Guesstimating Aet Nordic Skate Skiing
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Most trails in the Tyrolean Alps are snowed in pretty much from early december till the end of March. Since I literally have a ski trail running past my backyard, I decided to pick up Skate skiing as (time-efficient) crosstraining for mountain running. After a steep learing curve I´m getting fairly proficient on the ski´s and I´m starting to pay more attention to the data.
Unsurprisingly, average heart rate is quite a bit higher at the same RPE compared to running. I would say about 10 bpm on average. According to my last test, my AeT is around 150 for running, would it be fair to guestimate an AeT for skiing around 160?
As I´m still a relative beginner, doing a drift test on skis is not going to yield the most reliable results because there is a marked increase in efficiency over the first 30 mins, then a 30 min plateau and a slow detoriation of form as fatique starts to set in from around the 70 mins mark.
Since 160bpm feels right in terms of RPE, I´m probably safe, but as I try to hit 3 hours or more per week on the skis I wanted make sure I´m not overdoing the intensity.
Thank you!
Since you know what AeT feels like running, I would shoot for that same feeling on skis. However, skiing is a quadrupedal sport, so a higher HR will be natural as more blood is needed for the arms and poling. You may notice that your legs get more tired in skating than in running because there is more isometric flex in the knee and hip and more quadricep work when skating.
Have fun with your new cross-training sport.
Scott
Thank you!
Yes, definitely notice a different leg fatigue after skate skiing than running.
It´s funny how I seem to naturally gravitate towards the AeT point in both running and skiing. It just makes sense to put in an effort that doesn´t jack up the breathing while still keeping a fun pace. Since my running AeT pace is creeping up to around the 90% of AnT pace I find pushing into higher zone 3 quite challenging for more than a few minutes. I´m hoping the gym ME workouts that I´m doing throughout the winter will be the right choice to improve my zone 3 endurance.
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