January 2010
Training Programme for Comrades 2010
WESTERN PROVINCE PROGRAMME
Where are we now? At
the beginning of January 2010 you have 149 days to go. For all us
Comrades runners we start our official recorded programme on January
1st each year and end the day before Comrades being May 30th this year.
You have to keep a daily log of your training and races meticulously
and compare it to your plan at least once a week. We published
the overall plan last month and you are heading for an overall total
kilometres of 1400km which includes two standards and three ultras.
Here is a very attractive plan for W.P. runners which meets the targets. Menu 1.
Note. The
runs on March 6th and May 2nd are organised by Fish Hoek A.C and
runners from other clubs are requested to contact the club to join
these runs to allow for refreshment requirements. Menu 2.An alternative to travelling to George for the Outeniqua marathon is:
Note. The run on April 24th would have to be organised by your own club. The
rule for Comrades training is that after a standard or an ultra the
next weekend must only be a 15km slow club run. I have seen over
many years and with several clubs that the recovery run after a
marathon is important to avoid fatigue, sickness or injury during the
months of February, March, April and May. The runner who wants to run
marathons each and every weekend to increase his chances of success at
Comrades will be disappointed and probably not even make the starting
line at Pietermaritzburg. The
qualifier for Comrades will be the Peninsula marathon on February 21st
and it should be a target for all our runners to finish in less than
4hours 40mins to get at least a G grade seeding. To get the
best chance of getting a bronze medal at Comrades a D grade seeding
should be aimed at which is a sub 4hour 00mins qualifier. To achieve
only a H grade seeding (between 4hrs 40mins and sub 5hours) will place
you at risk at Comrades because only 50% of those entries got a medal
in 2009. We will be issuing a Pacing Chart for the qualifier marathon in the next programme in February. Now to the preparation to get a comfortable and reasonable qualifier. A well balanced preparation for a comfortable standard marathon is:
Whilst
running during the preparation for a marathon, a mind set of “looking
through” every run and in particular the two races of between 30km and
36km has to be practised. It translates to imagining at the end of the
run that you could easily have carried on for another 10 or 20km.
This will encourage you to pace each run with some caution and
pace judgement. Having given you the overall pace of the
qualifier of 6,4mins/km, it means that shorter distances must be
comfortable at a slightly slower speed. To this end the target time for
the 30km Bay to Bay race on January 10th 2010 is set at 3hours 06mins
equivalent to 6,2mins/km. The slightly longer Red Hill 36km race
on January 23rd 2010 should be 3hours 47mins or 6,3mins/km. The main reason for Comrades entries not starting or not finishing is injury and sickness. At the beginning of a demanding training programme is essential to monitor your reaction very carefully to the training and avoid sickness or injury at all costs. That may well mean missing a run to receive treatment or reducing the frequency of runs to adjust to the load from time to time. The popular advice: “ Listen to your body” means recognising that indeed you are either sick or injured or even over-doing it and to get professional advice while you rest. Here is your training programme for January 2010: Objective. To run the Bay to Bay 30km race in less than 3 hours 06mins
Total kms for January 2010 = 270km Notes. January 10th 2010. Ocean Basket Bay to Bay 30km at Camps Bay. January 23rd 2010. CapeStorm Red Hill 36km at Fish Hoek. “8km T/T” is a 8km club Time Trial run cautiously at close to 48mins, no faster. Aim to run equal splits of 24mins for each 4km Thought for the month: "No better way to start off 2010 than with a good solid training programme.” Don Oliver Cape Town December 2009 External links: Official Comrades Marathon website |
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Copyright Don Oliver 2009