March 2010
Training Programme for Comrades 2010
CENTRAL GAUTENG PROGRAMME
Where are we now? There
are now only 90 days to go for Comrades 2010. On May 30th 2010
you will be running your big test. You have been studying and training
for the big race which is your test to see if you got it right. Carry
on with this programme and you will be finishing in Durban comfortably
and get your medal with your name in the Comrades results book.
You will have qualified now or at the latest on March 7th at the Cape
Gate Vaal marathon. That is the end of stage 1 of making sure of
your medal. I am sure you had a fine run and finished weary but
not totally exhausted. Never ask yourself at the finish of your
qualifier if you could have carried on to do another standard marathon
plus another 5km more. "No” is the answer but as your training
progresses you will be still running at half way in Comrades and will
say with a sigh of relief “Only 45km to go – nearly there”!
You are about to become an ultra marathon long distance
road runner this month and a whole new world is waiting for you out
there. I developed a habit of always smiling to myself as I went
through the 42km mark in an ultra marathon race. That is my country -
anything longer than 42km. Plenty of people have done a marathon
and often never run again but the special few progress to an ultra.
That will be you. The good news is "that as the distance
increases the speed decreases”. You will be running slower as
you run further and fatigue sets in. That is nothing to worry
about because you will train yourself to handle tiredness and carry on
for hour after hour. This
the second stage of your training programme and is 9 weeks of hard
training during which you will do one more standard marathon and three
ultras. That means you will be running a marathon or ultra every
fortnight. You can handle that provided you deliberately have a
cycle of Hard week-Easy week. The attached programme takes care
of that. It wasn’t always like that. The early days of Comrades
training encouraged us to do the highest mileage you could possibly
manage, week after week. They thought that the more mileage you did,
the better you would run Comrades. We found out that the average
runner breaks down under the load of a marathon every weekend and we
now have a totally successful and safe programme whereby we do a
marathon or ultra every second weekend with a short 15km club run
fitted in between. In that way we build up stamina and endurance and do
not break it down. I gave you two menus in your January training
programme and you must pull that out and protect yourself by
following the safety built into the Menus. I have added another menu,
called Menu 3, for those runners that will be doing the Long Club Run
on April 25th 2010. Menu 3.
The
monthly training programme does not require much bigger monthly kms.
What it does require now is that the distance of the mid-week
longer run increases to 14km. For Comrades runners that has to be
fitted in to your work and family commitments because it will need
about 1 1/2 hours on the road. The mornings are getting darker
and colder so you must organise some friends to run with you.
There will be willing friends at your club who think the same as
you. The novices will benefit from taking a Pacing Chart with them.The demands on your kit during the hard training period is heavy and you must regularly check the condition of your running shoes for cushioning and support. Keep warm while running and wear reflective kit in the dark. As the strain of the running increase you may well consider taking recommended supplements such as multivitamins, recovery drinks of protein and carbohydrate and carbohydrate rich meals. Don’t neglect the fruit and fresh veg to build up your immune system. In Menus 1 and 2 you will be running your second marathon and use it to run smoothly and relaxed now that you have no worries about qualifying. Walk frequently, early on in the race for short distances and up the hills. You can expect to finish in about 4hrs 20mins. Those following the new Menu 3 will be doing their first ultra at Om-Die-dam which is a tough course needing restraint and also regular walking. Watch your Coke intake of 450ml /hour all the way to avoid low sugar levels in the heat after 42kms. Your target time should be less than 5 hours 15 mins. Your splits should be first half 2 hrs 32 mins and second half in 2 hrs 43 mins to give you an extra 11 mins in the second half.
After finishing your first ultra have a small celebration that night and have two days off. You certainly deserve it. Here is your March training programme: Menu 1
Total km for March 2010 = 294 km Notes. March 13th 2010 - Sunrise Monster 32km Pretoria March 20th 2010 - Elands Valley 3-in-1.42km Waterval Boven. Menu 2
Total km for March = 294km. Notes. March 13th - Lake Umuzi Kosmos 3 in 1 42km, Secunda March 28th - Midvaal Fordyce Ultra 50km, Suikerbosrand Reserve MENU 3 Objective: To run a 50km ultra marathon in less than 5 hours 15 mins.
Total km for March 2010 = 294km. Notes. March 13th - 2010 Sunrise Monster 32km, Pretoria. March20th - Old Mutual Om-Die-Dam 50km, Haartbeesport. Thought for the month: "Beyond the marathon – That’s my country”. Don Oliver February 2010 Cape Town Internal links: Running shoes, External links: Official Comrades Marathon website |
Copyright Don Oliver 2010