Training

By Steve Fleisig

The more, the better. Having said that, if you have been training 5 hours a week, going straight to 10 or 15 hours a week will be damaging to your body. So, you first need to decide how much time you can devote on a weekly basis.

I try to train no less than 10 hours a week and I top out at about 14 hours a week. Job, marriage, kids etc. will dictate how much you can train.

left: heart rate monitor

Things to think about:

• Consider training with a heart rate monitor



• Train like a triathlete because that is what an adventure race sort of is (get Joel Friel's Triathlete's Training Bible)



• The beginning of the season should be spent developing an aerobic base and hill climbing strength



• As the season stretches on, start introducing more intensity



• In general, you should tailor your training to match your race, for example if 40% of your race time (not mileage) is on mtn. bike, 35% on your feet and the rest paddling, then your training hours should follow that breakdown



• Having said that, if you're a pro mtn. bike racer but a bad runner, focus on running even though your race has more biking



• Spend more time on your weaker events



• Train with the loaded backpack you will race with; work your way up in weight by using different size bags of kitty litter



• Running 50 miles a week on roads is not as good as running/hiking 50 miles per week in the woods



• Your muscles, feet and body need to experience often what it will be subjected to in a race



• If you will have an 8 hour mtn bike leg on fire roads, an 8 hour road ride isn't a good substitute; get in the dirt



• Do a lot of hill training. After developing a good base, slowly introduce hill stuff. Try to mimic actual race conditions as closely as possible.



• Try out all of your gear in training, not in the race - you want to test your gear in all situations - talk to experienced racers before buying gear so you don't waste $



• Get lots of sleep



• Use a good recovery drink for post workout - I like Endurox R4 (www.performancebike.com)



• Use a good sports drink during exercise longer than an hour - I like Accelerade (same people as Endurox R4) (www.performancebike.com or Gatorade)



• Drink at least 1.5 liters of water every day; the more the better



• If you can, get a weekly message to work out the soreness and lactic acid buildup



• Don't forget to stretch