Renato Canova - Can you provide any insights to Kwemoi's training?

not a bad performance in the prefontaine!

that was good wrote:

not a bad performance in the prefontaine!

Kicking through to win in a time six seconds off the world record. Lets see if he has the talent to get anywhere near world record(s), that takes a lot more than kicking through for the win. I'm sure Renato will give a dozen reasons why he can and will break ElG's records. Personally I doubt it.

Renato,

Kwemoi has ran 13:16 for 5k and 27:30ish for 10k. Are these soft or is he capable of running faster? Is he more speed oriented?

The explanation for the defeat of Ronald is very simple :

a) He had flu in the last 3 days in Paris, with problem in breathing

b) Like all the Kenyans competing in hard way in Trials, was a little bit tired, and not ready under nervous point of view. The same happened for Kipyegon Bett in 800m, Faith Kipyegon in 1500m, Celliphine Chespol and Hyvin Kiyeng in steeple. The only one in top shape was Beatrice Chepkoech, but we don't have to forget that steeples in trials were like a training for the top 3, since the 4th was very far (Beatrice won with 9'36").

c) But the most important reason was another big tactical mistake. Ronald was the fastest in the last lap (53"8), but wasted a lot of energies for stopping running with 450m to go, in order to become the last of the group for being free to run fast in second lane, and after this changing quickly speed for trying to close the gap of about 7-8 meters he had with the leaders. He had also to run all the last lap in second lane, with a 100m (between 300m and 200m from the finish line) in 12"8, and at the end he paid this tactical mistake.

Since the mistake was the same in Eugene, I hope he can learn what to do in a similar situation before WCh....

Renato Ive always enjoy your posts and the knowledge you share with us, Ive learned a lot from you.. looking at Kwemoi's training bloc before his specific training looks really aggressive. He's gained fitness very fast from doing hard sessions at pretty much all ranges 1500m to marathon...

Im sorry to say this, but I can't see Kwemoi being at his best by the time he races Farah. He will be staled. Being sick is a sign. Missing tactics is another sign. When you are at the very best fitness, your confidence level is so high that tactics are done correctly. Especially the ones like today. Look at how strong he was earlier this year, his confidence was very high!

Even if he practices specific 5000m training, there's no more fitness to be gained at this point, only going backwards or at best holding the fitness (if you back off his training and work on another progression) but accumulating fatigue for Wchamps either way. Which again I predict a stale performance... and it's impossible at the moment to beat Mo Farah feeling that way.

I hope I am wrong, love to see him run.

Ronald doesn't need to beat Mo Farah. In WCh he runs 1500m....

And, about flu, maybe in English it means something else : he had cough, his nose was full, and in the last two days had to put on his chest, before going to sleep, the Kenyan equivalent of the European Vicks Vaporub...

I don't know how you call it, but this was the situation.

RENATO CANOVA - What is the reason/happening for the quad muscle in many Kenyan runners.

Your athlete Geoffrey Kirui has it --https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9puoJCW0AAY-1D.jpg:large and Eliud Kipchoge has it as well -

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/22/sports/22MARATHONweb1/22MARATHONweb1-superJumbo.jpg

What is it?

It is a prominent rectus femoris muscle with horizontal striping of the bipennate muscular portions occurring during a specific portion of the running swing phase. It is ONLY visualized during the mid-swing phase of running in individuals with very low thigh subcutaneous fat. You would never, or rarely, see this is non-runners with extremely low body fat levels because...well because bodybuilders, for instance, are rarely photographed in that specific mid-swing phase of running.

HGL wrote: Seb Coe was a rich @ss punk with all the resources in the world and could only run 3:29.77 / 3:47.33 and he was doing weights all the time.

Any person who run faster then Coe on 800 / 1500 / mile is heavy doper. Maybe Coe was as well...

Renata,

Any insights into his training prior to the Kenyan national championships where he ran 3:30 at altitude?

Thanks

Unfortunately the great Canova has run Kwemoi into the ground. Tell us of some more impressive early season training; sessions looking impressive on paper count for nothing when the major race is in August.

I don't know if this is fair. Kwemoi picked up an injury at an unfortunate time, obviously good coaching can make that less likely, but a lot of times sh*t just happens. Last year he would have had a great chance to medal if he didn't fall in the final. One of these years I believe he'll put it all together and run 3:27 or better while being fit at the championship.

With big mileage the risk of injury and overdoing things increase. 180-220 km per week is obviously not the best way to do it, even if it`s a fulltime pro runner. And absolutely not for a middle distance runner.

osm wrote:

IndianaRunnerII wrote:

Unfortunately the great Canova has run Kwemoi into the ground. Tell us of some more impressive early season training; sessions looking impressive on paper count for nothing when the major race is in August.

I don't know if this is fair. Kwemoi picked up an injury at an unfortunate time, obviously good coaching can make that less likely, but a lot of times sh*t just happens. Last year he would have had a great chance to medal if he didn't fall in the final. One of these years I believe he'll put it all together and run 3:27 or better while being fit at the championship.

Of course it is fair. And very important. Important to show that very high mileage is very close to the limit before overdoing and breakdown.

Why is Kwemoi still racing?!? 13:55...

Remember when Conseslus wanted to run Monaco with a nagging ankle injury and his agent/handler wouldn't let him supposedly causing a big fight? At least he has someone who cares about his welfare.

My opinion was that he had to stop his season after Monaco. For an athlete running 3'30" in Nairobi, to go WCh when not prepared is something really useless.

But Ronald had the pressure of AK and of his teammates, who convinced him to run thinking he could help them in the final.

After WCh, I spoke with him (I'm in Italy from Monaco) explaining my opinion, but he told me wanted to try, because didn't have any physical problem.

I well know it was not possible to be competitive, and explained him the situation, but he wanted to try in any case, thinking to be a little bit better than the reality.

Sometimes, when there is no risk of injury (and this was my main worry for WCh, no more now), it's good an athlete can touch with his hands the reality.

Ronald worked very well during winter, and good training had the effect to increase his self confidence, too. But too many times, with Kenyan athletes of high level (I had several experiences in this direction in the past), they suppose to be ready, also when are very far from a good shape : this because MENTALLY they Always feel ready.

I don't want Ronald can think possible to be competitive at the top of the world with little and soft training. The talent only is not enough.

I hope this lesson can be ok for the future.

From the beginning of October, when I will be in Kenya again, we start to work hard again, and this year must be a source of big experience, in both the sitautions : when he was at the top, and when he paid the injury.

Mistakes are the best teacher for the future, if people are able to analyze and to understand.

Kwemoi was fit too early in the season in May and early June. But he lost his mojo when he was outkicked in a pair of races in the middle of summer. That was the end for him.

Kwemoi fell apart in the second half of the season, and was a non factor in the World Championships in London.

I hope his coach learns some lessons from this as we go forward to 2018!

Hi Renato, interestingly the last time I talked to Arthur Lydiard it was about this very topic. I said to him that I struggled in the latter part of the season and lost form. He basically said that you get your best performances of the season and then match it up with the most important race and that is how far out your timing is. I think that Kwemoi was about 2 months out. In around June he was the best middle distance runner in the world.

Is he running the Commonwealth Games? That is April.