HARD TRAINING PERIOD
OF ULTRA MARATHONS
Don Oliver's 2009 Comrades Training Programme
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WESTERN PROVINCE PROGRAMME
To RETURN to Don Oliver's 2009 Comrades
Marathon Programme Introduction - click here
or RETURN to PHASE 1: TO QUALIFY IN A STANDARD MARATHON - click here PHASE 2: HARD TRAINING PERIOD OF ULTRA MARATHONS The hard training period taking us from the end of February through to first week in May, includes three ultras, one of which must be the Long Club Run of 56kms. This confidence booster marks the end of the hard training and the beginning of the wind down. A period of 10 weeks is about the maximum that the body can tolerate before starting to break down in many ways from tiredness to sickness and loss of motivation. In the 10 weeks, we must fit in 3 ultras. Meaning that you will be running a long run every 3 weeks. In between it is vital to have easy weekends to recover before taking on another ultra. For this reason, it is essential to consult the fixture book and select a race menu. Menu 1
Note: The club run on March 28th has yet to be confirmed. An alternative is the Glenryk 30km on March 22nd but it should not be run after the Smitswinkel 50km. One important feature of this menu is that there is always at least two weeks rest between races. The programme below also stipulates that the weekend after a standard or an Ultra, the weekend run is only run 15kms. “As the distance increases, the speed decreases”, so the suggested race times reflect that. You will need a Pacing Chart for the 56km Two Oceans Marathon. PACING CHART FOR 56km Two Oceans
Notes: 1. The splits are; 1st half =2hrs 53mins, 2nd half = 3hrs 05mins 2. The Bill Rowan
medallists should run the 56km race at 5,1mins/km to
finish in 4hrs 45mins. The
splits would be first half 2hrs17mins and
second half 2hrs 28mins.
MARCH TRAINING PROGRAMME
Objective: To run the 50kms ultra Marathon in less than 5hrs15 mins
Total kilometres for March 2009 = 349km (5 week month) Note: Entries for Comrades close on March 31st 2009. Confirm you are entered. At the end of March it is advisable to stand back to see the progress towards the final objective. WHERE ARE WE NOW?
The total of 950km is well past half way and already one standard and one Ultra have been completed. At this stage, with the gradual increase in total kilometres each month, it is expected that you are injury free and also in good health. Your strength and endurance is building up to huge proportions and you are comfortably running distances in comfort that you previously thought was impossible. The plan is working! The next milestone in the Comrades training programme is the testing Two Oceans marathon over 56km. A timely reminder is that entries close March 4th 2009. A bronze medal (under 6hrs) at Two Oceans puts you in a very strong position for a bronze at Comrades. The speed required at Two Oceans is just under 6,4mins/km, which is slower than the speed you ran in the Peninsula Marathon but this is a tougher course. The value in running Two Oceans is to have a taste of a big race (8000 runners) with seeding. The local runners are under pressure to perform well because of local support both on the road and from the spectators. This race must be run at a predetermined pace with the ultimate goal of Comrades constantly remembered. To dig too deep at Two Oceans may well spoil the chances of reaching the target time at Comrades. There is only a gap of 6 weeks between Oceans and Comrades with another 56km training run to be fitted in between ( 4 Hills for Lindsay on May 3rd ). Two Oceans will be a true test of controlled well paced ultra marathon running and will stand you in good stead at Comrades. APRIL TRAINING PROGRAMME Objective. To run under 6hours for the Two Oceans marathon and complete the 4Hills cub run in under 6hrs 30mins.
* do easy 10km on Sunday if you didn’t do 21.1 on Saturday Total kilometres for April 2009 = 310km Notes: 1. The potential Bill
Rowan medallists should aim for 4hrs 51mins at Two
Oceans, which is an overall
speed of 5,2mins/km. Splits would be first
half 28kms = 2hrs 20mins and the second half of 2hrs
31mins.
2.
Confirm you have entered Comrades.To
complete the Phase 2. of the Comrades
Training Programme there only
remains to complete the final ultra of 56km at the 4 Hills for Lindsay
Club Run on May 3rd. This casual club
run is an endurance run
taking over 6 1/2 hours.
It is the final stepping stone towards running 89kms in May. As we have progressed with longer distances we have kept the element of the unknown to a minimum, being the distance you haven’t run before. For example we had 6kms between the 30km and 36km; then 6km to the 42km followed by 14km from standard to 56kms at Two Oceans. The element of the unknown of 33kms at Comrades which is a big step. This year, there is only 3 weeks rest after the 4 Hills run to Comrades and it is unadvisable to run a longer distance at this late stage. Here is the May training programme for the wind down Note. Sunday May 3rd marks the end of the Phase 2. hard training. MAY TRAINING PROGRAMME Objective. To complete a three week Wind Down for Comrades arriving fresh at the start in Pietermaritzburg.
Note. Phase 3. kms for May 2009 = 156km To CONTINUE on to PHASE 3: THE WIND DOWN - click here Key words: comrades marathon, ultra marathon, long club run, comrades training programme Internal links: |
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Copyright Don
Oliver 2008