As if the gruelling Two Oceans Marathon wasn’t enough…now I’ve gone and done it: I’m about to run my first Comrades Marathon. What possessed me?
In my last column I shared my experiences of taking part in the Two Oceans, one of the most popular marathons on the South African race calendar. I used the race as part of my preparations for the epic Comrades Marathon, aptly called ”the ultimate human race”. It is one of the longest ultra-races in the world, covering an unbelievable 89km. This year it’s been run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on May 24.
Experts agree that this is not the time to prepare for the race as there are just a few weeks left. Preparations or training for the race should have started last year. If I were to use examinations as an analogy, I would say this is not the time for serious swotting but for revision…
Johan Oosthuizen, a teacher in Mpumalanga who ran his 12th Comrades Marathon last year, said when asked about the appropriate time to start preparing for Comrades Marathon: ”The best time to start preparing for Comrades is soon after the race.” He advised against taking a long rest and waiting until the next marathon.
I took his advice to heart. I took part in a dozen races last year and – with luck – laid a solid base for Comrades.
But, as with any other race – especially if you are a novice – you just cannot shake off the anxiety that goes with such a big event. You gets a lot of unsolicited and anecdotal tips from people who have run the race before. Some are scary, others are inspirational.
My biggest bogey is, as most runners will tell you, overtraining or undertraining. It’s very difficult to put a finger on it; even experts concur it is a tough call as there is no scientific way to tell conclusively if you have under- or overtrained. It’s a known fact that first-time runners like myself are prone to overdo it because they want to set best personal records on their first attempt.
A friend offered his personal, unscientific opinion on the two. He said if you have undertrained your body or legs will give in as soon as you run past the usual distance you’re used to covering. The direct outcome of this is injury.
But, if you have overtrained, you will invariably feel exhausted a few weeks or so before the race. So, even before you take part in the race, your body complains, crying for a break or some rest. If this happens, you are in serious trouble. You might as well pull out…at the very least don’t even entertain hopes of finishing within your personal best time, opined my friend.
To ensure that I do not fall prey to either problem, I decided to refrain from long and hard runs. From the casual conversations that I have had with fellow runners I believe I have built sufficient strength or stamina in my legs and this should carry me at least until the 50km or 70km mark.
So now I’m focusing on speed running mainly to help open my chest. What this means is that on average I do between 10km and 15km a week and try to finish within as short a time as possible, within 55 or 57 minutes. I also make sure the course I choose allows for this kind of running: that is it should not be too steep.
The other key consideration is, since winter is already upon us, making sure I dress warmly to avoid contracting flu.
Because I mostly jog in the early hours of the morning while it is still dark, I pick well-lit streets so that I can see my way clearly lest I sustain an injury. Getting injured at this time would be costly; it could derail all my plans. For those of you who will be taking to the roads and attempting that long downhill run, happy running!