Kenyans double at 7 am and 10am does this help

I agree. I don't do doubles often because I'm not training seriously anymore, but, If I do my first run say at 9am and am showered by 10am, I might like to start the next one by 1-2pm or so.

The quicker the runs are done, the more time I have left in the day to relax and not think about running.

When you space them out, that's fine, but it also spaces out your day more.

Greg wrote:

I agree. I don't do doubles often because I'm not training seriously anymore, but, If I do my first run say at 9am and am showered by 10am, I might like to start the next one by 1-2pm or so.

The quicker the runs are done, the more time I have left in the day to relax and not think about running.

When you space them out, that's fine, but it also spaces out your day more.

I would guess you space out a lot.

Most people work or have class in the US. If you're a pro athlete and like this 7 and 10 schedule, go for it. For the rest of us, its just an interesting factoid as we have to have 8 hours between runs all but one day of the week, well unless we work from home - if you work from home go for it.

There are a few reasons for this, some involve training and others more economic. I'll add my two cents:

From a training standpoint:

1) after the primary early morning workout, many athletes (including mine) do group exercises, core work, and stretching, then will go into their easy (pole pole) run, often at a shuffle pace up to about 15km

2) after the second run, this gives their legs/body about 19 hours of recovery time, as opposed to about 13 if they run their second run later in the day

3) during months Oct - Jan it rains most afternoons, and Kenyans won't/don't run if it's raining

From an economic standpoint:

1) due to the communal effort by all to involve cooking and cleaning, it makes sense for them to enjoy a very light snack at the morning hard run, such as tea with too much sugar dumped in it and some fruit or maybe a piece of bread; after run #2 they can prepare a good lunch and in the afternoon after nap time, have time to prepare their big meal of the day with ugali and vegetables and sometimes fish or meat

2) fresh water is a commodity; at many camps water is still collected from a nearby river or stream, and this water is used for both showering and drinking (by way of adding chlorine) and cooking. Thus, there are no need for showing after run #1 as they go right into their exercises and other activities prior to run #2, so this saves a lot on water usage

As an aside, I manage 3 Kenyan guys and 2 ladies, from 4 different camps, and this is fairly commonplace as to their daily routines and structure.

For a lot of Kenyans its actually 6am and 10am. 6am is usually a shakeout session with the more serious session usually at 10am. Then some come back for a 3pm shakeout.

Many such athletes burn out because that isn't smart training, but every now and then someone has the talent to do it. Daniel Komen used to do the triples and even briefly added a 4th run at 7pm for a few weeks or months.

Many great Kenyan athletes do the more standard morning and afternoon double. Just depends on the athlete and the group.

Why don't Kenyans run in the rain?

BlueRunner wrote:

Why don't Kenyans run in the rain?

Because the dirt roads get too slippery.

When do they find time to head to the pharmacy?