Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Training Hard by Matt Liebsch


Matt Liebsch is a member of the CXC Elite cross country ski team and a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a BS in Electrical Engineering. He is an Olympic hopeful and had a very successful 2009 season… 3rd Place at US Nationals, Mora Vasaloppet winner and American Birkebeiner Champion. When Matt is not training and racing he is helping out at Gear West or spending time with his wife and one-year-old son.

I am currently one week into the 2nd CXC training camp of the year. Last week my training load was the largest I've done in quite awhile… 24hrs of rollerskiing, weight lifting, running, intervals and some paddling. Sunday my team concluded the training week with a 4 hour classic rollerski… lots of double poling and about 45 miles covered. I am surprised at how well my body reacted to the training load. Usually after a week of high level training I am ready for a message and a few days off.

Right now I am enjoying my Monday (off/rest day) without any excessive tiredness or soreness. I attribute this to tapering a bit coming into camp and carrying out my passive and active recovery methods daily. I've been doing some active recovery jogs, stretching and self message along with proper nutrition during and after workouts.

This week is the last week of camp and won't involve quite as many training hours. Hopefully the weather stays nice.

Also, our baby girl should be arriving any day now. Soon I'll have two kiddies to chase around!

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