Comrades 2005 Chat 8
If
you're heading out there
I'll
give you a tip
It's
wild and it's far
And
you're in for a trip.
For
just when you think
It
couldn't get rougher
The
path goes crooked
And the
going gets tougher.
But
once you've travelled
This
far off the track
You
won't settle for less
And
there's no going back.
--Patrick O'Leary--
Running
logic 401: Note: This is a leap from the basics of running
logic 101.
You can use your tendencies (if you have them) to procrastinate,
to put off doing things until later; to avoid things altogether; to you
advantage in an ultra. Just put off the decision (or avoid it altogether) to
bail until after the finish line. Or better still until the next day when you
are basking in the glory of the finish. Or may be avoid
it altogether. I’ve finished lots of ultras dong this ;-)
Training
Over-training symptoms and signs:
- tired legs that don’t recover with a day’s rest
- loss of appetite
- listlessness and apathy
- loss of interest in sexual activities, inability to perform
- irritability, aggression. Moodiness
- 7-day moving average of daily km more than 10 percent higher than last weekly average
- Swollen glands (throat, armpits, outside upper arm, groin
- Susceptible to colds and flu’s
- Performance level drops – you just can’t run as fast as you could or as far.
- Unable to sleep properly
- Higher than normal pulse rate (unless you are reading a naughty magazine or doing something naughty
- Thirsty all the time
Found this nice picture at (hope they won’t mind it being quoted here: http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2001/05_01/uusitalo.htm
![[Figure 1]](Comrades%202005%20%20Chat%208_files/image003.jpg)
You are at risk of over-training if you generally drive yourself hard; if you are new to marathon and ultra running and you run with people who have been doing it for years; if you have run your first ever marathon and 6 weeks later you are running your first ever ultra; if don’t eat properly (too many starches, too much sugar, not enough fruit and veggies), if you aren’t the most robust person anyway; if you do lots of physical work in addition to running; if you have lots of stress in your life, if you are working really hard; if you train hard in hot conditions; if you race too often; if you don’t drink and eat properly during and after the race; if you try to get by with too little sleep.
If you are over-training then don’t. [that’s another logic 101] Rest. Take time off. Pamper yourself. Go to the gym, swim, sauna, ride a bike gently. Recover. Try a short run – even 3 km if you feel good at the end of it, stop. Go home. Don’t do more. Then a couple of days later, try a slightly longer run, say 5 km. If at anytime during the run you feel that it’s a big effort, stop. Have a cappuccino. Walk back to your car. Eat things that are good for you – try veggie protein if meat is too heavy, but eat protein. Rebuild those muscles. And fruit and other veggies. Read up about over-training and recovery. Find more tips.
And keep telling yourself that: its okay to go into the over-training zone – as long as you recognise that you have done to much. Your body likes being pushed. It also likes to recover and between the two you will get stronger. Know too that everyone, even the most experience runner can over-train. We all do it. We all want to do that extra run, we all get caught up in the excitement of racing, the prospect of another marathon, an ultra and end up doing too much. Then know that you will recover. And be stronger out of it all.
But only recover from over-training if you want to have a good running career. If you are frightened of enjoyment, success, spiritual development, life in general - then I suppose it’s okay if you want to run yourself into the ground. It’s your life.
Comrades lore and lure
(source:
Morris Alexander’s “The Comrades Story”
1967: “Morris
Christie, of
Altogether a record 415 finished the course inside the 11-hour limit in 1967.
One of the ... runners ... commented after the race, ‘The spirit among the competitors and spectators is something peculiar to the Comrades Marathon and I am very sure that you would not find it anywhere else in the world. The marathon does something for a man which you can’t put into words. It is as if, once you have started, nothing can stop you and if you are once successful in finishing you cannot wait for the next Comrades.
And this real intoxication is increased by the perennial excitement and occasional high drama of the Comrades Marathon. “
Actuals
Well I hope you are all doing well. We are okay – but keep bumping our heads against our limits – we can only do what we can do.
On the other hand, there are more and more signs that my training is working. That’s good. It augurs well. Here are some of the signs: it’s easy for me to get out the door 5 times a week now (okay not every week, but more oftennow); when I haven’t run for a day or more (say I ran Tues am then by Thurs morning) there is lots on energy in my legs. They feel like running fast and I’m happy and make jokes; the calf injury is gone for good.
Also on the Parow 30 km run I slipped into another forgotten running zone: top of the long hill, 16 km (more than half the run) gone, an easier stretch to come, so, my body picks a pace it knows that it can push to the end (i.e. not an ambling, jogging pace) and off it goes, letting me sit back and enjoy the ride. And the little hills that used to be hard are now getting easier to do. But we gotta keep perspective – the Comrades Hills are bigger and longer and the race is a whole lot further than 30 km.
EnjoyJ
Links:
http://www.comrades.com Comrades website
http://www.coachnorrie.co.za Some race and training information
http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/pvorwerk My site ;-)
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