The Great Canadian Death Race

Somehow or other I have been convinced to get involved in the Great Canadian Death Race. If you have never heard of this grueling treck, you should check out their site. The DR's skull logo concerns me more than a little. More so, the description of the race from the site, which goes as follows:

For nearly a decade, elite racers have come here to cheat Death in one of the world's toughest adventure races. The 125 km course begins and ends on a 4200 foot plateau, passes over three mountain summits and includes 17,000 feet of elevation change and a major river crossing at the spectacular Hell's Gate canyon at the confluence of the Smoky and Sulphur Rivers. During the August long weekend each year, extreme athletes, individually and in relays, push themselves to the limits of their endurance against the breathtaking background of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Each year, well-trained and totally committed, they battle heat, cold, altitude and themselves. There are no big cash prizes for winning: finishing is hard enough. And the bragging rights are priceless

There are some individuals with questionable sanity who chose to run the entire 125 km race. Although many have questioned my mental constitution, I'm not sufficiently mad to think that I can run up and down mountains over rivers in both daytime and nite for 125 km while still training BJJ 4 or 5 times a week. So, I've agreed to do one leg - a mere 20 odd km up a mountain. No problem!?

I do not profess to be a runner, never mind an "elite" one. I do not particularly enjoy pounding the pavement for mile after mile and I confess that I'm more than a little concerned that training for the DR will effect my BJJ. Until recently my training outside of the dojo consisted of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and heavy olympic lifts. Like Valerie over at Prancing and Sucking I periodically cycle Crossfit type workouts into my schedule. It seems to me that Long Slow Distance (LSD) training is at odds with the demands of BJJ. By contrast, BJJ involves shorter periods of high intensity work followed by rest intervals. After several years of training both inside and outside the dojo/gym I can roll comfortably for considerable periods. Certainly, some of this 'wind' is a condition of technical efficiency, but at the same time, my body has adjusted to the demands placed on it by BJJ. I'm curious to see what happens to my BJJ endurance as I become more seriously immersed in training for the Death Race. I am anxious to hear from anybody out there who has experience training for marathons or adventure racing while doing BJJ.  

So, if I'm not particularly fond of running, why did I sign on for this? For a number of reasons. First, peer pressure. Many of my good friends are running and we are planning on having a great time at and after the race. Second, it's a challenge. The Death/Life Race provides me with yet another opportunity to push the limits of my self and get insight into my being. Third, the race is not a road race. It is a cross country jaunt across rivers and mountains...which sounded fun at the time?! Now I just have to get training?!