Go Hard

About eight weeks (8 day version) is what I have to get up to standard. Two months is another way of looking at it. What's involved? Of course I need to clarify exactly what I'm training for. First up is the 10km Cross Country. A course that is a mixture of mainly flat bike path plus a couple of hills, with some thick and slow going grass. I feel the course runs nearly 2 minutes slow. Here I need to be in 37 minute 10km form (38-39min on this course). To do that I require a mix of fast flat speed and good strength. The cross country is backed up a week later with the half marathon. An absolutely flat circuit around Lake Wendouree. Based on previous years I need to be around 1:22 shape to be with a chance of top spot. I'm setting my sights on cracking the race's overall best time of 1:19:59. Then it's two weeks before the M2M. Here I have 19km of very steep, hilly dirt and fire trail for leg one. Then maybe under 3 hours later the relay comes back to me for a fai...

My original thoughts and guidelines for my training program for the Surfcoast Century are covered in Detailed Training Plan - Surfcoast Century . Now having completed 8 x 8-day weeks of base training, I am at the point where I shift my emphasis towards more specific race preparation. The basic principles I outlined at the start still apply, but there needs to be some changes in the details to get where I want to be. Training is more than just how far and fast you run each day. Especially when you put yourself on the rivet to get the greatest amount of improvement possible. Risk management needs to be applied. Each hard run should be geared towards improving race performance. The risk is that there is always a recovery requirement that includes musculoskeletal, central neuro-cardiovascular-respiratory and health factors. It becomes about optimising the balance of all the above which is strongly affected by all other aspects of life and work. I still want and need to function and enjoy...

My first week of training began after a few days off. This continued straight on with the training load. No days off leading in. Would that make a difference? A lack of sleep before my early start, had the run into work feeling terrible. Through those 5km, all I wanted to do was go back to bed. At the other end of the day, the 8km route home felt like gold. Running was just so easy. Early to bed and a recharge for the next morning's hill repeats. It's not even Winter, but the second day's running was in 1 degree Celsius. That's cold, at least it wasn't raining. Wearing some extra gear, I ended up warm enough for some hill plyometrics. A different course this time, not quite as steep, slightly longer up and and an extra minute on the return. It felt good. I was very happy with the session except for a bit of a twist against some tightness in my left knee on a bend during one of the descents. I didn't think much of it, as I carried no pain for the rest of the ...

Here it is. This is the document that is guiding my preparation for the Surfcoast Century. For a training plan it goes beyond a simple spreadsheet marked with distances and a couple of footnotes. It is a little more detailed than is seen in magazines or on the internet. Quite a wordy description of how the plan is to be put together and executed is what follows. It might seem complicated, and over prescriptive to some, but there is good reasoning behind this approach. First off the plan is just a guide and will be modified as needed. What the plan doesn't do is prescribe exact distances, speed and number of repeats. Instead it combines the intent of each training session and phase with what I believe will be the most likely style of training to get the adaptations I seek. The plan highlights what to look for to see appropriate progression or what may be problems in the mix. It gives guidelines on how the program should be modified based on how the training is progressing. I am pu...

Here I present a very basic outline of my training plan in preparation for the SC100. Developing this plan involved a good number of scribbled potential plans on scraps of paper that were written over, annotated, thrown out and rewritten. On the side was usually a calendar and list of potential development races. It is a mix of what I know does work for me, what I expect will work for me, all placed through a filter of what I believe is required to race an 100km trail ultra. While the plan wasn't modeled on any one else's, after it came together I was surprised at how clear and obvious some of the influences are. I'm sure these will be picked up by running geeks despite differences in terminology. All discussion on my training plan must be made under the assumption that consistency and injury prevention is paramount. Since the race is an ultra endurance event then endurance is the most important attribute required. Endurance development requires volume which require...

After five days of no running and just recovery work, I was champing to get back into training. The first day started with a very easy 60 minutes Nothing spectacular about this run. Get out, keep the intensity low and allow the legs to transition gently back into running. It reminded me of a Junior Mint... very refreshing . On the second day, the run was delayed until the evening. Originally planned to be in the morning, but out for dinner and a ghost tour made for a late night. As a result the sleep took precedence. So after the sun went down I got out for another hour. The intensity was up a little bit more as I tried to pick the most complicated footing possible. The run took me through a mixture of short and rough off road with plenty of slippery surfaces due to the rain. Through the more industrial and suburban sections I found myself jumping fences, up and down stairs and through the various levels of car parks and town square. This run highlighted just how stiff I have become ...

I now consider the base training to be completed. The last 3 months of training was aimed at reestablishing a reasonable fitness base, become structurally & biomechanical sound, develop efficient fuel (fat/carbohydrate) metabolism and generally set myself for the harder training to follow. The mainstay of training was low intensity runs 60-70%HRmax, with the harder sessions really just being longer runs with the intensity creeping up to 75%. Only a very small amount of faster running was scattered throughout amongst this. Early on I didn't hit the level of consistency I wanted. A few too many of the shorter easy runs were missed. As a result this limited the speed and distance of my long runs. Despite this, I would still consider this phase of training successful, as proven by my above expectations performance at the Maroondah Dam 50km. An ultramarathon, 50km over the hardest terrain I've ever raced on will definitely highlight weaknesses. Yes, there are quite a few gaps...

I have some goals . I have my race result . Now for the training plan. Heart Rate Zones: HRmax: 188 MAF HR: 151 B: 113-131 (60-69%) Base E: 132-151 (70-80%) Aerobic conditioning T: 152-165 (81-88%) Anaerobic threshold V: 166-188 (89-100%) VO2max Training Week: 8 days (not everybody else's 7 day, Monday to Sunday) Because of the rotational shift work and variability in commitments, the plan is a set of priorities. Each training week will then be structured in how to best meet those priorities given my other commitments. Priority Long Run High Intensity Run Supportive session Strength session Bike Strength session Swim Secondary Basic Run Core training Bike This is the initial training. There is a lot in there that isn't running. However, I am finding I need this other work to limit over use injuries and other issues. Details: Priority 1. Long Run: 2-5 hours, initially aiming for a duration of 2:30-3:00. I would like the majori...

To get the most out of my running I need a plan. Working rotational shift work (8 day cycle) and not living off a typical 7 day week forces a different line of thinking. It isn't as simple as writing a repeatable week that covers 8 days. I have to take into account the commitments that are related to the Monday to Sunday world. For example, day 2 of my training week may be a Wednesday or Sunday. The competing interests of the rest of my life will be very different depending on which day it is. Over the years I have tried a few approaches. Many mistakes have been made. There have also been a few successes. What follows, is the starting point of my next major stint of training. Goals Currently I do not have an exact race in mind. That doesn't preclude me from setting some strong goals. I've been tossing around the concept of running a couple of trail ultramarathons next year. I'm looking around the 50km-ish mark. Exactly which ones and at what level I'll compete i...