A sampler of old-time training....Tom Fleming

JonnyO wrote:

malmo, Paula Radcliffe sleeps up to 13 hours a day is she hynogocically stupified too?

Very.

o i c

Good one!

Who are all these mediocre high-schooler, DII & DIII runners that have run faster than 2:12?

ron tabb

bob hodge

bill rodgers

phil coppess

dick beardsley

all ran 2:11 or faster

Don't forget Greg Meyer (2:09 at Boston '83). His training for the 1983 BAA marathon is available at Bob Hodge's website.

He rested well enough to run 2:12 & place 3rd @ BAA in 1975. Re-read what HRE stated, woulda coulda shoulda doesn't count, he ran 2:12.

...Or maybe the USA wrestler Dan Gable who won gold in 1968 only losing once in his last NCAA match, maybe?

Stomper, Meyer went to Michigan -- Division I.

Oldtimer, add Spiney Norman to that list, although Spiney didn't run in college at all. Didn't run in high school either.

Jzs wrote:

...Or maybe the USA wrestler Dan Gable who won gold in 1968 only losing once in his last NCAA match, maybe?

Gable took Gold in 1972.

G$ wrote:

From my memory, I once had a copy of how the best road racers would train and Tom Fleming always stood out:

Mon- AM: 10 miles steady

PM: 10 miles steady

Tue- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace

PM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace

Wed- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:30 pace

PM: 10 mile fartlek

Thu- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace

PM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace

Fri- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace

PM: 10 miles steady at 6:30 pace

Sat- AM: Race or 10 miles hard at 5:00 pace

PM: 10 miles steady at 6:30 pace

Sun- AM: 20 miles steady at 6:00 pace

He said something like, "it's boring, but it works for me."

I had a roommate/teammate that used to run this same routine during the summers in college (when we weren't required to do team training) and he never got close to Flemings's times, but I seem to think I heard him say that quote ('boring, but works for me'). I'll have to ask him if he based his training on Fleming.

I just find it funny that all you "old timers" seem to dog the young runners for not training enough. If you're all such running guru's then get a coaching job and impart your knowledge.

The knowledge is right there in your post. Most of us old timers just looked around at what other successful people were doing and adapted what made sense to us. Fleming, as I recall, was largely self-coached. He actually has coached in recent years, Ann Marie Lauck-Letko and Joe LeMay being his most successful athletes.

Malmo and Hodgie-san are always imparting knowledge here, so I'm not sure what your point is. Try training more. There's the knowledge. It's mostly what we had. What more do you need?

I also believe Flemming won the first Los Angeles marathon which was one of the first races to openly offer prize money.

mplatt yes 72

Met him recently; very nice guy.

tanka wrote:

tom's worn running shoes

buried in a cold closet

whispering the truth

Post of the week honors to tanka!

Wannabe poster

I rue my low Vo2

Shoe remains the same.

I spent 6 weeks running with TF nearly every day in Feb./March 1980. We were in Miami Fla. & also made a 10 day trip to Japan for a 30k race.

Other athletes including Rodgers & Kirk Pfeffer were there as well for various stints.

TF ran 14 miles EVERY morning nearly and 10 miles every night. It was hot & humid nearly every day temps. in the 80's.

He shied away from the track though there was one memorable workout on a grass track in Boca where we ran repeat miles.

The most impressive thing that I ever saw TF do was to eat a donut less than one hour before the 79 Boston Marathon, and then take the race out, leading the first 10 miles out ahead of the pack.

He ran 2:12 that day.

I ran X-C as a college freshman in the fall of 1970 at a small college in New Jersey. One of our meets was against whatever team it was (Patterson?) that Fleming ran for. None of us had ever heard of him. Their team got off the bus and only one skinny kid had his name ("Fleming") on the back of his jersey. I assumed that he was the team assistant or the equivalent of their water-boy. The gun went off and this "nobody" Fleming just took off--he had a 50 yard lead after a quarter mile and he just kept going. He demolished our course record by more than 2 minutes (from about 28:05 for a fairly slow 5 mile route to 25:59). We were all more than a little impressed...