21km Race Training in 6 Weeks
He’s an easy way to eventually run 3 x 21 km races this year:
Training for a 21 km race involves 6 weeks of running 22 km per week. To allow for good training time, the Ideal opportunities for the races is at the start of March before the Easter break dip in training (or the Two Oceans 21 km), another in say May before the extended runners break after the Comrades, then the City to City or Soweto in November when running season has 2 months after starting. Note that the guys who do not go to the Comrades usually keep the same pace of training whilst the Comrades runners take a break and sink into the bottle or work. You should do 3 x 21 km races in 2013. If you can do 2 x 6 km during the week and 1 x 10 km long run over the weekend for 3 weeks in every month, you are guaranteed a finish in all 21 km races in these months. You may do 100% of the milage for 3 weeks and then 70% of the milage with some intense leg training on the lesser milage week. The in-week milage may be done in or out of gym, but you must run outside for the weekend runs. Please download a Race schedule for you to pick some 10 km races and then the 21 km races. I’d suggest you pay for them right now so that you have a commitment to work towards. Remember to always push yourself and to keep hydrated, listen to your body and eat proper. you want to ideally run the 21 km races at 68% plus fitness level according to the chart supplied on the Training section of this website, so kindly check how fast you need to run an 8 km run. Note that this is just a guide and that slower will still be okay as you will eventually have ran 21 km further than a couch potato :) enjoy!!!
Leg training:
Work on 10 sets of 10 reps per exercise
1. Leg extension
2. Leg curls
3. Leg presses
4. Dead Lifts
5. Stairs and skipping rope
Eating:
Breakfast any choice of the below:
1. Oats (Cheap)
2. Pronutro (Pricey)
3. Morvite (Extremely cheap cereal)
4. Hi Fibre Bran cereal
5. Muesli (Cheapest you can find)
Do not eat luchtime meals for breakfast, if you feeling hungry, pig-out on cereal even if you just hungry by 1 O’clock. Don’t feel embarrassed to make yourself Oats for lunch
Lunch any choice of the below:
1. Tuna sandwich
2. Ham and Cheese sandwich (quite cheep, buy R25 worth of ham at a checkers and sliced cheese at R25 and this will last you for 2 weeks)
3. Boiled eggs and mayo sandwich (very cheap)
Always use wholegrain bread or that honey and oat sasko bread (Low GI) or something. Good thing to do is to keep lunch and brekkies at work with lots of fruit (Apples and oranges have a long shelf life) , tap water is good, yes I said it...drink copious amounts of it!!
Before Race/Gym: Check you energy levels (Add some Oats or some base low GI food to fill the stomach) and how much stuff you have in your gut!! You want to preferably shake some Morvite, Pronutro, Mageu or an Electrolyte shake (check Sportsmans warehouse or the like for these)
Supper : Fit in a lot of veggies, little starch, protein not saturated in fat (Grill or uyipheke ngamanzi and a little olive oil). Umgqusho neePapa zitye nge Lunch so you may be able to burn it off during the day and at gym
Braiis: Eat Steaks!!! And try buying just one or two carry packs of beer per weekend, cut back on consumption
It becomes very easy after the first month, put simply, I’m asking you to do 22 km so you are able to comfortably do a 21kay and enjoy it. You must buy decent running shoes so I’d visit a professional runner’s shop such as The Sweatshop in Dunkeld and Fourways Crossing. The sales people at this store make you run with the specific shoe and observe your running action and advise which shoe to pick. They allow shoe returns within 7 days!!
Finishing a race is a beautiful achievement Charlie Mack!!
