Saturday, August 31, 2013

K2 Training Plan

I have wanted to race in K2 for the past two years. In 2011, I missed the race because I ended up in Colombia. And last year, a combination of flu and bad weather left me with only a few weeks to train. This year, I am training specifically for K2. 


K2 is a 200km road-race in an anti-clockwise direction around the Coromandel peninsula. The race features 7 major climbs with a total of 2,300 meters of elevation gain. The smallest climb is 145m and the biggest is 425m. But what makes K2 so grueling is the fact that its held so early in the race season - the first week of November.  



I took three complete rest weeks during July and began my base training in early August. I thought 3 months, or close to it, would be a reasonable length of time to prepare for K2. And so far, so good. Currently, I am four weeks in and I surprised myself with a decent 4 hour ride last weekend, and a 4.5 hour ride today in the Waitakere ranges.

So, I have 9 more weeks of training until the race on November 2nd. These are my major weekly training goals:

  • Week 1: 5 hour endurance-pace ride. 
  • Week 2: 5.5 hour endurance-pace ride. Begin interval training.
  • Week 3: 6 hour endurance-pace ride (Takapuna-Warkworth-Helensville-Takapuna). 
  • Week 4: 
  • Week 5: Recon-ride (6+ hours) 
  • Week 6:
  • Week 7: Final 6-hour ride
  • Week 8: Taper
  • Week 9: Race

I am not sure yet what the rest of the plan looks like. I'll be joining the Albany 7am bunch ride each Sunday, likely beginning next week, for fast-paced group rides. There is also a Wednesday 6am ride (1 hour) in Takapuna. Finally, I'll add hill repeats and intervals 1-2x per week.

K2 will be my longest race. Taranaki Cycle Challenge was 148km but flat/undulating. The three races in Italy and France in 2011 were not so much races for me, but rather just European events I entered. 

I'll enter the Open Men category. There is no way I can race in the Elites, even on my best day. The Elites will just be coming off their Euro race seasons. I recognize many of the names in the Open Men from past results. I think I could give a decent showing and maybe finish in the top-30. 

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