Can you elaborate on what you have Abel Kirui do in the gym? Are there marathon specific exercises that he does?
Can you elaborate on what you have Abel Kirui do in the gym? Are there marathon specific exercises that he does?
Thank you, Renato!!! It is amazing that someone at your level is coming on here and putting up with all the idiots to pass out this kind of info. No other top coach is doing so and you should know that the majority of this board are extremely thankful that you are willing to do so.
We don't use gym during the specific period. The gym of Abel is due to his knee injury. The exercises looked at an improvement of the situation, using some machine (for example, leg extension), big balls for mobilizing his back, bike for increasing the frequency (working on the nervous system). Nothing specific for marathon.
We use more gym AFTER the marathon, for recovering the qualities of strength at the base of speed, that normally athletes partially lose during periods where long fast run becomes the most important (if not the only) training.
In this case, exercises for the elasticity and the reactivity of feet, some exercise for strentghening the legs, some exercise for postural reasons. This type of training can last about two months, after we cancel gym, and we increase the use of running fast uphill, from short sprint (60m) till 600m at max speed.
Renato Canova wrote:
I don't believe in "symmetric schedules", for the following reasons :
a) If we use, for example, 3 sessions per week (this is the old and classic Kenyan system : track on Tuesday, fartlek on Thursday and long run on Saturday), the recovery time is always the same. This means that ALSO THE INTENSITY OF WORKOUTS MUST BE THE SAME, BECAUSE IF THE ATHLETE GOES FOR A SESSION VERY HARD, AND WANTS TO TRAIN AGAIN AFTER 2 DAYS, OR THERE IS AN ACCUMULATION OF FATIGUE THAT CAN KILL THE ATHLETE IN LONG TERM, OR THERE IS NO SPECIFIC INTENSITY IN THE WORKOUTS, AND DURING THE SPECIFIC PERIOD THIS IS A MISTAKE.
b) If you go to investigate what happens inside the body, you can see that little difference in speed (for example, 2'55" vs 2'50" in 1000m) means A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TRAINING, since the lactate level can be very different. Because I want to use many different speeds (for example, for an athlete running 26'30" in 10000m I need to use from speed of 56" in 400m till speed of 3'20" in 1000m, and this means a difference of 6" every 100m), and I consider every speed as a SPECIFIC TYPE OF TRAINING, giving different stimula to the body and consequentely requiring different levels of supercompensation), I can't use classic microcycles, and I can't have fixed days for the same type of wokouts.
An example of training for 10000m :
Monday : Long and easy run + short sprint uphill
Tuesday : Long fast run till 30 km at 85% of the PB in 10k
Wednesday : General volume (30 km) in two sessions at easy speed (regeneration)
Thursday : General volume (30 km) in two sessions at moderate speed (basic endurance)
Friday : 10 - 15 km at 90 / 95% of the PB in 10k
Saturday : Like Wednesday
Sunday : Long run at moderate pace
Monday : Long intervals on track for increasing Aerobic Power (3000 / 2000 / 1000 with a total volume of 16/20 km) at 95/98% of the PB of 10000m
Tuesday : Regeneration
Wednesday : General volume at moderate pace + short sprint uphill
Thursday : Short interval on track (from 400 till 1000m) for a total volume of 12 km at speed 102/105% of the PB in 10000m
Friday : regeneration
Saturday : Increasing volume (30/35 km) at moderate intensity
Sunday : Long basic run (30 km) at 80% of the PB
Monday : Fartlek with great volume with short distances (for example, 20 times 1' fast / 1' moderate + 20 times 30" fast / 30" easy) as introduction to short intervals for speed endurance
Tuesday : Regeneration
Wednesday : General high volume at moderate intensity
Thursday : 6/8 km continuous run very fast
Friday : Regeneration
Saturday : General high volume at moderate intensity
Monday : Regeneration
Tuesday : Regeneration
Wednesday : Special block (for example, 10 km at 85% of PB plus 10 km at 96% of PB in the morning, 10 km at 85% of PB plus 6/8 km on track with medium intervals (600/1000m) at 100/105% of PB in 10000m)
Thursday : Regeneration
Friday : Regeneration
Saturday : Long progressive run from moderate to fast
As you can see, since we use sessions with more intensity approaching the most important competition, we need to use more recovery in between, and this fact is not possible if we want to use a "symmetric" schedule.
c) Training is something attacking the body, and needs to stimulate the reaction of the body itself. This is called "supercompensation". When there is no stimula, there is adaptation, that is the most important enemy of the performance. In order to give always new stimula to the body, we need to do something new, or in intensity, or in extension, but at the end of the process the top shape is connected with the EXTENSION OF THE INTENSITY.
What I do, for example (especially for marathon) is to extend the ability in running near the pace of the competition. So, I don't use many long runs, during the last 3 months that represent the SPECIAL PERIOD, because for me useless. Which is the reason to run 40 km at 3'30" per km for athletes able running the full marathon under 3' ? It's the best way for wasting time.
So, I put in the program something like 40 km very fast (Mosop before Boston ran at 2300m, up and down, with training shoes, on rough roads, in 2:07:15, that means a full marathon in 2:14. If you cut 6" per km for altitude, racing shoes and tarmac this means a marathon under 2:10 in training. Of course you need about one week for recovering. Abel Kirui ran in 2:09:46 on the mud before WCh, and in all the period had only 2 sessions of long run, but this is the best way for improving the specific endurance).
At least, approaching the specific period of competitions, we need to move to more modulation : high intensity, with the goal to EXTEND it, not to run faster every time with the same volume ; and consequently long recovery, for allowing the body to absorbe the attack of training, and to answer in the right way.
So, we can say that TRAINING WELL IS TRAINING HARD, BUT TRAINING HARD NOT ALWAYS IS TRAINING WELL.
I want to change the "Train hard, win easy" of Kenyan in "Training wellm win easy". The two concepts are not exactly the same thing.
So this is for the specific period? What is a usual build up to this point in the season? Thanks for all of the information you share!
Congrats on a very successful World Championships!
Renato Canova wrote:
Now I speak about Silas Kiplagat.
I share the programs of Silas with Moses Kiptanui. Moses gave him the program for all the basic season, and I had only some specific training with Silas till the end of June. From Eugene (4th of June) he started a specific program with my plan. During winter Silas always runs a lot of mileage, together with Sammy Kitwara and Ezekiel Kemboi and, sometimes, Silas Kipruto (59'39" in HM). Of course, when we go in the specific season, he needs to change his training, and the teammates become Collins Cheboi (3'32") and some other athlete of 800m.
He started to increase his speed during a period of about one month without any competition (I explained this in another thread). We looked for peaking during Kenyan Trials, since we couldn't be sure about his qualification (there were Asbel, Haron Keitany, Nixon Chepseba e Daniel Komen).
He won very well, and soon after ran the seasonal best with 3'30"47.
However, I explained him that, in case of a tactical race, he had a difficult situation, because his speed is not really very high (I explained he can run about 49" in 400m, may be 48"8, not better, at the moment). So, because it's difficult to change his attitude in short time, he needed a fast race, and in WCh this didn't happened (don't forget he can run 10000m under 28' also now).
His plan in the camp was the following :
PROGRAM FOR SILAS KIPLAGAT TILL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mon, 1
1 hr easy
Tue, 2
a) Track : 2000 in 5’22” (rec. 5’) + 1600 in 4’09” (rec. 5’) + 2 sets of 6x400m (1st in 60” rec. 1’ – 2nd in 57” rec. 3’) rec. in between 5’
b) 45’ easy regeneration
Wed, 3
a) 1 hr moderate
b) 1 hr moderate
Thu, 4
a) 1 hr 10’ with short variations of speed (30” / 45”) every 2’
b) 50’ easy
Fri, 5
a) Track : 4 sets of (600 + 500 + 400 + 300 + 200) in 1’32” / 1’16” / 60” / 44” / 27”, rec. 2’ between tests, 5’ between sets
b) 45’ easy regeneration
Sat, 6
a) 1 hr moderate
b) 45’ easy
Sun, 7
1 hr moderate
Mon, 8
a) 20’ warm-up + 6 km in 17'30" (in the forrest)
b) 45’ easy + stretching and diagonals
Tue, 9
a) Track : 5 couples of (1200 in 3’03” , rec. 3’, 300 in 39”) - Rec. in between : 5’
b) 50’ easy
Wed, 10
a) 50’ easy
b) 50’ easy
Thu, 11
a) 1 hr moderate
b) 50’ easy + diagonals
Fri, 12
a) Track : 4 sets of 3x300m - 1st set : 3x300m in 42” (rec. 30”) - 2nd set : 3x300m in 40” (rec. 60”)
3rd set : 3x300m in 38” (rec. 2’)
4th set : 3x300m in 36”5 (rec. 4’)
Recovery between sets : 5’
b) 50’ easy
Sat, 13
a) 1 hr moderate
b) 1 hr with short easy variations
Sun, 14
50’ easy regeneration
Mon, 15
a) 1 hr moderate
b) 50’ easy + stretching and diagonals
Tue, 16
a) Track : 2000m in 5’15” + 1600m in 4’07” + 1200m in 2’58” + 800m in 1’55” + 400m in 52"2 (rec. 6’)
b) 45’ easy regeneration
Wed, 17
a) 1 hr easy
b) 1 hr easy
Thu, 18
a) 1 hr 10’ moderate
b) 50’ easy
Fri, 19
a) Track : 10x400m in 55" > 55"3 (rec. 1’30")
b) 45’ easy regeneration
Sat, 20
a) 1 hr easy
b) 50’ easy
Sun, 21
Track : 4 couples of (1000m in 2’28”, rec. 3’, 300m in 39” / 40”), rec. 6’
From Tue, 23 : Easy run. In Daegu, on 27.08 : 10x200m easy in 27” (recovery at personal sensation)
During the final, I advised him to go directly in front with 700m to go, in case of slow pace. He didn't do this, so the last 800m were in 1'49" with a distribution as 57"5 + 51"5. In this case, of course he could not beat an athlete having 1'43" in 800m like Asbel Kiprop (that has an incredible talent, and now starts also to run in more clever way).
I plan for Silas, before the end of the season, one competition on 800m, because I want to know his real potentiality in the short distance. This can be a very good point for deciding the preparation for the next year.
Maybe this training is best suited for 3000m?
Obviously Silas has a great energy, metabolism given the completion of the workout schedule above.
Why don't you do more volume/work at 54-56 seconds per lap.
And also more race finishing practice? there is some, but not enough?
and take away some of the marathon training - 10000 meter aspect and insert....things like
* repeat 600m in 1:22-25 with good rest. you can do more volume yet it is aerobic intensive as well as the needed anaerobic work.
* repeats of 400+200 & (58 sec, 30 sec rest, 25x seconds) good rest between these.
* reduce easy runs to 40 minutes near championship.
in the off season after a good rest, (not in olympic year)
why not focus some months on absolute power with such an athlete and see what kind of speed can be obtained?
all this said with your athlete who is #1 or #2 in the world!
Renato thanks so much, when you have athletes training at this level how important is the diet and making sure enough calories are consumed?
SlowFatMaster wrote:
I am very much looking forward to your book (described as "coming soon" on the American Distance Project website) on training.
I'm interested in this too, updated to the present.
I agree with the others above who have thanked you for this valuable information!
Mr. Canova, I had asked if you had any thoughts on Athletics Kenya leaving Paul Koech (7:57) off of the Kenyan WC team, although I see that the post was deleted (???)
What was the story with that?
Renato, I really appreciate your honesty about your athletes. Your comments on Imane Merga are very open and truthful, regarding his DQ. I rarely see coaches being as honest as you are. It is refreshing. Please continue sharing with us. It is an honor to read your posts.
007run wrote:
Renato, I really appreciate your honesty about your athletes. Your comments on Imane Merga are very open and truthful, regarding his DQ. I rarely see coaches being as honest as you are. It is refreshing. Please continue sharing with us. It is an honor to read your posts.
Stop bagging.
f uck I love letsrun.
Silas kiplagat can only run a 49 second 400? Thats not that fast compared to his 1500 m time
Renato Canova wrote:
Wed, 17.08 (Special Block) :
a)10’ easy warm-up (2 km)
Moiben Road (2175m-2144m : downhill 31m) :
10 km in 32’45” (rest 4’)
Moiben Road (2144m-2206m : uphill 62m) :
15 km in 44’58” (average 2’59”8)
b)20’ warm-up (4.4 km) + Track (Chepkoilel) :
6 x 1600m in :4’29”8 (2’22”) – 4’35”5 (2’09”) – 4’28”7 (2’20”) – 4’30”8 (2’12”) – 4’34”4 (2’07”) – 4’25”3
Renato,
How do you determine the exact 1km splits and elevation changes on the roads?
Long time reader4 wrote:
Silas kiplagat can only run a 49 second 400? Thats not that fast compared to his 1500 m time
??????????????????????????????????????????
Renato, do you advise Alberto Salazar and his athletes? Are you in contact with any of the USA runners?
Long time reader4 wrote:
Silas kiplagat can only run a 49 second 400? Thats not that fast compared to his 1500 m time
Or is your 1500m not fast compared to your 400m time?
We use GPS (Garmin) in every workout on rough road. In the GPS there is the elevation every 100m. However, sometimes the elevation per km doesn't explain the real situation of the road : may be that 1 km has a balance of -6m, but going up for 15m and after having a deep downhill of 21m, so can be slower than another flat. But the real difference comes from the situation of every road. During the last 50 days (today we have still the same situation), always there was a lot of rain, and all the roads are really muddy. Since tractors and matatos continue to work also when it's raining, the roads now are completely destroyed, there are very deep "rails" and, when we are lucky, there is room for one athlete only to run (so they need to stay in queue). This means that the speed can't be what we need, and especially there are high risks of injuries.
But this is Kenya...
Renato Canova, I have a question. I believe you are a good coach, but do you believe you could coach a white man to win a gold medal at WC or Olympic track and field in the 5000 or 10,000? If not, why not?
Renato:
(1) What is "Tecar" therapy?
(2) What's a "diagonal"?
(3) Are you going to be at the Frankfurt marathon? I would really enjoy talking with you once again.
Jason