With children come greater demands on your time and as such even people with a strong commitment to exercise struggle to maintain their pre-children level of fitness. As a parent with a full-time job, exercise is probably the last thing you want to do or feel that you have time for. Yet sport should remain an integral part of your life; for physical health, for mental wellness and so that you are an active role model for your children.

Valid short-term excuses
Time constraints, lack of sleep and shifted priorities (child comes first) will put a damper on training but new parents need to be mindful of how long they’re inactive.

Six-time Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon runner Lynne Simpson had her first child five years ago and the second one two years ago. “I originally thought that it would be quite easy to pick up where I left off before I fell pregnant.”

She says that her biggest problem was not picking up some sort of training programme as soon as possible after each birth. “The longer I left it the less I felt like going through the initial strain to get back into training. Added to this was that I was carrying at least an additional 10 kilograms in weight, which made running even more difficult.” It took her about two years after each birth before she starting training again; keeping Augrabies in mind as a goal to focus on.

Downscale
Single mom Marilyn Pirow has two young daughters, aged two-and-a-half and one. Pre-children she was a regular tri- and biathlon competitor. Even with help from a nanny, Pirow has cut down on training time and disciplines: “Partly due to time constraints and partly due to exhaustion!” she adds. “I have started focusing more on paddling now. Time is limited, so I am doing what I really enjoy. My girls are still very young and quite a lot of work. I expect it will get easier in time.”

Trail runners Iain and Su Don-Wauchope also have two young children. Su found that with one baby and a job with regular hours, her training was only marginally affected. “The one discipline that went out the window was paddling. I could get out jogging with my pram, do some hardcore sessions on a stationary trainer and leave Abigael in child care at gym while I swam… but paddling just didn’t happen. Now that Iain and I run our own hospitality business and have two children, training is very difficult,” she explains.

Clinton Mackintosh, a competitive adventure racer, is father to four-year old twin boys. He has always juggled disciplines, never focusing on one particular sport. “Having children has only changed my training times and availability but not the fact that sports are a major part of my life,” he says.

Flip-side of the coin
Even with four children Alec Avierinos has added to, not subtracted from, his sporty arsenal. He comes from a background of body building, weight lifting, power lifting and surfing. All this ended when he started his own business and got married at 22.

“Six years ago, aged 37, I was overweight at 104kg. I read an article on the Freedom Challenge Extreme Triathlon and decided it was for me.” Avierinos initially started with mountain biking and has progressively added trail running, canoeing, adventure racing, orienteering and duathlon.

How does he manage? “I’m up at 4am to get in two hours before work and then I do one hour in the evening with longer sessions on Saturday and usually races on Sundays.”

Alec’s four children are sporty too. Greg (17) and Ruth (13) are the ones most into adventure racing and related disciplines. “Ruth participated in her first AR sprint (30km) with me at the age of eight; Greg did his first 250km AR at the age of 16. He trains with me on Saturdays, if we are not racing.”

Family time
Shortly before Mackintosh’s twins were born, he raced in the 250km Swazi Xtreme adventure race. “It was 2am and we had to bum-slide down a waterfall. I am normally first in the team to go down these sorts of things and for the first time in six years of racing I hesitated, realising that I could be injured. That memory will stay with me forever because at that moment I stopped thinking about myself. I was thinking of my family-to-be. Now I only take calculated risks but am always thinking of the consequences of my actions for my family.”

The Don-Wauchopes try to make racing a family thing where they take their children along to races as much as possible. If they travel to a race they take a couple of additional days to holiday with the children post-race. “For our family this is important,” adds Su. “Because we run our own business, we found that by the time we had been away for races there wasn’t enough time left in the year to take proper family holidays at all and our down time was spent away at races, which does not equate to quality time spent with our children (or each other).”

Balancing work, sport and family
Nikki and Dawid Mocke are also sporty parents. Dawid, a full-time athlete, has tailored his training to be more focused and purposeful, making the most of limited time. With three businesses and a child, Nikki’s focus has changed.
“I was very competitive, but after having children, it’s never the same again; your mental and physical preparation is always divided,” she says. “I don’t want to paddle every day twice a day anymore and I like the fact that I can still compete (at a lower level, of course) but also be a mom. My focus has changed and I paddle for enjoyment now.”
Keeping sane
Regular exercise is a stress outlet and it contributes to an overall feeling of wellness through its physical, social and psychological benefits. Going from hero to zero has greater-reaching effects than just feeling unfit and gaining a few kilos.

“I often feel a huge level of frustration with myself for not giving my body that sense of activity, adrenalin, feeling of ability, muscular relief, energy boosting and toning,” explains Simpson. Her frustrations spill over to those around her; especially her husband and children. “I am revitalised in mind and energy if I go out and sweat a little.”

Having children does not mean the end of your sporting life as you know it. But, you are in for some changes. Your training habits and schedule will not remain the same; your discipline focus will shift and time with your family will become a priority. But that’s ok. Work within this framework to keep fit and healthy for your benefit and theirs.

Top tips

• Make use baby-care facilities at gyms.
• A running pram is great if you have one child; it isn’t practical if there’s one of you and two of them.
• Train in the morning, before the household wakes up, or after your children have gone to sleep.
• Forget about what you think exercise should look like or what you used to do. Be okay with what you are able to do now. Remember that you are not a professional athlete.
• Look at other disciplines that are more child and family friendly.
• Focus on one discipline; running is time efficient.
• Schedule regular races on your calendar to keep you motivated and training toward something.
• Buy a treadmill (and use it).
• Teach your children to sneeze into a tissue and cough into their elbow instead of hands as hands spread germs when they touch surfaces. Hand washing before eating or touching their eyes, nose and mouth (and you!) is a great contamination preventer too.

These are some recent discoveries that are helping me to commit to doing a bit more of each.

Destination-orientated training

I rarely ride my bike outside of races. It’s a combination of inconvenience (trails not close to home), fear (chicken to ride on the road), preference for running and lack of local company. As a result, I suffer on the bike in races. I’ve recently returned to yoga (super cross training) and with traffic being what it is, I have faced my fears head-on. It’s faster for me to ride to the yoga studio, which is about 15km each way, than it is to drive and I can do most of the route on pavements. Sure, it’s not mega mileage but being on my bike twice a week for an hour-and-a-half is better than not-at-all. And now that I’ve bashed through this mental block my mind is open to other active opportunities.

Fixtures

Regular weekly fixtures like time trials are easy-to-maintain commitments. They’re held at the same time, same place and are of the same duration every week. Paddle and running time trials ensure that you’re on the water and road at least once a week. Recruit friends for a run and a bike ride on weekends. That’s four sessions in the bag each week. The discipline is in maintaining arrangements by making it a priority not to cancel. Skipping time trials is a personal let-down; cancelling on friends lets them down.

Races too are superb weekend fixtures. The adventure racing calendar abounds with options for races that range from a few hours to a weekend or multiple days.

Play dates: spread the load

In January I did a fun ‘Seven Days, Seven Friends, Seven Runs’ activity. I booked runs with seven different friends every evening for a week. We committed to these play dates, in advance, and we ran regardless of the weather. As a result, for the first time in ages I ran a 70km plus week. What a super kick-start to the year this proved to be.

Book sessions during the week and weekends with different mates to mix things up. By spreading the load across numerous friends the demand on their time is limited to one session every few weeks, you get to play with friends who will be faster or slower than you (harder or easier sessions) and you’ll stay committed to arrangements established in advance. An additional bonus is that you score an opportunity to catch up with many friends you may not otherwise have seen for months and to suss out potential teammates for races.

Annual planner

I totally understand how partners can get really mad when you spend more hours training or racing than with them. Adventure racing causes strife especially as weekend races can zap three or four days of family-time, while expedition races can gobble almost two weeks.

Pop a year planner on the kitchen wall. Pencil in your regular training commitments (include the duration of the session too) and well as the races you intend entering. If every weekend is jam-packed, rethink your programme to incorporate time with your beloved. Then, discuss your plans – now visible on the chart – with your partner before inking them in. A year planner has three purposes: it visualises your commitments to training and racing, defines fixtures that have been agreed by both you and your partner and allows, in advance, for arrangements to be made around commitments.

Make peace

Let’s say you get in three one-hour sessions a week, work an eight-to-six job, have family and home responsibilities and you barely fit in six-hours of sleep a night. I’m presuming that you enjoy your sports and that you would really like to do five sessions a week with a three-hour run or bike over the weekend? You’ve probably tried it, dropping the balls after a week or two when ‘real life’ got in the way. Eh?

Make peace. Sure, the fitter you are and more conditioned you are the faster you’ll race. But, you are not a pro athlete with unlimited time on your hands to train, eat and sleep so just make peace and do what you can. Really, three or four sessions a week is ok. You’ll still make it through a race. You won’t win, but you’ll be OK.

Commit to what you can, make those sessions efficient and effective, love every minute out training  and do more when time allows.

Author: Lisa de Speville | Published in Go Multi Magazine, May/June 2011. Vol 15.2

Strengthening of your feet, doing the endurance training for the demands of trekking and strong navigation skills are key to successful trekking whether the stage takes two or 36 hours. Each of these three elements should be trained. As adventure racing legend Ian Adamson says in his book, Runner’s World Guide to Adventure Racing: “Your foot-travel skills may be the most important in your arsenal of talents”.

Why you should build strong feet

Feet adapt to regular ‘punishment’ by spending time on them in training; there’s no need to hobble through any race – regardless of distance – on fatigued and blistered feet. Conditioning strengthens the muscles of your feet. Regularly spend time on your feet by doing low-intensity social hikes; steadily increase your training distances, as you would with running; and include more intense sessions where you vary (and increase) these parameters. And load the weight in your backpack, which has a profound effect on your feet and biomechanics.

Trekking secret #1

“The best preparation for trekking is trekking,” says Mark Collins, South Africa’s most experienced adventure racer. He recently competed with McCain Adventure Addicts at Bimbache Extrem in Spain. “Tatum climbed Platteklip Gorge eight times in one day in the build up to Bimbache. There could hardly have been better preparation than that for a race in the mountains – and it showed.”

In training we tend to focus on running, which is probably the smallest component of this foot discipline. True to the term ‘trekking’, teams actually walk – fast – more than they run. “Train walking,” advises Christo Horn. “Compared to running, different muscles are used and different pressures are exerted on your feet, legs and hips when you walk.” Ilio-tibial band (ITB) and shin inflammation are very common adventure racing injuries.

Tommy Booth, a regular roadrunner, is new to adventure racing and orienteering. “Road running is very different to off-road running,” he says. “I think it is the trickiness of up-down-left-right-dodge that is more tiring. It requires a lot more concentration and your legs work harder.”

Collins recommends that racers train at moving efficiently through thick bush. “In a lot of races many teams are able to keep pace with the world’s best teams over open ground, even when ascending and descending, but as soon as the terrain becomes technical or overgrown the best teams just open devastating gaps.”

Make or break factor: navigation

 On mountain bikes, roads and paths are obvious route choices so is’t more difficult for teams to get badly lost . On foot, you can take a race course almost anywhere. It is no surprise that it is usually on hiking stages, especially at night, that navigators make serious mistakes that cost hours, race positions, morale and, possibly, their race. For teams chasing podium positions, their trekking performances are crucial. “It is possible to lose races on the bike or paddle; but most races are won on foot,” agrees Collins.

Where the physical disciplines can be trained fairly easily, how can navigators hone their navigational skills? “Adventure racing navigation is different from orienteering but it uses exactly the same interpretation and decision-making processes,” explains Collins. “Just as you prepares for a maths exam by doing problems over and over again I would suggest preparing for the navigational exam of an adventure race by doing as many orienteering races as possible.” Orienteering events, which are accessible and inexpensive to enter, are held regularly in Cape Town and Gauteng. 

When night descends, though, everything looks very surreal and it’s easy to miss major topography.

Darron Raw, race director of Swazi Xtreme, highlights the perils of navigating at night:  “Unlike biking, on foot you have more time to spot visual markers… but at night when you can’t see a thing it is a serious challenge to keep track of time and distance.” Good headlamps are as important to trekking as they are to mountain biking. They’re one of several items of kit that can make life a lot easier.

Vital Trekking Stuff

 The shoes on your feet and pack on your back are not your only items of trekking equipment.

1. TREKKING POLES – Adventure racer Debbie Smith always carries a second pair of socks and she, like Collins, favours trekking poles. Collins explains the benefits of trekking poles: “They can save you more than 15% energy on mountain climbs and they take pressure off the knees on descents. Trekking poles are also invaluable if you’re nursing an injury.”
2. GAITERS – Anklet or padded orienteering-style gaiters are also highly recommended. They prevent trail debris from getting into your shoes and they protect against the inevitable scratches that result from bundu-bashing through unfriendly vegetation. Long leggings also offer protection from scratches and sunburn.
3. SMALLS - Trekking kit also includes a blister kit and anti-chafing lube (for feet and chafe prone areas). And you may want to consider using shoes that are half to one size bigger on long trekking stages to accommodate swelling, which is common. “Sunblock and a hat are seriously important too”, adds Horn.

 Trekking is arguably more demanding on your body than any of the other disciplines. It is only right that we focus on foot-travel skills – not just running – in training. During races you’ll feel more comfortable physically; you’ll suffer fewer injuries; and you’ll be able to start long trekking stages with confidence.

Trekking (hiking): Covering large distances on foot while carrying a backpack and equipment. From Ian Adamson’s Runner’s World Guide to Adventure Racing

Author: Lisa de Speville | Published in Go Multi Magazine, July/Aug 2009

• Stretching elongates your ligaments, tendons and muscles improving your range of motion (ROM)
• Increased ROM relates to improved flexibility, decreasing your risk of injury through joint sprain and muscle strain
• Stretching incorporated into your pre-training routine assists in preparing your body for activity by bringing your physiology to a state of readiness (warming up)
• Stretching reduces muscle soreness and muscle tension, contributing to your physical and mental relaxation

Stretching Techniques
Flexibility and stretching exercises fall into several categories depending on the manner in which the muscle is stretched:

• Static stretching is the safest means of enhancing flexibility by stretching to the fartherest point of muscle elongation and holding the stretch. These stretches are easy to learn, easy to execute and require little energy expenditure. But, static stretching exercises lack specificity and do little to enhance co-ordination.
• Ballistic stretching is the most controversial stretch type causing the most soreness and injury. It involves bobbing, bouncing, rebounding and rhythmic types of movement using momentum as the driving force that moves the body or limb to forcibly increase the ROM. This technique fails to provide adequate time for the tissues to adapt to the stretch.
• Dynamic stretching is often incorporated into training programs. It does not end with bouncing or jerky movements. Instead, all movements are controlled and thus enhance optimal dynamic flexibility, essential for all sports.
• Passive stretching requires you to be relaxed, making no contribution to the ROM. An external force is created by a manual or mechanical outside agent. This technique is most suitable when antagonist muscles restrict flexibility. But, there is a great risk of soreness and injury if a partner applies the external force incorrectly.
• Active stretching is accomplished by using your own muscles without the application of any external force e.g. standing upright and slowly lifting one leg as high as possible. Active stretching is preferred when the weakness of the muscles producing the movement (agonists) restrict flexibility. This form of exercise is essential to the athlete because it promotes dynamic flexibility and is the most specific to a given discipline. These stretches are easier to work into a routine as they do not require equipment or a partner.

The Cell Biology of Muscles and Stretching

A muscle is comparable to a regular electric cable.

The grey outer insulation layer is equivalent to the epimysium, an outer covering which surrounds the whole muscle mass i.e. around one of the 4 quadriceps mucles. Each of the earth, neutral and live wires correspond to mucle cells – they’re specialised cells and are thus called muscle fibres. The thin copper wires, correspond to the numerous parallel subunits within each fibre, termed myofibrils. And finally, each myofibril is made up of ‘chains’ of alternating thick and thin filaments of myosin and actin respectively, two very important contractile proteins.

I’m not going to go into the structure of these proteins except to say that they have specific structures. Actin appears like a bead necklass folded in half and slightly twised (2-stranded helix), while myosin has a structure of two pieces of rope, twised together (long thin tail) with monkey-fist knots (the head) at the top of each rope.

The Sliding-Filament Theory
Well over a century ago, researchers had observed that when a muscle contracts or stretches, the length of the muscle is altered. Using a specially built microscope, they observed that the dark bands (myosin) always stayed the same length even during contraction, while the lighter bands (actin) became narrower. the Sliding Filament Theory proposed in 1954, revolutionised the understanding of muscular physiology.

In brief, the shortening of a muscle during contraction occurs not because of a change in the length of the actin and myosin filaments themselves – and thus the myofibril – but as a consequence of the active sliding of the thin (actin) filaments between the thick (myosin) filaments. The proteins overlap.

Now, think of the actin filaments as the fluffy strip of velcro, and the myosin filaments as the other strip, the protein’s head acting like the little hooks. The more of the fluffy strip that is attached to the hook strip, the greater the tension developed. Thus, each hook provides an increment of tension, the total tension determined by the number of cross-bridges formed. Muscles with longer actin & myosin filaments can therefore develop greater tension per unit because of the greater extent of overlap possible. This explains why long muscles like your quads and hammy’s are so strong.

Now there is obviously a limit to how far you can stretch and explains the difference between you – unable to touch your toes – and contortionists.

When muscles are stretched the actin and myosin proteins reverse the action involved in contraction. At first a stretch is easy. But, as it progresses the fibres become displaced and if overstretched the muscle fibres may rupture. Thus, the importance of the connective tissue that envelops and surrounds the muscle (recall the electric cable analogy above) and its relation to flexibility.

Two nerve-fibre receptors exist (GTO’s and muscle spindles) with the ability to detect stretch at muscle-tendon and muscle-connective tissue sheath junctions. They’re responsible for the ‘Stretch Reflex’, which maintains muscle tone and prevents injury, like when you take a bad step overstretching your ankle muscles and tendons.

The most well known reflex is knee jerk caused by a light tap on the kneecap (patella) tendon. The tap stretches the muscle fibres causing them to change shape. The receptors initiate a nervous response (reflex arc) that recruits the quads causing them to shorten and your knee to straighten, taking the tension off the receptors.

Proper and regular stretching resets the point at which your stretch reflex is initiated, causing your muscles to relax further into the stretch, increasing your flexibility and range of motion during activity.

Before or After?
While it has been unanimously decided that stretching after your workout is essential, there’s always controversy over the issue whether stretching before your training session is necessary. My opinion – go for both.

When you warmup your body is prepared for activity by increasing your heart rate and rate of respiration, triggering homeostatic mechanisms like thermoregulation (induces sweating) and muscle facilitation – where muscle fibres are recruited and made ready for work.

Considering that your muscles are cold at the start of the training session, you won’t benefit much from static or passive stretching and will be more likely to injure yourself. Thus the evolution of dynamic pre-training stretches. Incorporate the following dynamic stretches into your warmup routine.

• WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS – Raise both arms above your head reaching for the sky to stretch your back. Lean over to your left and hold for 10s, lean over to your right and hold for 10s. Don’t bend forward at your hips, rather keep your posture and just lean over. You’ll feel it on your sides.
• FISH OUT OF WATER – Make as if you were swimming freestyle with one arm, swinging your arm in forward and backward circles. Do 10 circles per arm forwards and then 10 circles per arm backwards.
• “FISH OUT OF WATER: TAKE 2″ – This time make circles with both arms at the same time. Do 10 circles forward and 10 circles back. Remember that the object is not to swing wildly as fast as possibl but to move your shoulder joint through its full range of motion (ROM).
• I’M AN AEROPLANE – This time work on your co-ordination. Start with your right arm up towards the sky and your left down at your sides. Bring your right arm down (forward circle) and your left arm at your side up (backwards circle). Your arms will pass each other in front of your chest. It’s like pretending that you’re an aeroplane. Do 10 and then swop directions.
• CRAB WALKING / GREEK DANCING – Holding your arms out for balance move sideways crisscrossing your legs. When your leading leg crosses in front of you, look towards the direction in which you’re heading. Your next step will cause your leading (other) leg to cross behind you. Look in the opposite direction. This movement improves the length of your stride, proprioception and hip mobility. Start by walking and then increasing your speed to a run once you get competent. Do 10 strides each direction.

There are dozens of brilliant dynamic stetch exercises. These will get your started, a book will keep you going.

Incorporating a stretching program into your workout
Begin with a general warm-up. This can consist of movements not directly related to the activity itself i.e. joint rotations, gentle twisting & bending, walking. Here the goal is to increase muscle blood flow, increase your rate of respiration and volume of oxygen intake and to raise your core body temperature.

The duration, frequency and intensity of stretching will depend on your level of flexibility. But, as a guideline…

• Perform two to three repetitions of each stretch for a duration of 10 seconds; or one repetition of each stretch for 30 seconds.
• As training progresses, increases the number of successive repetitions and gradually increase your range of motion.
• As a general rule, non-athletes should stretch at least once a day, three to five days per week to maintain flexibility (more if your want to improve). Depending on the sport, dedicated and serious athletes may require two to three stretching sessions per day for 6 to 7 days per week.
• Within a workout session, gently stretch after a light warm-up, keeping your main stretching session for after the main part of your workout. At this stage your tissue temperatures are highest, making stretching both safer and more productive.
• You decide your stretch intensity. In general, stretch to the point of tension, not pain.

Basic Post-Training Stretch Routine
There are many stretching variations that all work the major muscle groups. I have selected 12 common ones that do the job. The stretch images below have been taken from ‘Alter, M.J. (1998) Sport Stretches (2ed). Human Kinetics. Illinois‘. I have taken the liberty of adding colour. This book has 311 stretches and is well worth buying.

Include a basic stretch routine into your training session, stick with it and you’ll notice the improvement in your performance, recovery and the condition of your muscles.

Author: Lisa de Speville

Proprioception refers to the connection between the brain and every structure in the body – a relay of information about “where the body is in space” – it is something like hand-eye co-ordination. When you run on uneven surfaces, your proprioceptive responses prevent your foot from turning too much to the outside, or inside, and when you twist your ankle, this response ‘catches’ your foot before the muscles, tendons and ligaments are stretched beyond recovery. Particularly in the case of an injury, these communication channels need to be re-established to prevent further injury to the weakened area.

Proprioception Exercises
SINGLE LEG STAND: Stand on one leg. Do not lock your knee but keep it slightly bent with the kneecap aligned over the middle toes of the foot. Alternate legs. Increase difficulty by slightly moving up and down. Work up to 2 minutes on each leg. To be done without shoes.

AEROPLANE: Stand on one leg as in the previous exercise, but now FLY like an aeroplane. Extend your arms out like wings and move your body forwards, backwards and sideways. Focus on maintaining your balance. Work up to 2 minutes on each leg. To be done without shoes.

UNSTABLE SURFACE: Perform the above two exercises but try standing on an unstable surface: a wobble board, sprint mattress, trampoline or a pile of pillows. Allow the body to correct itself naturally and don’t hold on to anything to steady yourself. Work up to 2 minutes on each leg. To be done without shoes.

CROSSING OVER FEET: Walk sideways like a crab by crossing one leg in front and then behind the other, keeping your feet facing forward. Find an open area where you can run sideways for at least 10 steps. As your co-ordination improves, try running. Work up to 5 minutes. With or without shoes.

HOP-ALONG: On one leg, practice these three exercises. A) Hop from left to right. B) Hop forward and back. C) ‘Draw’ an upsidedown triangle as you hop from your starting position (green dot).
It is not necessary to hop fast. Rather concentrate on hopping lightly while maintaining your balance and an upright posture. Look ahead and not down. As your ability improves, increase the distance between your landing points, really get those ankles and muscles working. To be done without shoes.

Balance is a much needed skill on foot – for when you’re scrambling over tricky terrain – and on a mountainbike. Especially when you’re bouldering, you need to feel confident in your ability to leap from one rock to the next, maintaining your balance as you land.

Balancing Tricks
CURB RUNNING – Run as fast as you can along a roadside curb, on top of a wall, railings – anything you can find. Look ahead as far as you can. You will find that the further ahead you look, the faster you will be able to run.

TIGHTROPE WALKING / SLACKLINING – Use fences, chains between posts or even a rope/webbing strung up between trees in your garden for tightrope walking. Initially you may only last 10s but with practise you will be able to travserse from side-to-side and even jump up and down. Breathe deeply, concentrate on your center of gravity and fix your eyes in the distance. Once you stop spinning and shaking you’ll become aware – of every muscle and your balance. It is about physical skill, muscle control and inner mental discipline.

Sadly, we only refine our proprioceptive responses and balancing skills in the physiotherapy room following an injury. But, incorporating these exercises into your daily routine will prevent weaknesses and injury by teaching and enforcing correct body positioning and neuromuscular control.

Author: Lisa de Speville

What’s that about walking?
Walking is unfortunately a much neglected, underestimated and under-utilised training discipline, one with many physiological benefits and not only to be used in post-injury rehabilitation programs. Just consider these advantages:

• In adventure races you spend more time walking than running so it makes sense to spend a fair amount of your training time walking and hiking.
• As a low-impact activity you’ve got less chance of getting injured.
• Walking builds endurance and can be incorporated into your running program as recovery and maintenance sessions between hard running days.
• The world’s top ultra-distance runners use walking sessions to increase their mileage without risking injury or chronic fatigue.
• Walking is excellent for muscle tone from your calves to your gluteals.
• Due to the arm swing motion, your arms, back and shoulders are used more in walking than in running (when walking is done at the correct intensity), developing upper body strength and tone.
• Best of all, walking is less taxing on your cardiorespiratory system so you’re able to walk hard, strengthening and conditioning your legs without becoming out of breath.

Learning to walk
Walking and running foot actions are distinctly different. A walker’s foot flexes at twice the angle of a runner’s foot at the point of push-off and while a walker will strike the ground harder on the heel, a runner will strike harder in the middle of the foot. Therefore walking shoes have a more flexible forefoot with good heel cushioning and stability – features to look for in trail shoes. It is also interesting to note that the high flared heel typical of many running shoe styles makes a walker’s foot less stable, causing it to strike down harder. This overworking of the shin muscles can cause injury – and blistering on the base of the heel. Remember too that when you push-off your toes spread so look for trail shoes with a spacious toebox.

Good walking technique – posture, stride length and turnover (how fast you move your legs) – is developed with practise. In short:

• Stand tall and don’t hunch your shoulders.
• Land on your heel with your toes pointed up high. This will work your anterior lower leg muscles so you’re likely to feel a burning sensation in your underused shin muscles – it will go.
• Don’t overstride (take too big a step). It wastes energy and can result in shin splints. Extend each step from above your pelvis, not from your hip, allowing rotation of your pelvis.
• Either let your arms swing freely at your sides or bend your elbows at 90° tucked in to your waist. Do not allow your fingertips to go higher than the ‘nipple line’. Keep your hand in a loose fist. The faster you swing your arms, the faster your legs will move.
• Speed will increase not with longer strides but with increased turnover (number of steps per minute).

How far, how often?
Try to walk for 15 – 25 minutes, twice a week. Concentrate on your technique and work on increasing your speed so that you cover more distance in the set time.

Time to run
Running is undoubtedly a superior cardio-respiratory conditioning discipline. With increased leg strength, weight loss and bone density stimulation added to its list of benefits, it’s no wonder that running is such a popular activity. Best of all, running gives you that essential time on your feet and legs, preparing the muscles for the endless hours of repetitive weight-bearing and movement that they’ll encounter in adventure races.

But, there is much more to running than just lacing up your shoes and taking to the streets. If you want to get stronger, run faster and build endurance you have to challenge your body. We’re talking hill training, speed work, interval training and endurance running. Ready?

Running programs
As the human body adapts to training, improvements in fitness, strength and endurance will only occur when the body is challenged and presented with workouts that vary in intensity, type and duration. For AR our goal is to build strength, speed and endurance.

The beginner runner
Whatever your level of fitness, you should be able to build from barely being able to walk 100m to running for 30minutes continuously in 8-weeks. Distance isn’t important here, time is. All it takes is your commitment to run 3-4 times a week and this manageable program.
Only once you can run for 30minutes at a conversational pace should you progress to the more intense training techniques (hill, interval, speed and endurance).

0 – 30 minutes in 8-weeks
Warm-up before each sessions by walking briskly for 5 minutes

• Week 1 – Run 1 minute, walk 90 seconds (repeat 8 times)
• Week 2 – Run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute (repeat 7 times)
• Week 3 – Run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute (repeat 6 times)
• Week 4 – Run 5 minutes, walk 2 minutes (repeat 4 times)
• Week 5 – Run 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes (repeat 3 times)
• Week 6 – Run 12 minutes, walk 1 minute (repeat 3 times)
• Week 7 – Run 15 minutes, walk 1 minute, run 15 minutes
• Week 8 – Run 30 minutes – no walks

Moving on… Strength
The most demanding of all sports, running requires that your set down and lift up your entire body with every step. Add gravity to this equation and it is no wonder that running is hard work. Considering that ultra-distance runners have huge thighs in proportion to the rest of their bodies (demanding work-rate, work-load, impact and weight-bearing), the further you want to run, the more strength you need. And, like a sprinter, to go fast you need to be strong. Strength advancement means speed and endurance, the domain of hill and interval training techniques.

Uphill battle
When starting with hill training, the conservative approach works. Rather start off running slower than you think you should until you can determine just how hard you can push and still complete your sets. Pick manageable gradients going steeper as you progress. Only do one intense hill session a week.

Hill program
Focus on your form before you even begin. Keep your posture upright, your back relaxed and take short strides making certain of sure foot placement. Using your arms for propulsion, lean slightly into the climb. Ready?

• For your first 3-4 weeks, start easy. Run a hillier route once or twice a week, taking it easier on the other running days.
• Progressing, run similar routes pushing it up the hills. Run hard to the top recovering on the downs and flats – hill ‘fartlek’ (speed play). For variety, look for long and short climbs. Do this for 3 weeks.

Now that you’ve build a solid foundation you can begin serious hill training. For this you’ll need a hill 700 – 800m long with a relatively gently slope. About 5 – 8 minutes away (easy running) locate a short (~200m) steep hill.

• Warm-up by running at an easy pace to your long hill (10mins). Run 3-5 repetitions of 1-3 minutes (increase the repetition duration as your strength and fitness improves) up the hill at the same speed as your hill fartlek session. Each time, check how far you get up the hill before walking back down. You should reach a similar distance at the start and finish of the session. If you’re slacking off then it means that you started out too hard. Once you’ve completed your repetitions, jog to the short hill. Do 4-6 hard runs of 20-40 seconds up this slope walking briskly back to the bottom to recover. Concentrate on your form with each repetition.
• Run easy/walk briskly for 5-10minutes at the end of your session remembering to stretch your legs.
• Variation on hill repeats: Do 6 repetitions. Run the first 2 in 45s, the next 2 reps in 30s and the final 2 reps in 15s.
• Once you’ve done this for 3-4 weeks, go back to hill fartlek.

Walking the downhills is also a beneficial exercise. With each step your muscle fibres lengthen while weight-bearing – and eccentric contraction. Regularly running and walking downhill conditions your legs making them more resistant to injury in races.

Interval training
Interval running means that between running at a comfortable pace you sprint short distances. Benefits from these speed bursts result from short intervals of 200m and less. Your heart rate is pushed up, your turnover (how fast you move your legs) improves, your stride lengthens and your leg strength increases.

Begin your interval session with 2 sets of 3 x 100m intervals, increasing the number of sets (max 5), number of intervals (max 5) and distance of intervals (max 200m) as you progress. A 45-60 second recovery time between intervals and 3-5minutes between sets allows sufficient recovery time to ensure that you maintain quality work. Focus on leg speed, stride and posture.

The intervals do not need to be run flat-out but should be run at a pace considerably faster than your normal running speed. You’ll even notice improvement in your first session. Say you run your first set of intervals in 19s, it’s likely that by the end of the second sessions you’ll have your time down by 2-3 seconds simply due to the extension of your stride, relaxation in your training and the development of a more efficient style.

Intervals need not only be run on a field/track. Incorporate intervals into your normal running route. Sprint from lamp-post to lamp-post or between driveways.

Need for speed
By training for increased speed you’ll run smoother, faster and stronger with less effort as your cardiorespiratory system becomes more efficient and your muscles become stronger. Like hill and interval training, speed training breaks you out of your comfort zone challenging your body to adapt to new physical demands.

• As with interval training, run fartlek/pick-up sessions – segments of faster-paced running. Select landmarks, driveways or lampposts, running from one landmark to another at a faster-than-normal pace. Do 6-8 pick-ups during a 5km run varying the distances of the pick-ups. Each segment should take 15 – 90 seconds.
• Instead of using landmarks, use your stopwatch. After 10minutes of normal paced running, alternate between 15s quick + 45s easy until you’ve done 5-6 fast segments.

Follow a speed work session with an easy day. One speed session per week is sufficient. Never do more than 2 speed sessions in a week.

The ultimate goal, endurance
Endurance is being able to cover a distance by sustaining aerobic activity for an extended period of time. For some people this means being able to run 5km, for others 20km. What ever your goal, there are no short cuts to being able to go from running 5km to running 30km. The secret is to build gradually – it should take 8 weeks to double your current endurance threshold.

Improving your endurance will offer the following benefits:

• Improved running times – anaerobic threshold, the point at which your running becomes uncomfortable as you become out-of-breath, determines your pace. An increase aerobic threshold results in an increase anaerobic threshold.
• Muscle strength – the longer you run, the more your heart and leg muscles are strengthened. Increases strength means you can run for longer.
• Mental strength – by forcing your muscles and mind to be out there for longer you’ll develop confidence in your ability, knowing that you can handle longer distances. Endurance running teaches you to complete tasks, useful experience for when you’re really tested.

The best way to build running endurance is to run and it doesn’t have to be fast.

• Run slowly. Running fast over greater distances results in injury, fatigue and slow recovery.
• Long runs should be run at a conversational pace giving you essential time on your feet – running with a buddy is a great pacing aid.
• A good guide is to start with a 60-minute long run building up to 90 and then 120 minutes. Add 5 minutes to each long run until you get there and don’t hesitate to take 60 second walking breaks along the way. Take a rest day after your long run.
• Commit to one long run per week. If you run 3-5km four times a week, use this as a base for your long run. At week 3 add an extra kilometre (6km), at week 4 add another kilometre (7km), at week 6 add another (8km), week 7 another kilometre (9km) and week 8 add another kilometre (10km).
• If you’re currently running 5-7km four times a week and have no problem over 10km, advance your endurance to running 20km with ease. Start your first long run at 10km adding 2km on week 2 (12km) and week 3 (14km). Drop back to 10km on week 4 pushing your distance up to 16km on week 5 and 18km on week 6. Take it an easy 10km on week 7 and finally tackle 20km on week 8.

Off-road running
While off-road surfaces are gentler on your joints, of special consideration is the varied terrain, leading to unstable foot placements and possible foot injuries. Running off-road regularly and working on your proprioception and balance will improve your stability and confidence.
Your running technique should also change according to the type of terrain. Take deliberate short, shuffling steps in thick sand and on steep uphills, take short steps leaning into the hill. To keep your body as fresh as possible vary your stride, speed and technique.

Putting it all together
I’m all for quality not quantity when it comes to running. Rather keep your sessions shorter so that you’ve got time for cross-training i.e. walking, swimming, aerobics, cycling, paddling etc. Looking at your week, try the following (I’ve selected Sunday as your long run day). And, if you can’t manage to do a speed and hill session, substitute one with a cross-training session.

• Sunday: Long run
• Monday: Rest day
• Tuesday: Recovery run – slow, paced session at a conversational pace. This session should be 20mins (minimum) – 40mins (max).
• Wednesday: Interval or speed workout and cross-training
• Thursday: Easy run and/or cross-training
• Friday: Hill training and cross-training
• Saturday: Easy cross-training

Sound advice
Our lives are busy and in between work, family and friends getting out to train is often an effort. Run smart and you’ll achieve your goals.

• Baby Steps: Whether you’re a complete beginner or are increasing your distance, build up gradually. Follow the 10% rule by not increasing your distance by more than 10% over the previous week. If you’ve been ill or haven’t been training, start again at a lower level and build up slowly.
• Talk: 60% of your running training should be done at a comfortable pace. Your pace is perfect when you can hold a conversation with your buddy without huffing and puffing.
• Goal: Check out the running calendar and set yourself a goal. It’s always easier to work towards a specific event. Road races are fun and provide an idea environment for you to measure your progress.
• Hard-Easy Rule: Alternate hard training days with easy training days. Remember to include at least one rest-day per week into your program.
• Variety: Spice up your running training with walking, intervals, treadmill, speed and hill sessions.
• Cross-training: Adding other disciplines into your program will strengthen and work different muscles – essential for injury prevention. It’s important to do activities that have less impact on the body like swimming, cycling and paddling.
• Buddy system: A training partner is a motivating force that will get you out there on those days when you’d rather be watching tv. Your training partner should be of similar fitness.
• Tick-tock: Run time, not distance. And, occasionally head out the door without your watch. Run as you feel.
• Rub-down: Massage stimulates circulation, encourages lymphatic drainage, prompts muscle repair and aids injury prevention.
• Injuries: Though taking weeks off from running is your worst nightmare come true, the break is worth the frustration. Whether it’s your knees, ankles, feet or leg muscles, the standard 6 weeks of no running will ensure you’re back on your feet as soon as possible. Don’t go from zero to hero. Remember to build up slowly again.
• Shoes: Replace your shoes regularly. Worn shoes cause injuries.
• On- and off-road: Use your running shoes for their intended purpose. Don’t use your running shoes off-road.
• Logbook: Record your training sessions in a logbook describing the type of activity, duration of the session and how you felt. It’s a great reference to observe what works and how your speed, strength and endurance have improved.
• Running Magazines: A source of information and inspiration. Their training programs and columns will keep you motivated, informed and your training interesting.

Most importantly, while you’re out there walking and running, don’t lose sight of your goals or why you’re putting in so much time and effort. Training, no matter what the discipline must be for you – your physical and psychological well-being.

Author: Lisa de Speville

Tip 1: Daylight savings
Winter mornings are cold and dark; there’s no avoiding this climatological fact. Consider getting to work earlier so that you can leave earlier to take advantage of the evening’s light and diminishing warmth. Paddling is much more pleasant in daylight, before the temperature on the water plummets with the sun.

Tip 2: Phone a friend
We all know the experience of hitting the snooze button and spending the rest of the day smothered in guilt. “I normally train alone in summer (convenience reasons mainly) but in winter it helps me to hook up with other winter affected beings and do some group training. Otherwise I wouldn’t get up in the dark!” says Capetonian Owen Middleton.

Owen is in good company.
“The only thing that gets me to do any masochistic training in the cold is if I do it for somebody else; my girlfriend, my dogs and my friends,” says Joburg adventure racer Pablo Casado. “I hate cold. If it wasn’t for those around me I would be watching DVD’s and drinking hot chocolate and rum.”

Assemble a group of motivated friends, of comparable fitness, to rouse you from slumber and encourage each person to plan running and riding training routes from their homes. Take turns playing host.

Tip 3: Join a gym
The indoor, temperature-controlled gym environment is a winter training haven. Use your weeks spent here to improve your upper body strength with resistance training and calm your karma with yoga. Substitutional elements are obvious: trade your mountain bike for a spinning bike and the cold road and trails for the treadmill. Take advantage of the stair-climber to boost your hill trekking strength.

Tip 4: Cold acclimatisation
We’ve bought the story about the benefits of high altitude training and the importance of acclimatisation for mountaineering. We also know about heat acclimatisation, where an athlete’s tolerance of exercise in hot conditions can be improved by training in heat. The same principle applies to cold acclimatisation. But I’m not only talking about physiological benefits; psychological benefits are greater. “If you don’t expose your body to cold conditions during training, to see how it reacts, you are going to suffer in a race,” says Jacqueline Brook, adventure racer personal trainer. “If you struggle in the cold, train in the cold. This way you learn how to get through it.”

Tip 5: Creature comforts
If the insides of your ears throb in the cold, wear ear warmers. If your circulation seems to halt at your wrists, wear gloves. And, if you can’t stand cold air frosting your lungs “breathe through a Buff,” advises Jeremy Green. “Your outward breath warms the fabric and the air for the next breath is then warmed as you breathe in. It takes a bit of practice to get the Buff positioned just right so it doesn’t fall down and doesn’t end up in your mouth…”

Tip 6: Enter events
There’s nothing like the circled date of an event to boost your training morale. Aside from serving as goals, races are social occasions that maintain motivation. Enter one or two events – multisport and single discipline – to keep your focus.

Winter is not a valid reason to turn into a couch-potato. As the years pass it will become more difficult to get back to where you were before, especially with multiple disciplines to keep in check. Be kind to your heart, lungs and waistline by maintaining a good physical condition year-round.

Author: Lisa de Speville | Published in Go Multi Magazine, Aug/Sept 2007

In July 2003, I took off for 6 days purely to train, spending a lot of time on my feet in preparation for events in September and October. This was a holiday where I did nothing but mtb, hike, eat and sleep – free from the distractions of normal, daily life. A luxury!

Asleep by 20h30 every night, I was up each morning to navigate routes traversing this harsh landscape – a carpet of rocks, stones and sand. July in the Northern Cape is very pleasant – even a little chilly. This is in complete contrast to the sweltering conditions in October where the mercury hits 40°C by 11am.

While I train consistently during the week and over weekends, many of my friends are purely weekend warriors, crawling out to take part in various events. Towards the end of my training week, during a long hike over rocky, uneven terrain, I started thinking about this, calculating the mileage and hours that we’d already logged over the 5-days – comparable to doing a staged 250km event. Had I not spent the past few months putting in time and effort improving my running and hiking, I definitely wouldn’t have felt as relaxed and comfortable as I did and nor would I have been able to get up each morning to start another long day out.

So, my questions are… Should putting your body through 8hrs or more of continuous activity be the product of training or the training activity itself? And, if competitors are able to put their bodies through all kinds of physical, environmental and psychological stress over the weekends, should they even bother training?

Training is essentially the preparation and conditioning of your body for more demanding situations. By running, cycling or paddling in a non-race environment, you:

• re-inforce motor coordination
• learn proper form and technique
• build and tone muscles
• improve physiological adaptations to exercise (sweating, cardiorespiratory efficiency)
• develop strength and endurance
• learn to fuel your body for activity
• gain psychological confidence, knowing that you can go the distance

Riding a bicycle, running and paddling are learnt skills. With practise, you become more efficient and conditioned, so that performing these disciplines becomes second nature – one less thing to worry about while you’re racing. Also, through training, you become fitter and consequently your performance improves and your physical boundaries are raised.

And, if you don’t train? An article in recent sports magazine dealt with loss of fitness saying, “Most runners can be completely sedentary for a week without losing fitness. After two weeks you’ll notice a change, and after three weeks of complete rest, you’ll experience a significant loss of fitness leaving you feeling ‘untrained”.

Essentially, a burst of activity over the weekend is not enough to maintain or improve fitness and over time any strength, endurance and fitness base that you may have built will progressively decline. Also, as you age, the body’s repair mechanisms lose their efficiency and tolerance of stressors is diminished.

Longer distance AR events physically stress the body through continuous activity, intense activity, cold/heat exposure, inadequate nutrition and sleep deprivation. With limited conditioning, you’re likely to be more prone to injury with slower recovery.

It is great to have 4-5 training sessions during the week, but with hectic working days and family committments, this isn’t always possible. The benefits of training are evident and while getting out over weekends for a training session is more beneficial than staying in watching tv, taking on a tough race without adequate conditioning will leave you injured and demotivated as you fail to complete events.

With AR, mountain biking, paddling and running events every weekend, we’ve all got the opportunity to race regularly.

In July 2003, I took off for 6 days purely to train, spending a lot of time on my feet in preparation for events in September and October. This was a holiday where I did nothing but mtb, hike, eat and sleep – free from the distractions of normal, daily life. A luxury!

Asleep by 20h30 every night, I was up each morning to navigate routes traversing this harsh landscape – a carpet of rocks, stones and sand. July in the Northern Cape is very pleasant – even a little chilly. This is in complete contrast to the sweltering conditions in October where the mercury hits 40°C by 11am.

While I train consistently during the week and over weekends, many of my friends are purely weekend warriors, crawling out to take part in various events. Towards the end of my training week, during a long hike over rocky, uneven terrain, I started thinking about this, calculating the mileage and hours that we’d already logged over the 5-days – comparable to doing a staged 250km event. Had I not spent the past few months putting in time and effort improving my running and hiking, I definitely wouldn’t have felt as relaxed and comfortable as I did and nor would I have been able to get up each morning to start another long day out.

So, my questions are… Should putting your body through 8hrs or more of continuous activity be the product of training or the training activity itself? And, if competitors are able to put their bodies through all kinds of physical, environmental and psychological stress over the weekends, should they even bother training?

Training is essentially the preparation and conditioning of your body for more demanding situations. By running, cycling or paddling in a non-race environment, you:

• re-inforce motor coordination
• learn proper form and technique
• build and tone muscles
• improve physiological adaptations to exercise (sweating, cardiorespiratory efficiency)
• develop strength and endurance
• learn to fuel your body for activity
• gain psychological confidence, knowing that you can go the distance

Riding a bicycle, running and paddling are learnt skills. With practise, you become more efficient and conditioned, so that performing these disciplines becomes second nature – one less thing to worry about while you’re racing. Also, through training, you become fitter and consequently your performance improves and your physical boundaries are raised.

And, if you don’t train? An article in recent sports magazine dealt with loss of fitness saying, “Most runners can be completely sedentary for a week without losing fitness. After two weeks you’ll notice a change, and after three weeks of complete rest, you’ll experience a significant loss of fitness leaving you feeling ‘untrained”.

Essentially, a burst of activity over the weekend is not enough to maintain or improve fitness and over time any strength, endurance and fitness base that you may have built will progressively decline. Also, as you age, the body’s repair mechanisms lose their efficiency and tolerance of stressors is diminished.

Longer distance AR events physically stress the body through continuous activity, intense activity, cold/heat exposure, inadequate nutrition and sleep deprivation. With limited conditioning, you’re likely to be more prone to injury with slower recovery.

It is great to have 4-5 training sessions during the week, but with hectic working days and family committments, this isn’t always possible. The benefits of training are evident and while getting out over weekends for a training session is more beneficial than staying in watching tv, taking on a tough race without adequate conditioning will leave you injured and demotivated as you fail to complete events.

Author: Lisa de Speville | Photo by Craig Dutton, Bull of Africa 2005

Being fit for an adventure race is not about being able to run a sub-3hr marathon… it’s about being able to move efficiently and rapidly over rugged terrain – and to just keep going. To be successful you need good endurance, strength, skills and the right attitude.

The four primary components of training are:

1. Mental preparation is about believing in your ability to accomplish more than what you think you can do and having the right attitude to make it happen while staying focused on your goal. Your confidence will grow as you improve your skills and overcome challenges.
2. Building your endurance should make up the bulk of your training. This is about building your cardiovascular and respiratory systems such that the body is able to efficiently deliver oxygen to the working muscles for hours of activity. It’s also about conditioning your muscles and feet to days of constant use.
3. Developing strength and power is important for both short and long events. Your preparation should incorporate weight training to increase the strength of specific muscles i.e. step-ups and lunges will improve your uphill trekking abilities. You can also increase your endurance and aerobic capacities by developing your power through high intensity (interval) training.
4. Lastly, spend time on improving your skills. The better your skills (mountain biking, trekking, paddling, ropes, navigation etc) the more comforable and confident you will feel and thus your experience of adventure racing will be a positive one.

For adventure racing there is no “one-size-fits-all” training program as each person adapts differently and at varied rates. Also, the amount of training you should do depends on your goals – do you want to win, obtain a good placing or just finish the race? Needless to say, the fitter you are, the faster you will be able to go and the better you will feel.

No matter what your objective, varying the F.I.T.T. factors will improve the results that you obtain from your training:

• Frequency – the number of training sessions you do each week. The longer the race you’ve selected, the more sessions you will need to log. Don’t forget about incorporating at least one rest day per week. Use this time to improve your skills i.e. rope work & navigation.
• Intensity – how hard you are working out. Whether you have a heart rate monitor or not, you can gauge the intensity of your workout by how you are feeling. On Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale, one equals rest, 5 equals a moderately difficult intensity and 10 corresponds to an extremely difficult rate of work. Develop an awareness of your body and learn when you can push hard or take it easy and how this affects your performance.
• Time – the duration spent in each workout. This factor depends on both your goals and your lifestyle. Always remember that quality is better than quantity. Learn to use your limited time effectively.
• Type – the kind activity. The buzz word here is cross-training. I advocate a varied diet not only to keep your training from becoming routine and boring, but to work all your muscles and improve your flexibility and range of movement. Run on trails, attend spinning classes, spend time on the super circuit, eliptical trainer, treadmill and rowing machine. Take up kayaking, sign up for yoga classes, swim, aqua jog, try kata box and step aerobics and take on the step machine.

General Training Tips

• Start slowly and concentrate on increasing the duration of your training session, maintaining a comfortable pace. Build a solid endurance base and then work on your speed.
• Train doing what you will be doing in the race. It does not help being able to run for hours on the road when you will be hiking up and down mountains over uneven terrain during the race.
• Train in unpleasant weather conditions. When you encounter heat, cold, wind and rain in a race you will know that you can handle it because you have managed in training.
• When starting a new discipline get expert help so that you don’t pickup and train with bad habits. A pro will also teach you how to be effective and efficient in your movements.
• Train with your backpack – your running style is altered and different muscles are used when you are carrying something on your back. But, don’t go from zero to hero. Increase the weight in your pack gradually.
• Strength gained from weight training is lost quickly so maintain your weight training throughout the year

Author: Lisa de Speville | Photo by Craig Dutton, Bull of Africa 2005

Many people enter the realm of adventure racing with their hearts set on spending multiple non-stop days immersed in the outdoors, crawling through jungles, trekking across deserts and paddling the length of Nile. For others, a three-hour event is an adequate dose of adventure.

Develop the disciplines   You really do need to know your stuff for each relevant discipline, especially if you plan to enter multi-day events. Mountain biking, running and paddling are the primary disciplines and you need to be comfortable and competent in all three.

Run/walk   In essence, running and trekking is the definitive training base for adventure racing. This is where battles are won. As a weight-bearing activity its benefits main benefits are cardio-respiratory fitness and foot conditioning. Just remember to carry a loaded backpack on training sessions to prepare your knees, ankles and back for the extra weight and resulting biomechanical changes. As a guide, run 3-5 times a week for no more than 6-10km per session. Remember to include regular hill and intervals sessions with a long run or hike every other weekend. And walk around barefoot at home – it strengthens and toughens your feet.

Mountain Biking   It’s inconvenient for most people to go mountain biking during the week. It is definitely ok to substitute with two road or indoor cycling sessions during the week, leaving mountain biking until the weekend. The primary benefits of actually being on your bike are confidence, stability and skill advancements.

Paddle   Inlanders paddle loops around local dams. Coastal-types play on the sea. Whatever your most accessible water source, get on it. Paddling is paddling no matter what the species (flat water, river, sea) yet fine skills acquired will be specific to the type. When you’re preparing for an event, pay attention to the specified paddling discipline and make certain that you’re competent in the required craft. If you can get out onto the water once or twice a week, do it.

Secondary Disciplines   These include rope skills, kloofing and even inline skating, ice climbing, push biking, snow-skiing. The options are endless. If they’re included in the race practise, practise and practise some more until you are competent.

Mental Strength   It’s often said that getting through an expedition race is 30% physical and 70% (or more) cerebral. Mental prowess is related to success, which is linked to training and preparation. Your mental medicine cabinet should contain:

Author: Lisa de Speville | Published in Runner’s World SA, Feb 2006