how to get in shape for hare scrambles

[suzuki2stroker]

how do you get in shape for a 3hr hare scramble? i rode one on the weekend and it was a killer, i was exhausted within an hour. a 20min moto is nuthin compared to a 3hour scramble.

how does everyone last that long while riding hard?

[Ray_B.]

Bicycle run and bicycle in your training time.. it works for me.

[bg10459]

Bicycle run and bicycle in your training time.. it works for me.

Yep. I'm fat, getting old, pretty out of shape, drink lots of beer, etc., but I've got good endurance from riding mountain bikes for 15 years or so. I don't really get tired when I ride and even after a 2-3 hour hare scramble I wasn't totally shot. I was definitely a little tired, but nothing like after a 2-3 hour mtn bike ride.

[layoutD]

get on a treadmill and set it for alpine course, set it for 2 hours. Then have two buddys grab a handfull of switches and briars and have them start hitting you with them. maybe that is enduro training, either way, it should work

[10yeareer]

Training is a big part of it and any cardiovascular training will help. However, there are also some skills that will help.

One skill is learning to maintain your heart rate at its maximum level that you can maintain for three hours. An example is going up a difficult hill climb. To make the hill you heart rate elevates. You need to get your heart rate back down to that maximum sustainable level as soon as possible even if it means doing the next section slower than what you are able to do.

Another skill is riding smooth and limiting wasted movement. Last year Barry Hawk was at local race. My wife was watching the race at a technical down hill section. She said what really stood out between Barry and the rest of the riders were how smooth he was. She said that there were no wasted movements and Barry made it look effortless.

[080]

I just finished a 4hr desert hare scramble and what worked for me was just time on the bike. You can bicycle, run, or whatever and that is important but you just can't substitute time on the bike. Go ride for 2-3 hours without stopping at your race pace and fill in the days you can't ride with running or biking and you'll be amazed at how much longer you can push yourself come race day. Just remember, the pro's ride every day and hit the gym every day. Us weekenders need to be a little more realistic with work, family, etc.. Good luck.

[STILL_KICKIN]

get on a treadmill and set it for alpine course, set it for 2 hours. Then have two buddys grab a handfull of switches and briars and have them start hitting you with them. maybe that is enduro training, either way, it should work

??

Now that had me rolling my friend! I needed a good laugh.

[Michael Lueders]

get on a treadmill and set it for alpine course, set it for 2 hours. Then have two buddys grab a handfull of switches and briars and have them start hitting you with them. maybe that is enduro training, either way, it should work

Only if they keep throwing rocks, ruts, logs and deep water on the treadmill while hitting you with sticks and rocks!

[glennb]

get on a treadmill and set it for alpine course, set it for 2 hours. Then have two buddys grab a handfull of switches and briars and have them start hitting you with them. maybe that is enduro training, either way, it should work

Perfect! Also put the treadmill in the shower, on cold, full blast and scotch tape over your googles for the fog effect.

One thing I do while on the treadmill when cooling down, I get three pound or five pound weights and hold my arms straight out and move my wrists up and down pumping those forearms. I also take the weights and do various arm exercises while endurance walking. I just hope no one ever sees me through the windows. Probably looks pretty funny. Not laugh funny ha ha, but queer funny.

[NKTM]

Elliptical trainers are good, too. I hate running, it kills my knees. But the elliptical gives me a good leg and cardio workout without the pounding.

[642MX]

Elliptical trainers are good, too. I hate running, it kills my knees. But the elliptical gives me a good leg and cardio workout without the pounding.

I second the ellipticals. They are great for those of us with bad knees.

[mkporn]

Mountain biking.... Climbing is the critical item. You want to build stamina and reduce your recovery time. (time it takes to go from highest heart rate to a more normal active rate) by reducing recovery you will be able to go longer and with a higher heart rate and not slow off pace as much, people call this "catching thier breath" (the recovery time).

You want to vary your training, little running (sprints are great to get the heart rate up) then keep the heart rate up. Biking and a bit of lifting....Lifting is tricky, cause you don't want to really bulk up, rather you want to lift 60-80% of your max with high reps and 3 sets. (I have been told that the benefit you get really comes around the 3 set when you are starting to run out of gas). Again, while lifting, keep your rest to a minimum, you want to work on stamina and reducing recovery time, The monkey in the gym that is pressing 350lb twice and is resting 2-3 minutes between sets is getting nothing but bulk and causing himself to have problems wiping his own ass......

One other thing that I never seem to hear people mention is the fact that you need to eat during your race, I am not talking a bunck of crap or a huge sandwich, but instead there are many gels out there and suppliments to help. This will keep you going better in the long run and keep you from bonking 3/4 of the way thru the race. Keep up on the fluids and not just at the race, this s something you need to make part of your daily life, and yes, you can over hydrate during an event.

Remember that you get out what you put in and to vary the training, the body gets use to things like time of day, the routine and the extent you push...

Now that said, everyone is going to tell you something different, just figure out what works cause what is really the difficult thing is to follow thru and getting over that brick wall that you will run smack into 2-3 weeks after you start pushing..

Good luck.

[Vampireracing]

One other thing that I never seem to hear people mention is the fact that you need to eat during your race, I am not talking a bunck of crap or a huge sandwich, but instead there are many gels out there and suppliments to help. This will keep you going better in the long run and keep you from bonking 3/4 of the way thru the race. Keep up on the fluids and not just at the race, this s something you need to make part of your daily life, and yes, you can over hydrate during an event.

You got that right. I've always told people to wear a camel pak and carry a power bar of some sort. I keep a power bar right beside the extra goggles and gloves in the pits. I chomp a big bite off and chew while refueling. Sometimes I get such a big bite I end up chewing for the whole next lap.

[DRZ400Squid]

Nutrition is huge!!!! And I could go on at length, but I won't, cuz it's pretty common sense and frequently covered. The same goes for hydration. But I will say, start early, eat well and hydrate for a few days before a race.

If you really want to be an athlete, which you have to be to race off road, your diet really needs to be an all the time kind of thing and so does your training.

If you want to push yourself to your physical limit every other Sunday then you need to do it every other day at least.

Cycling is great for this mostly because it's easy to put in a 2-3 hour ride and really build your endurance. I ride in Seattle so it's not hard to find a route with lots of hills, otherwise I try to put in a good 5-10 minute sprint every 20-30 minutes or whenever I feel like it. Constant output with short bursts of all out fury is the best way to build endurance.

Running is very good for core strength and short term, high stress, endurance, but it won't do much for the long haul. And I absoluetly do not recommend running for more than 30 minutes on a daily basis(that's 3-5 miles depending on speed). That's about when your fuel needs start to overwhelm your body's ability to metabolize it and cells start feeding off of one another and decreasing muscle mass. I digress, but I ran 20 miles a week for 4 years and weighed about 155 (at 6'1", that's pretty small).

All that said running a few days a week is certainly a good thing.

[BryanK]

Don't crash. Crashes kill you by zapping your strength and throwing off your rhythm. Lots of energy required to get up, pick up the bike, get it started again and recover from hitting the ground. It is very difficult to make up the time lost. I found its better to ride slightly slower and within your limits and not crash, than it is to ride faster, on the edge and crash a couple of times.

I have tested this myself. On my practice track, at a good maintainable speed, I was riding an average of 27km/hr. At full out crazy speed, I thought I was going much faster but was averaging only 30km/hr. So I discovered my safe riding speed was 90% my full out speed. So, over 2 hours this would work out to about 13 minutes slower at 90% speed. It would be impossible for me to keep that fast pace up over the entire race anyway. It's not that hard to loose 13 minutes in a couple of crashes by the time you get everything straightened out and back on your pace.

The idea is to make your 90% speed faster by getting stronger and better, not by racing out of control. My strategy has been to try and get faster as the race goes on and other riders start getting tired and start making mistakes. Don't burn yourself out in the first 30 minutes. You may have heard it before, "Slow down to speed up"

[JRAMBO]

I say RIDE RIDE RIDE and don't stop for breaks.Find some one a little faster than you tell them to keep you going at a good pace I think that is the best way too get ready for long races.

[YZ426F Rider]

Aside from all the training...you have to pace yourself. You can't ride a HS like a motocross race. Take your time, ride YOUR race. Ride hard, but ride easy...does that make sense? In the second hour you will find yourself passing lots of dudes. THINK SMOOTH.

[XCRIDER21]

My biggest problem is going way to fast at the beginning of a race because the adrenaline and the want to be in the lead right at the beginning. I end up crashing a lot! Thats good advice you guys have about slowing down and staying on the bike. Thats definately one of my goals this year.

[gdbarr1976]

Triathlons

[lovemy450]

? Seat time, seat time, seat time.??

Don't waste your time doing anything else but ride your motorcycle during the season. It has to do with "sport specifics". The more you ride your motorcycle the better you will get at riding it. It is that simple.

The more time you spend bicycling, running, or lifting weights is more time you are taking away from your riding.

Those other sports are for when you CAN'T ride your bike or when you need to "supplement" your routine. The winter months are best for this, but during the season stick with riding your motorcycle. Cross-training has it's time and place, but don't sacrific your "primary sport".

Why would you spend 3 hours on a bicycle when you could spend 3 hours on your motorcycle? Which do you think will make you a better motorcyclist? I'll give you a hint, it isn't the bicycle.