Forums >Cross Training>maybe dumb CC ski question
would it make any difference for running if I take up classic style or skating style CC skiing?
I assume neither would really help much other than allow me to maintain fitness through winter. But my hunch is maybe classic might be a bit better for running, and maybe easier to do with a small group. I've played a lot of hockey years ago so I did have some interest in skating style. But I don't know much and plan to learn. I just thought I'd ask runners if they know if one style or the other helps with running more... running being my primary training.
Feeling the growl again
Your assumption that it would not help you much is, by and large, incorrect. While nothing trains you for running like running, IMHO CC skiing comes closer than anything else. It has some additional benefits, like the fact that you can do hours of it while requiring less recovery than you would from running. So, you can get more time at high-end aerobic effort than you can running with less recovery required.
As for which style -- I'm not sure it matters. Personally I found it much easier to get to an effort level that I felt was useful skate style -- classic style I found to be more difficult to master. Skating was more fun for me as well....since I had a limited budget in college I could only afford one set of equipment so I went with skating and did not regret it.
FWIW, the 10K record at my alma mater (run in the spring of course) is held by a CC skier. I can count how many miles he ran over the winter on one hand. And still pick my nose.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
I don't XC any more, but when I did (which was before I was doing much running), I preferred classic. I agree both would help with fitness levels; classic is definitely "closer" to running in the motion required. Which might not be a good thing! But, when I got back on skis last year, I felt like a more efficient runner the day after a day spent striding. So, there's a one-day data point - super useful, right? I probably would have felt the same way after a day of skating, too, who knows?
Skating is generally viewed as requiring a higher fitness level. You can shuffle along while striding, but skating doesn't have the same low gear. Also, you may want to consider what locations you have available to you, as some places have more limited skate-groomed terrain than stide-groomed, which could be a deciding factor.
would it make any difference for running if I take up classic style or skating style CC skiing? I assume neither would really help much other than allow me to maintain fitness through winter. But my hunch is maybe classic might be a bit better for running, and maybe easier to do with a small group. I've played a lot of hockey years ago so I did have some interest in skating style. But I don't know much and plan to learn. I just thought I'd ask runners if they know if one style or the other helps with running more... running being my primary training.
If you want to be really, really technical, here's my take;
Running is pretty much all forward-backward motion. If you want to supplement running with XC skiing, classic style immolate this action more. Skating style would employ too much of side-motion. But here's the thing; if you're already doing lots and lots of running (I didn't check your log but, say, if you're already running up to 70 or more miles a week), then too much of the same thing may not help you that much. You maybe better off if you include some "other" action like XC style skiing. If you are still, say, 20 or 30MPW level, in order to supplement your running (IF that is your goal here, that is), then classic style would suit you better.
No Talent Drips
Also, you may want to consider what locations you have available to you, as some places have more limited skate-groomed terrain than stide-groomed, which could be a deciding factor.
This is the key, from my point of view. If I had groomed trails (free ones) for skate skiing, I'd be all over skating...it's faster and I can get a higher intensity workout. But, the VAST majority of skiing I do is classic becuase I can go anywhere and break trail and get an excellent workout. If you are choosing one or the other, I'd stick with classic--unless you are so lucky as to have groomed skate trails at your doorstep.
Dei Gratia
What trails are available can indeed be an issue. Personally I found classic frustrating if a good trail with set tracks was not available. We used to "groom" our own trail on golf courses/parks etc skate skiing, just by doing the same 1-2K loop over and over again. I broke the skis out here in Indiana a few winters ago when we got a big snow and made my own half mile skate loop around my back field...it wasn't too bad. But the snow can't be overly deep when you start.
I used to do some trail breaking with cheap fishscale classic skis....I thought fishscale was "real" skiing, being new to it, and probably would have quit had I not learned about skating and waxed classic skis. Personally I hate trying to ski on fishscales. But learning waxing is a whole science onto itself, Olympic medals are won or lost on the wax bench. My former college XC coach was also the ski coach and that was his first sport...he put an "average", non-contender skier on the podium at Nationals by getting her wax right on a day that everyone else got it wrong.
this is what the website says for the county park located about 6 miles from my house:
X-C Skiing: The cross-country ski trails are expertly groomed and tracked weekly for both skating and diagonal techniques. There are 3 loops that total 4.5 miles on gently rolling terrain.
Diagonal technique being the same as "classic" I believe. So it seems I do have an either-or option here. The fact that I can get to this park in 15 minutes by car is nice. I am currently a 25-mile a week runner who wants to return to being a 45-mile a week runner. So I am leaning to going the classic/diagonal style. By the time I learn enough and get decent enough to be bored with 1 and 2 mile loops it will probably be spring around here anyway. We tend to have only a 2-1/2 month hit-and miss ski season. When I was a kid it was a solid 3 months but now... when it's 40-degrees in February and the snow is melting I can always go for a run.
Thanks for the helpful replies.
A fine article on the rise of Nordic skiing in the east.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/04/2524044/snowy-thrills-can-be-found-in.html
I went to White Grass (in WV) last winter, yet hope to someday make the journey to Jackson XC (in NH).