Altitude training is a necessary, important part of every team’s summer plans; the Finnish team is no exception, venturing to Livigno for their first thin-air camp of the season.

Erik Kulstad, “It is easy to go too fast”

Training in a new high-altitude location challenged the athletes and Coach Erik Kulstad initially. “Those first days when you are not that familiar with a place are always a little bit like, ‘Ooh, we can’t do this like we wanted or predicted’ but we found a nice rhythm after that…Our main goals are acclimatizing and getting used to the hills in Europe and get stronger as we progress through the camp in tougher terrain than what we have in Finland.”

According to Kulstad, the difference between training at 120 meters versus 1800 meters “is the expectation of speed. In talking with one of the athletes, it was, ‘I feel a little bit lazy when I am working now; like how fast I can go.’ If you go by how fast you can go; it is easy to go too fast, so you have to hold back. You have to accept that you are in the adaptation mode, especially in the early days; instead of going too fast…we told them to just take it easy when they do things like mountain running.”

“The first four days, I was so dead”

Otto Invenius admitted, “You notice the difference the first time you go out to train. It is not that easy feeling. You have to go a little bit slower pace than in Finland…When you go slow, it feels normal…During the night, recovery is slower, and it feels like the training puts more stress on the body…I am kind of a slow adapter to the high altitude. I think everyone is better than me, but Arttu Heikkinen is probably the best on our team. The first four days, I was so dead. I have not felt that tired since winter when I was horribly sick.”

Learning to shoot well at altitude is crucial. Kulstad used some “short fast-paced loops to get into it…We want them to experience of what it feels like to come to the range at close to race speed and shoot. When you go back home you have that in memory, ‘this is what I need to be prepared for,’ so they can work with that feeling.”

In their first threshold training, Invenius found his normal shooting pattern worked fine. “I always take two fast breaths between shots, so it was okay. That suits me well in altitude.”

Cycling, Friends and Views

Beyond the range, “Cycling was the hardest session the first week. It was supposed to be an easy ride, but I was just totally dead, during and after. At the top of one hill, we were supposed to meet the shuttle; with fifteen minutes to go we still had a couple uphill kilometers to go. I was pushing all out, and it felt like I was not moving at all. But I survived and had some nice pizza for a reward!”

Through two weeks of hard work and tough adaptation, several things stood out for Invenius “The views. It is beautiful. Also seeing good friends here (like USA’s Campbell Wright). It is also nice to have some uphills for skiing; we don’t have that luxury in Finland.”

Photos: IBU/Manzoni Nordic Focus, Otto Invenius