AR Tips For PQ Success from Robyn Benincasa – Adventure Racing 101 (pt.1)
Posted on 01/19/09 9:09 AM| by Kraig
Robyn Benincasa, captain of Team Merrell Zanfel, returns with still more tips for Primal Quest success. In her first articles we took a look at her thoughts on Teamwork and Navigation, and this time out we take a look at her thoughts on the sport as a whole with Part 1 of a two part series called “Adventure Racing 101″.
Adventure Racing 101
“You Know You Wanna Try It….
Ok, you know darn well you’ve been wanting to try “that crazy Adventure Racing stuff” for a while now. And this is your quit-being-afraid-and-get-out-there official quick start guide! One word of advice before we start. Run! NOW! Before it’s too late! Adventure Racing is the most addictive sport you will ever try, and once you get sucked in, there’s no going back. So you may as well sell your aero bars, completely clear out your garage to make space for scads of new gear, cut back on your hours at work, give away your tangerine speedo, invest in some duct tape, and call all your closest pals-’cause you’re about to enter a world where anything and everything is possible, your course is often limited only by your imagination, and you will learn way more than you ever wanted to know about yourself and your teammates, for better and for worse. And you may never want to come back. Still in? Do I hear a “heck yeah!”? Ok, let’s do it. But when you find yourself eventually standing at the start of the Primal Quest or the Raid Gauloises questioning your sanity, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Here’s an overview of the sports involved, a brief training plan for each, and some handy tips that we old timers had to learn the hard way….
Hiking/Running/Scrambling:
Many of your races will start out with a run that turns into a hike or scramble, so you’d better be ready on all counts. Hiking and running muscles are very different, so you need to train both, and practicing scrambling (on as many different types of terrain as you can find, including wet, slippery stuff) is the key to gaining that competitive advantage on the roadies.
Training:
*For a race of 12 hours or less, you should follow a ½ marathon training plan, but do most of your runs on trails, if possible.
*For a race of more than 12 hours, you should follow a full marathon training plan and use the same guidelines
*Start doing hill repeats (ie. 4-6 sets of 80% effort on a hill that takes 3-4 minutes to run) and interval training (2-3-4-5 minutes “on” with an equal amount of rest in the “off” phase) twice per week in the final month of training leading up to the race.
Tips:
*Race and train in trail running shoes versus regular road running shoes. Better grip, more stability, fewer stone bruises, and fewer blisters.
* Practice running/hiking with a 10-15lb pack several times before your race, both for the strength benefits and the knowledge of your equipment (ie, how are you going to get to your water? Food? Where is the most efficient place to store required gear for easy access? Does the pack grate you like cheese on your neck, back, arms?)
*Wear thin cool max socks to prevent blisters. Two pairs if it’s cold. Wigwam Ultimax (or some type of polypro socks) are a great call.
*Take all of the calluses off of your feet before a race. Make them baby soft. Calluses actually cause deep blisters. Very painful.
*Wear short gaitors to keep “crap” out of your shoes
Paddling
Becoming a good paddler is the fastest way to gain a competitive advantage in adventure racing, since it’s the weak link for most of the teams that cross over from triathlon. It’s very very easy to gain a 10-15 minute lead in an average 2 hour paddle if you’re good-a feat that’s almost impossible to accomplish on mountain biking and running legs. Paddling sections can be anything from a nice flatwater cruise on a lake to class 4 whitewater and 6 foot ocean swells, so get out there and practice in as many situations as you can find. Just remember to always take a buddy with you and stay within sight of one another.
Training:
*Start by contacting a good local paddler and learning stroke technique and water safety (especially how to get your booty out of and back into the dang boat when your world turns upside down). A good rule of thumb for stroke technique, at least initially, is to paddle with your arms locked completely straight throughout the entire stroke. This forces you to use your torso and midsection for power (via the back and forth twisting and untwisting of your body, much like a washing machine rotor) versus relying on your manly arms (which will be limp, lifeless, and useless to even a little girl within 30 minutes)
*Paddle with a group whenever possible. The best case scenario would be to find a local k-1 training club (flatwater olympic kayaks) or ocean racing team. In California, this isn’t too difficult!
*Join an outrigger canoe club to supplement your kayaking and help with your strength
*Do at least one “long” paddle (1 ½+ hours) and one session of interval training per week, similar to the intervals you’ d do for running
Tips:
*Always focus on technique versus turnover (number of strokes per minute) for increased speed. Similar to swimming, the better your technique, the fewer number of strokes you have to take to get across the pool/lake, and that efficiency pays huge benefits over the long haul
*It’s very difficult to eat while paddling, so rig y our camelback straw to a wire coat hanger that you can adjust to sit just below your lips for hands-free refueling. Fill your bladder with CarboPro (my favorite way to add 500-1000 tasteless calories to my water-sportquestdirect.com) and your electolyte drink of choice, and you will never have to stop paddling
*Practice paddling/steering without a rudder on your boat. Many races will supply boats that have no rudder, and you will gain a huge advantage with your ability to steer through the other teams who are going in frustrated zig zags and circles
*Put a pad on your seat (duct tape it down) if you have access to your boats before the race. You’ll be higher (more power if you can handle to slight increase in tippiness) and your butt will thank you
*If you’re at the point where you are considering buying a training boat, think about a surfski. Great for flatwater and ocean paddling, and they’re generally easy to transport and carry solo. They’re also tippy enough to ensure your technique is correct, but stable enough so you don’t have to spend the entire day trying to keep the rudder side down
Navigation
80-90% of the races you will enter will have some kind of navigation or orienteering component. It’s a bit intimidating at first, but once you start learning and have some successes, this is an aspect of the race that you will truly learn to love. And learning the basics is not all that hard. If I can (sorta) do it, anyone can. Good navigating provides an incredible competitive advantage, and most experienced racers will admit that strategy, team tactics and navigation are a far bigger factor in their team’s success than speed. That’s why it’s no surprise that athletes in their mid-forties are still winning the big events! Old age, treachery and good navigation will overcome youth and skill any day. So get out there with your map and compass and become the MVP on your team.
Training:
*First, buy a local topographical map and a beginning navigation book, and get the basics
*Next, attend a course or a camp with someone who is into “speed” navigation. Local orienteering clubs are a great source as are adventure racing camps and clinics.
*Join a local orieneering club and start doing competitions -try to do your first few with someone experienced, if possible, and watch their technique. Part of the efficiency of navigation revolves around where you keep your map/compass, how you hold and remember your location on the map, and how you access all of the information you need to get to the next checkpoint. The end goal here is to not only learn to navigate, but to navigate on the move
Tips:
*Buy several local topographical maps of your local area and take them with you everywhere you go. You can learn a lot just by being a passenger in a car and practicing terrain association with the map while driving around. You should also do occasional runs with your map and see if you can identify the terrain features as you go
*Find a way to have easy access to your maps during all events. For hiking, get a map holder that hangs around your neck. For paddling, find a waterproof map case that you can secure directly in front of you and a marine-type compass that sticks to hull of the boat. For mountain biking, create a map platform that’s positioned across your handlebars.
*Make sure that your teammates have at least a rudimentary knowledge of navigation so that they can back your up or cover for you. The best case scenario is to have at least two capable navigators on every team
*If you can find out the “scale” of the maps for your race course in advance (most will be 1:7,500 or 1:24,000), practice with maps of similar scale to get a feel for how far apart or close things really are
That’s all for Part 1, join us next week for Part 2 with even more great tips for Primal Quest success from Robyn Benincasa.
