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Posted by Grant on 29. April 2009 08:11
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I got a question from a first-time adventure racer preparing for Untamed New England this Summer; in case it helps somebody else out there, I'm sharing the main points from my response:
With 2 months between now and the race, there is plenty of time for you
to knock out the following specific things to get you more prepared for
the race:
- Fill your pack with water bottles and bulky
clothes, ideally it should be heavier than you expect it to be during
the race. Go for some long walks or hikes with the pack on. Be
careful running with a heavy pack, as it's easy to over do it, but just
walking several hours on your feet will get you more comfortable with
what race reality will be. I keep a heavy pack around for when I take
our dog out on walks, for example; I get some strange looks but it's
good training.
- Plan an 8 hour hike sometime, and pay attention to your food and
water consumption. When you're done, write down the number of
calories, note what tasted good, and how much water you went through.
This is valuable data you can use to budget your food intake during the
race. You should be able to extrapolate and know how many calories you
need for a full 12 or 24 hours, and get some experience with managing
your hydration/nutrition without aid stations or outside sources.
Before a race, I typically pack my food into ziplock bags with 12-hours
worth of calories in each bag. Then, at the race, I can grab as many
12-hour bags as I need for the duration we'll be gone for.
- The more miles you log on your feet before the race, the
better you'll be conditioned to the stress of a long race. If you know
where your "problem spots" are with your feet, you can know to tape
them in advance or look out for blisters.
- Plan an overnight training, maybe where you start at 10 PM and to
through until the sun comes up the next day. It may not fit with most
schedules, but it is good to know the feeling of moving through the
night and seeing the sunrise. Usually, around 2 AM, people hit a
psychological low spot and learning to recognize it and know you can
move beyond it can be vital during the overnight portions of the real
race. You'll also get very comfortable with your headlamp!
- Work to be familiar with all your equipment, so if there is a
rainy day you should see it as an opportunity to try out your
waterproof pants and top. Practice with all your equipment so you know
how it all works and can work with it even when you're really tired.
Same goes for your teammates: get to know them well before the race!
Of course, you can combine a lot of these things together.
For example, a nearly perfect training day that combines most of the
above would be to:
- Load a heavy pack down . . . wear it for
a long hike or bike/hike combo . . . that goes through the night . . .
and includes some lousy weather . . . and your teammates. When you're
done, be sure to evaluate the condition of your feet and how much
food/water you consumed.
Good luck and let me know how it goes!