Endurance For Dog And Handler!

[mememouse]

Hello,

I'm thinking of entering my border collie and me in an endurance trial. I ran a half marathon a couple of years ago and am up for the challenge to get me and the dog ready or ET. Does anyone have any training advice? Do people run or cycle normally for an ET?

Thanks

[Frooze]

Hey mememouse,

I ran with my dog in ET a couple of yrs back. Sure beats cycling! 99% of people cycle from what I have heard/seen. You will be the first, up front in line if you run, right behind the pace maker which is an added bonus.

I started training 6 months in advance of the run, more for my own sake than the dogs. We worked up to 15 km runs (remember you do get 15-20 min breaks between the legs) by doing 1 x 8km run break then 1 x 7km and so on. I found it much more difficult to run then break then run then break rather than do the whole 20kms at once. So make sure you practise intervals. The speed is slow (10km/hr), very comfortable jog. Make sure you take a timer with you so that you can measure your speed around a track to memorise what 10km/hr feels like (we jogged around 3km lake timing it). I could go on forever about training patterns/routines here but won't, the main thing to watch out for in your routine is to not get you or the dog injured. This means a good pilates and stretching plans for you and the dog, good diet and more rest days as training runs get longer etc. And definitely limiting the amount of running you do on hard surfaces like concrete to preferably 0%, this is where most injuries to dogs (pad injuries/stress and joint injuries) and handlers will happen (but I'm sure you already know a lot of this, having done marathons!).

Hope this helps.

:)

[mememouse]

Hi Frooze,

Thanks for the very comprehensive reply. Interesting about the interval training. I do find it easier to keep going and not stop to avoid the lactic acid dump into muscles and losing rhythm. So will have to train on intervals.

Looks like we won't be able to do ET this year as she's not 2 until August and the last ET (in Vic) is in July. I asked if they'd let us do it and they said no. Will have to keep an eye out incase they run one in August- otherwise it will be next years goal!

Great to hear from a fellow runner, congrats on your achievement and thanks for advice

Em

[Chequeredblackdog]

I haven't done an ET (would like too but I am WAAAYY not fit enough ) but there is an ET thread which you might find interesting.....

[Working Dog Lover]

We run with our dogs but don't do ET's, instead we enter fun runs with them. We're doing another half marathon with them towards the end of this month and a 10k trail run not long after that. Frooze's advice is good.

These are some notes from a seminar by Robert Gillette, a sports vet in the US.

* Endurance dogs, or breeds that are more aerobic will benefit from a higher fat % in the base diet -26+ fat %; 27+ protein; and ~40 % CHO

* There have been preliminary studies that suggest that a diet with a higher fat % may reduce the increase in body temperature associated with work.

* He recommends glucose within the half hour prior to exercise, then glucose and water during endurance exercise, followed by a protein/carb meal within the hour after exercise. We give our dogs gummy bears or similar during long runs, when we take a gel.

[Frooze]

Hey Em,

That's no problem at all. Keep the flag flying high for all the runners with dogs out there! ET was one of the most satisfying things I could've done with my dog, so definitely aim for a trial next yr.

One other thing I forgot to mention was that I trained my dog to comfortably run next to me on loose lead whilst sandwiched between bikes and dogs, so all I had to do on event day was concentrate on my running, and not the dogs lol

Best wishes and best of luck with your training :)