Unfortunately for me, time marches on and it has started to somewhat affect my skiing. Last season on our annual trip out west I really felt it when trying to string together multiple days. How much rest v game time do others do is the question.
Last year was not a banner ski year for me between work and weather and the amount of skier days was lower then normal for me but I'm still concerned because I do try to stay in shape and "train" off season. This has stayed in my mind since last season and now I'm taking off on a 16 day trip of which I "want" to ski 12. This year has been a different year for me as I have kind of tried to work my way into things. Schedule change has allowed me to ski much more. Started early indoors, and got as many 2 hr sessions as I could on the local bump and even stringing days together at various lengths (up to 5 in a row at one point). But my legs did let me know they had been busy after my 3 day trip to Loon Mountain, New Hampshire. One thing I have to admit that I'm guilty of doing in the past is getting so fired up for the first day that I ski too hard instead of pacing myself. Going to be aware of that this year and dial it back a little. Hoping to find that fine line between go and down time.
Some suggestions
Theory (& studies) is that as we age, our endurance is generally sustained better than our agility, strength & ability to recover as quick from high load demands. Accept it and consider it, but don't limit yourself by it - we are all different.
Ease into skiing on multi-day trips -
Try 1/2 days for the first or couple of days. Or 2 hr sessions with longer lunch breaks for the first days on easy runs.
Why cheat yourself by behaving like you are still a 20 something, frying your legs on the first day, then just limping along for the rest of your trip?
Ease into skiing every day with proper warm-ups -
The theory (validated by experience of both elite & weekend warrior athletes) is that warm-ups must -
1) get the cardio vascular system activated - lungs heart lymphatic systems etc to progressively loaded and dilated to bring nutrients in and waste products out to your working muscle groups
2) get muscle groups activated & progressively loaded ready for higher loads
3) get your neurology - balance, coordination - activated for increasing skiing demands - skiing is of course a balance & agility sport - being off center, being tense etc unduly loads our muscles causes overload of lactic acid & other over use issues, esp was we get older
Warm-ups for every ski session - what I teach and do myself for intermediate to high performance rec skiing
1) Set aside 2-3 runs or 30m for warm-ups
2) Use a run 1-2 levels below your ability
3) Start joint rotations of every joint you can access while riding the chair & standing at the top of the run. Then start gliding with pivot slips, later introduce light edge sets
4) Gradually move to LR & MR brushed parallel, add in foot shuffles & thrusts/pull backs & gentle (1-2in high) jumps while turning. Get centered. Shift your upper body back and forth. Then introduce more edging in your basic brushed parallel turns
5) Add power plows to activate the foot to hip joints accentuating & emphasizing weight shift and turning muscle groups - foot to hip
5) Go back to pivot slips, but at a higher tempo, turn these into brushed SR basic parallel turns. Add in a few harder and harder edge sets or hockey stops
6) Go back to MR - LR turns, moving from basic parallel to more dynamic carved turns focusing on edge performance.
Depending on your age & fitness, 1-3 runs for up to 30m using this routine will set you up properly for the day.
Toss the ego, work within your body's limits, and with the mountain. Experiment and you will find what works for you. And you really enjoy the rest of your day, your ski trip.
GL
