Mr. Renato Canova: Could You Please Answer a Question About Effective Ways to Improve the Lactate Threshold?

Renato,

What does it mean to you to be a coach? What does it mean to coach somebody? How do you see top-sports?What is it´s purpose? How you see the human image beyond this?

Is it all about winning? And athletes are tools for achieving it, giving their body for science?

Thanks for your input!Keep posting, you are very kind shareing your knowledge!

I'm kind of uninformed about the heavier scientific termonology here... I read that extensive endurance is roughly working HR's between 80-85% and intensive is roughly 85-90%. Now, these numbers were for relatively normal athletes; that means, non-elites. So, does 80-85% correspond to 2mmol and 85-90% correspond to 4mmol? From what I can tell, lactate values vary from individual to individual and fitness level to fitness level for the same individual. If that's true, Kenyans are probably higher (though Renato said that they often have lower lactate levels for whatever reason). Can anyone help me see how the marathon training Renato describes fits with this observation? Please, be nice, I'm just trying to figure it out and don't have the background most of these experienced coaches do.

The mmol of plasma lactate achieved varies from person to person, but as a general rule, running along a fit runner cruising along at 85% of max heart rate will be at 2-2.5 mmol of lactate. A fit runner cruising along at 90% of max heart rate will be at 3-4 mmol of lactate. The levels vary according to factors like duration of the event, temperature outside, dehydration, fuel shortages (lower lactate levels), and muscle fiber types. People with high percentages of fast twitch fibers will have higher lactate levels, normally. A guy like Al Salazar in his prime had very low lactate levels as he ran along quickly because his muscle fiber population was highly slow twitch. I hope that helps some. Regards, Tinman

I loved athletics from when I was 12 years old. At that time, I decided that, grown up, I wanted to become Italian National Coach.

But I never was interested in top results for myself. My motivations are basically two : to investigate what is possible to do with the human body, where for human body I want to mean physiology and psychology, finding the personal key for the best way of improvement (that is different one from another), and to help the athletes in improving their personality and their life.

I believe very much in the role of athletics (and of every type of sport, generally) like education for the life.

My principles are the principles of a teacher, before than a coach. I think that I'm at first an educator, secondly a coach.

This is the reason because I cannot accept in my mind not only any type of doping, but also any type of help from external sides. I think that the greater strength is in the mind, and I work for increasing the self confidence in my athletes.

When you use something that can help you (may be also permitted, but under the psychological point of view the effect is the same), you become "slave" of it, and you think that a part of your strength depends on it.

I don't want this situation. I want that the athletes can be sure about themselves, and when something is going bad, they have to have the ability in analyzing the reasons without finding excuses that are damageous for them.

I try to educate my athletes, expecially African, in a different type of life. I want that my athletes have respect for the other, but also for themselves, not wasting their life. I try to be a guide, because they need, but I'm not sure to be able EVER to do it.

A lot of time I read about athletes prepared in laboratory, considered like machines, where winning is all what they want.

I don't know if I'm perticularly lucky, but I don't recognize anyone of the top runners in this stereotype.

Many of my athletes are among the top in the world (Shaheen in steeple, Paul Kosgei in 25km, Nicholas Kemboi, Ahmed Hassan, James Kwalia, Jamal Salem, Mark Bett, John Korir, Dorcus Inzikuru, many Marathon runners men and women), and I'm friend of other (like Baldini) that are the greatest in their event. Believe me : all these athletes are COMPLETELY NORMAL GUYS, having a normal life, normal feelings, normal behavior. They live in a normal house, have normal friends and normal families.

If it's true what many people think (that the top level sport is something destroying any moral value, as the only important thing is to win), probably the reason because my athletes are able to win and to last is THEIR NORMALITY.

About training, I never went to some laboratory for controlling my athletes (except blood tests every 1-2 months, because it's very important to know what CAN HAPPEN IN THE CLOSE FUTURE, and from the blood tests you can have a lot of informations). Of course, I went to test them some time, but this was for having datas for scientists and for myself that I needed for explaining what happens inside the body, but NEVER I USED THESE INFOS FOR MY TRAINING. So, I check the results of my training, but don't use them for my program : I modify the program according to what I see every day DURING the training, not according to the datas of the tests.

Here every one speaks about percentage : 85 / 90 % of VO2, etc. But I never used a CARDIO for controlling the heart frequency, for example, BECAUSE THESE DATA CAN CHANGE EVERY TIME AND ARE NOT SIGNIFICANT. I use lactate-tests that can give me NUMBERS confirming what I already know, because it's possible to see every thing during training.

At the end of every thing, I like to coach athletes because I can have with everyone a personal relation.

I like to speak too much (as you had the opportunity to see...), and I feel gratified thru this type of relation.

I cannot be a coach without being also a friend, may be a father or a elder brother (looking at my age).

To coach athletes is not something "dry" and theorical, but is something "alive" and pragmatic.

You must have passion for human people, almost like a missionary. You must have heart. And you must work for the others, not for yourself.

So, in these progression runs Renato has his guys doing, what sort of lactate readings are they achieving? (I know there are a few variations of the progressions, but a general figure would be fine.)

Thanks again.

Renato - could you make a brief summary of your friend

Gianni GHIDINI training methods with his middle distance runners?

Mileage, speed, special workouts etc ...

Renato, thanks for sharing :)

Thank You Renato, very good post!

I believe that Oriental approach to sports would be the most constructive.Training and competing should be a way of living, a road to understand your self. Forget about winning, it should not be the "big thing".Run for running. Enjoy, feel it.

It is pretty paradoxical, but on the other hand this road would also lead to the best results.And winning, if you are talented.

What you think?

Renato,

How do you arrange training when it is very hot, for example 10 days in a row at 80 (27 C) degrees plus?

Thanks for the time and info... There is some real fun stuff on this thread.

Dune, training depends on the situation of the race. For example, when in the past we went for training in altitude. that normally is dry and more fresh, we had different results competing soon after going down, during the first 48 hours. When the situation of the race was very hot and humid, the athletes competed in bad way. When the competition was in the same conditions of training, we had very good results.

My advice is, in any case :

a) The most part of TRAINING OF QUANTITY must be done when weather is good (may be at 5:00 in the morning or at 9:00 p.m. You cannot use a normal training of volume in very hot conditions, because you have to take care about the recovery after training.

b) If you go for TRAINING OF QUALITY, with high intensity but not very much volume, and short distances (may be no longer than 500m) you can also go when is very hot. In this case, you must have care in opening the recovery times (for ex., when you normally use 3:00, going to 5:00) and using a lot of water for drinking and refreshing, possibly resting where there is shadow.

Training of quality in the same condidtions of the race is good, for having a better adaptation.

c) Generally, you can go for training of speed also when is very hot, not for training of endurance

d) About food and drinking, I advice to use more vegetables for reintegration of vitamins, to drink a lot (ad water is the best thing), to eat using more salt for replacing what you lose in training.

Regarding Marathon, I explained in another new post what I normally use when the race is very hot and humid.

Renato, does your runners have high serum ferritin levels?

Do you use any iron supplements for your runners during hard period of training?

Up until this I knew little about Renato outside of sheets of interval workouts, but he really is a phenomenal person.

I say he is a great coach but a better person. I consider mission work soon also. Perhaps I can coach some runners like Renato :)

renato, thank you for your personal info.

your posts awake passion for coaching/teaching as living-style. it sounds attractive: the coach as a teacher for life AND a friend/brother.

i am an older mediocre md-guy (34 yrs, 2:00min@800m, 35min@10k) but i love running. i am running cause running is freedom and harmony with nature and love to the own body or simply praise to god. i am living in leipzig/(east)germany and coaching is very much scientific based. it´s good to catch some scientific based knowledge. but i am missing the social part: the coach as teacher, older friend or brother for very young runners (14-18 yrs). nobody cares about the very young ones if not talented. the weaker runner are leaving athletics frustrated.

Renato,

how is Qatar for training? At what time of the year and for how long is your atheletes there for training?

I will stay in Qatar for a while this winter and need some places to train!

Mr. Canova,

What do you think the ideal way is to develop a young distance runner of the future? European or American

Dunes Runner

I have read up to page 91, and all about yer support for Wang's 29:31 and all yer reasoning.

What dya think about FloJo 100m in 10.4 or whatever it was? Was she clean? Does it matter? Did she die at 38 of "natural causes"?

Just curious

I don't think about natural causes of dying at 38 years!!!

Even if chronicles spoke about cardiac arrest, cavernous angioma, etc.... these are very rare diseases in a young woman which is still the world record holder of 100 and 200 metres!

Meditate people....meditate!

If you read all the post of this forum you'll find the answer to your question.

Renato said a dozen of times that it is very difficult in our society to understand the first principle of distance training: the running as a way to improve yourself as a man before than as an athlete! The fatigue linked to this type of training can be faced only if there are great motivations inside us. A little difficult for an american or european children!

Note that I said children not young man.....if you have a lack of preparation in first years of life you cannot develop an international runner!

Renato, please correct me if I'm wrong