This week has finally seen me overcome my inertia and get back into the gym! It’s a far cry from completing 100km over the rugged terrain surrounding the Bush Capital, but it’s a start; and as Laozi said in the Tao Te Ching “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Training so far this week has comprised four sessions, each including an hour on the treadmill and some weights or core strengthening work. I am attempting to be guided by science and evidence based recommendations rather than my usual instinct of gunning it! This involves going slow to get faster more efficiently. As discussed by Rich Roll in Finding Ultra, Christopher McDougall in Natural Born Heroes, and Dr Philip Maffetone in The Maffetone Method, amongst others, I am focussing my efforts within Zone 2. This involves keeping my heart rate between 98 and 115bpm. The fat burn heart rate range is approximately 60-70% of 220 – your age. Keeping my heart rate this low is extremely difficult, and feels like I am hardly exercising! However, the EVIDENCE shows that if I keep with the programme I will eventually be able to go faster, without increasing my heart rate significantly. This will mean that I will be exercising more efficiently and reducing the development of lactate in my blood. By utilising my bodies fat stores I will also recuce my bodies dependence of blood sugars for energy, which can be depleted quickly and lead to fatigue.
I will persevere wih this programme as I have over 11 months to prepare and lay down the base mileage, which, all else being equal, will allow me to achieve my goal of completing the 100km in under 18 hours.
100km With The Black Dog 