2013 Ski Nationals Day 3 - Rest Day

By: Chris Manhard

What does a so-called "rest day" look like for the Callaghan Valley Training Centre Team? 

With one race down the athletes are heading into their first rest day with a short ski to work out the post race fatigue.  They will ski the race course and test their multiple pairs of classic skis.  The goal is to narrow the selection down to one pair to be race-waxed for tomorrow's 15 km classic event.

With the business side of the day finished by noon, each athlete has his own agenda for the rest of the day till the team meeting in the evening. This may include a wide variety of activities. For some it’s a quick contrast (hot-cold) bath and a good stretching session; and for others its stretching out for a nap.  Racing does at home does have its advantages as post-race massages for the athletes can be done with a familiar therapist.  The contrast baths in the high performance centre are also not available at many Canadian venues.

Constant hydration and nutrition help to make sure the body is fully fueled up for the upcoming races.  Most of the athletes include this with visiting other skiers in town or keeping it low key for the rest of the day to focus on the job that will soon be at hand.

Last, but not least, is the final information session with the coaches and wax technicians to lay out the race day logistics. Warm up logistics, bib and ankle monitor pickup, wax testing protocol and split station locations are all part of the quick debrief before the night winds down. Then the athletes have their last bedtime snacks and hit the sack ready for race day.