can someone tell me about the kenyan triples - 3 runs a day

Enjoy an easy 4-5 miles during your lunch break. Run long in the morning and hard in the evening.

It's a simple a finding three times a day to run, which for most people, is far from simple.

I like to think of training as three variables:

1. Duration of Exercise

2. Intensity of Exercise

3. Frequency of Exercise

Those are the three things you can fiddle around with to try and get in better shape. In most cases, you need to make one the priority and then bring the others along gradually.

If I had a runner who had a fairly open schedule, like say a student, I would tell him that if the goal is to eventually be running 3 times a day, to start that as soon as they can, and decrease the duration and intensity of teh runs in order to achieve it.

So if he is doing 80 mpw in doubles, let's say 13 runs, that's an average of 6.1 miles per run.

If the bumps up to 18 runs a week, he can achieve the same volume averaging 4.4 miles. So start around there, with a handful of really short runs, and over time gradually reincrease the duration.

If he got back up to 6.1 miles per run, then he's in the 110 mpw range.

I used to train with an 8:41 steeplechaser who used to do 3 x 5 miles on his easy days. His coach reckoned he'd do them faster i.e. better quality than if he did 5 + 10 or 7 + 8 as each run was shorter.

He would run from his office at lunch and clean himself with babywipes out of the boot of his car afterwards.

He quit running about a year later.

Dudes, very interesting but that's not what the OP's title is about.

OP, have a look here:

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/distance-running-cross-country-training-workouts-414#

"The Kenyan cross-country season starts at the very end of September or the beginning of October, and the first month of training is itself a stormy ordeal which many Kenyan runners find difficult to handle. After 1 working out very lightly in September, Kenyan harriers usually initiate a three-workout per day training programme in October which, according to Kenyan Custom, includes workouts at 6 a.m., 10 a.m., and about 4 p.m."

blahbluh wrote:

How would you implement this style of training for a decent, non-elite runner?

The same way as any other runner. You are human just like those that are elites and those that can't break 6:00 for a mile.

I think that the 6 a.m. run is usually a fairly easy one, though a progression, the 10 a.m. run the focus, and the 4 p.m. can include hills and sprints, if I am not mistaken.

Tergat's book was one that added the 3-runs-per-day to the mythos of Kenyan running (a mythos including running to and from school, no-pesticide unprocessed fresh corn for ugali, altitude, etc.).

Obviously, there are some truths, but the full truth is that it is not always three runs. Often one seasion is more general fitness: calisthenics, skipping and hopping drills, maybe with a warm up and cool down. Like a HS kid who runs in the morning, goes to PE class, then practice in the afternoon. The fact that elites do not run 3 times (look at any of their available training: Wanjiru, Kipsang, Kamwowar, Kiplagat, Mosop, etc). shows that it is not for mastering fitness. It is great for developing athletes: establish norms for team practices, team culture, work ethic, general athletic development and so on, which is why it is mostly reserved for younger athletes.

bwakem wrote:

I used to train with an 8:41 steeplechaser who used to do 3 x 5 miles on his easy days. His coach reckoned he'd do them faster i.e. better quality than if he did 5 + 10 or 7 + 8 as each run was shorter.

He would run from his office at lunch and clean himself with babywipes out of the boot of his car afterwards.

He quit running about a year later.

...and another shining example of why runners are considered social misfits.

What about John ngui 4x a day?