Joe Falcon

i had the honor to live and train with joe and his wife in late '95/early '96. was also around many of his workouts in the '91 season. the guy was pure class. unbelievable talent. he REFUSED to lose. he absolutely hated it. it didn't matter whether it was at monopoly or maxing out on the bench. a few of the sessions that i remember offhand:

1.) had a dirt mile loop measured off by a wheel- used to do 5 x 1 mile- best avg i was witness to was 4.17...rest was always 3 minutes...usually started around 4.35 to 4.40 depending on how cold it was and then worked his way down...saw him also run 4.05 for his last repeat during a session as well.

2.) saw him run 10 x 300m with 100m jog (no stopping) in 39 sec avg- last one in 37

3.) 8 x 400m- 52 to 54- all with 90 sec rest

4.) 5 x 600m- 1.25 with last being around 1.20

5.) ins and outs where he would run 10 miles on the track alternating 60 second and 90 second quarters- he was meticulous about recording his fast lap times

6.) 2 x 1600m- 3.59 avg- 10 minutes rest

7.) 4 x 200m- 22 sec- full recovery

Just an example of the few that i saw...i'm sure there were even more...incredibly strong in the weightroom as well...was witness to him working out with 225 on the bench routinely...john mcdonnel once said that joe was likely the man to have been the first under 27 minutes for 10k (before ondieki)....an absolute talent and an even better person.

sorry. make that the '92 season.

pay attention to the workouts layed out here. There are no shortcuts youngsters; other than hard work and God give talent!

quit starting these ridiculous threads about 'whether you will ever become a 4 minute miler' based on some workouts....just go work hard for 5-6 years and let the chips fall where they will. There is no free lunch, kids.

Yeah! Why did his carer end prematurely? Did he have a serious injury?

The word on the street at the time was that he lost his focus and discipline.

3.) 8 x 400m- 52 to 54- all with 90 sec rest

If this is true, he should have run a lot quicker over 800m than he did. To me this indicates 1:43 ish. I've done session with Noah Ngeny (who is 6 sec quicker than Falcon!)and he was never able to do a session like that.

The sessions that Drew has listed seem very reasonable for someone at Falcons level. The one thing I have noticed over the years of reading some of the top guys jornals is not individaul sessions or weeks, as sometimes you'll look at a week and think..yeah I could do that. But then look again and realise that it's not just one hard week, it's week after week of hard sessions that get them there. The real talent these guys have, is staying injury free.

JRinaldi wrote:

3.) 8 x 400m- 52 to 54- all with 90 sec rest

If this is true, he should have run a lot quicker over 800m than he did. To me this indicates 1:43 ish. .

No it doesn't, ElG did 10x 400 at 53 with 45 rest and he's nowhere near 1:43.

Yeah...I'm pretty sure that John Parker Jr. wrote about this in a book didn't he. No shortcuts...day after day. Some trials of miles crap.

Hoovis

PaChamp wrote:

JRinaldi wrote:

3.) 8 x 400m- 52 to 54- all with 90 sec rest

If this is true, he should have run a lot quicker over 800m than he did. To me this indicates 1:43 ish. .

No it doesn't, ElG did 10x 400 at 53 with 45 rest and he's nowhere near 1:43.

didn't El G claim to have run 1:42 or 1:43 in practice?

More than likely Joe could of run a much faster 800, but he never ran one in late season. He ran mainly 1000's, 1500's, miles, 3k's.

So the same guy coached Falcon and Teg in their hs years?

That is pretty awesome! Who was the better hs runner? Did they both make Footlocker XC finals? How about post season track meets?

Falcon definitely had a better college career, but Teg seems to be surpassing Falcon in the post-college career.

krastina wrote:

So the same guy coached Falcon and Teg in their hs years?

That is pretty awesome! Who was the better hs runner? Did they both make Footlocker XC finals? How about post season track meets?

Falcon definitely had a better college career, but Teg seems to be surpassing Falcon in the post-college career.

Yes, the same guy coached both; they both made footlocker finals (Joe took like 3rd in regionals, but only 16th in nationals in San Diego; Matt took 2nd at regionals and 5th at nationals in Orlando) Joe had a much better college career; Matt was hurt frequently. Post College? Matt appears to be surpassing Joe, but Joe was every bit as talented, went through some personal stuff and injuries to end his career; Matt is staying healthy and excelling!!!

Dave Denny definitely had a couple of gems!!!!!!

Good stuff!

I don't believe for one second that ElG ran 10x400 with 30sec rest in 53 sec. I did a session with Noah 6 weeks before he ran a 3:43.40 mile and let me tell there was no way he could have run 10x400 in 53.

His session was 3 x 4 x 400 with 60 sec rec and 3 min between sets. He only averaged 55.4 for the session. Other 3:33 runners in the session only ran 56/57 seconds, so I am confident when I say that no one can run 10 in 53 with only 30 sec rest. My feeling is that he may have run his last one in 53 sec.

Peter Elliot could only run 52 point for 4 x 400 with 3min rec and that was just before he ran 1:42.98. I'm just going off what I have seen and know to be true.

JR

JR, I think you said it earlier-success comes after years of laying the groundwork. I have yet to see a workout of quick 400s on short rest, but I know the Super Swede and he did train with Joe and he is an honest broker.

The fall of 1989, Joe's journal is loaded with workouts like 7 milers on the roads where he'd go through 6 miles in 28 flat. Just what he calls steady state type stuff. A few days later (or before) it would be a session of longer repeats. He and Dave really laid the groundwork for his 1990 season, which enabled him to survive some of the injuries he had during the spring.

I don't know why Joe retired, but just from working on his journal, from week to week he seemed to have nagging injuries, a lot centered around his feet and Achilles. That has to catch up after a while.

November 13th-November 20th

Monday

Morning: Ran four miles this morning as knee was stiff. After first couple of miles knee seemed to losen up. After run was somewhat sore. Stayed on the trails as feel soft ground will be better for the knee. Started taking Tylenol.

Evening: Ran 10 miles at the Nature Center trails this evening. Knee was sore at first but felt fine by the end of workout. Believe I must have bruised the knee somehow. Was still sore to the touch after the run, but I feel it is getting better with each run. Will be pantient and see how it feels tomorrow.

Tuesday

Morning: Ran 5 mile morning run around condo complex. Knee was sore at first, but was fine from one mile on. After run wasn’t nearly as sore as yesterday. Will wait to see how it feels after tonight and whether I will do mile intervals tomorrow,

Evening: Ran 10 miles at the Nature Center. First two laps by myself then last one with the guys from SMSU. Knee only hurt some but loosened up fine. Will see how it feels tomorrow after miler intervals.

Wednesday

Morning: This morning ran my first interval session. Was windy and cold. Had Karen drive me out 8 miles, then ran 3 miles as warm-up. Then ran 4xmile in 4:30 with 3 minute recovery. Was running over a mile each time by the car’s odometer. Run was very hilly, third interval was straight up a hill for over 3/4s of a mile. Still ran over a mile. Would guess I was running about 4:20 per mile. Knee is fine, no soreness. Three mile warmdown.

Evening: Ran an easy 5 miles at the Nature Center trails. Legs tired, knee not sore. Am pleased with how my legs feel considering my first full interval session of the year. Will have to wait and see how my legs feel in the morning.

Thursday

Morning: Ran 5 miles at the Nature Center trails. Was so cold that my hands were cold even with gloves on. But legs felt fine, no aches or pains from yesterday’s hard interval session.

Evening: Ran 8 miles at the Nature Center trails, again ran there because the windchill (0 degrees with windchill). The woods help block the wind and keep the chill down. Saw six does this evening as I ran. Legs feel really good.

Friday

Morning: Ran an easy 10 miles at the Nature Center trails. Was tired from the mile intervals so took a nice easy run to prepare for tomorrow’s first steady state.

Saturday

Morning: Today is the first steady state session of the year. Ran 1 1/2 mile warm-up, then 7 miles hard. Had a great workout, best time ever for run. Splits were-4:48 at the mile, 14:06 at 3 miles, 28:00 at 6 miles, 32:26 at 7 miles (last mile in 4:26). Am so very pleased with this session, averaged 4:38 miles for 7 miles. Would have been around 29:08 for a 10k. Can’t think of a better way to start season. 1/2 mile walk/run to warmdown.

Evening: This evening ran 5 miles with Bill Coffelt riding bike. Legs were fine from the morning’s hard steady state run. No stiffness or soreness from earlier this morning.

Sunday

Morning: Ran 14 mile run on road from condo to battlefield, then to Sunshine, out Sunshine to Scenic, then back to battlefield and home. Was sluggish and felt heavy for majority of run. Yesterday’s workout must have taken more out of me than I though. Also week’s interval session made me feel tired. Ran an 1 hour and 28 minutes. Then went to “Lemery Mile” and ran on the 4x400 relay. Didn’t run much faster than 70 seconds.

Very pleased with my first week of intervals. Miles were very good as well as was my steady state. Training is progressing perfectly.

"The word on the street at the time was that he lost his focus and discipline."

-as usual, the word on the street is just that. not a hint of truth to your statement. trust me- the focus and discipline was always there. as for his 800- i once saw him do a time trial in 2.18 on a crap 160m track- help only through 400- this was right before he won indoor jesse owens in '92. he went through in 1.48 low. no doubt, he was certainly capable of 1.45 at some time in his career.

Falcon was an extremely talented, hard-working runner. His workouts sound incredible; no doubt lead to injuries. Still a fantastic career.....anyone know what he's up to now?

just a swede wrote:

"The word on the street at the time was that he lost his focus and discipline."

-as usual, the word on the street is just that. not a hint of truth to your statement. trust me- the focus and discipline was always there. as for his 800- i once saw him do a time trial in 2.18 on a crap 160m track- help only through 400- this was right before he won indoor jesse owens in '92. he went through in 1.48 low. no doubt, he was certainly capable of 1.45 at some time in his career.

Yes.

Joe is a policeman in Bentonville, Arkansas. He coached for a number of years (Bentonville High School) and won a number of state championships.