Evans Cheruiyot, training.
Source: Pascal Fortin
1 Typical week of training Evans Cheruiyot (winner of the last half marathon of Paris):
Monday
- Morning: 20 km at a steady pace (3'20 per km in the case of Ivans)
- Afternoon: 40 'of active recovery - 6mn per km maximum
Tuesday
- Morning: Fartlek session: repeat in number depending on the season: 1 'fast - I' slow, 2 'fast, 1' slow, 5 'fast, 2' slow, 10 'fast, 2' slow (eg session 17 x2 'fast / 1' slow, 5x 10 'fast, 2 slow) or track (ex session: 10x1000 m around 2'45 to 1000 for Evans)
- Afternoon: 40 'to 1H active recovery
Wednesday
- Morning: 1H at moderate pace (for him!)
- Afternoon: 40 'at moderate pace
Thursday
- Morning: Fartlek or track (alternation of long and short split between Tuesday and Thursday => never 2 sessions of short split or long split in the same week)
- Afternoon: 40 'to 1H active recovery
Friday
- Morning: 1H at moderate pace
- Afternoon: Rest
Saturday
- Morning: 25 km long exit for Evans (a little shorter for Florence)
- Afternoon: Rest
Sunday
- rest for the 2
In the case of Evans, this typical week, which actually seems to prevail for all 10km runners and half-marathon Adidas group, leads him to run an average of 150 to 160km per week. In that of marathoners, the volume is slightly higher but apparently does not exceed 180 km. Which is absolutely nothing exceptional for top athletes.
But this is obviously only an average in that the volume and intensity of training vary depending on the time of year.
As for the overwhelming majority of European runners, this periodization is divided into two major cycles with a program designed to achieve two peaks of form during a first period between April, May and June and a second between September, October and November, or at the biggest international competitions.
Between these two cycles of preparation, there is a transition period characterized by a significant reduction in volume and intensity but not the number of sessions that remains constant, at least in the case of Evans.
Including a dozen sessions per week, this training method does not seem very original and rather strongly resembles in its main principles to the recommendations of the French Athletics Federation for training outside the stadium (with many sessions of active recovery all the same). Far from behaving like a convict of the road, the volume and intensity of their training seem in reality very reasonable, even lower than many top European athletes.
Reading my next post dedicated more specifically to Evans' profile and his training, it even appears that, in many respects, the latter sometimes seems rather rudimentary with the absence, for example, in his case of training sessions. PPG! PPG in French means, general physical training, core work, foot work, etc.
We must nevertheless note a local peculiarity which is due to the very harsh technique of deep massages to the Kenyan (which looks for us, Europeans, to real torture sessions), and their frequency which reaches, in the case from Florence and Evans and probably from all the athletes of the adidas team, the number of three sessions per week.
Another notorious feature of their training is that the qualitative sessions are done early in the morning before breakfast, so fasting, the afternoon sessions having essentially a function of regeneration.
Be that as it may, the contrast seems to me particularly striking between the increasing sophistication of the preparation of European athletes (in terms of medical follow-up, recovery, session content, etc.) and the relative simplicity of that of Kenyan athletes who have only limited infrastructure and resources to train.
I therefore conclude that the famous "secret" of Kenyan supremacy must be sought elsewhere than in training methods and refers instead to their way of life, exceptional arrangements developed from an early age (even though effective practice of specific training in running often seems to start late, as in the case of our two Kenyan friends), or factors more broadly socio-economic and cultural ... I will try to address in more detail in the future.