The Bridge to Brisbane is a 10km Fun Run Event normally held at the end of August each year.
This is a great event to work towards if you want to stay motivated and on track during winter.
There are 5km and 10km options so it caters for all fitness levels.
In recent years the course has changed, instead of the dreaded Gateway Bridge as a starting point. The new course gives you the opportunity to appreciate this great city we live in from a different vantage point on what is normally a beautiful winter’s morning.
If you are serious about competing now is about the time you should start to consider a training plan!
The first point to start is to establish a goal. This could be as simple as I just want to finish or you want to challenge yourself to run the whole way without stopping. You can take it to the next level and set yourself a target time to finish!
The best way to find out your target time is to do a test run. This can be over a shorter distance between 3-5km.
Time yourself for the total distance and then divide that number by the amount of km’s you burn. For example if you run 5km in 30mins. We divide 30 by 5 and come up with 6. That is km split time, which would be 6min. So we can estimate that it’s going to take 60mins to run 10km. Add in a bit of fatigue and you have yourself a go to train for! Remember you have 14 weeks to train for B2B so your fitness will improve significantly over that time.
With the availability of running apps such as the Nike Running Club, or the Apple Watch it makes tracking your training easier than ever.
So you have your time, you have registered now it’s time to get down to training!
Here’s how to do it:
To be able to run 10km reasonably comfortable without stopping you need to commit to running 3 times per week.
These should be split between long steady distance and interval training. LSD (Long-Steady Distance) builds endurance and stamina. It’s also more comfortable and allows your joints, muscle and tendons to adjust to the load of running. Interval training conditions your body to getting used to fatigue and lactic acid.
At the start of your running program its the most vulnerable time for your body and highest risk of injury. So take it slow to start and build into it.
Week 1-4 (Long Steady Distance)
Start at a comfortable distance below 5km. Add in an extra km each week until you are running 5km 3 times each week.
Week 5-8 (Introduce Intervals)
Maintain two long steady runs each week and try to build them to 5-7km during this period.
Introduce Interval Training (Find a grassy oval and complete 200,400,600,800,600,400,200m intervals. Time them and try to match your time the second round)
Week 9-12 (Introducing Hill Sprints)
Maintain two long steady runs each week and try to build them to 7-10km during this period. (One can be longer, one can be shorter)
If you want to freshen it up try hill sprints (Find a steep hill around 100m long and aim to complete 10-15 repetitions, this will get you ready for B2B!)
Week 13 (Taper Week)
Do a couple of lighter longer runs around 5km and freshen up your legs. Make sure you hydrate well and stretch leading up to the big race!