42.2km Training Run

Yesterday was my first "training" marathon. Sounds odd to most people, but if you are going to run the 89k Comrades Marathon, many of the long runs will be beyond marathon distance. This weekend, was my first.

I had a clear strategy for this run - it was a test to see if the pacing strategy would work. My goal for Comrades is to finish, preferably in under 11 hours and get a bronze medal, so a pace of just over 7 mins 20 seconds per km will get me there.

The Strategy
From past VO2 max tests - and associated blood lactic acid tests - I know that lactic acid begins to build when my HR hits 139. So to ensure I can get through the 89k run, my intention is to run at a pace that limits the build up of lactic acid.

On this run, I ran until my HR hit 142, and then walked until it hit 132... and then run until it got back to 142... and so on. So it was very much a run / walk strategy.

The Course
The course I chose around the hills of Mt Eliza had a vertical ascent of 695m. This is a pretty good approximation of the Comrades course which climbs 1175m, most of it in the first 60km.

The Body
I have had a chest cold for a couple of weeks and have been on anti biotics for two days to get over the cold. Hopefully the body will be in better shape on Comrades race day.

The Weather
It was warm and mid 20's with reasonably high humidity for this training run. This will be in sharp contrast to the Comrades start which will be in the dark and cold with a temperature likely to be between 5 - 10 C. So my HR should be a little higher for this run than on race day.

THE RESULT
Marathon completed in 4.49.35 with a max HR of 148 and average HR of 137. The legs felt great but I was a little tired at the end due to a lack of Gu's ingested on the run. I must have a nutrition plan that provides 70g of carbohydrates per hour for each hour of the run. I was a bit short on this yesterday.

Overall, while it would have been nice to be a bit quicker (my only "real" marathon was done in 3.51 in October last year), I am confident that this strategy will work to get me through Comrades. And, as my endurance and fitness improves, I will be able to run for longer at these HR levels, thus increasing the average speed.

Can't wait for the next long run "test"!!!