The Skimo Cheat Sheet: 32 Tips

Thinking of a last minute skimo race this season? Use the Cheat Sheet.

Maximum Speed ⚡

Short, intense efforts—with proper form and long passive rests—help increase muscle fiber recruitment, lay the groundwork for anaerobic capacity, and improve mechanics.

Influences & Acknowledgments

Influences Scott Johnston Starting in 2005, Scott mentored me in endurance theory, advised me on training during my skimo days, and coached me from October 2016 to March 2017. Scott pointed me toward the people below in addition to engaging in our 17-year dialog on endurance training. At last

The Pure Speed Cheat Sheet

By starting a macrocycle at the extreme of speed, an athlete can start to build a "speed base."

Four Key Ingredients of Pure Speed

Even long-duration sports benefit from a "speed base." But like many training protocols, how to train pure speed is counter-intuitive.

The serious athlete is neglected.

A simple guide to "How to Run Your First 5K!" will always outsell an essential-but-dense tome like *The Lore of Running*. But training to survive short-term participation does little to maximize long-term performance.

What is converging periodization?

A goal-specific planning method that starts at four extremes, trains them concurrently, and progresses each toward a goal event

Can a three-hour run reveal aerobic threshold?

"Is it crude to use the average heart rate from a 3-hour run to roughly guesstimate aerobic threshold (AeT)?"

What is your preferred method of testing anaerobic threshold?

"I have been getting frustrated using AeT and thought I was just doing something wrong/not reading the data correctly... If not aerobic threshold, what is your preferred method of testing anaerobic threshold?"

Detraining: How far can you fall?

Over three years of detraining, my anaerobic and aerobic threshold speeds have declined 23% and 26%, respectively. At a climb rate of 1,000 meters per hour, my heart rate has increased 37%. Detraining, age, altitude—and attitude—are all factors.