Okay, I’ll put it out there. I think Nike probably set this piece up with Runners World, and wants to see her training up in Oregon under Solinsky (and Shalane), and consequently discourage the possibility of her to continue training under the Palmers post-college.
But is that the best thing for Valby’s development?
I'm shocked that people are still skeptical on the merits of cross training when the best women's college long distance runner in history is having these types of results. I think some runners are afraid to admit that running less can actually be better in some instances.
It's honestly given me the confidence to reduce my own injury prone mileage in favor of alternative aerobic sources.
Because women aren't believed in general? I couldn't help but notice all the men accusing her of lying about her training all this time. I also love that she keeps proving them wrong.
Aside from that, I think a lot of runners are skeptical because they're afraid to try something new. We get set in our ways sometimes and are convinced running is the purest and best form of exercise.
It's interesting that some people are asking why other pro runners aren't training like her, but at the same time asking why she doesn't train like them. Maybe because one size does not fit all?
I'm not a pro/elite runner, so I'm sure this doesn't matter to many of you, but I was inspired to try this style of training back in November and it has been going really well. No, I don't do the EXACT same training she does, but again, I'm not elite either. I do all of my cross training at a high intensity, interval style. I do think I could add in additional time cross training if I really wanted to and sacrificed more of my other life responsibilities and time (I have 1-year old twins). For example, I haven't been doing any double days unless you count strength training. But here's what I, a "hobby jogger" have been doing for the past several months, training for a half-marathon:
XT Monday: 60 min stationary bike or elliptical + strength training
RUN Tuesday: 8-10 miles total track speed workout
XT Wednesday: 60-90 min stationary bike or elliptical
RUN Thursday: 8-10 miles total tempo workout + strength training
OFF Friday
RUN Saturday: 12-15 miles, sometimes including some tempo
XT Sunday: 90 min stationary bike or elliptical
This post was edited 36 seconds after it was posted.
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typo
Anecdotally, I can see how this training is extremely effective. You can get some tremendous aerobic work done on the arc trainer with basically no risk for injury. About 10yrs ago I ran my 1500m PR 3wks removed from being out for 2mo w/femoral stress frx. As soon as i could arc with minimal pain (about 2wks after initial injury), i went HAM everyday; like HR 150s-180s for 1-2hr sessions; did a 3hr session, lots of "intervals" 3min on/1min off etc. with no recovery days and often 2xsessions/day. Running felt slow and clumsy coming back but with probably the biggest aerobic engine I had ever had; after a single rust buster and 3 total interval sessions I ran a huge PR, and I never actually ended up running faster, despite consistent training at 65-75mpw for the following 3yrs. I think this is a strategy that even healthy runners should tap into.
Runners like to run. And to some extent you need to have the situation where you have easy access to a good machine. I am not sold for example that biking is anywhere near as good. And things like pool running are insanely boring. But I am also not driving 25 mins to the gym 4x week to use the arc trainer.
and if you can actually handle the 120mpw running, it isn’t clear that doing the equivalent with xt is better. Granted few people can do that consistantly…
Anecdotally, I can see how this training is extremely effective. You can get some tremendous aerobic work done on the arc trainer with basically no risk for injury. About 10yrs ago I ran my 1500m PR 3wks removed from being out for 2mo w/femoral stress frx. As soon as i could arc with minimal pain (about 2wks after initial injury), i went HAM everyday; like HR 150s-180s for 1-2hr sessions; did a 3hr session, lots of "intervals" 3min on/1min off etc. with no recovery days and often 2xsessions/day. Running felt slow and clumsy coming back but with probably the biggest aerobic engine I had ever had; after a single rust buster and 3 total interval sessions I ran a huge PR, and I never actually ended up running faster, despite consistent training at 65-75mpw for the following 3yrs. I think this is a strategy that even healthy runners should tap into.
Runners like to run. And to some extent you need to have the situation where you have easy access to a good machine. I am not sold for example that biking is anywhere near as good. And things like pool running are insanely boring. But I am also not driving 25 mins to the gym 4x week to use the arc trainer.
and if you can actually handle the 120mpw running, it isn’t clear that doing the equivalent with xt is better. Granted few people can do that consistantly…
There is no "better," there is only what's best for the individual.
Valby was definitely my inspiration to take up adding a serious amount of cross training to my weekly routine. I'm doing a reduced and cross training version of Jakob's training with 30 minutes on easy days, 40 minutes on workout days, and a 70 minute long run. But instead of running the AM workouts, I'm replicating it on the elliptical. My schedule is:
Monday - AM: 30 minute elliptical, PM: 30 minute easy with 6 x 100m strides Tuesday - AM: 3 x 6 minutes hard w/ 1 minute easy (40 total) elliptical, PM: 5 x 3 minutes w/ 1 minute jog (40 total) running Wednesday - AM: 30 minute elliptical, PM: 30 minute easy Thursday - AM: 4 x 5 minutes hard w/ 1 minute easy (40 total) elliptical, PM 12 x 1 minute w/ 30 second jog (40 total) running Friday - AM: 30 minute elliptical Saturday - PM: 8 x 35 second hills @ 6% incline w/ 70 second jog down (40 total) running Sunday - 70 minute long run
I've gotten much fitter than when I was doing 50 - 60 minutes once a day, six days a week. I plan to bump everything up by 10 minutes in the next couple weeks and then another 10 in a couple months.
Also, I completely agree with Hilarity Abound that cross training is more effort. Getting up to 150 on an elliptical is way harder for me compared to running. My glutes and hamstrings feel wiped after the Tuesday and Thursday efforts.
Valby was definitely my inspiration to take up adding a serious amount of cross training to my weekly routine. I'm doing a reduced and cross training version of Jakob's training with 30 minutes on easy days, 40 minutes on workout days, and a 70 minute long run. But instead of running the AM workouts, I'm replicating it on the elliptical. My schedule is:
Monday - AM: 30 minute elliptical, PM: 30 minute easy with 6 x 100m strides Tuesday - AM: 3 x 6 minutes hard w/ 1 minute easy (40 total) elliptical, PM: 5 x 3 minutes w/ 1 minute jog (40 total) running Wednesday - AM: 30 minute elliptical, PM: 30 minute easy Thursday - AM: 4 x 5 minutes hard w/ 1 minute easy (40 total) elliptical, PM 12 x 1 minute w/ 30 second jog (40 total) running Friday - AM: 30 minute elliptical Saturday - PM: 8 x 35 second hills @ 6% incline w/ 70 second jog down (40 total) running Sunday - 70 minute long run
I've gotten much fitter than when I was doing 50 - 60 minutes once a day, six days a week. I plan to bump everything up by 10 minutes in the next couple weeks and then another 10 in a couple months.
Also, I completely agree with Hilarity Abound that cross training is more effort. Getting up to 150 on an elliptical is way harder for me compared to running. My glutes and hamstrings feel wiped after the Tuesday and Thursday efforts.
Are you an elite or nationally ranked athlete, or a recreational runner?
I didn't realize NCAA women were running the 10000m 60 years ago. That's news to me.
And actually a lot of training has changed and adapted over the years and there are plenty of different opinions on how to train. I don't think LetsRun would exist without having this to argue about! Lydiard vs Daniels, altitude vs sea level, split shorts vs half tights, spikes vs super shoes, doubles vs singles, strength training vs just run more, high carb vs keto, and on and on and on.
I literally said I wasn't directly comparing myself to a pro/elite runner, however I have trained on a D1 team, doing the exact same workouts and mileage as any other top collegiate athlete. The biggest difference is I have no genetic talent. That I can't fix. The majority of us are not pro runners here. I think it's perfectly relevant to compare myself to myself to test the benefits of what Valby is doing. How do you think anyone designed training in the first place? Not even all pro coaches were top level runners before and the ones who were have certainly made changes from what they did back in the day to what they have their athletes do.
Bonus question: Where does that ability to push herself harder than anyone else in training come from? What does that sound like, the sudden preternatural ability to recover from very hard efforts? Beats me. LOLL. I am going to follow a real sport for a while. Enjoy stanning another unicorn.
Lol who hurt you? Is it wrong to simply enjoy a really talented collegiate athlete? I don't understand the issue here. People liking track too much? Go to therapy.