New Distance Training Philosophy

Bob, Jack did say he wanted to see you again. He seemed very interested in testing you again. He said your tests were different then others. I can vouch for the legs thing. Got a picture of you in the School in Milton that highlights this. You were built like a cheetah. I think its in the AD office.

As for Bobs training, what you will find is that Bob worked on many levels in his sessions. He uses terms that I would dare to say arent used by anyone else on the planet to describe intensity. We might use Lactate threshold or VO2 max or VVO2 or "tempo" (Bob I love that comment you made to me about that word and I completely agree. Its useless.) He used terms like fresh. We dont know what that is but he does.

I look at his workouts as just plain ole speed work. We just do them as often as he did. Does it work? In some yes, in others no. But that is the case for all isnt it?

Bob Schul wrote:

Those who say we have learned much since the 60's are right. I read various journals (or did) and still do a little coaching. I find every athlete is different and therefore I don't train everyone the same. Same theory but I try to match their mental to the physical. Some people like short intervals and others prefer longer. I have done mile repeats with my cross country kids.

I'd be curious to know how you think Igloi's training ideas might fit in with or inform today's training. For example, so-called Kenyan diagonals workouts seem like they'd be totally familiar to you.

First of all I guess you can call my training as speed work but I think the interpretation of that word in running circles is different by many who use it. I didn't sprint all-out in a workout as I was always under control with another gear to go if I was doing what I term "hard". In many instances I never went past "good" which was about :58 sec 400 pace and that was done when I ran 150's, 200's and 300's and at times 400's if I was doing my 20 x 400 set. The point is I was trying to maximize my body so I could run any distance and feel relaxed. Obviously the shorter the distance the less relaxed I was since my muscles genetically were "designed" for 2 mile through 10K.

I never had a muscle sample taken but from what I have read I am probably 70% slow twitch.

Now to the Kenyans. Their diagonals are the same thing we were doing except we either ran around the track or in a straight line. Igloi jogged between and I began to walk when I was in Ohio. I found I could relax the muscles more and as time went on I cut down the walk. Sometimes to 20 meters. (By the way if speed work is so fast you have to have a long rest, then I was not doing speed work, just fast controled running.

I didn't do any hill work in 63-64 but the field where I trained was not flat. It sloped about 3 or 4 degrees. I wouldn't call that hill training. In 1961 I did hills with Max Truex and Eddie Southern and a few other Air Force people. At the end of a workout, which was on a golf course, we would run up a "steep" hill. Southern and a few others would be given a head start before Max and I would attempt to catch them. If we planned it right everyone would reach the top at the same time. This was repeated a few times. Was it good for us? By the way the golf course was not flat but gently rolling.

There were other times we went to the ocean and played follow the leader. In the water, onto the hard sand and then into the soft sand, back to the water etc. until the leader couldn't go any longer. Of course when Southern or one of the other 800 runners were leading it was easy for Max and I and when we led we would leave them fairly quickly. When Igloi moved from San Jose to Los Angeles all that stopped as the workouts were very controlled, even if I was working at the base under Igloi's written directions.

Thanks; this is interesting and useful. Perhaps I'd better order your books.