FITNESS Count down to Sea2Summit

Exercise is not an licence to eat what you like


Personal Trainer
Paul O'Brien

It’s just two weeks to the third Westport Sea2Summit adventure race, which takes place on November 3. Last year’s event was a massive success, and this year’s race is shaping up to be another epic battle with old hands and young guns pitting their wits against the course.
Those who take on the challenge of the longer ‘Supreme’ event face the challenge of hiking to the summit of the ‘Reek’, as well as the tough 35km cycle through the wild Sheaffry Mountains.
The shorter ‘Spirit’ event is still not to be sniffed at: The 27.5km race includes a run stage along Westport’s scenic Greenway of approximately 4km distance, an 8km cycle to Croagh Patrick and a hike to the shoulder of the holy mountain. The competitors then retrace their steps back to the finish line in Westport.
Over the past six weeks, we’ve been publishing training guides for participants. Here’s the final instalment, designed to get you through the next two weeks, and over the finish line. Good luck all.

Run
The second to last week before the race is your last week of full training sessions before the race. Complete the following sessions:
1. Hill Session – find a 100- to 200-metre-long hill. After a 2km easy warm-up jog, run between 6-10 hill repeats. Use the downhill section to recover by slowly jogging or walking down. Complete the first two repeats at 70 percent effort, the next two at 90 percent effort and your last couple at 100 percent. Cool down with an easy 2-3km jog.
2. Leave a few days between the hill session and this one: Run for an hour at a pace that is slower than your approximate race pace.
3. Recovery run – an easy pace for 5km.

Bike
After a 10-minute easy warm-up ride, ride at a moderate pace for 60 minutes (if you’re training for the Spirit event) or 120 minutes (Supreme event).

Race week
The key here is to allow plenty of rest for your body to recover and to prime yourself for race day. This is known as tapering. Do NOT complete any speed, hill or threshold sessions this week. A couple of easy jogs and/or cycles is plenty. Eat well and get plenty of sleep.

Paul O’Brien is a personal trainer and life coach based in Westport.