Good takeaways, I listened to it and thought the same.
I think just looking at Strava we might miss that the dude is running in bone-crushingly cold (and slow) conditions. It sounds like he ran in sub-20 degree and snowy weather a lot, which might mean more of his running is a harsher test than it appears. Throw in that it sounds like he hikes, XC skis, and bikes...the guy's doing a lot of things to be fit.
Another thing is the rojo axiom that racing is the best workout. The guy put together two outstanding half marathons on January 19th and March 2nd. He also did some pacing on the Big Sky indoor track. It might seem like he's low on volume of workouts and such but he did those extremely high quality efforts.
Other interesting aspect is when he got 26th at NCAA XC Nats, he famously was in 204th one kilometer in:
Just commented this on a different thread but I also saw he mentions the poor conditions on his Strava quite frequently. A lot of people are going to say that "his training works for him" and that he shouldn't change it but I simply refuse to believe that this kid can't be made better by moving out of a place that is sub zero and buried in snow for half the year and incorporating more high end aerobic work. If he did he might be a 2:05 guy.
"I’m a teacher. I show up to work at 8:15 and don’t leave until 6:30 to make sure I’ve gotten all my planning, prep, research, and grading done so I don’t take it home. That means I’m working nearly 3 hours of unpaid overtime every day, and I still have to take work home some days. And every day is toxic kids, parents, and administrators that actively sabotage my ability to do my job. I have a Masters degree and am still not even paid $50k a year." Post taken from YouTube.com Abolishing the Department of Education devalues teachers.
agree workouts are over prioritized generally. I wouldn’t be surprised if all he needs to do is just stack good builds and stay consistent. If he doesn’t change anything and just remains injury free doing what he’s doing, maybe he hits 2:04-2:05 just by virtue of consistency. He’s young
But just, work with me. If a 25 year old Japanese runner got 2:07:57 in their 2nd marathon, like, would it be that big a deal? Is it that Richtman is uniquely talented? That US Marathoning is uniquely behind? You could say it's a crisis of expectations but every year we have hundreds of elite Americans running and so few break 2:08. I don't know, it's just hard for me to wrap my head around. Why so few Americans are successful, and why of all the guys in the country who are training, if we're being realistic, very similarly to him (self-paced, freeform, fewer workouts), he is the one who does this.
"hundreds" of elite american's? i think you have the u.s. confused with another country. how about 'several' elite american's?
But just, work with me. If a 25 year old Japanese runner got 2:07:57 in their 2nd marathon, like, would it be that big a deal? Is it that Richtman is uniquely talented? That US Marathoning is uniquely behind? You could say it's a crisis of expectations but every year we have hundreds of elite Americans running and so few break 2:08. I don't know, it's just hard for me to wrap my head around. Why so few Americans are successful, and why of all the guys in the country who are training, if we're being realistic, very similarly to him (self-paced, freeform, fewer workouts), he is the one who does this.
This.
Kenya has had guys debuting or running their second marathon in 2:05-2:07 since forever. Some of them literally just doing their own thing with no semblance of coaching.
Why would we lower expectations to the point that it's shocking when an American does it?
It makes you wonder if you he was under trained in college or track distances are not for him. Many top div I guys go pro and they couldn't replicate this kind of success.
The winter thing is real. My runs in the beginning of spring when I can finally shed my heavy winter gear and run in nice conditions are significantly faster than my winter base building paces. It’s a Superman feeling that is similar to when I used to live at altitude and then go for a run at sea level.
but why would running at a slower pace be detrimental? if the heartrate is the same. cold temperatures (within reason) shouldn't be a problem. running in too hot temperatures is not good because you cant run for as long - the heat saps your energy and overall volume suffers. that's why athletes from hot/humid countries perform so poorly at running (India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia)
Bicarb shouldn't be used during marathons. About half of people have a mutation making them weaker at middle and shorter long distance running, but it helps them during marathons. What bicarb does is making people with the mutation more like people without it.
Lactate is good to use as fuel during marathons and longer. But it is bad to get a lot if lactate if the intensity is higher
Since he did well on rolling hills I'm guessing he'll do as well on the Chicago course.
Maybe. But I actually found courses with a bit of a roll preferable to ironing board flat ones. I think it was because the rolling made my muscles function a little differently and I didn't stiffen up as much late in races.
It makes you wonder if you he was under trained in college or track distances are not for him. Many top div I guys go pro and they couldn't replicate this kind of success.
I'd say it's probably the latter though this isn't an either/or kind of thing. Guys like Rodgers and Tom Fleming didn't have outstanding college careers, not that they were bad careers, but they didn't become who they were until they started racing longer distances.
Good takeaways, I listened to it and thought the same.
I think just looking at Strava we might miss that the dude is running in bone-crushingly cold (and slow) conditions. It sounds like he ran in sub-20 degree and snowy weather a lot, which might mean more of his running is a harsher test than it appears. Throw in that it sounds like he hikes, XC skis, and bikes...the guy's doing a lot of things to be fit.
Another thing is the rojo axiom that racing is the best workout. The guy put together two outstanding half marathons on January 19th and March 2nd. He also did some pacing on the Big Sky indoor track. It might seem like he's low on volume of workouts and such but he did those extremely high quality efforts.
Other interesting aspect is when he got 26th at NCAA XC Nats, he famously was in 204th one kilometer in:
Just commented this on a different thread but I also saw he mentions the poor conditions on his Strava quite frequently. A lot of people are going to say that "his training works for him" and that he shouldn't change it but I simply refuse to believe that this kid can't be made better by moving out of a place that is sub zero and buried in snow for half the year and incorporating more high end aerobic work. If he did he might be a 2:05 guy.
Classic American mindset. If something works really well, change everything about it immediately!
I simply refuse to believe that this kid can't be made better by moving out of a place that is sub zero and buried in snow for half the year
He's in Bozeman, not Fairbanks. There isn't a single month of the year in Bozeman where the monthly average high temperature is below 32 F, much less sub zero. December, January, and February are the only months where the average high temperature is below 43 F. Yes, it gets below zero sometimes, but those are the exceptions, not the rule, much less that it's like that for half of the year.
February is consistently the coldest month in Bozeman. And every year there is about a month of the high being below zero. Each year there is a week where it gets to about 30 -40 below zero without windchill considered. There is a Lot of snow and its stays on the ground for most of winter. True Plenty of places this cold, but it is pretty hard to run here in the winter.
There has never been an entire month ever in Bozeman with the high being below zero, much less every year. There is also not a week each year when it gets to 30 - 40 below zero. From 1991 - 2021, it never reached -30 a single time.
Just commented this on a different thread but I also saw he mentions the poor conditions on his Strava quite frequently. A lot of people are going to say that "his training works for him" and that he shouldn't change it but I simply refuse to believe that this kid can't be made better by moving out of a place that is sub zero and buried in snow for half the year and incorporating more high end aerobic work. If he did he might be a 2:05 guy.
Classic American mindset. If something works really well, change everything about it immediately!
Did I say change everything? No, I said "add a bit more quality work." That's hardly changing everything.
For some reason so many people in this sport seem to fetishize doing as a little work as possible to be good. No other sport is like that. They're more impressed by the guy running 13:50 off of 50mpw than by the 13:30 guy running 100mpw. The 13:30 guy is still faster.
Don't mistake my posts for criticism. Richtman is a very exciting prospect and has insane potential. But the keyword is potential, and you still cannot convince me he wouldn't benefit from more quality work.
That Strava is crazy. I don't know where he gets the confidence from to run a marathon at 3:00/km pace. I don't think he hit even a single km at marathon pace during any of his long runs. When I train for a marathon, I do regular 10 mile tempos at MP and have long periods of MP in my long runs. If I didn't do that, I would be a complete head case on the starting line. I'll give it to Richtman, his mental game must be supreme.
agree it’s crazy (very impressive) what he’s able to do. That said, as a slow 2:50 runner (and hopefully ~2:43 soon), I rarely hit marathon pace in a long run. Maybe 1-2 miles at the end of a progressive effort. I never do those massive 10 miles MP within a 20 mile long run. Those seem crazy to me.
I simply refuse to believe that this kid can't be made better by moving out of a place that is sub zero and buried in snow for half the year
He's in Bozeman, not Fairbanks. There isn't a single month of the year in Bozeman where the monthly average high temperature is below 32 F, much less sub zero. December, January, and February are the only months where the average high temperature is below 43 F. Yes, it gets below zero sometimes, but those are the exceptions, not the rule, much less that it's like that for half of the year.
Another thing here is that places that are frequently buried in snow usually do a pretty good job of clearing it.
