Renato can you comment on the Asian Games

Thanks very much for your reply Renato.

Another question: do you ever have easy weeks (for example 1 in every 4 or 6) during fundamantal, special or specfic periods to allow time for the athlete to recover and supercompensate?

Also, I'd be interested to hear your view on so called 'overtraining'- causes, how to avoid it, recover from it etc? Thanks again, all your posts are greatly appreciated!

Merry Christmas Renato!

Renato,

THANK YOU for your posts-on this topic and all others!!!!!!!!! Your extensive knowledge is a real pleasure to learn from. Not just seeing the workouts but understanding the "why" and "how" behind them. THANKS AGAIN!!!!

Panther

Renato Canova,publisher:New Studies of Athletics:

In the case ofmost middle distance runners, a high muscle reactivity corresponds to a low general strength level, because the elastic component of the muscle is more developed than the contractile component. Consequently, the better class athletes tend to be handicapped, as opposed to athletes having greater strength and less elasticity - those who use a "low", almost "pulling", action."

Renato how can you explain Bekeles great performances in track and also cross country?I mean he is so strong but at the same time very elastic.Would he be best also in very very soft surfaces or very steep courses?

This is a good point to bring up. I've always been interested in these qualities of runners.

Personally, I've always been a very strong hill runner in xc although having little speed on the track (probably 60 flat 400 speed). I feel that my muscle reactivity is pretty good as well, however, since I run well over uneven terrain (rocky).

I am wondering how I should go about incorporating hill sprints into my training considering that Renato has stated they should be implemented differently for a strength vs. elastic runner.

Regarding Bekele, my opinion is that he's the greatest specialist of cross all-time, may be only Ngugi could be at a level close to him. The main quality of Bekele is the ability to change his attitude according to the type of ground. Normally, athletes very reactive (for example, Gebre or Shaheen), that have their most important mechanical quality in their reactivity, need a hard surface for using their attitudes. They have very reactive feet, short tendons, and the tension of the elastic fibres is very high and able to react quickly. Do you remember the feet of Gebre and Shaheen ? They are runners that never touch the ground with the back of the foot. In this case, the "shock absorbers" are in their fibres, and hard surface is the best situation for a fast action. This athletes can be good on track and on road, normally not so much in cross, expecially if muddy. That's the reason because Gebre decided to stop with WCCCh in 1996, after realizing that he was not able to be competitive at max level. The same situation for Shaheen : he can run well if the cross is dry (like Vilamoura in 2000, for example), but cannot be competitive with Bekele in case of mud.

Kenenisa, instead, is the only one having both the attitudes. When he runs on the mud, he uses only the power of his legs, without pushing with his feet. He puts his feet on the mud using full plant, and his action is a mix of pushing and pulling. He runs "seated" a little, and in this way he can always have a good grip.

But, when he's on track or on road, he uses his feet with great reactivity. Under this point of view, he is a very atypical runner.

Another advantage, running cross, comes from his morphology. Kenenisa is not tall, and his legs are not very long. His baricenter is low, and his balance is very good, on the mud too. He is a perfect machine for cross competitions, in my opinion very much better than his brother Tariku, that instead can become better than him on track.

Kenenisa likes to be a front runner, but is very fast. I remember the first time I saw him,in Monaco 2001, when he bettered the World Junior Record of 3000m running 7:30. I was seated together Jos Hermens, and he told me "look that new guy, very young, for me can become the number one in the future". So, I wanted to follow his race, and I was really impressed by his final 300m. He was number 9 with 300m to go. I controlled his final time : he ran incredible 300m, overtaking all the other runners for finishing 2nd, very close the winner, with 37.5 in the last 300m ! So, when during the next years I saw him winning cross and track using tactic of front runner, I simply understood that was so complete, to be practically unbeatable in distance of 10-15 km : able to beat the World Record running alone, and able to win with last lap in 52.0 ! The only limit of Kenenisa, now, is his motivation. Yet young, already with an unbelievable palmarees : 10 World Titles in Cross, 2 World Championships in 10000, 1 Olympic Title in 10000, 1 indoor title in 3000m, World record of 5000, 10000 (2 times) and 5000m indoor. May be very difficult, for him, to maintain the same level of motivation. And, in any case, if there is some chances for Shaheen, Songok, his brother, may be also somebody else, for beating him on track (5000, 10000 are more difficult), absolutely no chance in long cross. He can continue to win, till when he wants to run.

Bump

Renato speaking of Shaheen and Geb having short tendons, is this something you aim your athletes to have, by avoiding stretching? Do they stretch at all?

Europeans and americans tend to stretch a lot, and they seems to lack the same reactivity as the africans. Any connection?

So high level of strength doesn´t necessarily mean low elasticity?

Renato can you clarify what you mean: "When he runs on the mud, he uses only the power of his legs, without PUSHING with his feet."

"He puts his feet on the mud using full plant, and his action is a mix of PUSHING and pulling."

Very interesting,thank you Renato!

Do you mean he is not using ankles..... instead more glutel and femoris region muscles?

When Bekele runs on track, or on hard surface, the first part of his feet touching the ground is the top, and the back of the foot doesn't touch the ground. This is the reason because he has a very reactive action. Instead, when runs on mud, he uses ALL THE PLANT. Probably, this is due to a natural ability in adaptation, and is not fruit of special technical exercises. In any case, Kenenisa can do this because is able to control the level of stretching of his Achilles tendons, increasing the tension of his calves. Different is the situation of athletes with short tendons : Gebre and Shaheen are athletes with this type of attitude. Personally, I don't use any exercise of stretching, regarding reactivity of feet, with Shaheen, and I don't use plyometric exercises. I think that are dangerous for his type of morphology. I use stretching for other muscles, but not for calves. If an athlete has short tendons, his reactivity is very high, but he is fragile under this point of view, because his tendons are always stretched, under a lot of tension. I remember, 30 years ago, Rick Wohlhuter, your great specialist of 800m and 1500m too. He was not able to warm-up, if before running could not massage his tendons for 20 minutes, sometime using ice. Only after this pre-warmup he was able running, for preparing his muscles for the competition. This type of morphology is typical of very talented athletes, but not frequent in specialists of middle and long distance. I remember athletes like Brian Oldfield, shot putter with incredible talent, big like a waldrop in his body, but with very slim calves, like african runners. He was like a dancer inside the board. Also walking, he never was able to touch the ground with the back of his feet.

For runners, having short tendons means to have special attitudes for a frequent action, because the time of contact with the ground is very short. On the other side, if you use all the plant, the time of contact is long, and you cannot use enough frequency, but you use long steps. This type of action is good when you run on the mud, not when you run on track or road.

I've noticed Bekele dorsiflex his ankles quite a bit while running track, pre-stretching the achilles tendon to get more power just like a sprinter.

Out of subject:

Renato what do you think of Jeremy Wariner and his ability to run a fast 800? Thinking of a slim Wariner, like at Athens 2004.

About Wariner, he seems to have the best attitude for running 800m, looking at his final furlong in 400m. However, personally I think that never he is interested in running 2 laps, in any case not for the next 3-4 years. I have a philosophy : you can change event (of course, going to the superior distance) if you are the no. 2 in the world, and want to become the no. 1. In any case, for improving in your position in the World. So, I think that NEVER a no. 1 in one event has the will to change event. Carl Lewis could be very easy the World Record Holder and Olympic Champion in 200m, but never was really interested in preparing this event. Michael Johnson, when approached 400m, was coming from a bad result in 200m in Olympic. Only after running 400m, became the no. 1 in 200m too, and that was the reason he competed in both the events, at the same level. Alberto Juantorena prepared, during Winter 1975, 800m in order to run faster 400m. After the first competitions in 2 laps, he realized that was possible to be competitive in Olympic in 800m also, without losing his attitude in 400m, so decided to win both the events.

The real problem is the mental attitude, and this is connected with the level of motivation. Which kind of motivation can have an athlete, winning World Ch and Olympic, for changing event, before trying to beat the World Record, that is the only thing not yet obtained ? So, it's clear that Wariner has one main goal : to beat the record of 400m of MJ (may be becoming the first athlete under 43.0). Only after reaching this result, or after understanding that it's not possible, he can be motivated in a second option : running 800m for doing something different.

I have the same problem with Shaheen : which type of motivation I can give to an athlete, already World Champion and Record Holder, coming from 5 seasons without losing one race in steeple (27 victories, with heats in WCh) ? Fortunately, he was not able to run Olympic 2004, so he's looking at Beijing. But the only thing is to try something new : 3000 and 5000 and may be 10000 flat, for winning WCh or beating a WR, or, like this year, something that nobody was able to do before (winning steeple and 5000 in World Cup). The same problem is for Bekele : he's no more motivated in cross (also if I bet that he goes again in Mombasa for winning, too many pressures from his Federation and the Company), more in indoors. On track, he looks for improving in short distances, because is the king of the longest (10000m). After this, he can look at Road Races, may be Marathon in future, but HM from soon. Don't forget that the choices of a Top Runner are motivated by many factors, for example economical too, and the events don't have the same interest. To be the no. 1 in 100m pays better than to be no. 1 in 200. Event like 100, 400, 800, 1500 can produce more money than other events. 5000 is better than 10000. In any choice, there is a professional logic, that is not only technical reason.

So, people can speak for fun about what is better, but everything is a theorical point of view, without connections with the reality.

Renato, thank you. Do you have the training of Shami leading into the Marathon?

Great insights Renato. What about runners with flat feet, how do they tend to run and is it an advatage or a disadvantage?

i too would appreciate if if you posted the schedule for Shami.

What are his goals for 2007, or what are your plans for him? World Championships Marathon in Osaka, or a major marathon (London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, NY)

BJ Cummings wrote:

Renato--you're so good at doping and training your runner to great times in the longer distances; why is it so hard for your to dope and train your runners to run great 800s? Like 1:41 or under?

I bet you think you're one funny dude.

The plan of Shami is very easy :

a) HM in Emirates on 9-02

b) HM in Paris on 11-03

c) World Cross Country on 24-03 (with preparation for Marathon)

d) Paris Marathon on 15-04

After this, I have to see the best strategy for preparing World Championships in Marathon. I think that, due to the hot and humid conditions that we can find in Osaka, Shami can look for a very good performance.

At the moment, he is working for recovering his strength, using circuits climbing, and gym (of course, long and easy run is a normal type of training, he goes for an average of 35 km per day, at low-middle intensity). We start to put in training something faster from 15th of January. The plan is for running in Paris about 2:07:00. So, in Emirates is good to run a HM about 61:30, looking at the period of the season.

Renato,

Can you describe the type of circuits that you would use for a marathoner? Also, would you incorporate similar hill sessions as previously described into a marathon build-up?

Many thanks,

Bruce