Cyclists with a "Running" Problem

[dave303e]

sounds like guys are all back into the swing of things...

 

I sprinted the first 5km of a 12km run late last week and followed it up with a few 'chilled runs with the mrs'(note to self her pace is no longer as chilled as I remembered. Legs were very heavy for my LSD run on Sunday but had a good 30km from northcliff up the spruit and back so legs are feeling good and ready for the year ahead, now just to up the pace some more...

[Mats]

Lekker... super solid time first up! How'd the legs feel at the finish? Good for more, or just right?

 

Legs were still good at the finish. Guess if I had to, I could have gone further. 

But I think the distance was just right for now. I don't want to over do it.

[Mats]

I hope you were one of the runners that crossed over at 24th and Micheal Brink safely.  At one stage the runners were behaving more dangerously than the cars.  I was almost flattened by a few runners that had a death wish and were intent on throwing themselves under on coming traffic.  (I was even wearing a reflective vest and waving a flag!!)

 

THe traffic police were absolutely amazing at controlling the traffic.  Well done Tshwane metro.

 

I didn't have any issues.

I got stopped twice on route to wait for traffic.

All the marshals and police were very effective.

[Barry Stuart]

I am ecstatic to report that I qualified for OMTOM on Saturday at the Sasol Marathon. 

 

We couldn't have asked for better weather. The first lap was nice and cool and the sun made an appearance in the last 10km of the race.

 

My plan was to just qualify, even if I ran a personal worse. My longest run since Comrades last year was Tough One and after that my training went seriously downhill with this nausea problem.

 

The first lap went well, we walked at two water points, the only climb we walked every second pole and we stopped at one of our club supporters at the 20km mark. We went thru halfway in 2:13. I had to really concentrate not to push too hard to control the nausea. 

 

From km 24 to 30 my wheels came off... I had to dig very deep to keep going. When we reached the 30km water point the nice downhills started and I felt better. I realized that we had an hour and a half to do 9 km... It was the best feeling in the world to realize I will make it even if I walked to the finish. We did a lot of walking... I was definitely not the distance fit. With all the walking in the second half, the nausea was under control. I even stuck to my rule of not walking in the last km... We finished in 4:42... Second worse marathon time, but I am happy. 

 

Sasol Marathon is one of my favorite marathons. It is a well-organized race and they probably have the best water points of all races. They have so much food on the road, and Creme Soda. There are lots of trees, so lots of shaded streets.

 

If you want to run a PB marathon, Sasol is a marathon to aim for. It is also not too far to drive, so you don't have to book accommodation.

 

Now that the stress of qualifying is out of the way it is time to concentrate on Om die Dam in less than 6 weeks time....

 

Fantastic, Hacc. Great to get it out of the way early as well so you can build on the training uninterrupted without taper and recovery weeks that come with racing marathons.

[Barry Stuart]

I ran my first half marathon this weekend at the McCarthy Toyota in PTA.

The aim was to finish without feeling like I want to die.

I finished in a time of 2:19

Overall I am very happy with my first 21km.

From here things can only get better.

 

Great result, Carpet. It's such an enjoyable distance. Long enough that it feels rewarding as an achievement but short enough that you don't have to barter with deities to get to the finish. Very good time. On your maiden attempt you've already dipped under the first milestone of 2:30 that many runners aim for in the beginning. You'll only get quicker from here.

[Hacc]

Great result, Carpet. It's such an enjoyable distance. Long enough that it feels rewarding as an achievement but short enough that you don't have to barter with deities to get to the finish. Very good time. On your maiden attempt you've already dipped under the first milestone of 2:30 that many runners aim for in the beginning. You'll only get quicker from here.

I agree, a sub 2:30 on your first 21 km is excellent. And then to feel great afterward is a bonus! 

 

Next stop 32km? I wouldn't recommend Medihelp Monster as your first 32km. I see there is a race being advertised for the 4th of March, Hot Legs Run 15km and 32km. No idea what the route looks like.

 

https://www.entrytime.com/event-details/?EventId=5465

[Barry Stuart]

Talking about colds, who is getting flu shots, and when? Both my toddlers came home on Friday with sniffles. So I stayed clear of them the whole weekend, these kindergarten colds are fatal to grownups.

 

My wife and I had the shot in 2017 and ended up dodging the flu that plagued a few of our mates for a number of weeks. Hard to tell from one go whether it was the vaccine or we just got lucky and I know the strains are always a mild lottery but we'll definitely give it another go this year.

 

Bonus for runners, if you perform 90 minutes of light running directly after the shot you can increase the effectiveness by nearly 100%: https://www.mensfitness.com/training/cardio/cardio-can-make-your-flu-shot-more-effective

[Mats]

I agree, a sub 2:30 on your first 21 km is excellent. And then to feel great afterward is a bonus! 

 

Next stop 32km? I wouldn't recommend Medihelp Monster as your first 32km. I see there is a race being advertised for the 4th of March, Hot Legs Run 15km and 32km. No idea what the route looks like.

 

https://www.entrytime.com/event-details/?EventId=5465

 

Thanks guys.

Next up is the Vaal marathon.

Yes it is a big step up. But the aim is to finish regardless of time.

If I do manage to get in under 5 it will be a bonus.

[Barry Stuart]

I pack my case your honor....   ONLY a 65km week...

Either you guys havn't read Bruce's latest blog entry or there is going to be a lot of silver cormades medals coming from this forum! 

 

That stinking feeling when you wake up on a Monday morning of qualification week with a damm cold.. :cursing:

 

That article from Bruce was actually a great reminder for me. I'm probably already pushing as I'm aiming for a PB marathon at Maritzburg end of the month. But the blog post reminded me that I can (and should) take a week or two break after that to give the body a bit of time to freshen up. The 10 weeks of intensity advice was pretty reassuring.

 

It's crazy how the mind falls into the same trap in a Comrades year. One forgets that they can't out-train the race. Especially in January.

[Jackes]

 

It's crazy how the mind falls into the same trap in a Comrades year. One forgets that they can't out-train the race. Especially in January.

 

I'm currently following his "rather under trained programme"  

[Paddaman]

I pack my case your honor....   ONLY a 65km week...

Either you guys havn't read Bruce's latest blog entry or there is going to be a lot of silver cormades medals coming from this forum! 

 

That stinking feeling when you wake up on a Monday morning of qualification week with a damm cold.. :cursing:

If you read Bruce's blog, you will realise he is and was in a totally different class.  What he sees as a rest and maintain load, is what the rest of us see as peaking.  He talks of 100km a week as standard fair for January.  He used to peak out at between 160km and 200km a week!

 

The important thing is to accumulate sufficient fitness and discipline over the years to be able to cruise at 60-70km a week during maintenance/rest and then push up over a 3 to 4 week period to 100km a week which you maintain for 3 to 4 week period, and then taper for two weeks (Total 10 weeks of training)......

 

If however if you are not able to sustain 60-70 km/week in December and January you will have to start your build up much earlier (based on the 10% increase in mileage per week formula) for you will face injury.  Ergo a 16-20 week programme.

 

Bruces point is simply do not peak your mileage in January if you are racing in June.  If you race in June then Mid April should be your target to get to maximum mileage, which you then sustain to mid May. 

 

Note:  If you get to about 85km a week, rather focus on increasing speed than adding on more miles. 

[Pieter-za]

 

 

The important thing is to accumulate sufficient fitness and discipline over the years to be able to cruise at 60-70km a week during maintenance/rest and then push up over a 3 to 4 week period to 100km a week which you maintain for 3 to 4 week period, and then taper for two weeks (Total 10 weeks of training)......

 

If however if you are not able to sustain 60-70 km/week in December and January you will have to start your build up much earlier (based on the 10% increase in mileage per week formula) for you will face injury.  Ergo a 16-20 week programme.. 

 

Don't scare the newcomers - that is hectic IMHO! 

(But I suppose it depends on one's goal, e.g. mine is 10:50 so I train accordingly,  ~1200 km Jan to C.)    I don't think I have ever seen more than one week with > 100km during prep for all of my C's, and I am of total ave capability.

 

My point is - one needs to do 'enough', not too much or too little, and to judge the 'how' wrt to 'enough' comes with own experience.  

 

Peace.

Edited February 5, 2018 by Pieter-za

[Jackes]

I don't think I have ever seen more than one week with > 100km during prep for all of my C's, and I am of total ave capability.

 

My point is - one needs to do 'enough', not too much or too little, and to judge the 'how' wrt to 'enough' comes with own experience. 

 

In my little experience the one thing I see not being given enough credit and done often enough at the right times as well is rest.

 

What I have seen for example in my own case:

I was advised to do nothing last year before our first comrades thanks to itb.  I had 10 runs which totaled to 106kms in the whole of May. 

 

We had an absolutely fantastic rested day of Comrades, FWIW.

 

For further reference:

Jan-156

Feb-178

Mar-172

Apr-223 (Including Omtom)

Edited February 5, 2018 by Jackes

[Hacc]

I agree we don't put enough emphasis on rest. I blame Comrades and Strava.

We are so obsessed with kilometers per week that we will sacrifice a rest day just to add another 8/10/12km to our weekly total. ( and not to mention that leaderboard on Strava... )

 

We are just insane human beings... I never thought I had an addictive nature, I guess I was wrong.

[Mudsimus]

I get what Bruce is saying, I had a bigish December, 220km, but that was in prep for my Jan qualifier. In Jan I ended on 200km. Looking at that 8-10week window I will just maintain it and then steadily increase. As a Comrades novice I actually thought that you need a 6month block of high mileage. 8 weeks sounds so much easier.

[shaper]

I agree we don't put enough emphasis on rest. I blame Comrades and Strava.

We are so obsessed with kilometers per week that we will sacrifice a rest day just to add another 8/10/12km to our weekly total. ( and not to mention that leaderboard on Strava... )

 

We are just insane human beings... I never thought I had an addictive nature, I guess I was wrong.

Train for full Ironman... you soon learn to appreciate a recovery week... hell even rest days!!