Comrades Training - November 2010

Welcome to the Supersport Comrades marathon 2011 training programme.

In this column we look at the the day by day training necessary for next year's Comrades marathon. We will give realistic distances to run that will not only prepare you for next year's Comrades marathon, but will also reduce your risk of injury.

November is the sixth month in the Comrades training year. Until now, there have been two distinct programmes, one for the novice runner and a second for the more experienced runner, the so-called "Comrades veteran".

November is the last month where the distances for the novice runner differ from the Comrades veteran.  From December the two programmes will merge and the training will be identical for all runners.

Let's look at the highlights for the month of November 2010 for the novice runner:

Month 6.  November

Goals:
    1. To run a 21 km race, and then the RAC Tough One - 32 km !!
    2. To maintain a weekly mileage of about 30 km per week.
    3. To stay injury free.

Total weekly mileage: 29 km, 33 km, 30 km, 42 km

Total Monthly mileage: 139 km

Road race distances to be achieved: 2x10 km, 1x21 km and 1x32 km

Highlight of the month: Spring's Strider's 32 km road race - the "tough one"

Let's now take a look at that training in more detail:

Goals:

1. To run a 21 km race, and then the RAC Tough One - 32 km !!

This month is quite a tough month for a beginner.  We build up the weekly mileage to around 30 km per week in preparation for the RAC 32 km "Tough One".

In the Gauteng province this year, the races are more or less the same as in previous years. The only exception is that there is no formal race on the 15th November, so it's an ideal time to join your club for a 10 km "club run".

During November, you will be running a long run every weekend of the month!

Let's look at this week by week.

On the first Sunday, the 7th November, there is the Nedbank Soweto City marathon & 10 km.  Obviously, don't enter for the marathon, but run the 10 km race.

On the second Sunday, the 14th November, there is a choice of two excellent races in the Gauteng area.  There is the Paul Ras half marathon organised by Brooks Striders from the Springs Rugby Club, as well as the Sportsman's Warehouse 10 km and 5 km race.

I think the best preparation for the "Tough One" which follows two weeks later on the 28th November, would be to do the Paul Ras half marathon rather than the 10 km race.

There is an ideal alternative race the day before, on Saturday 13th November. This race is organised by the Warmbad Marathon Club, and although it is really outside the Gauteng area, I would like to advise runners living in Gauteng about it.

The organisers of this race have asked me to publicise their race, as it is their club's 20th Birthday celebration.  The race is run from the Warmbad Primary school and they tell me that the routes are hilly, and which would be perfect training for next year's Comrades "up-run".

They have four events:

A 5 km Fun Run/Walk starting at 7 am. Ideal for family members accompanying you who are not runners. All finishers receive a medal!

A 10 km ladies race, starting at 6.30 am. Actually both men and women can run this race, but prize money will only go to the women.

A 21 km race starting at 6 am. The promise of an unforgettable experience with beautiful bushveld, gravel roads and moderate hills, followed by a steep uphill to Fish Eagle Bay with awesome views.  They say it is a demanding course, but well worth it.

Lastly, there is a  42.2 km marathon starting at 5.30 am. The first half the race is moderate with the second half  being hilly and at times extremely challenging, but very scenic.  This marathon is a 2 Oceans and Comrades Qualifier!

I would suggest doing the half marathon, once again, this fits perfectly with your preparation for the "Tough One" two weeks later.

On Sunday the 21st November, the third Sunday of the month, there are no formal races organised.  Having just run a half marathon the week before and having to run a 32 km race the following week, all that is required is a gentle easy 10 km run.  Most probably it is an advantage that there is no formal run and you can have a relaxed "Club Run" of 10 km without any pressure of running to a good time.

The last Sunday of the month, 28th November stages the running of the RAC "Tough One".  This 32 km race is the highest goal of the year and if you can achieve this and be injury free to boot, you are well on your way to completing next year's Comrades marathon!

December will be a "recovery month" where, although we will maintain a weekly average of 40 km, no run in December is longer than 10 km!! So don't despair, you can take the December holidays nice and easy.

2. To maintain a weekly mileage of about 30 km per week.

This is achieved by doing two runs during the week of either 5 km or 7 km, followed by a long run on the Sunday. If the Sunday run is of moderate distance, an extra training run on the Saturday is added in to make up the weekly distance.

3. To stay injury free.

Once again, all runs should be "LSD" type running.  L - Long, S - Slow and D - Distance, as opposed to shorter runs, which incorporate speed work.

Total weekly mileage: 29 km, 33 km, 30 km, 42 km

The last week's mileage is just that little bit higher due to running the 32 km race.  I don't think it's excessive, and this will be the weekly average mileage during the entire month of December.

Total Monthly mileage: 139 km

This will incorporate all the mileage in the table below, as well as the last two days of the month.  These will be the rest day after the 32 km race, followed by a 5 km "recovery run" on Tuesday the 30 November.

Road race distances to be achieved: 2x10 km, 1x21 km and 1x32 km

Quite a tough order.  There is also the option of a 15 km race on Wednesday night the 17th November.  This is the Rowlin National Brokers 15 km & 5 km Night Race, run from the Benoni Northerns Sports Grounds

Highlight of the month: Spring's Strider's 32 km road race - the "tough one"

Not only the highlight of the month, but actually the highlight of the year!

Here is the day-by-day training for November in the Gauteng area:
 

And now, the regular runner.

As mentioned for the novice runner, I would suggest doing either the Warmbad/Bela-Bela half marathon on Saturday 13th, or the Paul Ras Half Marathon on Sunday 14th November. This allows two weeks of recovery before the "Tough One" on November 28th.

The mileage for regular runners stays around 40 km/week and will stay that way for the December holidays.  Come the 1st January 2011, the mileage will start to build up.

Goals for regular runners - November 2010:

    1. To run a half marathon, and then the RAC 32 km Tough One.
    2. To maintain a steady 40 km per week.
    3. To stay injury free.