Goals and Expectations
You may think that you're racing for the same reason, but I challenge you to ask your teammate/spouse for their goals and expectations. You may be surprised to find that your wife wants to go for a podium finish, for example, or that your husband is just looking to have a good adventure.
Whatever your goals are, be sure to align your expectations before and throughout the race. Talk about it when you are training and remind each other during stressful race situations.
Finding Your Alone Time
Part of training and racing has to do with getting away from your normal schedule and activities. Putting on your MP3 player and hitting the trails might be the therapy you need from a hard day at the office.
More: Today's Adventure Racing Is Not An Extreme Sport
Or you may want to get a ride in with your colleagues at work. In either case, racing and training with your spouse does not mean you have to spend 100 percent of your time together. The advantage of doing activities with your spouse is sharing a love of sports, spending quality time together doing what you enjoy and creating a family lifestyle that includes fitness and sports—so don't feel bad if you two want to step away for a training session here or there.
Getting Started
Sharing a family adventure together, when done right, can be a great way to spend a weekend with your spouse, but make sure to take these steps:
- Train together and get to know each other on the trails.
- Treat each other like teammates when training and racing.
- Start with the shorter event.
- Talk about what is working and not working in your team. And if you're doing things right, you should be enjoying this added time together.
More: Adventure Racing 101: A Quick-Start Guide
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