Train, Train, Race, Train

Taking three days to shake the stiffness, soreness and heaviness from my legs after Sunday has given me a bit of time to reflect on my racing. Despite running way too fast for nearly the first half of the half marathon, it is clear I still have some strong racing point. The first and foremost is that 3:47/km for 9km feels very comfortable.

Moving beyond, it is also clear that my current fitness level is missing a bit of endurance. Given my training template, I believe that is something will take some substantial time to develop. At least for a few months I expect there to be quite a gap between my high-end aerobic (ie. 5000m race pace) and my sub anaerobic threshold sustainable speeds. Not a bad thing if it means I can keep lifting that high-end speed. The catch is I won't have much margin for error when racing. Run a bit to fast is likely to result in a big and painful slow down, rather than a slight drop in pace. The slight drop is what I am historically used to.

The roster imposed on me from work, means my weekends off can be some time apart. So based on my current expected rostering, it looks like I get to race once or twice out of every six calender weeks. Given I am aiming to rebuild some triathlon fitness, the extra time between races is probably a good thing. I can keep my focus on some consistent and progressive training, with the added bonus of a race every so often. Not often enough to burn out or cut into training. Not too far apart that I lose a racing edge. Taking 4-7 weeks between each race (most of the time) will allow me to correct any glaring weaknesses or errors in training.

Comments

  1. Unknown17 April 2010 at 21:08

    Jason, I'll take 3.47 for ONE km right now! Good to hear your new training plan is forming up. PB

    ReplyDelete

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