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Knysna - The past six weeks of training based in the Cape made for exciting expeditions in very treacherous conditions. This brings me to my point of why do we indulge in these crazy challenges?
While life throws us all sorts of challenges like family duties, tough working environments and economical unpredictability we still manages to go out for a long run while it’s pouring with rain and temperatures way to low to be out doing any physical exercise.
Every single endurance athlete started out by competing in a single, shorter distanced race and gradually build their courage and signs of “No Fear” to a point where the tougher the conditions the better the beer or wine tastes after successfully conquering the mission set out.
The war stories post race with your like minded comrades makes all the suffering worth your while and also creates a opportunity to plan the next ambush as a team. While the endorphins are flowing, make sure to plan the next attack as we are spoiled with fantastic events right on our doorsteps.
With just under 2 weeks to go, by now we all should have managed a solid training block to compete at the Big5Challenge during the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival.
Unlike triathlon training, I have decided to approach the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival Big5Challenge in a totally different way than my preparation normally takes place. Doing 6 training sessions a week with one rest day was the norm, while also throwing in a easier week or two. This is what my training weeks ideally would have looked like:
- Monday – Swim
- Tuesday – Bike
- Wednesday – Swim
- Thursday – Run
- Friday – Rest
- Saturday – Long Bike
- Sunday – Long Run
This will account to around 8-10h of training a week.
The goal for my next 2 weeks will be shorter, but harder, sessions with tempo rides, interval sessions and hill repeats just to activate the fast-twitch muscle fibers, followed with three days of decreased training volume where I prepare and rest my body at the same time.
Essentially, muscle breaks down into two kinds: slow-twitch and fast-twitch.
Slow-twitch muscles work well if you run marathons, but if you want to achieve fast, explosive movement you need bigger, high-velocity, fast-twitch muscle fibers.
The key aspect of training for something like the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival Big5Challenge will always be consistency.
Equally important is your recovery - and that does not only signify your 32Gi Recover you use after each session, but also making sure you get enough rest and sleep between training which we all know can be very tough with all the daily duties we have to fulfill.
Train hard and be safe on the roads.
My next blog post… I will cover the importance of equipment you need for the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival Big5Challenge, the ability you need to successfully finish such a challenge and use of nutrition while taking part.
