Al Lawrence Coaching

In his HS program the base track workouts are anything but hard.

Most people see that they are doing intervals in base training and freak out. But if you look at the paces and rest, you realize it is incredibly easy and nothing more than aerobic intervals. But most people don't get past the "see intervals, freak out" reaction.

Lydiard Gal wrote:

I was told that if my daily runs are faster pace like below 7 minutes that I will be better and the girls on my hs team only run 8-9 and my coach lets them cuz he says it is recovery day but I dont think I should be recovering that slow.

I would listen to your coach.

The pace of your easy runs are not a make or break in determining how fast you can run in races. If anything running your easy runs/recovery runs too fast can have negative consequences. You should concentrate on running workouts at the correctly prescribed pace for your fitness, as well as consistent mileage in your training.

... Again, running your easy days faster is not what is going to put you over the top and make you a better runner. I would talk to your coach about seeking private coaching, but to me it sounds like he already knows what he's talking about.

well i mi ght not go cuz it looks like my afternoon practices will run until 4:30 and i don't think he will be practicing in the dark.

i dont knkow how i would do two programs at the same time neway. none of the people on this forum will tell how they do it. 1 girl i know doesn't have practice after school so it is easy for her to go but now I will cuz i run the 800 and we do some of our workouts with the 400 girls.

Is al good for 800 runenrs? Ive met two girls who go to him and they run the mile and 2mile and so does the one boy i met that runs with him.

thanks for the info everyone sorry for highjacking donato

Al Lawrence was a teammate of mine in 1962. I was a freshman and he was a senior at the U. of Houston. He stayed around to do graduate work after he graduated (I believe national honor society - Phi Beta Kappa). He was extremely helpful to me and others who sought his advice. I had the utmost confidence in him & did exactly what he said. I improved a tremendous amount & enjoyed training & competing more than ever before. In 1965 I was selected to compete in an international meet at the end of August. He coached me & I finished second & ran my best time for 1500M. I felt very fast, strong & confident. I saw Al again about 10 years ago at Memorial Park with the group he was coaching - a wide range of ages and abilities. Al treats every one of his athletes as an individual. He'll have some run 400's in 63 secs. and others in maybe 75 secs. It all depends on your ability & level of fitness. Everyone can do the workout he gives you, even if it's challenging. His coaching makes good sense, it's safe, and you'll feel strong, fast and confident - whether you compete of just run socially and recreationally. Most important of all-Al really cares about you. He loves to help people. Richard C. Levy

I have nothing but respect for Al Lawrence. One of the nicest and most humble people I have ever met. In 1989 I ran my first marathon in 3:15 using his book the Self Coached Runner II. The next year, I solicited him as a coach and ran a 2:49 at the same race (Dallas White Rock Marathon. Al coached me to adult (I don't count my college and High school times) PR's in my late 30's from distances from the 1500 to the Marathon. His workouts were hard but he was always ready to listen to his athletes and forgo one if the legs were dead. "Mate...only you know how you feel" I spent approximately 4-months without a job and he coached me at no fee. As a result, I now give my coaching services back to the community free or minimal charge. He also coached my wife who was a 10,000 meter specialist at Arkansas in the early 80's. He is without a doubt one of the best prep coaches in the Houston area and has sent athletes to Georgetown, Baylor, A&M, Rice and other schools.

He is now coaching my 14-year old son (trying to run in the low 5:10's range for 1600 as an 8th grader) and coaches the kids of us old-farts that were running at a high level or in college in the 70's and 80's (we see each other at Memorial Park every Sunday morning). All of the kids think "Coach Al" is the best and he has a way with them that is unbeatable. Al was one of the founders of the Houston Harriers along with Jim McLatchie, Don Baxter, Simon McNamie, Bob Cozens, Leonard Hilton, and Danny Green. He is also an Olympic bronze medalist.

I have stolen many of my coaching philosophies from him and Jim McLatchie.

I used his programs for 10k, 10/half marathon, and Marathon in the early nineties. (Self Coached Runner book Vol I) I set PRs for each distance. My Marathon PR is still based upon his 2:30 program. For me it was easy to follow.

doug burke wrote:

1 long endurance workout 6 x 1 mile 400 recovery, 8 x 800 400 recovery.

Would this be in a single workout? It seems like a lot.

Variations of the "long interval" workout. Those are two separate workouts.

Living in the Past wrote:

doug burke wrote:

1 long endurance workout 6 x 1 mile 400 recovery, 8 x 800 400 recovery.

Would this be in a single workout? It seems like a lot.

no it is not a single workout, example of what he calls a long endurance workout day.

2 mile warmup 6 x 1 mile with a 400 jog recovery 2 mile cooldown.

in his book he said he prefers steady consistent days rather than running a super hard workout.

he also says if you feel good you can push the recovery day runs or if your tired go easy.

There's one important thing that hasn't been mentioned here while discussing Al Lawrence and his training methods, and that is the success of Al. L. the athlete. He's achieved so much as an athlete in his younger days and as an older runner in his age group; and yet he had the least amount of natural ability of any elite athlete I've ever met. So, how did he triumph over those who had so much more natural ability? HE TRAINED SMARTER! He also had so many simple training "tricks" up his sleeve that he learned from others and from experimentation. I never saw any of these little amazing "tricks" in his books. If you went to Al with a problem, such as feeling tired and sluggish the day before a race, etc; he's come up with a simple, little workout that would snap you out of lethargy.

He had a simple remedy for every problem. He was a one man racing and training encyclopedia.

Running with Al L. you always got more than just a workout. You also got an education and you got inspired!

TRAINING SMARTER, TRICKS and PERSERVRANCE. That's how he became the best in the world!

It looks like nobody addressed the harm it does the high schools. People who go there sandbag their school workouts and generally talk down their coaches.

He is going to be nice to his clientele. Ask the local HS coaches and you probably won't get the same answer. You'll hear stories of intentional deception, skipping workouts, or just plain sandbagging. My friends who went to him have told me that this was the implied way to do it if the high school program was too far off what was designed by Lawrence.

To each his own...I guess.

Coach is a PIRATE!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpsyQoRWjkk