How To Get Started In Adventure Racing In any adventure there are going to be things that will be unknown, and obstacles that you never planned for. Fear is the only thing that can keep you from starting your first adventure race. Beyond that you will need to prepare your body with training, learn the skills for each discipline, and get the right gear.

	Training Plan		Skills
	Ask the Expert		Gear

"I can accept failure - everyone fails at something - but I can't accept not trying." Michael Jordan

The general concept of training is to start small, and gradually add over time, increasing distance, speed or strength. No matter how big your goal is, even if you dream of competing in the Eco-Challenge, we must start small. Make goals that are smaller steps leading up to the level you want. For instance, if you want to begin running, make your first goal to run a mile. Once you achieve that, you adjust your goal to two miles. When you make two, your goal changes to three, and so on.

There ae three core disciplines involved in adventure racing. They are trekking or running, mountain biking, and paddling. It might seem overwhelming to try to learn and train for all three of these at once. If so, start with one and build that up to the level you want. Then while maintaining that level, add the second one. When you have two disciplines up the level you want, add the third. When you are stating out, keep the pace at a moderate level. We will work on speed later, AFTER you have done your first race. In the begining, your goal is to learn the discipline correctly with proper technique, then to teach the body the distance it needs to cover performing that discipline. The first step is to finish your first adventure race. You will learn so much there that will help you become more competitive in your next race.

Start out slow, building up volume first. This gives you the ability to perform the discipline. Then work on intensity. Once you have the volume to where you need it, increase the speed that you can perform that volume at. The goal is to peak the volume and intensity right before the race.

In recognizing that most beginners will start with a sprint race, then graduate to a larger race, I am including some typical numbers here for sprint races. Remember though, that true to the spirit of adventure, race directors make their courses according to the terrain in the locality. The distances at different races can vary. Sprint race can last from 3 to 6 hours. The total distance that could be covered will range from 20 to 30 miles. Break this down in the sports, and you could see mountain biking ranging from 10 to 15 miles, running from 4 to 10 miles, and paddling from 2 to 5 miles.

Be cautious when starting any training program, and consult your physician.

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Training Plan

Now that you have introduced your body to the sport, and taught it the skills using proper techniques, it is time to work with training durations and intensities. More than half of your training plan should be dedicated to building volume. The next quarter should be where you build the speed and intensity of that volume to a peak. In the last quarter you add specifics of the race, then begin to taper, and then you race.

Every training plan should include recovery. Recovering from training is where the gains are made. There are two phases of recovery to put into your training plan. First is the day-to-day recovery. If you happen to start your training with mountain biking, alternate days between easy and hard.

If you are at a point where you can train for all three sports the plan alternates sports so that rrecovery for one might be during training for another.

Even with the multi-sport plan, try to keep hard workouts apart from each other.

The second phase of recovering to consider is the week-to-week recovery. Design your plan in cycles where you build for two weeks, then ease off and recover for a week. Then repeat this cycle through out your plan. Some training programs recommend to give yourself 8 to 10 weeks to prepare for a 5k or a 10k running race. In adventure racing, since we are dealing with at least three primary sports, trekking, cycling, and paddling, I suggest that you give yourself at least 16 weeks of training before you race.

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