April 2010
Training Programme for Comrades 2010
WESTERN PROVINCE PROGRAMME
Where are we now? “Apart
from being only 59 days to go for Comrades 2010 we need to
urgently have a look at where we stand in respect to the programme we
started out on. It should look something like this:
That
is looking very good in my book. Already you have qualified and
got at least one standard marathon and one ultra marathon in the book.
Will we make the total km we were aiming for of about 1400km Jan – May?
Without giving away too much you will be right on target if you
carry on at the same rate of about 290km /month. I would like to
congratulate every one of you for sticking to the programme knowing
that almost everyone of you has had minor interruptions or set
backs. That Comrades medal is no longer just a dream, it is close
to reality and you can afford to say that because you have showed all
of us that you are dedicated and now very capable. Peeping
into the future we would like to know if we will make the other target
we set at the start in January: namely two standards and three ultras.
We will be running Oceans 56km in April and 4 Hills for Lindsay
56km in May to give you three ultras and one standard. We will be
fitting in a club training run of 42km at least in April two
weeks after Oceans to complete the picture. Of
course the big hurdle this month is the Two Oceans on April 3rd.
For all of us on this programme we are running Two Oceans
primarily as a build up run for Comrades. The local intensity of
support and publicity makes it difficult to downplay this epic
race. If you are serious about Comrades though it must be treated
as a controlled disciplined run at a level that after a brief recovery
you will be continuing on the long hard training period that ends only
on May 2nd. This is a good opportunity to show you are a
disciplined runner. Those are the most successful runners.
You need to be very disciplined on the big day in May and not
yield to the local excitement and euphoria. Many a Comrades has
been ruined early on in the race by being carried away with all the
excitement. Same thing can happens at Oceans. You need a
plan and then show the discipline to stick to it. The target for
Two Oceans is to finish within 6 hours. If you reach that goal
you can be fairly certain that you will get a bronze sub 11 hour
Comrades. With that in mind you have to have a plan which is the
Pacing Chart attached. Two Oceans Pacing Chart.
Overall
Two Oceans is not a difficult race provided you are running within your
current capabilities as dictated by your training and races this far
this year. It is important to take advantage of the easy parts of
the course which far outweigh the difficult parts. The first 21 km to Fish Hoek circle is probably the easiest half marathon you will ever run. Being fresh you should cruise along without pushing the pace at all. For local runners and up country runners as well, who have an altitude advantage, to the top of Chapmans Peak is not demanding. It is advisable to go carefully down hill to Hout Bay, where you can do a lot of damage by trying to pick up too much speed. The climb up Constantia Nek is very hard and it gets steeper as you go up. You must consolidate up here by short walks if necessary. Over the top and down to the robots at Union Ave is difficult with the camber of the road but it can be a time to get back on schedule if you have paced yourself wisely so far. The last 4kms are a hard slog being tired and hot but by that time you should be heading to a comfortable sub-6 hour and a prestigious bronze. The
days following Two Oceans must be used carefully to rest and recover
from the 56km ultra. It will have been the longest run so far
this year. I am allocating three days rest and only starting off
again on the road to Comrades with short runs for a couple of days. The
rest of April will be taken up by preparing for another ultra on the 4
Hills for Lindsay on Sunday May 2nd. This final long run puts you
under no pressure at all being just a well seconded run with stops and
walks to build up your endurance with time on your feet. Two
weeks is adequate recovery for the way you ran Two Oceans and I have
included another 42km club run on Saturday 17th April. This
is a change to the Menu 1 and 2 that was printed in the January 2010
website article because a marathon or 52km was scheduled for April 24th
which is too close to the 56km 4 Hills for Lindsay run on the following
weekend. Here is your training programme for April 2010. Objective. To complete the Two Oceans 56 km ultra marathon in less than 6 hours and complete a 42 km training run two weeks later.
Total km for April 2010 = 360km (equivalent to 288km for a 4 week month) Notes. April 3rd 2010 - Two Oceans 56km ultra - Cape Town. May 2nd 2010 - 4 Hills for Lindsay 56km - FHAC. Thought for the month: "I have got through the hard training period so now everything is possible” Click here to see the 2009 Finish stats - medals per seeding group Don Oliver Cape Town March 2010. External links: Official Comrades Marathon website |
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Copyright Don Oliver 2010