Monday, February 06, 2012

5 weeks to go!

Not really related to running but this clip is amazing to watch (Thanks Mary). A year in the life of Japan and its earthquakes. To know just how much seismic activity there is here and still be able to sleep at night says a lot about us here. Good and bad! Note March 11th 2011! Coincidently the Kyoto marathon will be held on the 1st anniversary of this tragic event.





The next 5 weeks I have this basic plan. Firstly to get down to 60kgs or slightly less (63kgs now).

To get faster. I feel I have some speed but will start on some intervals and a lot of smooth fast pace striding over the next 4 weeks to improve on that.

I need to build my endurance: Yesterday I did a hilly 32Ks at about 4:30 per K pace and feel beat up today. So maybe I should slow down on these runs. My marathon plan has me tapering on the long runs from the week after next but I haven't been getting in many long runs because of so many races on Sundays recently. So I'm not going to taper that hard. I want to get in at least 3 more over 30K long runs in before the marathon as I need them for confidence and to help get the weight off.

As the Kyoto marathon is hilly I can't go into it carrying any extra weight. I know that if I'm light and race fit I'll be able to handle the hills. It is really up and down until about 25K and if I can get to there on pace it's overall down from there and I'll definitely be looking at a PB!

So if I can stay healthy, fix my lingering groin problems, and get to the line light and with a big enough endurance base and I can jag a good weather day in March, I might be looking at hitting the 2:30s!

A lot of bloody "ifs" I know but this is the game!



Running with Album: Odyssey Number Five (above) these days. Easy to run to!

7 comments:

  1. Sub 2.40 would be very cool indeed :0]

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  2. I wish I had 5 weeks - I've only got 3 to Tokyo.
    4:30 pace for a hilly 32k is a pretty damn good run.

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  3. There are no guarantees in marathon racing - where would the fun be if there was? But when all those ifs come to fruition, it's an amazing feeling.

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  4. What weight would constitute "light and race fit" for you? And how tall are you?

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  5. I'm 170 cm and I've seen elites of this size down as light as 53kgs but for me I think I can race best at 59~60kgs.

    That said I did a PB in the half this year and I was 3kgs heavier than I was when I PBed the same race 2 years ago! So perhaps I'm getting stronger and don't need to be much lighter than now?

    Any thoughts?

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  6. I know you're not being silly going for the lighter weight (no eating disorder), so 60kg should be good. If you're looking like you need a good feed, you're probably the right weight ;)

    I don't think a 4:30 k ave for a hilly long run is too quick. Depends a bit on total weekly mileage and other sessions you're doing though. I used to run the Cotter (very hilly) 15 mile in around 1:50 when the 2:40 guys were doing 1:35 or so. But if you're doing some long tempo running and high weekly miles you could back off the effort a tad on the weekly long run.

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  7. You're fairly close to the great George Sheehan's recommended ideal racing weight - 57kg for long distance and 59kg for middle distance. I on the other had would have to lose 12kg.
    http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/if-you-want-to-win-more-races-lose-some-weight-550

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