Wake Up!

Dear TNF100 Duo hopeful friends, it is 11 weeks before the race itself. 

11 freaking weeks! 
Minus the four weeks of fasting, and four weeks of Raya (ada ka?) with negotiating open houses when carbo-loading takes a new definition - we have 3 short weeks. 

Long gulp! 
Ian - help us on this :D

I found few sporadic 12 weeks program from some not-believable websites. Oh no!
And looking at the total numbers of weekly mileages spilled were intimidating. Not undoable, but intimidating.

And an excerpt from The Runner's World below :

Training for 50: A few things you should know.
You're not going to spend most of your waking hours running. That's because prepping for a 50-miler is much like marathon training, but with fewer and slower intervals, and somewhat longer (and slower) long runs spiced with walking breaks. The plan offers enough miles in the proper dosages to prepare you for your first 50, while leaving you with enough time and energy to have, like, an actual life (oh, good). 

Ultra training is not about speed, or even distance, but rather time on your feet. Hence, the core element in getting ready is the long run "sandwich": back-to-back long, slowish runs on successive days (Saturday and Sunday) bookended by two days of total rest. 

You'll be doing a bit of long, but not-so-fast interval work to boost muscle strength, stamina, and aerobic capacity. This will also keep you from settling into a semipermanent slow slog that makes a 12-minute pace feel like a 100-meter dash. 

8 Rules of the road
1) Stay flat
Find as flat a 50 as you can, and as close to home as possible. Running this far for the first time is tough enough without the added stress of steep hills and travel.



2) Get familiar 

Train on the terrain you're going to race on: trails, asphalt, or--as is common in many 50-mile events--a mix of the two.



3) Take breaks 
Stopping briefly for walk breaks in both training and racing is the key to being able to move forward at all times.



4) Pack a bag

Most 50-mile events will drop your race bag near the 35-mile point (some also will make a drop around 20 miles). Your drop bag(s) should include solid fuel (your favorite energy bars, candy bars, or gels), sunscreen, long-sleeve T-shirt and/or nylon windbreaker, clean socks and an alternate pair of shoes, and Vaseline or skin lube (NA - everything will be in our packs)



5) Start slowly, then back off

Because when it comes to 50-milers, pacing errors no longer penalize just your finishing time, but the possibility of finishing at all. "Start off a full 30 seconds-per-mile slower than your marathon pace," says Parrott.



6) Eat, drink, and (try to) be merry 

During the race, eat whatever worked for you during your training runs: cookies, raisins, figs, crackers, pretzels, energy bars. Whatever. And drink continuously: eight ounces or so every 15 to 20 minutes, including electrolyte-loaded sports drinks. Consider high-caffeine drinks such as Mountain Dew over the last 15 miles. 



7) Find a rhythm

One popular run/walk pattern is to run 20 minutes, walk five minutes. Do this from the outset, or after you've run the first 15 or 20 miles, or whatever pattern has worked best for you in your training. Some prefer a shorter mix of running five minutes, then walking one, believing that this is less stressful than the 20:5 pattern. Note: Walk all uphills, even the small ones, and even if it means short-circuiting a run segment. 



8) Be prepared

Just how much time is this thing going to take you? To get a ballpark expectation, double your best marathon time and add two hours to get a realistic 50-mile time. So for example, a 3:30 marathoner could expect to run his or her first 50 in about nine hours. 

The 16-weeks program is here (start at Week 5?). But the program is only for 50miles, so I will be spared of the Week 6 peak of 87k split between Saturday and Sunday.

I am looking at my schedule, and it will be achievable to set weekly mileages for 11 weeks, and having base runs of 7k on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. There'll be LSDs and mid long runs scattered between Mondays and weekends.

Weekend seems like it that long midnight runs will prevail. Oh that dreadful PICC!

Anxious sungguh ni!

Comments

kookykash said…
ooo…not another ultra training!
Khairul said…
I can feel ur anxiety bro. Kak J and Mohan used to tell me about how tough it was. On a positive note, u r in a tip top physical condition. And there's gonna be familiar faces around u. I'm gonna be there to support u all.
Have u registered for The Jungle River on 15/8? It's gonna be in the fasting month i know, but i guess u r in need of some LSD jugak. I've registered, to fill the marathon void until Bangkok. All the best Syah!
iamsyah said…
kash - well, it sure is... phew!

KA - knowing friends being around is comforting.
I have received the notification but haven't got time to register yet. mebbe tomorrow, as that is one good simulation. no pressure too
(eh, you are getting the MM status jugak ka?
ian yusof said…
ok syah ... that's scary ... I on the other hand has abandoned all my own training regime and been actively involve in the PTs. Must start after my diving trip this weekend. We should train at Bukit Komanwel. Although the terrain is somewhat hilly, considering the amt of time we have, I think it's worth intensifying our training a lil bit.
IJAM said…
Of course you can syah!!
at least put some photo in your blog for god sake!! boring la...
photo bunga ke, lipan ke, dinding ke...
err..sorry too carried away...we're talking about race kan?...
Che said…
im in.. im in.. menyibuk like always.. in preparation for TNF 2011 :P

POR 1 rasa tak dpt join. still kat kg :P
Unknown said…
ijam kemaruk photo tu...
err... time for night running? again? Uih!
iamsyah said…
Ian - oh those stairs and ramps!
any plans for ramadhan?

Ijam - ala cakap je lah kau nak gambar amoi...

che - alaa... eh this wiken ada plan ka? ke gi urut sebelum the big race?

zaki - my blog is the exact opposite of his lah bro...
you said it like it is a sin, whereby kau lari 30k every monday macam makan kuaci hehhehe
ziff71 said…
Syah, RBUs can tumpang semangkuk in any of those LSD :)
iamsyah said…
Ziff - kembang tiga semangkuk kami tadahkan... mau pun mesti mau treneng... 18 weeks marathon treneng macam nak cantek dah tu
Che said…
urut cam best. jom? u need it too?
IJAM said…
che : urut? kau jangan...lain mcm je bunyi nya tu..tapi kalau lain macam punya aku join..ha, ha...

Syah : ye la, gambar amoi, gambar amoi, gambar amoi...
ziff71 said…
Urut? kalau Ijam join aku nak join gak..mana boleh bg Ijam sapu sorang hahahaha
iamsyah said…
che - i go to urut only post LSDs je... which reminds me, ada lagi voucher urut kt kl sentral tu :)

ijam - ye lah, nnt aku dedikasi kan gambar gambar utk kau :P. tapi apa kau nak buat dengan gambar beb? dalam kamera kau dah penuh dengan gambar dah...

ziff - tu lah, nampak gaya dah melencong tujuan nih... ijam nak gi happy massage tu... ooopps! :D
Fong said…
haha, klako... d training sounds so exciting =) good luck all =)

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