BACK IN BUSINESS TRAINING STYLE

My sincere apologies for being off the scene for so long. Part of it can be blamed on Windows wanting to screw itself over so badly I had to reset the system and download everything from scratch, and it has taken this long to get back to where I want to be. Part of it can be attributed to work trying to screw over workers with rotating shifts to place the health of the small workforce to beyond the physical limit, but now is not the time nor place to discuss that (if I did I’d be in more poo than Batman and Superman combined). So enough of the negative, and onto the positive we go.

Not a lot has happened in recent times. The break throughout December has at least cleared the mind, and January hasn’t seen as many kilometres covered as I would have liked. The Central Queensland heat and humidity has been so stifling that training for long times and distances can even be seen as a heath risk, for there have been times where my energy tank has felt empty after 30 minutes of running.

It’s not that I haven’t been maintaining a fitness base, footy training is more than adequate for that. Indeed running 9:13 for a 2.1 km time trial at least showed me that I do have some speed left in the old legs, even if I thought I even kicked a little too early. The problem is that this training is good for football and the dynamic demands that it places on the legs, but not so great for someone looking for an endurance base.

To combat this and with the dreaded 50km event in Canberra looming quicker than anticipated (well it’s still a fair way away but like with most other events it will arrive before I can change passwords to every online account I have), the next 6 weeks is basically the time to get the kilometres into the legs. With the shifts working in my favour for at least the next month, early morning training runs will become common. Distances and terrain will of course vary, with gradual increases in distances being the aim.

One thing I know I have to learn is to find a pace that I’m comfortable with given the goal time for Canberra is going to be about 4:55 (or for those inclined to think in terms of Play School, that’s when the big hand is pointing straight up and the little hand is pointing to the 11, with a couple of dolls having a tea party behind or under said clock). Naturally it would be advantageous to be able to have good pace early to give myself a little buffer should the usual events in Canberra happen. But I also know that Canberra’s course demands use of the head. Knowing when to push and when to be cautious through the undulations is critical. Monday saw me go through just over 8km at a 5:20 per kilometre pace which feels like a solid enough tempo to try to maintain for as long as possible. Certainly if I was only going the traditional marathon distance this pace would translate into a goal pace.

Another thing I’m trialling to get longer distances into my legs is the idea of splitting up a longer run into three unequal distances. For example last Saturday I started by doing a 3km section, then after a short active rest (walking) came another 4km, with a further 5km section following a second active rest. There were provisions for a 6km section to follow but the legs and the mind were not complying after a single kilometre. The next 5 weeks (with the 6th being substituted for the traditional Twilight Run Half Marathon lead up) are going to increase the distances as follows.

13 FEB: 4km/5km/6km (TOTAL: 15km)
20 FEB: 5km/6km/7km (TOT: 18km)
27 FEB: 6km/7km/8km (TOT: 21km)6 MAR: 7km/8km/9km (TOT: 24km, pending fitness from Football the previous day)
12 MAR: 8km/9km/10km (TOT: 27km)

Whilst this won’t substitute the traditional long run every week (chances are I’ll be either replicating or going over slightly longer distances a day or so after with the aim of doing a 30+km effort in either week 3 or 5), training this way could very well replicate the reality of race day, when I may need some recovery time or I may take it easier through hydration stations. During these runs I may also start to experiment taking on board bananas given I’ll probably be needing to take some form of solids on board given it’s my first time at the distance.

Apart from that the schedule for the year has slightly changed due to work commitments and date changes for many events. At this stage the schedule for 2016 may well be…

MAR 20: Twilight Run Half Marathon, St.Lucia
APR 10: Canberra Ultra Marathon (50km)
JUN 6: Rocky River Run Half Marathon (subject to work clearance)
JUL 3: Gold Coast MarathonAUG 14: City2Surf Sydney (14km)
AUG 28: City to Surf Perth (either Marathon or Half Marathon)
SEP 24: Twilight Bay Run (Half Marathon)
OCT 2: Cap Coast Running Festival (Half Marathon or 10km, dependent on transport and fitness level)
OCT 16: Melbourne Marathon
(Any subsequent events after October 16 at this stage is to be determined, but at least one further event will be run. There’s even a possibility that Queenstown, New Zealand, on November 19 may be an event worth considering)