Yesterday I had planned to run a 10km before breakfast but circumstances meant that I didn’t have enough time available. The temptation is to run a 5km, do nothing or reschedule a 10km run for another day; but I did none of these.
Scaring the kangaroos while running after dark
A few years ago I had a friend who was a very good half marathon runner. He had been quite sick for around six weeks leading up to the Sydney Half Marathon and had done no training whatsoever.
He hadn’t planned on competing that year because of his poor condition, but as a seeded runner the previous year, when he received his invitation to again compete he couldn’t resist and started to train with only three weeks to go before the event.
His training method was to do many short runs, and in fact, he didn’t do race distance until the day of the event. What he told me was that if you run a 5km in the morning and another 5km at lunchtime or at the latest on the evening of the same day, you get the same benefit as if you had run a 10km.
He ran in the morning and then did a lunchtime run four days a week. He ended up placing in the top 15 in the Sydney Half Marathon.
Not a good idea to run through the bush in the dark!
Yesterday I employed this technique for the first time, doing a 5km run in the morning and a 5km run at day’s end. Unfortunately it was so dark when I finished my run that I had to walk the last kilometre, so as not to twist an ankle on the rough track.
Although I really didn’t want to go for a run at all yesterday, I forced myself to do a freezing run in the morning and another in the evening so now I feel great in the knowledge that I did what I set out to do.
See a video of my run on our Facebook page. or on Youtube.
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City2Surf Training Plan – Lifting Your Game – Overview
- City2Surf Training Plan Stage One
- City2Surf training plan – Stage Two
- City2Surf training plan – Stage Three
- Week 11 – Introduction to a routine (Rest Day) (First gym day)
- Week 10 – Start off Nice and Easy
- Week 9 – Continue at an easy pace
- Week 8 - Noticing changes in yourself
Jogging and Running : what’s the difference? - Week 7 – Step it up a notch
Calculating your Ideal Training Level - Week 6 – Focus on Breathing
- Week 5 – Arm Power
- Week 4 – High Effort
- Week 3 – Steady as She Goes
- Week 2 – Focus on Endurance
- Week 1 – How to Cut minutes of your City2Surf time with 24 Hours to go
- City to Surf 2009 – We are off
About the Author
Chris Edwards is a Communication Strategist and Executive Coach. He is a City2Surf Legend who applies the same focus and dedication to his clients that has powered him over the line year after year.
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