Training Plans for Next Race

It is now three weeks since the Gold Coast Half and I have got together a new plan for my next race. I will again aim for a race at the Gold Coast. So only just over eleven months to go.

At this stage, I would very much like to have another go at the full Marathon. My last completed marathon was in 1985 at the Gold Coast. ( I pulled out at 34k in 1988 after the bear landed on my back when I was attempting to run 2:48). But the Half is a good racing distance. You can run it hard without being a complete wreck for weeks after. So it is still an option, but the decision as to which event to enter can be made much closer to the date. The training in preparation will not be any different. So here is the plan.

From August 05 to March 06, basic aerobic conditioning. I would like to be up to running 100k a week by the end of this time. So the aim is to average 65 k a week in August and then increase that average by 5k a week each month to get to the 100k by March.

August 65k/week
September 70k/week
October 75k/week
November 80k/week
December 85k/week
January 90k/week
Febuary 95k/week
March 100k/week.

This I hope to achieve with five/six sessons a week consisting of :
1 x Long Easy Run 20 - 35 k @ 135 - 140 HR
2 x Medium Easy Run 15 - 20k @ under 140 HR
2 x Medium Run 10 - 15k @ under 150 HR
1 x Short Easy 5 - 10K @ under 135 HR

This will leave ample time in April, May and June for some hill and speed training and some time trials at race pace.

This is very exciting for me. So many people seemed to get excited about race day but it is the training were the race is set up and I get a real buzz out of planning and working towards tha next race. Given that for the Half Marathon this year I put in only 14 weeks of aerobic training and 8 weeks of speed, I would think with this program I could knock another 10 minutes from the time I did this year. But it is way to early to be making time predictions. Just got to do the trainiing and the times will come.