AAA 10000m

chasejas wrote:

Some people don't seem to realise that teachers work their arses off...

some teachers don't seem to realise that when they are on half-term, farting about watching Neighbours the rest of us are working their arses off in a real job...

:)

Yes, it's true that teachers have 'time off' but teachers also deal with enough stress on a daily basis that most people don't realize exists, and it's getting worse...in the present climate where the 'child is King/Queen.'

In addition if you are committed to your job, and for certain subjects, there is a lof of marking and preparation. Lazy teachers don't usually make it in the long run.....especially with increasing accountability.

I have taught ESL and French in the Canadian system, and the attrition rate for teachers in Canada is huge - a reflection of the stress levels and burnout rates.

Ghost (B.A., B.Ed., M.A., Post Grad. in T.E.S.L.)

Present job: Teacher-Trainer for the Korean Ministry of Education.

coach:

christophe_moulton@yahoo.ca

Hey Ghost, I like your posts man, but don't start doing all that letters after your name nonsense. That is very much bordering on total naffness territory.

ghost,

Everything you've said applies to pretty much anyone working in a 'professional' occupation. Many of us go home and do extra work, it's not just teachers who are committed to their jobs.

The runners I have coached for 10k have all done a big mileage. The least mileage of any of them would be Dominic Bannister who ran 28-43 on a maximum of about 75. Most ran 80 minimum in the heaviest period of training. In the "olden days" as it were the runners I trained with or coached did not go on the track until March or April as we only had a soggy cinder track. Hence a really good base was developed over the years. Even the slowest runners in our club were running 60 or so miles a week. Most runners got out of bed and ran in the morning, went to work and then ran straight after work. As has been discussed earlier in this thread, nowadays its a totally different game. There are demands of work which are far greater than earlier and even just getting to the training venue now causes problems . Some of my group live at the other side of the Tyne and its just blocked with traffic and a nightmare at rush hour. Then there is the problem of young runners not being even basically aerobically fit and several years behind say the Africans in their mid teens compared to the days of our greatest strength in depth.

There are numerous other factors but you have asked about my groups 10k training nowadays.

My typical week for a 10k runner would be as follows but the distance for each run would vary with the individual. Sunday - long easy run : Monday 2 runs - one easy and one steady not quicker than 5 -10 beats slower than threshold. Tuesday 1 easy run plus track session which would be reps at 3k, 5k or 10k pace or a mixture. The session would be based on the runners current fitness and goals so we would have several different groups .Wednesday 1 easy run : Thursday 1 easy run and one longer steady run - 2nd longest run of week as Monday not above 5 -10 beats below threshold depending on individual.. Friday - one or 2 easy runs. Saturday 1 off-road session - half an hour run before the session. Mixed reps changing each week but probably about 6k worth of efforts - hill loops - long reps -sometimes runs with some reps on the track and some on grass. As opposed to Tuesday, everyone does these sessions together other than some may do threshold runs or threshold test. The amount of mileage , length of runs . track sessions are tailored to each individual and some take a rest day each week which would be Wednesday. Freya Murray who won the Scottish Cross Country for example rests on Wednesdays. When preparing for a specific race I would take a 6 week block of increased mileage followed by 2 weeks of sharpening work and one week of tapering. Again however this is tailored to the individual. When I used this on one particular runner her best race was at the end of the 6 week block of mileage and not in the race she was aiming for . I therefore targeted the next race at the end of the 6 week block rather than the original formula. The result was a massive breakthrough to finish 6th in the World X trails. She improved over 5 years to go from 40 mins for 10k to finish 3rd in last years 3As 10k on the track. Another runner ran her best race at the end of 5 weeks so we targeted this years Inter counties X-Country at the end of 5 weeks with a taper of once a day runs with 2 easy sessions on the week of the race. The result was another break through to finish 6th. The first person I applied this formula to wwas Charlie Spedding who used it when he won the 3As 10k and also when he moved up to Marathon to win london and a bronze in the Olympics. I apply variations of the buildup for each runner. With Mark Hudspith for example only 5 weeks of mileage - 1 week sharpen and 1 week easy produced 2-13 marathon. Some need an easy week between the mileage build up periods - say 2 weeks mileage then 1 easy week followed by the same again then sharpen. Dom Bannister was the most consistent of our runners in European and World X-Country for a few years and also ran 2-13 marathon using this formula.

The point of all this is that I believe that you start of with certain basics ie mileage - reps which get you used to running at the pace you wish to race at :- enough recovery so that you do not get overtrained or injured :- consistency :- threshold runs and variations of them are vital I think :- The right number of races which must show your improvement.

Once the consistency is established and a high level of fitness achieved then think about peaking for a race. Its no use using the above method unless you are very fit to start with . Its finding what works for you that is the greatest challenge and its here that a coach is necessary. There were letters in the Athletics weekly questioning the usefulness of coaches and that all a runner needed to do was get out and run hard and long. There is some validity in this as you will run better running a high mileage(provided its not too much and resulting in injury) than being given 3 sessions a week by a coach who insists on watching you and being in control all the time. But analyising training so that there is a definate progression is surely done better by someone who can take a detached view and has gained the experience to know what might work for one person but not for another. There are good coaches and bad coaches and the simple guide is to look at there runners performances when they first came to that coach and look at the progress the runner makes on an ongoing basis not just immediate results because they are training harder.

Quite a long winded reply and dont know if it helps as I would need even more long windedness to explain how I work out what suits each individual.

Yes, you're right, but for teachers the expectations are increased because you have so many students and their parents to answer to. The responsibilities and pressures are increased. And believe me, for every possible shortcoming you may have, they will come down on you like a ton of bricks. You will be remembered more for any failings you may have had, rather than the successes.

Also, every time you have report cards to give, there is pressure on teachers to grade in an inflated way (upwards) because if you assess in a realistic way, you will have to spend countless hours justifying why you gave 'Johnny' a C and not a B or A. To make the problem worse is that fact that there is a certain element of subjectivity in classes where the accent is on 'communication' rather than straighforward objective 'tests.'

ghost

ghost wrote:

Yes, you're right, but for teachers the expectations are increased because you have so many students and their parents to answer to. The responsibilities and pressures are increased. And believe me, for every possible shortcoming you may have, they will come down on you like a ton of bricks. You will be remembered more for any failings you may have had, rather than the successes.

Also, every time you have report cards to give, there is pressure on teachers to grade in an inflated way (upwards) because if you assess in a realistic way, you will have to spend countless hours justifying why you gave 'Johnny' a C and not a B or A. To make the problem worse is that fact that there is a certain element of subjectivity in classes where the accent is on 'communication' rather than straighforward objective 'tests.'

ghost

If the pressure of dealing with kids and parents is a problem and if you feel you would have to spend 'countless hours' justifying what grade you give then teaching is not a good choice of career.

If a teacher feels a ton of bricks comes down on them for every shortcoming or that they are remembered for failings not successes I'd suggest a career change. They have lost perspective or are heading for a breakdown. Do something else.

If parents at your school care about what goes on in the class room, in educational terms, many teachers would envy you. Getting some children's parents to have a clue what they do at school or what they should be doing at home to help their education would be a major breakthrough.

Every job has its pressures. Responsibility comes in many shapes. To say it is wildly different for teachers than any other job is very naive.

Great response. Many thanks. AC

Without commenting on specifics can I just say thanks for sharing your time and experience, very much appreciated.

can't think of too many (and especially not in the private sector) occupations where people get an automatic pay rise (grade point) every year for up to 7 years from starting out, regardless of performance, and also where you have pretty much zero chance of getting fired / losing your job unless you are so overwhelmingly incompetent (and even then you can have a nice period off with 'stress') or break the law with regards to child safety.

The public sector is rather good at protecting its own - if you think having to explain what your up to or justify your existence is wrong then its a good job you don't operate in a commercial field where the loss of one contract could see many people's jobs go down the swanny, or if you don't make target the firm goes bankrupt. I don't recall hearing of too many schools shutting because they blew the budget.

Likewise

Many thanks Lindsay. Great response.

Lindsay:

Thank you for taking the time to respond. As an un-coached British runner is extremely useful to get an idea from top coaches what has worked for their athletes. A lot of the priciples are common sense- but putting it into the right formula for an individual athlete can be difficult- especially as a un-coached/self-coached athlete the thing that can be difficult is peaking, as it is easy to over do it when coaching yourself and it is hard to tell yourself to 'back-off'

Can you say a little about the sharpening weeks and how they differ from the preceeding 6 week block ? In your experience, typically how many times a year can athletes handle this 9 week build up period ?

Thanks Lindsay, really usefull.

2 build up blocks per year is what I would normally advise. In cases where the build up is of less duration, such as the 5 and 6 week blocks which applied to some runners then 3 such blocks might be used in a year. With regard to the sharpening :. The mileage would be reduced to what it was before the build up and 3 sessions would be included. Typically this might be 1) A very short high pulse session such as 2 sets of 6 x 30 secs with 20 seconds jog recovery and 4 minutes jog between sets. 2) Hill reps - say 10 x 40 seconds 3) A hard tempo run 2 x 10 minutes with 90 seconds recovery.I would normally include a race in the period probably near the end of the 2 weeks. This would be for a 5 or 10k race. The rest would be easy aerobic running. My whole philosophy is based on the premise that if you are 95% ready for a race you can fulfil your goals but if you are 1% over the top then you have no chance. Train hard but smart and dont leave your race in training.

Thanks for your time Lindsay. Could you give us some indication of where and when Nick McCormick will be racing?

thanks Lindsay.

Quote:

if you are 95% ready for a race you can fulfil your goals but if you are 1% over the top then you have no chance. Train hard but smart and dont leave your race in training.

Great thinking born from many years training quality athletes - thanks for sharing your thoughts.