With the New Years resolutions starting to crack, get a new job, be nice to people, lose weight, drink less, exercise more. One of the resolution that I will be keeping is to take part in one of the hundreds of MTB events up and down the country. The one I’ll be doing is the Wild Boar Chase in the Forest of Dean but here are a list of some the many options around and some guidance on a top tips to make sure you are in perfect shape for the event
EVENTS
Events run up and down the country and go from the big high profile ultra off-road endurance events to the more fun, realistic xc events. These are often well organised events with clearly marked routes and various distances 30k-100k. There are really no excuses for participating whether it’s for a charity or for personal goals.
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EVENTS
Events run up and down the country and go from the big high profile ultra off-road endurance events to the more fun, realistic xc events. These are often well organised events with clearly marked routes and various distances 30k-100k. There are really no excuses for participating whether it’s for a charity or for personal goals.
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TOP TRAINING TIPS
- Book your event and know the date. Sounds obvious but once you know the date you can build a training plan backwards from that date.
- Have an objective for the event. To finish it, has always been mine but you could be more ambitions and go for a top 10, top 30 or top 100 placing. In which case based on the previous years race results you have a specific time to aim for in you training regime.
- Go for something challenging but remember although anything is possible, the limiting factor to how you perform will probably be the amount of training time you put in before the event. To get you into to perfect shape for the event you will need to put the hours in. So if you are unable to put in 20+ hours a week I would probably avoid some of the ultra – extreme events.
- Draw up a plan. A week by week training schedule working from about 10 weeks away from the event, mapped out by days and activity. This should be enough time to get you to your event in the right shape. Go for a variety of strength and interval training both indoors and outdoors. There are many training plans on the internet. I have used the British Heart Foundation versions in the past and they have worked for me. See link- https://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/events/training-zone . Ideally you should have completed at least 66% of your events target distance before your event.
- Think about your diet, the advantage of doing more exercise is you can eat and drink more though it may be worth looking at a plan to ensure you get the right balance of proteins to repair your damaged groaning and growing muscles. It is also worth testing out different energy gels or energy bars so that when it comes to race day you know what works and what to avoid.
6. Once you have your plan stick to it. There are no short cuts, if you complete the training schedule and monitor your times you should be in the right shape for the event.
7. Check your bike and make sure that any items you update or need attentions, chain, disc pads, tyres are updated and ridden on before the event a couple of times. That last things you want to do is do an event with new disc pads to find that they are rubbing all the way round the course draining extra energy
8. Race day, get there early to get your bearings. Have a look around, take in the atmosphere and enjoy the day knowing that you’re ready!
9. Safety gear. You probably will not be allowed to race without a descent helmet but also remember to wear some protective glasses to keep the mud out your eyes. I would recommend...
10. Get your finishers medal take a selfie and enter another event. Good Luck!
7. Check your bike and make sure that any items you update or need attentions, chain, disc pads, tyres are updated and ridden on before the event a couple of times. That last things you want to do is do an event with new disc pads to find that they are rubbing all the way round the course draining extra energy
8. Race day, get there early to get your bearings. Have a look around, take in the atmosphere and enjoy the day knowing that you’re ready!
9. Safety gear. You probably will not be allowed to race without a descent helmet but also remember to wear some protective glasses to keep the mud out your eyes. I would recommend...
10. Get your finishers medal take a selfie and enter another event. Good Luck!
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