Ohme 30 K Road Race

Two days have passed since I completed my weekend 40+ K running project. I feel fully recovered. The slight knee pain in both of my knees seems gone. My body feels lighter when I run up stairs. Soreness in the neck and shoulders is completely absent. I feel ready to finalize my preparation for the 50^th Ohme 30 K Road Race that takes place this coming Sunday in Ohme City in western Tokyo.

I covered marathon distance in training twice in the last 17 days. So I feel least worried in terms of my stamina. My only concern is fatigue resistance when running at a fast pace. Though it’s bad news for me, there isn’t much to do with it at this stage of training. All I can do is maintain my condition. For that purpose, there are only a couple of exercises left to the runner. Core training is one. It helps tone your body balance required while running without fatiguing your legs too much. Another is short speed training such as 3 K build-up. You begin to run at a certain pace, and progressively raise your pace by 10 seconds or so per K. For example, if you run the first 1 K at 4:50/K, your next lap should be 4:40, and the last 4:30. This is to stimulate your cardio-vascular system by pre-conditioning it to cope with the change of pace that inevitably takes place at the race.

What’s most important in the last three days before the race is having good food and storing up enough energy in your body by having good rest. With diet, there isn’t much to worry about. If you eat clean most of the time, you can just stick with it. And you can eat just a little bit more of carb if any because carb is a main source of energy in long distance running. Incidentally, though rest is vitally important, too much relaxation is not too good. Some running experts recommend a short fast run on the day before the race just to stimulate your leg muscles and cardio. It will be a 3 to 5 K session at your 10 K pace. In my case it’s 4:30/K. As far as I’m concerned, I will probably do a 3 K fast run at 4:30/K pace on Friday night since I stay at a hotel in Hachioji on the night before the race, and exercising in an unfamiliar town doesn’t seem like a good idea.

My training schedule before the race is as follows:

<Tue> 3.9 K Build Up

<Wed> Core Training & Stretching

<Thurs>Stretching & Rest

<Fri> 3 K Pace Run at 4:30/K

<Sat> Stretching & Rest