Skinny Bastard wrote:
How about some details about his training program?
We've heard lots about his character and influence but not so much about specifics of his program. I'd love to hear about favorite workouts, progression, mileage, how he develops runners, etc. I'm sure I speak for many of us who are following this thread with great interest.
Haverford guys speak up!
One of the things that makes Tom great is that his approach to training is constantly evolving. The training they do today is different than my senior year, which was different than my freshman year, which is noticeably different than when Off the Grid ran for the team.
Here are some of the key points:
1) Don't rush the freshman. With a few exceptions, freshman generally don't do doubles. More do now than when I was on the team, but I think that is a function of stronger and more talented freshman coming in. Freshman also have shorter long runs and I found Tom usually held them back one extra training group/level. This was to make their transition to college (work, life, running, etc) as smooth as possible, not to mention limit burnout and injury.
2) Run easy. If you ever have a chance to see Tom's iconic handwritten, all-CAPS daily training plan, you will notice the word "easy" litters the page. They usually are underlined a few times and followed by exclamation points. While I do believe Tom is a proponent of easy running in the most literal sense, this is more a function of the culture he has created. From the five minute miler to the top guy on the team, all of us would be willing to run 150 miles a week at six minute pace if Tom asked. In fact, we are all inclined to push our training in an attempt to be great and do well for Tom. As a result, Tom makes an extra effort to have us pull back. Younger guys usually still have the pounding mentality from their highschool days but by junior or senior year, guys know not to push it. Our best guys usually ran their easy days at 6:30-8:00/mi, with the vast majority settling in the middle ground of 7:00-7:30/mi.
3) Run more and more. After freshman year, the unspoken rule is that, as long as you are healthy and not injury prone, you run twice a day, five days a week. One run/race on Saturday and a long run on Sunday. This morning run is usually a trail, ~3mi, but as guys get older it can go up to 4-5mi. In the afternoon, most regular runs are in the 50-60min range, but, again, as you get older and stronger, these can often creep to 70-80min. Long runs vary pretty significantly but are usually in the 2hour range, with the mileage hogs going up to 2:30 on occasion. If I were to hazard a rough sketch of mileage progression of a 3k-10k type during the early fall, I would say Freshman: 40-60mpw, Soph: 70-80mpw, Junior: 80-90, Senior: 90-100. There are plenty of folks on either side of those ranges but this is generally a fair example.
4) Workout consistently and progressively. Tom is a fan of threshold running and hills. I would say these are the corner stones of XC training. As someone said earlier, we would do our repeat workouts on a 1mi grass loop. These would be done at approximate current 10k pace, on that terrain, with 1min jog in between. We would do this more weeks than not, with the goal of getting in more intervals at a faster pace. If it was hot or guys were tired, Tom would not hesitate to pull back the pace or cut out a few intervals. We also did longer, stready runs over a very hilly course. Early on in my career, we would specifically push the hills, but that got a little out of hand at times. Now it is just a moderate, even effort. Its a tough loop, no matter how slowly you run it, so it is a nice 2nd effort if we don't have a race.
5) Work together. While Tom gave us a lot of freedom of what runs we did and how we did them, he always encouraged group running. This was more organized on workout days. I remember being a very weak 7th man in XC my senior year and Tom really emphasized hanging with the rest of the Varsity on workouts. It made me a tougher runner and a better athlete and I credit that style of running with my breakouts in the winter and spring.
6) Race hard. Ultimately, all of what we do is geared towards racing well. Given the wide range of talent on the team, the universal measurement is effort. All Tom really wants is for us to race intelligently and with a lot of heart. Tom is certainly not afraid to make it clear when he feels you gave less than your best or didn't meet his expectations. The great thing is that Tom's expectations are usually right on and when you do race well, making Tom proud, there is no better feeling.
7) Communicate. I found this to be especially important. Tom will believe what you tell him about your training, racing potential, etc. As a result, if you don't communicate with him honestly and directly, you won't maximize your experience. The best training and racing will occur when you tell him that you are a) over your heard or b) could be working harder. He has a great sense of those sorts of things but nothing beats authentic feedback.
8) Be a good student. Tom wants his athletes to excel in the classroom. He recruits smart, intellectually curious students and pushes them to work hard. That said, he recognizes that academic and athletic success are not mutually exclusive. There is plenty of historical data, Haverford or elsewhere, that has proven that fact. If you fall behind in school, Tom will know and emphasize fixing that above anything else.
9) Be a good teammate. If you think you are better than your fellow teammate, you are in trouble. As has been mentioned before, the only difference between a 4min miler and a 5min miler is 60 seconds. He inspires us to work together and support each other. I feel Tom's greatest legacy is the culture he has created on the team. It is an animal unto itself. I know I came in and was completely transformed, athletically, academically, personally, etc, by my experience on the team and the people with whom I lived, studied and trained.
10) Be a good person. I think I speak for 99.9% of athletes coached by Tom when I say that he is one of the most influential people in my life. Above all else, Tom wants to coach good people, people who care, people who work hard and people who give back. If you are a jerk, Tom, and the team culture he helped foster, will notice and respond. He doesn't kick them off the team or ignore them. Quite the opposite. Tom wants his athletes to be happy, healthy and contributors to the Haverford and world communities. A single word of guidance or affirmation is all one would usually need to find the right way.
Sorry that was long but I thought it was worth writing out. This might seem, with good reason, like a pitch to run for Haverford. That is certainly one of the reasons I wrote this list. The larger reason, though, is that running for a college team was the formative experience of my life. I raced against plenty of athletes while I was in high school who, for reasons ranging from school/division choice to parental/peer pressure, didn't have that opportunity. Running at Haverford is an example of the balance you can achieve as a college athlete and something every high school student who loves to run should aspire to, regardless of "talent" or "ability". As Tom made clear to us every single day of our lives and in every possible scenario: You can do it.