BLCH wrote:
There are plenty of guys that do not succeed at Arkansas. Most of those guys would not succeed at any school. That is the nature of HS & College athletes.
Arkansas' failure is their distance program.
Let me explain... If you run for the Hogs, you have to be in RACING shape by September!!! And October, November, January, February, March, April, May, and JUNE!!!! Nine (9) months out of the year, you have to be ready to beat everyone in the nation.
ARKANSAS RUNNERS DO NOT DEVELOP THEMSELVES, THEY ARE ALWAYS IN RACE SHAPE!!!
That does seem to be the philosopy of McDOnnell and I feel has a lot to do with his collegiate success. I tend to agree personally but I don't know if that applies to every individual. I was the type that needed to be in decent competitive shape nearly year round. I ran for a coached that preached huge rest breaks during the year and I think they put me behind to much.
You can back down on intensity in the offseason and still stay in relatively good shape. I never felt it was necessary to take 2-4 weeks of complete rest and then spend a month coming back slow. Why tear down the fitness you acquired and start over again?