly bar chart on AP, massaging the actual numbers is beyond the scope of this. :-) ) Some short weeks have been due to sickness. He does do a lot of longer runs in the terrain, much more so than most orienteers. Spike seems to include a lot of technique training into his higher volume months, though not with high intensity. But it is hard to draw too many conclusions because Spike is a bit guarded in the comments he makes in his training log, and it is hard to tell what the intensity level is of most of his workouts. Cross training ? does the orienteer use other sports in training? Do they compete in other sports? Spike does some training on his bike trainer, and some outdoor biking, both on roads and trails. One gets the impression that this is all low intensity but it is hard to tell. He doesn't seem to compete in other sports (including running races of any sort). O' technique ? Does the orienteer practice technique or do they get their technique through competitions? Spike does a lot of technique practice, more than most orienteers, including a good bit of night O'. But it is hard to know how effective some of it is due to his familiarity with the maps/terrain. Injuries and illness ? Does the orienteer have problems with injuries and illness? Yes and no. Spike injured his knee badly in 2001 and it took some time to recover from that physically (and a lot longer mentally). Other than that, few injuries. He seems to get sick more often than he should. Perhaps his diet could be improved, or he might consider a flu shot each year. Spike's training - possible to answer, but easy to get wrong Does the orienteer have clear, known goals? Only to a very limited extent. Spike may pick one or two events a year that he is targeting for a peak performance, but he doesn't appear to have a range of smaller/intermediate/larger goals, or a sequence of goals that would be building towards the main goal of the season. He may have such goals, but they aren't apparent. Does the orienteer work with a coach? He did when he was in Sweden a long time ago, though it was more a club coach than an individual coach. In the USA he has worked just a little with a coach, and not recently. Does the orienteer's approach seem to be scientific and detail-oriented or more intuitive? Spike seems to have a scientific approach, though he is willing to modify or cancel what he has planned if he is not feeling well or if conditions are unfavorable. He seems to take an intelligent approach to his training. Spike's training - hard to answer, probably wrong Does an "attitude" come through? Does the orienteer come across as having apositive approach? Do they whine a lot? Spike seems to have a positive approach. What strikes me is that his approach seems to fit his occupation -- he puts a lot thought into what he is doing, but sometimes the focus on numbers (how many feet climbed, how much time training) seems too much, while the passion (or zeal, or competitive juices) seems not to get enough attention. Does the orienteer seem to be experimenting or following a template? It looks like he is doing similar to what he has done in past years (but not following any sort of standard training template). What sort of background does the orienteer have? Do they make maps? Have they competed at a high level in another sport? Did they start at a young age? Have they lived in Europe? He has orienteered for over 20 years, starting in his late teens. He has lived in Sweden. He has not competed at a high level in any other sport. Does anything seem striking or unusual? It looks like Spike is getting a little more serious for 2005. Perhaps he is thinking of going to the WMOC in Alberta? posted by Michael | 8:48 PM 
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