This plan is for anyone looking to add a little more structure into their Birkie training. Whether it's your first Birkie or your 25th, you're trying to move up a wave, or just improve your time, this plan is designed to help you enter Birkie weekend feeling strong and confident in your training.

If you're in one of the first two waves of the Korteloppet and have a history of training for the event, you can follow this plan as is. All other Korte skiiers should do 75% of the suggested hours and intervals sets. New Prince Haakon skiers should do half the suggested hours.

This plan is broken down into 4-5 week "periods" of training. Within each period, there are daily suggestions for training with a workout suggestion and a workout duration. The hours spent training each week are calculated based on the hours in the "Training Periodization" tab. If you aren't able to do the exact workouts outlined in the plan, shoot to achieve the number of training hours suggested for each week. Each day also has a focus. This is meant to help you know when to focus on pushing your body hard in interals and when to keep it easy and focus on letting your body recover.

This plan is meant to be a guide for your training. If you aren't always able to execute each workout perfectly, that is ok. If there is a different day that works better for rest day or interval for you, feel free to move days around. Just make sure you aren't stacking two intensity days back-to-back. If you have a race scheduled that isn't on the plan, use that as a subsititute for one of that week's intensity sessions. If you're sick or just can't fit in training for a few days, don't worry about making up hours, just do what you can. And when you're ready, jump back in where you left off. Use your best judgement to make this plan work with your life!

This year's training plan comes with a training log attached to each week. You can either make a copy of this document to fill out virtually or print it and fill it out with pen or pencil. Keeping track of how your training is going can help you make adjustments to the plan as needed.