I've been trying something new in training. It's called, "Singles," and the idea is to get all of your running for the day in one run.
This might not seem like such a big deal to most folks. In fact, the wide majority of runners run only once a day, if that. When you look at the training schedules of many of the top runners though, you'll notice a change. For me this change took place when I was a freshman in high school. We had a new coach come to our school in the middle of the year between cross country and tack. Although our team was already pretty successful, he made some changes. The most significant of these was the addition of morning runs to our daily schedules. Every day coach met us at the school at 6 AM for a quick 3 or 4 miles in the morning. The idea was that it was an easy way to pad the running log with some extra miles and that it helped us to be loose and warmed up for the afternoon workout, which was the more important run of the day.
Since that time, as I grew to appreciate the finer points of studying the training schedules of the elites, I've found that the broad majority of top runners (maybe 90% or more) put in 2 runs on most days. The typical schedule in the US is for a runner to put in a shorter, less significant run in the morning, and a longer, more important run in the afternoon. When I started studying Kenyan schedules I was shocked to find that many put in 3 workouts per day. A wake up run at 6 AM, a hard run or intervals and 10 AM, and an easy jog at 4 PM. I guess when you're living at a full time running camp, there's not much else to do.
Anyway, back to singles. I've been finding in the last few years (yes, I'm getting older) that I haven't been recovering as well from day to day as I used to. I was still exhausted from the previous day's run in the morning, and I was still tired from my morning run in the afternoon. Because of the daily grind of running twice a day, I wasn't able to really feel fresh for my big workouts when I needed to. That's when I really started considering doing singles. The most well known running coach in history is probably Authur Lidyard, and he said that doing one run of 70 minutes was more beneficial than putting in two runs of 35 minutes. His athletes would put in one solid run every 24 hours, giving themselves more time to recover. I've since learned that such notables runners and programs such as Meb Keflezigi and the University of Colorado also follow this formula. The idea is to take my 5 mile morning run and my 9 mile afternoon run, and just make one run of say 13 miles. Yes, the one run will be harder, but I'll have 12 extra hours of recover, and I'll be gaining in endurance. The goal for Lidyard's athletes was to get 100 miles in for the week. In other words, an average of 14+ per run! I haven't hit that yet but I'm getting there. Last week was 86 miles in 6 runs. This week should be 92 miles in 7 runs. We'll see what the experiment proves. So far I've noticed that I get to sleep in a little longer, I'm more inclined to have time in the morning for my daily devotional, and I have more energy for my one run a day. Now we just need to give it some time to see if it all translates into some PR's this year.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
A Day Late and a Dollar Short--The Carlsbad Marathon
Well I entered the Carlsbad Marathon a couple of months after my foot surgery because I thought it would provide a good carrot for me to chase in my training. I knew that if I had a marathon to get through that I would have to be disciplined enough to put in the quality miles necessary. I also knew that timing the race so soon after surgery would necessitate a flawless preparation in order to achieve the level that I had run last year (2nd place in 2:23:45).
Needless to say, my preparation wasn't perfect. I was hampered by the usual colds, tight hamstrings, and dark cold days that are common in the winter. Going into the race I adjusted my goal to a top 3 finish and a sub 2:30 marathon.
Normally I wouldn't run in a marathon that I didn't feel ready for but in this instance the race had paid for my travel expenses so I felt obligated to give it a good try.
My roommate at the race hotel was Andrew Musuva, a 2:12 marathon runner from Kenya. I knew that he hadn't run anything too fast recently though, so I wasn't too concerned. It seems that every marathon with some prize money has some Kenyans that have broken 2:15 or so. It doesn't mean that they are in that good of shape all the time.
As the race began at an early start time of 6 AM it was still dark out. Quickly a lead pack of 4 formed. It was myself, Musuva, another Kenyan who had finished third last year in 2:27, and Josh Spiker who was a former all-American at the University of Wisconsin. The three of us quickly settled into a pace of 5:40-5:45 per mile. Pretty pedestrian compared to last year's splits, but right at 2:30 pace. I think the other runners in the group were looking to me to set the pace because I was the top returning runner from last year. Anyway, as we hit the five mile mark in 28:33 the others realized that I had no plans of running any faster so they all took off and started racing each other for the places. I just kept running in the hopes that one of them might falter later on, and that I could maintain a sub 2:30.
I passed through the half way point in 1:15:20 and thought I still had a chance based on how I was feeling. I didn't feel tired at all and knew I wouldn't slow down, I just couldn't seem to run any faster though.
As late as the 20 mile mark I hit in 1:54:55 and knew that if I could run the last 10K in 35 min. then I would reach my goal. Normally this would not be too big of a deal. Unfortunately the last 10K was a slight up hill and a slight headwind. I could only manage 5:50 pace instead of the 5:40 pace I needed. I ran my last 10K in a very disappointing 36:45 to finish the race in 2:31:40. No prize money for breaking 2:30. No prize money for finishing in the top 3.
Josh Spiker won in 2:24:56, Musuva was 2nd, and the other Kenyan was 3rd again in 2:27.
Oh well, at least I felt good the whole way and didn't really suffer too badly. In fact the next day I felt fine and ran my typical 5-mile recovery run 3 minutes faster than what I normally do the day after a marathon. At least now I know where I stand and what needs to be done to mover forward. I'm looking forward to writing some blogs about my new training emphasis this year, and seeing what results it will bring!
Needless to say, my preparation wasn't perfect. I was hampered by the usual colds, tight hamstrings, and dark cold days that are common in the winter. Going into the race I adjusted my goal to a top 3 finish and a sub 2:30 marathon.
Normally I wouldn't run in a marathon that I didn't feel ready for but in this instance the race had paid for my travel expenses so I felt obligated to give it a good try.
My roommate at the race hotel was Andrew Musuva, a 2:12 marathon runner from Kenya. I knew that he hadn't run anything too fast recently though, so I wasn't too concerned. It seems that every marathon with some prize money has some Kenyans that have broken 2:15 or so. It doesn't mean that they are in that good of shape all the time.
As the race began at an early start time of 6 AM it was still dark out. Quickly a lead pack of 4 formed. It was myself, Musuva, another Kenyan who had finished third last year in 2:27, and Josh Spiker who was a former all-American at the University of Wisconsin. The three of us quickly settled into a pace of 5:40-5:45 per mile. Pretty pedestrian compared to last year's splits, but right at 2:30 pace. I think the other runners in the group were looking to me to set the pace because I was the top returning runner from last year. Anyway, as we hit the five mile mark in 28:33 the others realized that I had no plans of running any faster so they all took off and started racing each other for the places. I just kept running in the hopes that one of them might falter later on, and that I could maintain a sub 2:30.
I passed through the half way point in 1:15:20 and thought I still had a chance based on how I was feeling. I didn't feel tired at all and knew I wouldn't slow down, I just couldn't seem to run any faster though.
As late as the 20 mile mark I hit in 1:54:55 and knew that if I could run the last 10K in 35 min. then I would reach my goal. Normally this would not be too big of a deal. Unfortunately the last 10K was a slight up hill and a slight headwind. I could only manage 5:50 pace instead of the 5:40 pace I needed. I ran my last 10K in a very disappointing 36:45 to finish the race in 2:31:40. No prize money for breaking 2:30. No prize money for finishing in the top 3.
Josh Spiker won in 2:24:56, Musuva was 2nd, and the other Kenyan was 3rd again in 2:27.
Oh well, at least I felt good the whole way and didn't really suffer too badly. In fact the next day I felt fine and ran my typical 5-mile recovery run 3 minutes faster than what I normally do the day after a marathon. At least now I know where I stand and what needs to be done to mover forward. I'm looking forward to writing some blogs about my new training emphasis this year, and seeing what results it will bring!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Back in the Saddle
It's great to be back running and racing again. Today marked my return to the streets of Bend after what can only be described as a disasterous showing at the 2008 Turkey Trot. I knew going into the race that I might be the favorite since Bend's real heavy hitters, particularly, Jeff Caba who vanquished me at the previously mentioned event, would be out of town and unable to compete.
As the freezing runners waited for the start, I noticed that Michael Dennis, a friend of Cabas and fellow PA was nudging closer and closer to me. Michael is normally a friendly fellow so I thought nothing of it at the time. As the race began, I quickly realized that news of my physical tactics must have gotten out around town, and today would be payback. You see, in the Turkey Trot, I had employed some less-than-fair sportmanship directed towards Mr. Caba. Unknowingly, I also clotheslined an innocent Sean Meissner in the midst of dishing out these shananigans. In a small town like Bend, word travels fast. Micael Dennis was clearly on a mission to try to exact some revenge. As I spurted off the line he quickly chased me down and grabbed on, trying to wrestle me to the ground. I was able to fight him off once, but he grabbed me again. finally, the second time I broke free, I bolted quickly to a 10 meter lead in order to run clear of his interference.
At that point, with the race decided, I was able to coast in to the finish of the 3 miler in 15:38. A disappointed Dennis settled for second slightly over a minute back. I heard him mumble as he crossed the line, "I'll get you next time Martin!" Anyway, next time should be interesting indeed as Dennis will be joined perhaps by Mr. Caba in a 2 on 1 tag team event. Oh, and there is another fast guy in town that might show up as well. He ran 10 miles farther than I did this morning at a pace that was 20 seconds per mile faster, ouch!
As the freezing runners waited for the start, I noticed that Michael Dennis, a friend of Cabas and fellow PA was nudging closer and closer to me. Michael is normally a friendly fellow so I thought nothing of it at the time. As the race began, I quickly realized that news of my physical tactics must have gotten out around town, and today would be payback. You see, in the Turkey Trot, I had employed some less-than-fair sportmanship directed towards Mr. Caba. Unknowingly, I also clotheslined an innocent Sean Meissner in the midst of dishing out these shananigans. In a small town like Bend, word travels fast. Micael Dennis was clearly on a mission to try to exact some revenge. As I spurted off the line he quickly chased me down and grabbed on, trying to wrestle me to the ground. I was able to fight him off once, but he grabbed me again. finally, the second time I broke free, I bolted quickly to a 10 meter lead in order to run clear of his interference.
At that point, with the race decided, I was able to coast in to the finish of the 3 miler in 15:38. A disappointed Dennis settled for second slightly over a minute back. I heard him mumble as he crossed the line, "I'll get you next time Martin!" Anyway, next time should be interesting indeed as Dennis will be joined perhaps by Mr. Caba in a 2 on 1 tag team event. Oh, and there is another fast guy in town that might show up as well. He ran 10 miles farther than I did this morning at a pace that was 20 seconds per mile faster, ouch!
Monday, March 31, 2008
The Beautiful Simplicity of Progression
I've been very lucky in my running career to rub shoulders with some of the world's best athletes and coaches. I've learned a lot in these encounters but the one idea that has stuck with me the most is the idea of the progression run. The idea has been around for a while but it really took on meaning for me in 2001 when I was training under the man who is probably considered the most successful coach in the world. Dr. Gabrielle Rosa was the coach of the Fila Discovery Program in Kenya, and the Fila Discovery USA program that was alive for a short time here in the states. He is the coach of Paul Tergat and several other successful Kenyan marathon runners.
Anyway, back to the progression run(I've also heard it called a pick-up, or fulcrum run. The idea, according to Rosa, is that every run you do should be a progression. Start out slow, finish faster. It's pretty simmple and it makes sense. For the beginning of any run, you should start out easy, let the body, muscles, and joints get a nice liesurely warm-up. Over the middle miles, slowly pick up the pace, Finally over the last third of the run, start to work a little. This teaches the body the most important thing you can do in a race; to relax while running fast. It also teaches you to get used to running negative splits, which is a great way to race successfully.
Now in the Fila camp, we American runners didn't have a complete understanding of the concept. We would routinely start out at 6:30 pace and finish in close of 5 minute pace for a 10 mile run (And that was our easy day!). It wasn't until one of the runners did a training stint in Kenya that we discovered how much more exagerated the Kenyan model was. He said that these top runners in the world would often start out at 10 minute pace or slower! Really giving the body time to get warmed up and loose before cranking it up over the second half. No wonder we had a lot more injuries than they did. We were running too hard from the beginning!
Anyway, I still try to do almost every run this way. I don't finish at 5:00 pace very often any more, but I do try to slowly pick it up as I run. This way my body becomes more accustomed to a variety of paces, instead of getting locked into one.
It seems to work as long as I remember to take it easy on my easy days. The influx of speed on easier days has allowed some of the runners to actually do speed work (i.e. intervals) less often than we do it here in the states, while still maintaining world class speed.
Andy
Anyway, back to the progression run(I've also heard it called a pick-up, or fulcrum run. The idea, according to Rosa, is that every run you do should be a progression. Start out slow, finish faster. It's pretty simmple and it makes sense. For the beginning of any run, you should start out easy, let the body, muscles, and joints get a nice liesurely warm-up. Over the middle miles, slowly pick up the pace, Finally over the last third of the run, start to work a little. This teaches the body the most important thing you can do in a race; to relax while running fast. It also teaches you to get used to running negative splits, which is a great way to race successfully.
Now in the Fila camp, we American runners didn't have a complete understanding of the concept. We would routinely start out at 6:30 pace and finish in close of 5 minute pace for a 10 mile run (And that was our easy day!). It wasn't until one of the runners did a training stint in Kenya that we discovered how much more exagerated the Kenyan model was. He said that these top runners in the world would often start out at 10 minute pace or slower! Really giving the body time to get warmed up and loose before cranking it up over the second half. No wonder we had a lot more injuries than they did. We were running too hard from the beginning!
Anyway, I still try to do almost every run this way. I don't finish at 5:00 pace very often any more, but I do try to slowly pick it up as I run. This way my body becomes more accustomed to a variety of paces, instead of getting locked into one.
It seems to work as long as I remember to take it easy on my easy days. The influx of speed on easier days has allowed some of the runners to actually do speed work (i.e. intervals) less often than we do it here in the states, while still maintaining world class speed.
Andy
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Infinite Love for the Infiniti
I know you're not supposed to do this, but I've always been a rule breaker. I just did my first run in a new pair of shoes. 20 miles. Now the "running rules" clearly state that you shouldn't run so far the first time in a pair of new shoes. Instead you should wear them around the house and break them in with a few short runs (preferably on a treadmill so you can stop any time if you get a blister or something else goes wrong). But I don't always follow the "running rules." In fact, I've sort of discovered that the rules don't always work. It's much better to develop your own set of rules that work specifically to you.
Within my personalized set of running rules is the rule that clearly states that I can run a long run in a new pair of shoes if 1. The shoes feel fantastic walking around; and 2. I take my liners out of an older pair and replace them with the new liners in the new pair.
Well, I tried it this weekend with a new pair of Brooks Infiniti I got down at the Foot Zone and the results couldn't have been better! I've worn hundreds of pairs of shoes in my life, and after one run the Infiniti have to have moved into my top 5 of all time. The shoes are incredibly protective while still maintaining a fairly light weight and performance feel.
I set off on my 20 miler taking me around a loop going by Tumalo State Park and back home past Shevlin Park. I had no particular plans to run hard or try to hit a certain time. I just needed to put in the miles. Well, the shoes felt so good that I soon found myself rolling along. At about 7 miles in I passed J.J. Howard and Michael Dennis going the other way on a long run gearing up for the Boston Marathon and Michael yelled out, "Wow, you're going fast!" I hadn't been thinking about it really, but I realized after he said it that Michael was right, I was cruising right along at a sub 6 minute pace and feeling just fine.
The shoes continued to protect, mile and mile. I ran the last five in 28:40 for a total time of 2:00:11 for 20.00 miles on my Garmin. Not bad for a weekend long run! In fact that's my 2nd fastest time for that course and I've run in several times with a much harder effort.
Anyway, the point is, those shoes are sweet! I loved them every step of the way. If you happen to be a neutral runner or slight over-pronator you should give them a try.
More blogs to follow.
Andy
Within my personalized set of running rules is the rule that clearly states that I can run a long run in a new pair of shoes if 1. The shoes feel fantastic walking around; and 2. I take my liners out of an older pair and replace them with the new liners in the new pair.
Well, I tried it this weekend with a new pair of Brooks Infiniti I got down at the Foot Zone and the results couldn't have been better! I've worn hundreds of pairs of shoes in my life, and after one run the Infiniti have to have moved into my top 5 of all time. The shoes are incredibly protective while still maintaining a fairly light weight and performance feel.
I set off on my 20 miler taking me around a loop going by Tumalo State Park and back home past Shevlin Park. I had no particular plans to run hard or try to hit a certain time. I just needed to put in the miles. Well, the shoes felt so good that I soon found myself rolling along. At about 7 miles in I passed J.J. Howard and Michael Dennis going the other way on a long run gearing up for the Boston Marathon and Michael yelled out, "Wow, you're going fast!" I hadn't been thinking about it really, but I realized after he said it that Michael was right, I was cruising right along at a sub 6 minute pace and feeling just fine.
The shoes continued to protect, mile and mile. I ran the last five in 28:40 for a total time of 2:00:11 for 20.00 miles on my Garmin. Not bad for a weekend long run! In fact that's my 2nd fastest time for that course and I've run in several times with a much harder effort.
Anyway, the point is, those shoes are sweet! I loved them every step of the way. If you happen to be a neutral runner or slight over-pronator you should give them a try.
More blogs to follow.
Andy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
