Training
Preparation is everything…
Whether you’re still undecided about signing up for City to Summit or if you’re already raring to go, the Rat Race team are looking forward to joining you in every step of your endurance journey.
We recognise that you could be a total newcomer, an elite athlete or anywhere in-between, but the common biggest factor in achieving your event aspirations is your preparation. It doesn’t matter to us if you’re hoping to “just get to the finish” or smash your PB, we’re going to help you in every way we can.
As we approach the event, we’ll regularly update this site with specific advice to keep you on top of your preparation. Entrants will receive scheduled emails linking to training plans and skills coaching, plus recommendations on strategy, kit, even the basic event-admin. Irrespective of your current capability, or availability, we’ll have plenty to help you achieve a performance to be proud of.
But that’s all to come. For now, you can start as you mean to go on with some basic recommendations from our endurance specialists.
“Eating an elephant”
The idea of months of preparation is too much for most of us to stomach in one go, but if you break it up into manageable pieces from the start, you’ll be surprised how much you can achieve.
Think ahead to the Finish Line, then work backwards, to consider the following:
What you want to achieve on Race Day, which should suggest…
what you need to do between now and then, and hence…
what you should do today, this week, this month, etc
For example:
“I want…
…to swim, bike, hike and run from Edinburgh to Ben Nevis in one go in June 2013”.
“I need…
…to be able to sustain a level of activity for many hours at a time.
…to be practised at switching between activities without a break.
…to sort my bike/wetsuit out (or buy a new one).
…to get fitter/lose some weight.”
“Today I should…
…enter the event, and dig out that wetsuit.”
“This week I should…
…go for run, a ride, or an open swim, to see where I’m at.
…consider where I most need to improve.
…review my lifestyle in terms of work, family, socialising, exercise, food, drink, rest.”
“This month I should…
…set aside specific dates and times in the diary for training sessions.
…get into some good exercise/diet/rest habits, and break some bad ones.
…enter some smaller, but similar events to benchmark my progress.”
As you progress, your targets will evolve. We’ve all got other stuff to do, so be ready to reviewing whether your Event Goal remains realistic, or needs a tweak. We’ll be back at regular intervals to keep you on track.
You can check out some of our other events to see if they could form part of your plan (maybe you fancy aiming for a two-day Coast to Coast epic in the Scottish Highlands in September?), and if you have specific training questions that you’d like us to help you with, please let us know, on our facebook page, or by email at info@ratrace.com.
