Dialing the V1 Skate

So now we know the names of the basic forms of skate skiing, and eventually we'll get into developing a solid V2 skate, but it's super important to get the V1 right because you'll spend more time in the V1 than any other stroke, and you'll spend the most fatiguing parts of your ski in the V1. The later point is obvious — V1 is our uphill stroke. But why do we spend so much time in the V1? Because we're going slower, so mile for mile, we spend more time in the V1.

This can be dramatic. I timed myself on a short after-work skate the other day. It's a 5.6 mile (9km) out and back with about 1500 feet of vertical gain split into one short hill and one long one. I spent about 22 minutes on the uphills, all in V1, and about 12 minutes on the flats and downhills, split between V1, V2, V2 alternate, free skate and tucking. I probably had less than 5 minutes of V2. So I am in V1 for four times longer than any other any other stroke, which means that an improvement in pleasure, fun, speed, efficiency, whatever in V1 is worth four times as much as a similar improvement in V2.

That's a bit of a special circumstance, but even for people who have flatter, rolling terrain to ski, if you have equal distances of V1 and V2, you're going faster in V2, so you are still spending more time in V1 and improvements in V1 are worth more.

Dialing the V1 Timing

We skate V1 at times when our glide is dying quickly, so the purpose of the pole stroke is to extend out the glide without pushing like a maniac with our legs. Pushing like a maniac with your legs will tire you out quickly, and will also cause you to spend a lot of time on your edges, which causes more drag and slows you down.

So lets say we're doing V1 with a left-side pole stroke (though of course, you want to practice both).

• In the middle of the stroke, we're standing balanced on the right foot with as little edge as possible. This requires bringing the left foot in under us. The biggest beginner mistake is taking a wide stance and going from edge to edge. When the right foot is at it's apex, the hands are also up and ready for the pole stroke.
• As you switch to an edged right ski and step out with the left, the hands move forward.
• The left ski and the poles make a three-point contact with the snow at the same time, which is also the moment when you reach the end of the push stroke with the right foot. This point is crucial. Your right foot has now stopped pushing you forward, but we're in V1 because we're going uphill or the snow is slow and our glide is dying quickly. So the poles take over and extend the glide created by the right leg push. This is what gives you a long enough glide to be able to keep moving during the recovery stroke of your poles.
• As the power phase of your pole stroke winds down, the left foot takes over with a powerful push and your right foot comes in under your hips so you can balance on the left ski.
• As you push with the left foot, you throw your hands forward. they should be all the way forward at the time your right foot lands. Why? Because remember that as soon as your right foot lands, your weight, and thus your ability to push, comes off the left foot. If you are late with your hands, throwing your hands out while gliding on your right foot, you'll kill your glide on the right foot. It's like kicking your feet out at the wrong moment on the swingset — it kills your glide.
• As your glide winds down on the right ski, your left foot comes back under your hips and you ready your poles for the three-point contact and we're back to the beginning.

This timing is a bit unnatural and beginners tend to be late in their pole strokes. They typically land late and have a 1 and 2/3 landing, meaning left foot and then a bit later, both poles. Then, perhaps worse still, they make the forward throw after transitioning to the right ski. As I said, this is like throwing your legs out on the swingset after you're already past the apex and starting back down. It will kill your glide.

The easiest way to learn this somewhat unnatural timing, is to do it in your living room with no poles and in your socks. This takes a lot of the complexity out of it. Really focus on the timing until it feels natural. Practice both sides, because eventually you'll need a good left and right pole stroke.

The next simplest way to practice, is to V1 in a marathon skate. That's where you skate with one foot in the striding track. For practicing the V1, this works best if you pole on the side that is outside the track. Again, this simplifies things a little and lets you focus on the timing a little more.

Now you're ready to go out and start skating your V1, focussing on one side at a time. In other words, skate for a few minutes on a flat trail, focussing just on the three point landing. Then skate a few minutes focussing on the glide-side throw. Alternate until you can do both pretty well. Then, try to put it together and get the timing right on both sides at once.

Finally, let's put it to the test! The timing gets way harder, but way more important, as you start going uphill. On the flats, your inefficiences add up over kilometers. The hills expose your weakness in meters. Late timing on your forward throw, will literally leave you feeling your stride die before you have a chance to get your poles back out there in times for your three-point touchdown. It's a vicious cycle. You fatigue more quickly and when you're tired and struggling, it's harder to focus on the timing, so your form gets worse, which fatigues you faster, which makes your form worse, etc. One triathlete turned skate skier said "No bonk is as bad as the skate ski bonk" and this is why.

So if you lay a strong foundation in the V1, you're well on the way to being a strong skate skier. Now, it's on to the V2 skate.