February 2010
Training Programme for Comrades 2010
WESTERN PROVINCE PROGRAMME
Where are we now? If I tell you it is only 118 days to go you will be saying still plenty of time left. Not true. February will be your second month of the dedicated training for Comrades 2010 and any long term plan is only as good as the foundations it is built on. I think January showed us how hard the training is likely to be. February is not so much an increase in the training load as a shift of emphasis to preparing and achieving an important target. The importance of qualifying in the Peninsula marathon is twofold: one is to qualify for Comrades and the second is to easily achieve a reasonable time and finish comfortably. I have always been realistic about setting goals in Comrades and over above anything else on the day you must qualify by running under 5hours for a 42km standard. If on the day you have unexpected difficulties, just aim to finish under 5 hours and abandon any hopes of a good seeding. However because you are taking part in a carefully prepared training programme you can expect to have a very good run. This successful first big test can set you up for a new confidence for Comrades. I recommend you take this race fairly seriously because the flip side of the coin is that if you have a bad run over 42km you will be thinking what will you be feeling like after 56km at Oceans or even worse, 89kms in Comrades. If
you have been doing the training from September 2009 and more recently
the January 2010 programme, you can line up feeling that you are
entitled to be there. I can assure you that a lot of local
runners will not be well prepared like yourselves. Generally all
our members who have been following this programme had a very good run
at the 30km Bay to Bay. The sceptics say that the weather was
kind. I say you run so well because you train so well! Here is the pacing Chart.The need to prepare thoroughly in the 3 weeks leading up to the BDO Peninsula Marathon on February 21st is the main job in February. You have run nicely up to now and have done a 30km race followed two weeks later by a 36km race both over tough courses and you can first of all expect no troubles handling the new Peninsula marathon course over Red Hill and the Cape Point gate. If you did Red Hill you already know most of the course. You will need the help of a Pacing Chart on the day so that you keep on schedule and know how you are doing at any stage of the race. Ideally you would aim for a finish under 4 hours 20 mins to get a F grade seeding. The course is hard and sensibly you could aim for 4hours 30mins. This is the finish time on the Pacing Chart. Finishers just under 4 hours 40 mins will still be Grade G seeding and those between 4 hours 40 mins and under 5 hours will get a seeding of H.
The
first half is run at 6,2mins/km and the second will be 6,6mins/km which
gives you an extra 9 minutes in the second half as you get tired.
Your overall speed is 6,4mins/km which you are capable of over a
standard marathon distance. Cut the chart out laminate it and pin it on
the front of your shorts to check your progress. The clever runner does
not fall more than a minute behind and even more important, never gets
more than one minute ahead. During the week of the marathon, run cautiously, sleep well, eat well and drink well. The morning of the marathon try to have a little toast and honey and an energy drink to load you up. Have a squeezie every hour on the hour and drink 400ml Coke per hour. Put all that together and you will have a good run. The programme gives you an easy week to wind down a bit for the race. Here is your training programme for February 2010. February 2010 training Programme. Objective. To qualify for Comrades by finishing the 42 km BDO Peninsula marathon in less than 4 hours 40 mins.
Total kms for February 2010 = 254km. Notes. February 21st 2010 BDO Peninsula Marathon Simons Town Thought for the month. "Qualified now, so I can relax and get on with my Comrades training" Don Oliver Cape Town January 2010 External links: Official Comrades Marathon website |
Copyright Don Oliver 2010