Ed Whitlock style training

Ed gives us all something to aspire to as we get older. Lance Armstrong ran his first marathon in 2:59. Ed would have kicked Lance's butt that year.

Out.

not that difficult wrote:

Caveman wrote:

I'm not really sure if the increase caused my PF (I'm not sure that anyone really knows what causes it).

Bad Shoes.

Its very likely that shoes caused the problem. Here are some articles about that:

Hey Ed did you ever were a heart rate monitor ?

Ed Whitlock does not run barefoot. He wears shoes to keep from hurting the ground.

Ed does not need a HRM because his heartbeat never rises above 1 beat per minute. This is all he needs.

Death challenged Ed Whitlock to a race. Death lost and died.

Out.

Phew! And I thought that I was going slow, running at 70% of max. The 7:30/km pace is 12 min. miles. However, going from 24 min to 18 min. flat in 4 months is very impressive. I also ran two 90 min. runs/day for a while but found it too taxing. I undoubtedly was going too fast. I'll knock that pace down to 65% of max. and give it a try. Thanks!

That's massive improvement. How old were you?

I was 31. I had taken a year or two off - more or less - but had been a 32 min 10k 2:30 marathoner four years before. If you're the HRE, then you will appreciate that my philosophy of training is due to Van Aaken. My earlier PRs came when I changed from running 80-100/wk at 6:40/mile pace to 100-180/wk at 8 minute/mile pace. I went from 2:50 to 2:30 in the marathon in two years after having trained the other way for five or so. I should say that I did more intensive speed work when I set those PRs. Not a lot of it, though.

[quote]Mark Ripley wrote:

Hey Ed did you ever were a heart rate monitor ?[quote]

Used one briefly as a trial some years ago, but did not continue with it.

An exciting announcement:

A new thread has just started catering to the exigencies of the the over 50 crowd:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3203802

[quote]Mark Ripley wrote:

Hey Ed did you ever were a heart rate monitor ?[quote]

Used one briefly as a trial some years ago, but did not continue with it.

I am THE HRE and I appreicate it very much. Thanks.

Hi Link, I have a question, if you are still around. Are you saying that you continued to train at 60% of max HR but that your pace improved from 7:30/k (12 min. miles) to under 5/k (8 min. miles) during your 90 min runs?

"The key for me was using my HRM. I did all of my 90 minute runs at 60% of heart rate reserve. At the beginning, I was running at about 7:30/km (although it was July in the Southeast...). I mixed in one 5k at 80% HRR, and a few sprints once/wk and within just 4 months I was running under 5min/km on my 90 minute runs and had improved my 5k 'threshold' from 24 minutes to about 18 flat."

I am. I'm on a couple of other threads looking for a solution to my knee problem. :( I will say that the running was not the cause - but it sure hasn't been the cure, either.

Anyway, to answer your question, yes. I'll make an effort in the next little while to post my logs from that time somewhere. Basically, I kept my HR between 119 and 131 for 90 minutes twice per day - with a couple of workouts thrown in, replacing 90 minute runs - and measured the distance on the bikepath where I did all my running in those days. Went from 11.3 km in late July to 18.6 in mid-October. Tempo 5k, which I ran at 154-166, on the track went from 22:43 in early August to 17:56 in October. I was raced a 10 mile in September in about 56 minutes on a hilly course. I was 31 at the time and four years earlier had run about 32 flat for 10k and under 2:30 (just under...) for the marathon. I had run only sparingly the three years prior to the HR training. When I ran my PBs I was also using a HRM, training at about the same ranges, but somewhat faster - I'd had 10 years of good consistent work behind me then.

I would definitely recommend this kind of training to anyone with time and patience. It allows for increases in distance only and commensurate with your increase in fitness.

Oh, I should mention that once/wk I did a few 300s hard but not all out - maybe 54 seconds, walking a 300 in between.

I certainly wasn't a superstar, but I really enjoyed my running training that way.

I appreciate your sharing this. A couple of years ago, I got interested in whether there might be any commonalities among elite training programs. There always seemed to be quite different approaches to training. In looking at lots of training schedules, I found that a total of 3 hours/day was very common and that was usually split into 2 workouts, usually early AM and PM. The details varied widely but 3 hours/day in 2 runs was the norm whether it was Igloi or the Kenyans.

Lately, I've been reading Dr. Maffetones book "In Fitness and in Health". His method is close to yours. Here is a link to his latest book which I have ordered:

http://www.amazon.com/Training-Endurance-Philip-Maffetone/dp/0964206277/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_3

His formula for your MAXIMUM (not average) aerobic HR is 180 minus your age, adjusted slightly for age, injury, etc. Mine would be 115 (180-65 = 115 BPM). For me, 115 BPM is about 64% of max. HR. I've been running at close to this level since Aug. 1. Its hard to run that slowly but I've noticed that my HR is coming down at progressively faster speeds during my 1 hour runs. I never would have been able to run that slowly without the HR monitor.

The program seems to be working very well for the first 6 weeks that I've tried it. I've been running an extra 5 mins./run for the past 2 weeks, making my 2 daily runs 65 mins. each. I'm going to keep gradually adding 5 mins. per run until I get to the point where I can do two 90 min. runs/day at a 60-65% max. HR level. Rarely, I need to walk to get back to 60-65%. After I get to 90 mins./day, I might incorporate some short wind sprints while still keeping it aerobic and run some 5K races for anaerobic work.

I really have to bury my ego because a lot of very slow looking people are flashing by me during my 60% max. runs but I'm sure I'm on the right track.

This article concerns PF which I have but it might also apply to your knee problem as well.

http://footloose.runnersworld.com/2009/04/to-prevent-leg-injuries-look-to-the-hips-not-the-feet.html

Again, thanks for sharing your knowledge and I'll look for your future posts.

I'm a 57 year old ultramarathoner who has completed 5 50k's and a 50 miler this year. I am aiming for my first 100 miler, which will be at the Javelina 100 this Oct. 31st in Fountain Hills, Arizona.

I've been following the responses of Ed Whitlock, Caveman and Link in this thread with some interest. I may have to adjust my training strategies, based on certain ideas from this thread.

Question to Caveman: How long have you been reading Philip Maffetone's books? My local library has The Maffetone Method, and I have put a reserve on it.

Question to Ed Whitlock: Have you heard of Dr. John Sarno? He's written some fairly well-known books, including Healing Back Pain, which deals with things beyond back pain itself. There are some ideas within his books that might resolve some of your injury issues.

Hi THE Ohio State. I'm from Ohio also.

Congrats on all those ultras! We're having a 24 hour run here in Cleveland on Oct 3. I understand its attracting lots of runners from around the country. The marathon is long enough for me but I have several ultra friends.

Maffetone has written 12 books. I've read the Maffetone Method and In Fitness and in Health. The later expands on the Maffetone Method with a lot more detail than you will find in the Maffetone Method. Both are great books and easy reads. I just bought Training for Endurance and will probably read it this weekend. There is some repetition among the books but enough new stuff to make reading each of them very worthwhile. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. My email is

agreatphotographer@mac.com

.

Hi, Caveman:

Yes, Cleveland is hosting the National 24 hour Championships next Saturday at Edgewater Park next to Lake Erie. I've been thinking of entering; I haven't decided yet. It would be good preparation for the Javelina 100 on 10/31. Here's the link:

http://www.northcoast24.org/

I picked up the Maffetone Method book from the library yesterday. Will look it over the next few days and get back to you.

Thanks.

Link : Great stuff about your training . How long ago was that and what was your heart rate Max ?

Hi, Mark. I'm flattered by your interest.

This was 13 years ago - nobody, it seemed was doing this kind of training then. I'm not sure I remember what my max was. My RHR, recorded in my logs, was in the high forties. So that may mean it was lower... It may also mean that I was lower than 60% of HRR. Probably the latter. I'll search around to see if I have more specific information written down somewhere. I'll try to remember, too. Anyway, I was 32 years old during the period I described.