Randonee Race Pre-Season Training Plan

$49.00

• 16 weeks, 6 days/week, sport-specific training for Randonee Racing
• Designed to build uphill skinning speed based on heart rate
• Built for competitive and recreational randonee athletes.
• This training plan is one of the 182+ Plans included with an Athlete’s Subscription.

Description

PLAN OVERVIEW:
16-Week sport specific training plan for Randonee Racing (Ski Mo) designed to prepare randonée racers for the their first race of the season or an effort up to 4 hours in duration.

*** The soul focus of this training plan is to train your aerobic base and aerobic capacity for skinning uphill. It also includes one day of boot packing, but the focus is on uphill skinning.

This is a 6 day/week training plan.

Below is the Plan’s Total Training Time per week:

WEEK 1       9 Hours
WEEK 2     10 Hours
WEEK 3     11.5 Hours
WEEK 4       6 Hours
WEEK 5     12.5 Hours
WEEK 6     13 Hours
WEEK 7     14 Hours
WEEK 8       7 Hours
WEEK 9     16 Hours
WEEK 10   17.5 Hours
WEEK 11   19 Hours
WEEK 12     8.5 Hours
WEEK 13   14.5 Hours
WEEK 14   11 Hours
WEEK 15   10.5 Hours
WEEK 16     6.5 Hours

UNDERSTANDING TRAINING SESSIONS AND USE OF TRAINING ZONES

Randonée races are won on the uphill. Thus, this training plan emphasizes skinning efficiency and stamina for efforts up to 4 hours.

We use five Zones to describe training efforts in this plan. Most endurance athletes use heart rates ranges to define the different training zones. If you don’t have your specific heart rate zones you still need to use a heart rate monitor.

Simply use (220-your age) to find your maximum heart rate, then calculate 60-68%, 68-75% and 75-82% of that number for heart rate ranges you’ll use for this plan. These are percentage of Max Heart Rate Zones (%MHR). If you’ve been lactate tested and have current heart rate zones we encourage you to apply your known Zones to this plan. This plan employs Zones 1-5.

Zones =   %MHR
Zone 1    60-68%
Zone 2    68-75%
Zone 3    75-82%
Zone 4    83-88%
Zone 5    88-95+%

Let’s examine three example sessions to understand how a session should flow:

Example 1:
Base – 2 Hours
Mode: Skin or Ski Bound

Training:
(1) 2 Hours Zone 1.

This is a Base session from Week 1, meaning it is designed to develop your aerobic base. The “mode” is skinning (preferrable) or ski bounding (if there is no snow for skinning.)

Part (1) Go out for 2 hours, saying in your Zone 1 the entire time no matter what, uphill, downhill, flat. Stay in Zone 1. Also, understand that it may take 10-20 minutes for your body to warm-up and for your heart rate to come up. That’s fine. Don’t rush it and don’t go out too fast. Give your body time.

Let’s say your 32 and about to do this session. 220-32 = 188. That’s approximately your maximum heart rate per minute. 188 x 60%, and 188 x 68% = 112 – 128 beats per minute, which is your target training range.

Example 2:
Interval – 2 hours
Mode: Skin or Ski Bound

Training:
(1) 15 min. Zone 1

(2) 3 Rounds

  • 6 min. Zone 5
  • 9 min. Zone ≤1

(3) 1 hours Zone 1-2

This is an interval session from Week 6, designed to develop your lactate energy system.

Part (1) is simply 15 min. in Zone 1 to warm-up, and you want to use this time to get into a rhythm and elevate your heart rate to the top of Zone 1 by the final 5 minutes of the time. Take the athlete from above. Their MHR is 188, so for this part, their range is 112-128.

Part (2) is started immediately after the 15 min. from (1) ends. You will increase your effort until your heart rate reaches Zone 5. It will probably take you 3 or so minutes to get there on the first interval, and that’s ok. Avoid going too hard in an attempt to get your heart rate up. This will cause your muscles to tire out before you heart can catch up with their effort. Gradually increase your effort, let your heart rate reflect the change, then adjust from there.

You’ll get very good at this over time. Every subsequent interval will become easier to attain the target heart rate, yet harder to maintain since you’ll be fatiguing. The target training range for these intervals for our example athlete is 165-179. If he’s in that range, he’s getting the training desired.

After six minutes, let off the gas and let your heart rate drop to less than Zone 1 or right at the bottom of it. If you’re ski bounding, this simply means slowing down to a light effort. If you skiing, you’ll slow down for a minute or two but keep skinning to let your legs rest a bit. If you have plenty of hill in front of you, keep skinning in the bottom of Zone 1. If not, transition as quickly as possible and ski down to a point where you can complete another interval.

You’ll want to gauge your transition so that you can put your skins back on, readjust your boots, and start right as the 9 min. mark shows on your watch.

Part (3) shifts to 1 hour in Zone 1-2 to build efficiency and aerobic base. You’ll perform this in the same manner as

Example 3:
Tempo – 2.5 hours
Mode: Skin or Ski Bound

Training:
(1) 20 min. Zone 1

(2) 2 Rounds

  • 25 min. Zone 3
  • 5 min. Zone ≤1

(3) 50 min. Zone 1-2

This is a tempo session form Week 9. Tempo intervals build your aerobic endurance at it’s threshold before your lactate system starts doing most of the work. These efforts are close to race pace and about what your average heart rate will be at the end of a race. Week 9 is deep into the season and you’ll be skiing/skinning for every session.

Part (1) is a 20 min. warm-up in Zone 1, find a hill you can skin up or boot pack continuously for 20 minutes in Zone 1.

Part (2) is the tempo intervals for 25 minutes. For our example athlete, they’ll perform these at 141-154. Time your transition so that you can can be back down the hill by the end of the rest interval.

Part (3), then finish the session with 50 min. in Zone 1-2.

**Notes:  if you run out of hill for any of these intervals, transition, ski down, transition, and begin again. Count your time skiing down towards your total training time. You may also ski down on your skins to save time taken by transitioning.

Starting during Week 6, every Sunday, you should boot pack one of the tempo intervals, if possible.

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

  • Heart Rate Monitor that tracks time and intervals
  • Trails/Hills with known conditions
  • Randonee Equipment – Skis, boots, poles, skins, pack, helmet
  • Trail Running and Trekking poles for ski bounding

COMMON QUESTIONS

How long should the training sessions take?
The duration of each session is at the top of the table cell for that day.

What if I start the program late – closer than 16 weeks prior to my first race?
Understand this training plan is progressive – the training sessions increase in difficulty as you work through the plan. If you’ve been training before starting this plan, work back in time from your first race date and start there.

You’ll know after the first week if the volume in the plan is too much – if so, drop back a month in the plan and try again. If you have not been training, start with this plan’s first session.

What should I do on a rest day?
Rest. Take a nap. Eat. Improvement in sports is a balance of stress and recovery. Rest and proper nutrition are as much a part of your training as is the physical efforts. Rest days aren’t just rest days from skiing/skinning, but all reasonable physical activity. Fatigue accumulates. Rest does not. If you don’t rest when you’re supposed to, it will hurt your performance.

What is Ski Bounding?
Ski Bounding is trail running with ski poles. If you can skin – do so, but it’s likely early in the season there won’t be snow for skinning. If this is the case, we recommend ski bounding as an alternative. If you can’t or won’t ski bound for some reason, cycle.

Does this plan include a taper?
Yes. This plan includes a taper to your race.

What if I have more questions?
Email: rob@mtntactical.com

Required Equipment

- Heart Rate Monitor that tracks time and intervals
- Trails/Hills with known conditions
- Randonee Equipment - Skis, boots, poles, skins, pack, helmet
- Trail Running and Trekking poles for ski bounding

Sample Training

SAMPLE TRAINING WEEK

WEEK 11

MONDAY
Obj: Base - 4.5 hours
Mode: Skin

Training:
(1) 15 min. Zone 1
(2) 3.75 hours Zone 2

**********
TUESDAY
Obj: Base - 4.5 hours
Mode: Skin

Training:
(1) 15 min. Zone 1
(2) 3.75 hours Zone 2

**********
WEDNESDAY
Obj: Interval - 2.5 hours
Mode: Skin

Training:
(1) 20 min. Zone 1
(2) 6 Rounds
8 min. Zone 5
8 min. Zone ≤1
(3) 35 minutes Zone 1-2.

***********
THURSDAY
Obj: Total Rest Day

(1) Rest completely
from physical
activity as much as
reasonably
possible.

***********
FRIDAY

Obj: Tempo - 3 hours
Mode: Skin

Training:
(1) 20 min. Zone 1
(2) 4 Rounds
25 min. Zone 3
5 min. Zone ≤1
(3) 40 min. Zone 1-2

***********
SATURDAY
Obj: Interval - 2.25 hours
Mode: Skin

Training:
(1) 20 min. Zone 1
(2) 4 Rounds
8 min. Zone 5
8 min. Zone ≤1
(3) 50 min. Zone 1-2

**************
SUNDAY
Obj: Tempo - 2.25 hours
Mode: Boot Pack

Training:
(1) 20 min. Zone 1
(2) 3 Rounds
25 min. Zone 3
5 min. Zone ≤1
(3) 35 min. Zone 1-2

1)  Mission Direct

Gym numbers mean nothing. All that matters is mission performance. 

To this end, MTI’s fitness solutions and programming are not boxed in by convention, tradition, orthodoxy, public opinion or any other artificial constraint driven by inside or outside forces.

We begin with the raw fitness demands of the mission and build a fitness solution which directly prepares the athlete for those demands.

 

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MTI’s programming is not “re-tread” bodybuilding, football, CrossFit, kettlebell, strength or general fitness programming. We’ve built our fitness programming for mountain and tactical athletes from the ground up.

The Fluid Periodization methodology we deploy to concurrently train multiple fitness attributes is completely original and has continued to evolve and improve over the years.

Our mid-section training methodology, Chassis Integrity, is also original, as is our endurance programming, 7 strength training progressions, tactical agility, and work capacity programming.

Our mountain sports pre-season training plans, tactical PFT, selection, school, course, and fitness improvement training plans across military, LE and Fire Rescue are MTI-developed, tested and athlete-proven.

Over the years hundreds of athletes and coaches have taken our advanced programming and unit fitness leader programming courses and MTI is widely recognized within the mountain and tactical professions and fitness media as a thought leader in fitness programming for military and tactical athletes.

 

3) The MTI Method

→ Research: MTI begins program design with extensive research of the fitness demands of the mission, sport or event, identifies the exercises and progressions which sport-specifically meet those demands, chose end-of-cycle goals, and program backward to design the training plan.

→ Deploy & Assess: We deploy the training plan “Lab Rats” at our Wyoming facility. Training session and cycle issues are identified and fixed as we work through the training plan. Post cycle we assess the programming’s effectiveness and efficiency. We keep the stuff that works, and fix or toss the stuff that doesn’t.

→ Publish & Assess Again: Plan is published for purchase as an individual training plan and made available to our subscribers. Feedback/results are assessed.

→ Iterate: We take what we learn from lab rats and athletes, re-visit, update and improve already published training plans. Several of our individual training plans are on their 4th or 5th version.

 

4) Mission-Direct Research

MTI exists to “Improve Mountain and Tactical Athletes mission performance and keep them safe.” To that end, we have developed a unique research methodology aimed at identifying real world areas of improvement and identifying immediately deployable mission-direct solutions. Click HERE to learn more about MTI’s Mission-Direct Research methodology, and Here to read about just few of our research efforts.

5) Field Proven

Our stuff works. Weekly we receive unsolicited reviews of our programming and testimonials to its effectiveness.

 

6) Programming Breadth

MTI’s library of 200+ sport-specific fitness plans for mountain and tactical athletes is unmatched. Resources range from specific programming for tactical special forces selections, to specific plans for climbing Rainier and Denali, to general fitness solutions such as running improvement, to post-rehab from injury.

Over the past decade, MTI has partnered with hundreds of athletes throughout their individual mountain and tactical careers, and provided fitness solutions as they face new mountain objectives, tactical schools, selections, PFTs and deployments, and came back from injury.

 

7) Worldwide Influence

Our work is not limited to US Athletes.

We’ve developed selection-specific training plans for Canadian, UK, Australian and German Special Forces Selections and worked with individual military personnel from Scandinavia, South, and Central America.

Canadian, Australian, UK and western European law enforcement and fire/rescue athletes have used MTI programming for mission-direct fitness.

On the mountain side, Alpinists from Japan to Slovakia have consulted with MTI and used MTI’s programming to prepare for mountain objectives.

 

8) Mission Performance beyond Fitness

MTI’s exists is to improve Mission Performance for mountain and tactical athletes and keep them safe. 

This focus on “mission direct” solutions, enhancements and improvements drives our work and research and extends beyond fitness solutions to include training, leadership, gear, team culture, and safety. 

Fitness is just one area of our work.

Our non-fitness research has included tactical cultures, combat uniforms, and gore-tex performance, and effect of stress on marksmanship.

Our work on defining what it means to be a Quiet Professional has had penetrating influence and driven healthy conversations with both mountain and tactical professionals.

 

9) Direct, Honest, Clear Answers

Since 2007 we’ve taken and answered dozens of questions weekly from mountain and tactical athletes. We’ve saved these individual Q&A’s and now thousands are archived on our site.

We’re not salesmen, and our answers are noted for their directness, honesty, and clarity. Our stuff isn’t for everyone. If we can help, we’ll let you know. If we can’t, we’ll let you know that, too.

– Rob Shaul, Founder

 

All of the Above is Backed Up By Our Promise: Our Stuff Works. Guaranteed.

Our Stuff Works. Guaranteed.

By Rob Shaul

I received notes frequently from athletes hesitant to purchase a subscription or training plans asking me to sell them on why they should make the purchase.

While I understand the question, I’m not a salesman – so I can’t put a hard sale on anyone for our programming.

I can tell them the process we go through to design our programming.

We begin with extensive research on the fitness demands of the event, identify the exercises and progressions which sport specifically meet those demands, chose end-of-cycle goals, and program backward to design the plan.

Then we test the cycle on ourselves and our lab rats here in Wyoming. We document, note what works and doesn’t work, re-assess, and make changes and modifications.

Then we publish the programming in the form of one of our plans or as part of our subscription daily training sessions for tactical and mountain athletes.
We don’t stop there – our daily programming is the “tip of the spear” for our programming evolution. We use these sessions to learn and make continuous improvement.

As we learn more and improve, we go back, and update the sport-specific training plans on the website. For example, we’re currently on Version 5 of our Ruck Based Selection Training Plan and Version 3 of our Dryland Ski Training Plan and Version 4 of our Big Game Back Country Hunting Training Plan.

We understand our programing isn’t cheap, but we believe it’s a great value. The $79 for the Ruck Based Selection Training Plan, and $39 for the Dryland Ski Training Plan reflect the, research, work, innovative theory, iteration, testing and feedback we’ve put in and received to make these plans effective.

All that matters for us is outside performance, and we feel strongly that Our Stuff Works in the real world.

Here’s our guarantee:

1) Individual Training Plan Purchase:
If you purchase an individual training plan, follow it as prescribed before your season/event/pft/selection, and if you don’t feel you were physically ready for your season/event/pft/selection, and/or didn’t see dramatic improvements in your early season performance, we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

2) Athlete’s Subscription
If you purchase an Athletes’ Subscription, follow the training sessions as prescribed, and are not satisfied with the quality of the programming, notify us within 30 days of purchase, and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

Questions?
Email: rob@mtntactical.com

COMMON QUESTIONS:

Do you have any reviews or testimonials from athletes who have used your Athlete’s Subscription
Yes. Click HERE.

Is it true you guarantee your stuff works?
Yes. If you purchase an Athletes’ Subscription, follow the training sessions as prescribed, and are not satisfied with the quality of the programming, notify us within 30 days of purchase, and we’ll refund your money, no questions asked.

How is MTI programming different than CrossFit?
This is a common question. Read our answer HERE.

You have a lot of competitors. Why should I choose MTI?
MTI is driven to improve mountain and tactical athletes’ mission performance and keep them safe. This emphasis and focus on mission performance sets us apart. Read about more that sets us apart HERE.

If I purchase a plan or subscription, how do I access the programming?
All of our plans are online, accessible via username and password.
You can log in through our →Website  or Mobile App →IOS and Android.

Do you have downloadable .pdf’s of the training plans?
No. But you can print the programming, by week, from your browser. You access individual training plans online via a username and password.

Do you have a mobile app?
Yes, we do. Available for IOS and Android.

What is the difference between purchasing an individual training plan, packet of plans or an Athlete’s Subscription?

  • Plan – Like purchasing the DVD of the first Star Wars movie. You own it forever, including any updates we make to the plan.
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If I purchase an Athletes Subscription Can I cancel on my own, anytime?
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Do I have to contact MTI to cancel or can I do it myself?
You can do it yourself. Instructions HERE.

If I purchase a subscription and have questions about where to start or what plans(s) to use for my goals, will you help?
Yes. We answer dozens of training questions from athletes weekly. Email coach@mtntactical.com.

If you add new plans or update existing plans after I subscribe will I have access to them?
Yes. We are continuously adding training plans and packets (2-5/month) and updating plans. With your subscription you’ll have access to all new plans, new courses and plan updates.

What Equipment is Required?
Click the “Required Equipment” tab to find out what equipment is required for the specific plan you are interested in.

Where do I find unfamiliar exercises?
See our Exercise Library HERE. The Run and Ruck Calculators are listed as exercises.

What about nutrition?
See our Nutritional Guidelines HERE.

Can I see sample training?
Click the “Sample Training” tab to see the entire first week of programming. You are encouraged to do it before purchasing.

What if I have more questions?
Email rob@mtntactical.com

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