I trust everyone made the most of the recent long weekend, and similar use is planned to be made of the coming Easter weekend too. Long weekends are made for distance runners, and being perfectly timed, these long weekends are excellent for Comrades preparation.
March and early April is the time for increased mileage, and getting the legs, mind and body used to spending long periods of time out on the road. The best way to do this is of course through long training runs. I believe the human body is capable of doing much more than we ask of it, but it is our mind that quits way too early. So these long runs are intended to get the mind used to running on tired legs.
Long training runs take their toll on the body, and as mentioned previously, rest and recovery is just as important a part of your training as what running is. Bearing this in mind, it should be remembered then that these long runs will require you to rest and recover before benefiting from the next training session. That considered, I believe it is more beneficial to run consecutive days for shorter distances than to cram all the mileage into one morning. Back-to-back 21km runs are probably more beneficial to your preparation, at this stage, than what a marathon would be. Using the long weekends then, and running 20-30km on each of 3 consecutive days will certainly help getting the head ready for the first weekend in June. If on the last day of the long weekend, you arrive tired and stiff at the start of your training run, and then you still go run 20km, you have done it right. The first day back at work after the long weekend can be used to relax and recover.
As they say: "Long distance running is 90% mental and the other half is physical"
Only 3 more weeks until the 6-week taper begins. Not that far now, so keep running, push through the fatigue, and remember why you are doing this.
Happy Feet!
Regards,
Andrew
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