Ben True 2021 Training Log

Big difference between this and the training he posted in 2015/2016 when Tim Broe was his coach. Ray Treacy is doing the scheduling these days. Looks like more overall mileage and larger gaps between hard efforts/long runs.

Here's 2015/2016:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hhFlPDJqxiEYqeQgzqwY3rBEz2C6cy40SIRGvIQiv0E/edit?usp=sharing

As always thanks for posting this!

What were his long runs under Broe? Most of his long runs this time around around 90 minutes, a few 1hour 45 and a two 2 hour runs.

Only two or three of those workouts look hard on paper. The workout volume isn't crazy. Lots of doubles, 5-6 most weeks. It's mostly just tempos and threshold.

The training now seems much easier than when he was with Broe.

WKFNERONEORNG wrote:

As always thanks for posting this!

What were his long runs under Broe? Most of his long runs this time around around 90 minutes, a few 1hour 45 and a two 2 hour runs.

Only two or three of those workouts look hard on paper. The workout volume isn't crazy. Lots of doubles, 5-6 most weeks. It's mostly just tempos and threshold.

The training now seems much easier than when he was with Broe.

The biggest difference with long runs under Treacy is he seems to do a 1hr45min to 2hr effort every two weeks with a 80-90min effort in between. With Broe he was doing 1hr45min to 2hr every week. Definitely more of a strict weekly schedule in the past. Seems a little more fluid now with more recovery between and maybe less workout intensity overall.

This confirms how Treacy's other athletes have described their training in the past; 2 proper workouts each week with a Long Run counting as one of those.

How fast/far is going in the tempos? Six miles in 30 minutes?

He does a 14x400 on 75s rest only five days out from the 27:14 10000m at 62>59 and then closes with 2x56. Even the day before the race, he ran 30 min in the morning and 30 min afternoon or evening. The workouts don't show any work at 10k and not much even at 5k pace. What are his normal runs at? So, he does seem ready to go pretty fast at 3k/5k as well.

True said on the podcast that he didn't even think he was in the best 10k shape and feels more confident in his 5k shape right now. Just another example showing how non professionals are overtraining/working on race pace and speed far too often.

zxcvzcxv wrote:

How fast/far is going in the tempos? Six miles in 30 minutes?

He does a 14x400 on 75s rest only five days out from the 27:14 10000m at 62>59 and then closes with 2x56. Even the day before the race, he ran 30 min in the morning and 30 min afternoon or evening. The workouts don't show any work at 10k and not much even at 5k pace. What are his normal runs at? So, he does seem ready to go pretty fast at 3k/5k as well.

Just took a quick look and most of his easy runs are are around 6:40-6:45ish. Sometimes 6:30s sometimes as slow as 7:15s. I'm sure if he was throwing down harder workouts and more often he might even slow down his easy days. This is all recent stuff because for some reason Strava isn't showing me anything before February 14th so the data is dodgy.

zxcvzcxv wrote:

How fast/far is going in the tempos? Six miles in 30 minutes?

He does a 14x400 on 75s rest only five days out from the 27:14 10000m at 62>59 and then closes with 2x56. Even the day before the race, he ran 30 min in the morning and 30 min afternoon or evening. The workouts don't show any work at 10k and not much even at 5k pace. What are his normal runs at? So, he does seem ready to go pretty fast at 3k/5k as well.

Tempos are always in the 4:50-5:00/mi range.

A couple weeks before the race he did:

- 10 x 800 @2:10 to 2:02

- 1600-1200-800-400-1600 @4:25-3:17-2:07-58-4:25 w/ a 55sec 400 at the end

A couple weeks before that there was 12 x 600 @92 to 89

That seems like pretty solid work

-About 100 miles per week

-Only 1 or 2 workouts a week

-Mostly tempo stuff

There’s the formula ya all

Lydiard gave us this formula 60 years ago

Older equals longer wrote:

-About 100 miles per week

-Only 1 or 2 workouts a week

-Mostly tempo stuff

There’s the formula ya all

Lydiard gave us this formula 60 years ago

Training improves. You think Ronaldo/Messi workout like Pele?

This is the formula:

M

Am: 10km

Pm: 10km

T

Am: 5x6min (r60sec)

Pm: 10x1000m (r60sec)

W

Am: 10km

Pm: 10km + weights

T

Am: 3x10min (r90sec)

Pm: 25x400 (r30sec)

F

Am: 10km

Pm: 10km

S

Am: 20x200m uphill, rest jogg down

Pm: Easy treshold

S

Am: 20km

Pm: weights

First, thanks to the OP for posting this.

Second, this looks like exactly what you would expect from a low-27s guy during his late base/early competition phase, right? Good volume, some quality longer aerobic work, a few key sessions to get ready for an upcoming race but mostly just enough faster stuff to stay in touch with speed for later in the season.

Another 10 or so weeks like this (with another racing opportunity or two) and he could be a block of race pace work away from sub-27/sub-13 territory (which is where anyone who wants to make the team will need to be).

Working Stiff wrote:

zxcvzcxv wrote:

How fast/far is going in the tempos? Six miles in 30 minutes?

He does a 14x400 on 75s rest only five days out from the 27:14 10000m at 62>59 and then closes with 2x56. Even the day before the race, he ran 30 min in the morning and 30 min afternoon or evening. The workouts don't show any work at 10k and not much even at 5k pace. What are his normal runs at? So, he does seem ready to go pretty fast at 3k/5k as well.

Tempos are always in the 4:50-5:00/mi range.

A couple weeks before the race he did:

- 10 x 800 @2:10 to 2:02

- 1600-1200-800-400-1600 @4:25-3:17-2:07-58-4:25 w/ a 55sec 400 at the end

A couple weeks before that there was 12 x 600 @92 to 89

That seems like pretty solid work

That 12 x 600 workout at those paces is just sick. And he did that wearing “normal” shoes.

Rojo Sage just can’t wrap his head around an American born Ivy League grad being that much better than they were and ever will be.

That’s life. Deal with it. Or you can let your jealousy control you. Your choice

You need to reread your Lydiard .

Lydiard wrote that 2:12 was about as fast as they would go on a fair flat marathon course.

Was he correct?

Lydiard wrote that any supplementary mileage would be helpful, however slow

The best today run less or similar volume as the best from the 70s.

But the overall quality is much higher.

True's logbook reads more like Moorcroft 81 w an extra long run.

He's running far less volume than Shorter used to break 28, far less volume than

Solinsky used to break 27.

Lydiard believed hill bounding was useful.

Nobody bounds.

Lydiard believed ight shoes w/ minimal heel lift would be best and macadam surface best.

Modern running is maximal heel lift, stick to soft surfaces as much as possible

High Fidelity wrote:

Working Stiff wrote:

Tempos are always in the 4:50-5:00/mi range.

A couple weeks before the race he did:

- 10 x 800 @2:10 to 2:02

- 1600-1200-800-400-1600 @4:25-3:17-2:07-58-4:25 w/ a 55sec 400 at the end

A couple weeks before that there was 12 x 600 @92 to 89

That seems like pretty solid work

That 12 x 600 workout at those paces is just sick. And he did that wearing “normal” shoes.

Rojo Sage just can’t wrap his head around an American born Ivy League grad being that much better than they were and ever will be.

That’s life. Deal with it. Or you can let your jealousy control you. Your choice

I tried to start a thread about this very topic and it was very quickly deleted. So much for free speech. I thought these boards were a place for open discussion