Coach Mike Scannell on Parker Valby: "I don't know why she's so popular... I hope her training is not very popular."

rojo alt alert wrote:

high school xc coach wrote:

I'll sheepishly admit i'm not well versed enough in the history of the sport to know what you're talking about. But in the 15 years that I have been paying attention, Parker is easily the most publicized case of a successful and well-known distance runner HUGELY benefitting from cross training. Though to be honest, I think a lot of people became aware of cross training potential from Natalie Cook just a little before Parker Valby.

Guys, get it straight

Ingrid Kristiansen is THE model to follow when it comes to running and cross training

Ingrid ran more than Parker ever has

Ingrid also cross trained more than Parker ever has

Ingrid also simultaneously held the WRs in the 5000, 10000 and Marathon

Cross-training can be extremely beneficial, but the truth is there are only one or two legit options: XC-Skiing and to a lesser extent the arc trainer

I believe one of the biggest issues runners have with cross-training is they don't understand how much more volume the body is capable of when doing non-impact cardio, but also they tend not to understand (or maybe consider) that because they only cross-train when injured it means their body is not able to put in as much volume as would be needed to sustain or increase fitness

In general, the body seems to be able to sustain no more than about 12 hrs/wk of running and no more than about 30 hrs/wk of non-impact cardio

It's a fairly simple equation after that to figure out how much more non-impact cardio a runner could theoretically handle beyond their current volume of running

Example: Runner A can handle 6 hrs/wk of running then tends to get hurt historically if they try to increase beyond that. For Runner A to max out their potential in terms of aerobic output per week, they'd need to build up to roughly 15 hrs/wk of non-impact cardio (XC-Skiing preferable if available, they do make summer skis with wheels too though never tried them)

Prob one of the biggest mental barriers runners have the sheer amount of volume the body can handle when doing non-impact. It takes some adjustment and ultimately most people don't have the time or physiological makeup to suffer in isolation that long day after day. Granted, half the people reading this would do almost anything to be able to workout longer just because that's the best part of their day.

rojo alt alert wrote:

high school xc coach wrote:

I'll sheepishly admit i'm not well versed enough in the history of the sport to know what you're talking about. But in the 15 years that I have been paying attention, Parker is easily the most publicized case of a successful and well-known distance runner HUGELY benefitting from cross training. Though to be honest, I think a lot of people became aware of cross training potential from Natalie Cook just a little before Parker Valby.

Guys, get it straight

Ingrid Kristiansen is THE model to follow when it comes to running and cross training

Ingrid ran more than Parker ever has

Ingrid also cross trained more than Parker ever has

Ingrid also simultaneously held the WRs in the 5000, 10000 and Marathon

Cross-training can be extremely beneficial, but the truth is there are only one or two legit options: XC-Skiing and to a lesser extent the arc trainer

I believe one of the biggest issues runners have with cross-training is they don't understand how much more volume the body is capable of when doing non-impact cardio, but also they tend not to understand (or maybe consider) that because they only cross-train when injured it means their body is not able to put in as much volume as would be needed to sustain or increase fitness

In general, the body seems to be able to sustain no more than about 12 hrs/wk of running and no more than about 30 hrs/wk of non-impact cardio

It's a fairly simple equation after that to figure out how much more non-impact cardio a runner could theoretically handle beyond their current volume of running

Example: Runner A can handle 6 hrs/wk of running then tends to get hurt historically if they try to increase beyond that. For Runner A to max out their potential in terms of aerobic output per week, they'd need to build up to roughly 15 hrs/wk of non-impact cardio (XC-Skiing preferable if available, they do make summer skis with wheels too though never tried them)

Prob one of the biggest mental barriers runners have the sheer amount of volume the body can handle when doing non-impact. It takes some adjustment and ultimately most people don't have the time or physiological makeup to suffer in isolation that long day after day. Granted, half the people reading this would do almost anything to be able to workout longer just because that's the best part of their day.

rojo alt alert wrote:

Guys, get it straight

Ingrid Kristiansen is THE model to follow when it comes to running and cross training

Ingrid ran more than Parker ever has

Ingrid also cross trained more than Parker ever has

Ingrid also simultaneously held the WRs in the 5000, 10000 and Marathon

Cross-training can be extremely beneficial, but the truth is there are only one or two legit options: XC-Skiing and to a lesser extent the arc trainer

I believe one of the biggest issues runners have with cross-training is they don't understand how much more volume the body is capable of when doing non-impact cardio, but also they tend not to understand (or maybe consider) that because they only cross-train when injured it means their body is not able to put in as much volume as would be needed to sustain or increase fitness

In general, the body seems to be able to sustain no more than about 12 hrs/wk of running and no more than about 30 hrs/wk of non-impact cardio

It's a fairly simple equation after that to figure out how much more non-impact cardio a runner could theoretically handle beyond their current volume of running

Example: Runner A can handle 6 hrs/wk of running then tends to get hurt historically if they try to increase beyond that. For Runner A to max out their potential in terms of aerobic output per week, they'd need to build up to roughly 15 hrs/wk of non-impact cardio (XC-Skiing preferable if available, they do make summer skis with wheels too though never tried them)

Prob one of the biggest mental barriers runners have the sheer amount of volume the body can handle when doing non-impact. It takes some adjustment and ultimately most people don't have the time or physiological makeup to suffer in isolation that long day after day. Granted, half the people reading this would do almost anything to be able to workout longer just because that's the best part of their day.