Cam Levins - racing is not up to his expectations. states he has "lost his endurance" after Pre Classic

dsrunner wrote:

He spent enough time at altitude that some over-breathing would be a likely problem at sea-level.

And having expended so much at altitude some mineral deficiencies and even some insulin resistance might be an issue. Central fatigue is another possibility. Hopefully they've checked his ferritin including all related nuances (of which there are several, ratios etc to consider). My guess is the oxidative stress of his training depleted his oxygen carrying capacity and ferritin was called upon for cellular defense. In simple terms his body is simply not letting him push as previously. I would not have selected a cloudy climate for his primary training base.

He's gone to the mega-mileage well for several years. I imagine he was due for shooting blanks physiologically.

dsrunner

And here we have a fine example of someone spewing a bunch of jargon bullshit in an attempt to look educated. Don't read into this too closely as none of it makes any sense.

fly like an eagle wrote:

.... - he needs to take out American citizenship so that he can get into a 14.54 race like last weekend..).

Cam smoked it at Canadian Chps last weekend. He won in 14:11.... Much faster than Lagat, Rupp and company...

I agree. He probably spent an afternoon reading this stuff on yahoo answers.

Stick with the makeup and Barbies, junior.

British historian wrote:

he needs to get away from salazar and get his mileage back up. Hopefully he figures it out.

Salazar should have gotten away from himself as his own coach and not run him self into health and career ruin.

Cam just needs to be patient.

A Duck wrote:[/b

he needs to get away from salazar and get his mileage back up. Hopefully he figures it out.

Salazar should have gotten away from himself as his own coach and not run him self into health and career ruin.

Cam just needs to be patient.[/quote]

Those who can't, teach.

I knew he was done a long time ago.

J.R. wrote:

It's the pollen, combined with training at sea level which he is not used to.

agreed

Typical Canadian. Always self doubting.

He's having trouble adjusting to a new location, new training, and new coach. Not surprising at all. The best thing Cam can do is be patient and remember that Alberto Salazar knows what he's doing. Focus on the long term. Don't get bent out of shape about one sub-par season. Don't become neurotic about it. Just trust your coach and keep running. The talent is there and Salazar will capitalize on that talent eventually if you stick with him.

dsrunner wrote:

He spent enough time at altitude that some over-breathing would be a likely problem at sea-level.

And having expended so much at altitude some mineral deficiencies and even some insulin resistance might be an issue. Central fatigue is another possibility. Hopefully they've checked his ferritin including all related nuances (of which there are several, ratios etc to consider). My guess is the oxidative stress of his training depleted his oxygen carrying capacity and ferritin was called upon for cellular defense. In simple terms his body is simply not letting him push as previously. I would not have selected a cloudy climate for his primary training base.

He's gone to the mega-mileage well for several years. I imagine he was due for shooting blanks physiologically.

dsrunner

I was going to ask where you got your degree in voodoo science, but it appears that I'm late to the party.

dsrunner wrote:

He's gone to the mega-mileage well for several years. I imagine he was due for shooting blanks physiologically.

I won't even repost your pseudoscience. Quackery like yours is why so many athletes spend years in and out of labs, diagnoses and meds instead of simply exercising common sense.

Looking at your overall logic, though...

The facts:

1. Levins previously did very high mileage.

2. Levins came to Al and stopped doing very high mileage.

3. Levins now reports that his endurance is poor.

Your conclusion:

Levins currently notes poor endurance because he USED TO DO HIGH MILEAGE? Huh??

If your past-overtraining theory was correct, he would not be feeling WORSE now, MONTHS after making the switch.

Different runners thrive on different training. Salazar never figured Webb out. He doesn't seem to have Ritz figured out. Let's hope he figures Levins out and does what works, not just feeding him the same workouts that have worked for Rupp while robbing him of his strength.

I figure there are two factors that are fundamental. Proper physiological methods for the individual and second and most important, the belief of the athlete. If the athlete is unsure or has any doubts about the methods it seems this could handicap progress.

Not being there and not knowing the relationship and thoughts of Cam and Al, I can not say this is the case. That said, his admission of the fact he has "lost his endurance" gives some clue that his ideas for progress and the methods employed are inconsistent. Seems those thoughts should be kept between the athlete and coach and not shared with the public. That is not fair to Alberto. Seems coach and Athlete need to work together to come to a solution. If this can not be agreed on, then perhaps he should move on.

After watching the video, I take back what I said. Cam wasn't critical of his methods or Al. In fact just the opposite. He was seemingly just questioning his breathing and wants an answer for it. Seems I took the statement out of context not first seeing the video.

IF it is true that he has "lost his endurance", or at least some of it, and IF it is true that he was concentrating significantly on 100m speedwork, then I submit that the inverse relationship between sprint speed and aerobic endurance is being manifested.

IF.

A Duck wrote:

Salazar should have gotten away from himself as his own coach and not run him self into health and career ruin.

Cam just needs to be patient.

Correct

fly like an eagle wrote:

if he doesn't beat Rupp this year after winning NCAA's last year, then he should just pack it in - never be any good if he can't beat Rupp.

Besides, Canadians can't run anyway - he needs to take out American citizenship so that he can get into a 14.54 race like last weekend.

If he can't run under 3.55 for the last mile at the end of a 13.00 race, then he should go straight to the marathon, forget the track. then he can do his 200 miles per week to break 2h10 and be a Canadian hero!!(what a lame country).

Well, typical lame-o Yank attitude.

What's Cam's running troubles got to with his being Canadian?

English born Canadian & proud of it, heaven help me if I had immigrated to the U.S.

Boy I'm sooo glad Boston lost that last game even though it was another yankee team which won :(!!!

He just needs to hang em up go become an ultra runner where MORE is valued over GOOD.

Lets be honest. Cam Levins was on high mileage like a drug. He wouldn't have had the year he did last year unless he made that huge jump in mileage. Its very simple. He goes to Salazar, he drops the mileage, he's not at alititude anymore, things change. 180 a week and 7000 feet altitude, is a huge advantage, but SHORT TERM. All his mileage might've cause him to burnout or peak. Salazar realized that and had him drop his mileage. As for the breathing problem, it was mainly due to the lack of altitude, and the physiological changes in lifestyle due to fewer mileage. But anyways, if you didn't think Salazar knew what he was doing when he got Levins, your'e out of the loop. Salazar went through the same thing himslef when he was a runner. No other coach could have understood or related to him like Salazar. I would have done the same thing as a coach. Salazar has equipment at the Nike Camp, like alter-g and underwater treadmills to compensate for mileage. Also they have psychologist, massagers, altitude tents. Do you think Levins used any of that at SIU? With Levins previous running history transitioning into the NOP this wasn't going to be an easy process. Salazar knew that and mapped out a long term plan. Not sure why people expected instantaneous improvement. Why? Cause Chris Derrick is striving w/ a US title, 10th at XC world, 3:39, and 13:09, Chris Derrick wasn't doing 180 mpw his senior year? He's obviously going to have a less complex transition. Chris Derrick has even said he steadily increased his mileage from year to year. While levins went from sub 100, to 180. This isn't going to be easy, but when Salazar gets Levins fit, he's going to be better than ever. Sub 13, and sub 27. And maybe a WC/olympic medal. Be patient people, Levins will prevail!

Sometimes you have to take a step backwards before you take a step forward. OTC is not designed to get you to immediate PRs, it is a longer term approach. When you train differently and more specifically with athletes who are better than you, you break down a little before you catch up and then improve. (Been there!)

Every year we see athletes who beat up on NCAA level competition and reach the threshold of their capabilities at that point and time and think they are going to automatically keep getting better. Cam is not like H.S. kid who gets better for no other reason than the fact that he is growing an inch year.