My plan, unlike last year, is to hit as close to 600km per month for Feb, March and April in the lead up.
Last year my splits for the 3 month lead up were:
Feb: 198km
March: 290km
April: 226km
I still came away with a silver buckle for my 13.28 finish but i was pretty trashed after. The low level of mileage meant my body wasnt really ready and my ITB went off after 70km forcing me to hobble in.
This year will be a lot different....touch wood.
I hope to break 13hrs this year which given my increased level of fitness I think is doable. The stretch goal is to break 12 hours and ive listed some splits below.
The first column are times from previous runners which I would like to emulate. The numbers in red are my times from 2010 for each leg. The numbers in black are the differences in time between my old times and my target times.
The numbers in blue are my back up times, or my plan B.
So im going to set off with the aim of doing 11.35 and if the wheels fall off i hope to achieve 12.32. Will be interesting to see how close to these numbers i actually get.
I can see from last year that I really started to struggle towards the end and that was down to my itb and being barely able to run. Without those issues I should be ok. I just have to remember not to charge down the hills so soon into the race.
My race plan is to go out harder than last year and avoid the majority of the congestion on the single track. I'll keep pushing the pace to a safe limit whilst keeping my fingers crossed that my itb issues dont return.
Nutrition wise i plan to eat what evers on offer at the aid stations and I will be definitely getting a pizza again at CP3. That was heaven last year. This year i will have my girlfriend on hand and she'll be able to order the pizza well in advance so i wont need to hang around. Should save me a few minutes.
Seriously thinking about running with a handheld as well as my 2 litres of water in the camelbak. I'll use the handheld for my nunn tablets and electrolyte intake. See how I go nearer the time, might decide to just stick with the camelbak.
Cant wait!
I would be surprised if you didn't get under 12 hours Ian, you seem to be able to maintain a really good pace for longer runs. All it'll take is a few runs in the 3-5 hour range. Unlike mine, your goals are realistic...
ReplyDeleteblimey mate....what a feat...set the goals and the body and mind will adjust!
ReplyDeleteJust found you blog. Your splits look good (and achieveable considering your training and racing times)... actually your goal splits look a lot like mine from 2009. My splits were 1:50-1:59-1:50-1:21-2:44-1:34 for a 11:39 finish. The second last leg is where you can either lose or make up a lot of time.
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