GALEN RUPP
More Tempo Running – A Key Ingredient To The Kenyan Success
For reference, the Kenyan athletes were completing about 60% of their total kilometres as easy runs, 25% as tempo runs, just under 10% as short intervals, just under 5% as long intervals and around 1% as tests/competitions. For comparison the national level athletes completed close to 70% of their total kilometres as easy runs, 10% as tempo runs, around 6% as short intervals, 12% as long intervals and 2% as tests/competitions.
When considering the application of this for either your own or another athlete’s training it is obviously extremely important to consider the goals, strengths and weaknesses of that specific case however the comparison between athletic levels presented in this study is definitely interesting. If working in a similar time period (10 weeks from major competition) and you’re doing a lot of longer intervals, it may be worth switching some intervals for tempo runs, and hey, Wilson Kipsang does it.
VO2Max – What is it and Does it Matter?
So why does all this science matter and what does it mean for you? First of all, VO2max is the strongest independent predictor of future life expectancy so everyone out there should be at the very least slightly interested in their own value, athlete or not. Additionally VO2max becomes especially useful once we consider its impact on athletic performance.
In order to walk, run or move at all, our body needs to produce energy; we can either produce this energy without oxygen (anaerobic) or with oxygen (aerobic). Any exercise will require energy production from both aerobic and anaerobic systems however their relative contribution is determined by the duration and intensity of the effort. As anaerobic energy production is only possible for a very short period of time, our bodies will always try to meet the energy demands aerobically. In trained individuals it has been shown that during a maximal effort the switch to predominantly aerobic energy systems occurs somewhere between 15 and 30 seconds into exercise as by this point we have “run out” of anaerobic fuel. The rate of work, power output or running pace that an individual can maintain aerobically is determined largely by their VO2max.
Lesson #5: Train Your Mind – Alberto Salazar (World Famous Coach)
“You might not be competing against top runners from East Africa anytime soon, but you can, and should, work on your mental game. Remain relentlessly positive and focus on the things you can control in training and racing rather than be rattled by the things you can’t. And last but certainly not least, have confidence in yourself and your abilities when you step on the starting line. Without that key component, none of the other stuff really matters all that much.”
Lesson #4: Learn How To Sprint – Alberto Salazar (World Famous Coach)
Yes, like Usain Bolt. While sprinting isn’t going to compromise a majority of a distance runner’s training, it’s worth paying some attention to every week.
Lesson #2: Find good training partners – Alberto Salazar (World Famous Coach)
Though the years, members of the Project — as in any training group — have come and gone, but at any given time there has always been a group of highly motivated, extremely talented athletes working together every day in the pursuit of one common goal: improvement.
Lesson #1. Take a long-term approach – Alberto Salazar (World Famous Coach)
Let’s face it: we live in a results-driven world where many people subscribe to the philosophy that something needs to get done as soon as possible or else it’s not worth doing. Running, unfortunately, is no different.
Mo The Marathoner
“Do I give Mo 150 miles a week outside and have him face a tremendous risk? If he gets injured, he is done,” Salazar says. “We are shooting for extra miles in a safe way that will get the exact same benefits.”
What It’s Like To Be Coached By Alberto Salazar (Mo Farah’s Coach)
Running as a professional is like living at running camp. You get up, eat, do your first run, follow up with drills and weights, eat lunch, take a nap, do an afternoon session, eat dinner, and typically get some kind of massage or injury preventative/maintenance work done.
Alberto Salazar: Locating the Line Between Acceptable Performance Enhancement and Cheating
Regulating authorities in the sports world and the public need to recognise what all athletes striving to be their best have learned early in their careers, that everything they do to prepare for competition is with the hope that it will enhance their performance.
10 Golden Running Rules of World Famous Coach: Alberto Salazar
1. BE CONSISTENT. Find a training plan that you can stick to long-term. If you can run four days a week, every week, you are going to get 90 percent of the benefits of training seven days a week.
More Tempo Running – A Key Ingredient To The Kenyan Success
For reference, the Kenyan athletes were completing about 60% of their total kilometres as easy runs, 25% as tempo runs, just under 10% as short intervals, just under 5% as long intervals and around 1% as tests/competitions. For comparison the national level athletes completed close to 70% of their total kilometres as easy runs, 10% as tempo runs, around 6% as short intervals, 12% as long intervals and 2% as tests/competitions.
When considering the application of this for either your own or another athlete’s training it is obviously extremely important to consider the goals, strengths and weaknesses of that specific case however the comparison between athletic levels presented in this study is definitely interesting. If working in a similar time period (10 weeks from major competition) and you’re doing a lot of longer intervals, it may be worth switching some intervals for tempo runs, and hey, Wilson Kipsang does it.
VO2Max – What is it and Does it Matter?
So why does all this science matter and what does it mean for you? First of all, VO2max is the strongest independent predictor of future life expectancy so everyone out there should be at the very least slightly interested in their own value, athlete or not. Additionally VO2max becomes especially useful once we consider its impact on athletic performance.
In order to walk, run or move at all, our body needs to produce energy; we can either produce this energy without oxygen (anaerobic) or with oxygen (aerobic). Any exercise will require energy production from both aerobic and anaerobic systems however their relative contribution is determined by the duration and intensity of the effort. As anaerobic energy production is only possible for a very short period of time, our bodies will always try to meet the energy demands aerobically. In trained individuals it has been shown that during a maximal effort the switch to predominantly aerobic energy systems occurs somewhere between 15 and 30 seconds into exercise as by this point we have “run out” of anaerobic fuel. The rate of work, power output or running pace that an individual can maintain aerobically is determined largely by their VO2max.
Lesson #5: Train Your Mind – Alberto Salazar (World Famous Coach)
“You might not be competing against top runners from East Africa anytime soon, but you can, and should, work on your mental game. Remain relentlessly positive and focus on the things you can control in training and racing rather than be rattled by the things you can’t. And last but certainly not least, have confidence in yourself and your abilities when you step on the starting line. Without that key component, none of the other stuff really matters all that much.”
Lesson #4: Learn How To Sprint – Alberto Salazar (World Famous Coach)
Yes, like Usain Bolt. While sprinting isn’t going to compromise a majority of a distance runner’s training, it’s worth paying some attention to every week.
Lesson #2: Find good training partners – Alberto Salazar (World Famous Coach)
Though the years, members of the Project — as in any training group — have come and gone, but at any given time there has always been a group of highly motivated, extremely talented athletes working together every day in the pursuit of one common goal: improvement.
Lesson #1. Take a long-term approach – Alberto Salazar (World Famous Coach)
Let’s face it: we live in a results-driven world where many people subscribe to the philosophy that something needs to get done as soon as possible or else it’s not worth doing. Running, unfortunately, is no different.