Olympic skier Brendan Green talks running

“The will to win, means nothing without the will to prepare” – Juma Ikangaa

I love the thrill of a good run when everything clicks – the lightness of my body, that feeling of gliding across the ground and being able to continuously push harder and faster. But when the snow arrives, my second love awakens.

That second love is truly Canadian: cross-country skiing.

There is nothing like the quiet in the woods, with only ski tracks and the mist of your breath in the winter sun.

Here is a skier who also laces up when his skis aren’t gliding across the snow.

Brendan

Growing up in Hay River,‭ ‬Northwest Territories, Brendan Green in 2005 made the move to train full-time‭ in Canmore, Alta. with the national biathlon team. His career highlights include participating at the 2010‭ Olympics, representing Canada as part of the‬World Cup Team‭ (‬2009‭ ‬to present), has twice been a World Junior Championship medallist‭ (‬2005,‭ ‬2007) and is a 9-time Canadian Championship medallist. He has also been given the Myriam Bedard award, which was named after another great Canadian skier.

Although Brendan is now a skier, he was introduced to the track at an early age and still holds some school records.

‭Green took a few minutes to talk running with me about running.

How does running help your cross-country skiing‭?

Personally I feel like running is an amazing mode of training to compliment my skiing.‭ ‬I try to incorporate running into my training plan whenever possible.‭ ‬Through running we’re able to train the same energy systems we use while skiing and can often make our running workouts more ski-specific by adding ski bounding or striding.‭ ‬The short contact time to the ground is awesome to keep the muscles firing quickly which is beneficial as a skier,‭ ‬and single track or trail running is great to keep our agility sharp.

Up North I did a ton of running while training through high school,‭ ‬and because of that have gained a lot of respect for the benefits it can provide.‭ ‬Before I moved to Canmore to train,‭ ‬the majority of my dry-land training was done through running.‭ ‬We didn’t have the facilities or terrain for ski-specific training in the spring,‭ ‬summer,‭ ‬or fall so my options were pretty limited‭ ‬– ‬running was the closest thing to skiing I could do.

Is running only off-season training‭?

‭‬Most of the running I do is during the summer and fall,‭ ‬and once the snow arrives I’ll spend almost all of my training hours skiing on snow.‭ ‬I do maintain a bit of running throughout the race season but more as part of activation workouts or cooling down after races.‭ ‬At some World Cup venues it’s tough to ski twice a day just with the race logistics,‭ ‬so running is great for an easy morning or afternoon workout before a race.

Which do you find harder,‭ ‬cross-country skiing or running‭?

‭“I think it’s whatever your body is used to.‭ ‬My body is comfortable and familiar with skiing at high intensity,‭ ‬where that isn’t the case so much for me with running anymore.‭ ‬Every time I do a running a race I’ll be sore and stiff for days after‭.

What are your goals leading up to and at the Olympics‭?

‭ “In‭ ‬2012‭, ‬I suffered a severe disk herniation while racing a World Cup in Norway.‭ ‬I underwent two serious spinal surgeries shortly after,‭ ‬and the road to recovery was long and painful.‭ ‬I was forced to take last year off from racing and undergo an extensive and regimented rehab program here in Canmore.‭ ‬It was a humbling experience to go from the best shape of my life,‭ ‬to all of a sudden not being able to walk and being in extreme pain.‭ ‬For a long time there was the looming question of whether or not I would be able to return to elite level racing,‭ ‬but very slowly over the course of a year I was able to progress my way back into training.‭ ‬So far the training and racing in my return has been going quite well and as planned.‭ ‬It’s been a really tough last year for me,‭ ‬so if I’m on the start line in Sochi that will be a huge personal victory for me.‭ ‬Prior to my injury I was racing to the best results of my career,‭ ‬so if I can continue on the World stage where I left off that would be awesome.‭ ‬If I can race at the Olympics at my full potential I think some great results could follow.

We will be watching you in Sochi, Brendan. Good luck, ski well and run on.

See you on the roads or in the blogosphere.

Do you have a good running story to tell?

runningwriter@hotmail.com

*I searched Brendan’s running records – see below:

9 & under Boys

400m     1:18.91      1995

800m     2:49.08    1995

14 & under    

1,500m   4:50.76    2000

15 & under           

3,000m   10:14        2001