Saturday 16 April 2011

Game plan

Tomorrow I am taking part in my 1st duathlon at the same time thousands of people will be completing the London Marathon.  While I will be finished a lot quicker than them there are two things we will have in common.  The first is we will have a game plan.  Mine is simple; in the first 5km run I will run at 4.45 min per km which is slower than my race pace for 5km - treat it like a warm up.  On the 20 km bike I am going to maintain 26.5 km per hour, a good speed as it is over a relatively short distance and I have another 5km to run when I get off.  Then I step into the unknown.  I am aiming to run the last 5km at 4.30 min per km.  That is my game plan and having established the plan it will be easier to focus during the event and after I can conduct a more meaningful review.
The second thing we will have in common is at the end we will be knackered.  If I am not on all fours trying to keep my breakfast down and gasping for air then I haven't pushed myself to the limit.  Where ever the finish line is. 1km, 10km or 100 km, you need a plan that sets the pace to give you focus.
All that is left is to execute the plan.  I'll let you know how it goes but for now I am resting (part of my plan) watching Andy Murray battle with Nadal - come on Andy and good luck to all those taking part in the London Marathon!