Sessions Before Valencia Almgren mentioned two sessions before the race in Valencia. He ran 15 x 400m with 30s rest at an average pace of 62,59s. And a lactate level of 5,5. That was better than what he had done last year.
He also ran 10 x 1k. With 1 min rest at an average pace of 2.37,90. That session made him feel confident that he would run sub 27 in Valencia.
About his current form He believes that he can run sub 26:50 on the track, but it wont happen this season unless worlds turns out to be a fast race.
what have you learned from last year? I am not working or studying this year. Last year he had a 5 hour math test before he raced Diamond league in Oslo and then he raced in Stockholm again in a couple of days. He didnt take enough time to recover properly.
racing schedule european indoor championship in 3000m and maybe the european road championship in april if it feels right. He will run a couple of diamond leagues and worlds in 10 000m and 5000m. 10 000m is the primary focus.
Who would win between you and Jakob in a 10k? Jakob. I am fairly certain. When i train with him, he is better than I am at the short stuff, the mid distance stuff and the long distance stuff. When Jakob is in his base training phase, he is ”brutal” (nsanely good). I would have to improve one or two more levels to be able to compete with Jakob. That is the harsh reality.
Sessions Before Valencia Almgren mentioned two sessions before the race in Valencia. He ran 15 x 400m with 30s rest at an average pace of 62,59s. And a lactate level of 5,5. That was better than what he had done last year.
He also ran 10 x 1k. With 1 min rest at an average pace of 2.37,90. That session made him feel confident that he would run sub 27 in Valencia.
About his current form He believes that he can run sub 26:50 on the track, but it wont happen this season unless worlds turns out to be a fast race.
what have you learned from last year? I am not working or studying this year. Last year he had a 5 hour math test before he raced Diamond league in Oslo and then he raced in Stockholm again in a couple of days. He didnt take enough time to recover properly.
racing schedule european indoor championship in 3000m and maybe the european road championship in april if it feels right. He will run a couple of diamond leagues and worlds in 10 000m and 5000m. 10 000m is the primary focus.
Who would win between you and Jakob in a 10k? Jakob. I am fairly certain. When i train with him, he is better than I am at the short stuff, the mid distance stuff and the long distance stuff. When Jakob is in his base training phase, he is ”brutal” (nsanely good). I would have to improve one or two more levels to be able to compete with Jakob. That is the harsh reality.
Sessions Before Valencia Almgren mentioned two sessions before the race in Valencia. He ran 15 x 400m with 30s rest at an average pace of 62,59s. And a lactate level of 5,5. That was better than what he had done last year.
He also ran 10 x 1k. With 1 min rest at an average pace of 2.37,90. That session made him feel confident that he would run sub 27 in Valencia.
About his current form He believes that he can run sub 26:50 on the track, but it wont happen this season unless worlds turns out to be a fast race.
what have you learned from last year? I am not working or studying this year. Last year he had a 5 hour math test before he raced Diamond league in Oslo and then he raced in Stockholm again in a couple of days. He didnt take enough time to recover properly.
racing schedule european indoor championship in 3000m and maybe the european road championship in april if it feels right. He will run a couple of diamond leagues and worlds in 10 000m and 5000m. 10 000m is the primary focus.
Who would win between you and Jakob in a 10k? Jakob. I am fairly certain. When i train with him, he is better than I am at the short stuff, the mid distance stuff and the long distance stuff. When Jakob is in his base training phase, he is ”brutal” (nsanely good). I would have to improve one or two more levels to be able to compete with Jakob. That is the harsh reality.
Did Almgren really say he averaged 62.59 for the 400's and 2:37.90 for the k's? That level of precision is pretty funny (relative to just saying 63 and 2:38). I almost thought I was misunderstanding European time format for a moment, but I'm pretty sure not.
Did Almgren really say he averaged 62.59 for the 400's and 2:37.90 for the k's? That level of precision is pretty funny (relative to just saying 63 and 2:38). I almost thought I was misunderstanding European time format for a moment, but I'm pretty sure not.
I occasionally would add up all reps and take the average if they were close enough. Let’s say I’m running 10x 1k in 3:00 average - don’t need to write 3:01, 3:00, 2:59, 2:59, 3:01, 2:59, etc. just take the cumulative time and if it’s like 29:59 write 2:59.9 average
Sessions Before Valencia Almgren mentioned two sessions before the race in Valencia. He ran 15 x 400m with 30s rest at an average pace of 62,59s. And a lactate level of 5,5. That was better than what he had done last year.
He also ran 10 x 1k. With 1 min rest at an average pace of 2.37,90. That session made him feel confident that he would run sub 27 in Valencia.
About his current form He believes that he can run sub 26:50 on the track, but it wont happen this season unless worlds turns out to be a fast race.
what have you learned from last year? I am not working or studying this year. Last year he had a 5 hour math test before he raced Diamond league in Oslo and then he raced in Stockholm again in a couple of days. He didnt take enough time to recover properly.
racing schedule european indoor championship in 3000m and maybe the european road championship in april if it feels right. He will run a couple of diamond leagues and worlds in 10 000m and 5000m. 10 000m is the primary focus.
Who would win between you and Jakob in a 10k? Jakob. I am fairly certain. When i train with him, he is better than I am at the short stuff, the mid distance stuff and the long distance stuff. When Jakob is in his base training phase, he is ”brutal” (nsanely good). I would have to improve one or two more levels to be able to compete with Jakob. That is the harsh reality.
I hope CuriousDude notices this post, especially Almgren´s statements regarding Jakob.
CuriousDude has many times expressed his uncertainty about Jakob´s 10k ability.
I love how people can talk about the "latest" evolution of training principles or even details and yet here we have one of the world's very best and he's happy to go with 15 x 400m and 10 x 1k. I know this isn't the full story but it does imo prove a point.
I love how people can talk about the "latest" evolution of training principles or even details and yet here we have one of the world's very best and he's happy to go with 15 x 400m and 10 x 1k. I know this isn't the full story but it does imo prove a point.
Almgren is also a proponent of the traditional "double threshold" mindset. Remember that Ingebrigtsen deviates away from the double days as the season gets underway- ie 10x300m, 6x800m, etc As this was post Euros xc, I'd venture to guess that this was what Almgren was doing.
I don’t know how often they do train with one another as is, but it doesn’t sound like it is often. If Almgren did have some flexibility, training with Jakob more regularly would help both of them immensely. Since when has Jakob had somebody of Almgren’s caliber to train with and push him, even if he is still a class above him? And same goes with Almgren… training with arguably the most talented middle/long distance runner on the planet would be a crazy opportunity to pass up on. He clearly gets along with all the Ingebrigtsens, has same training regime, and they live somewhat close to one another (I think but I’m not certain?). And again, maybe he is set with his lifestyle, and simply coordinating their training camps to overlap as much as possible is good enough.
This post was edited 55 seconds after it was posted.
I don’t know how often they do train with one another as is, but it doesn’t sound like it is often. If Almgren did have some flexibility, training with Jakob more regularly would help both of them immensely. Since when has Jakob had somebody of Almgren’s caliber to train with and push him, even if he is still a class above him? And same goes with Almgren… training with arguably the most talented middle/long distance runner on the planet would be a crazy opportunity to pass up on. He clearly gets along with all the Ingebrigtsens, has same training regime, and they live somewhat close to one another (I think but I’m not certain?). And again, maybe he is set with his lifestyle, and simply coordinating their training camps to overlap as much as possible is good enough.
Well, "close" living Sweden to Norway is a bit of a stretch; but meeting for camps in Sierra Nevada would be the idea.
I don’t know how often they do train with one another as is, but it doesn’t sound like it is often. If Almgren did have some flexibility, training with Jakob more regularly would help both of them immensely. Since when has Jakob had somebody of Almgren’s caliber to train with and push him, even if he is still a class above him? And same goes with Almgren… training with arguably the most talented middle/long distance runner on the planet would be a crazy opportunity to pass up on. He clearly gets along with all the Ingebrigtsens, has same training regime, and they live somewhat close to one another (I think but I’m not certain?). And again, maybe he is set with his lifestyle, and simply coordinating their training camps to overlap as much as possible is good enough.
This sort of thinking isn’t a huge part of the Norwegian method philosophy. Sure training partners are good, but not if you are extending yourself beyond the proper lactate level. As Jakob has said, the time to push is mostly in races and occasional in-season sessions. Otherwise, I don’t see him seeking someone to make his bread-and-butter sessions any harder than they need to be.
Who would win between you and Jakob in a 10k? Jakob. I am fairly certain. When i train with him, he is better than I am at the short stuff, the mid distance stuff and the long distance stuff. When Jakob is in his base training phase, he is ”brutal” (nsanely good). I would have to improve one or two more levels to be able to compete with Jakob. That is the harsh reality.
Huh, that's weird guys, surely 27:27 was Jakob's limit in a 10k?
I hope CuriousDude notices this post, especially Almgren´s statements regarding Jakob.
CuriousDude has many times expressed his uncertainty about Jakob´s 10k ability.
Yes, I have listened to this Swedish pod cast (“Maratonlabbet, ep 205”) and Nordic R’s translation of what Almgren was saying is good.
Andreas Almgren is a friend and admirer of Jakob, and sometimes (not very often I think) they have trained together in the altitude in Sierra Nevada, Spain. Almgren does, as far as I know, his training in accordance to the “Norwegian model”, but with some adjustments (e.g cycling). And in 2023/2024 he said that he thought Jakob could break both the HM and the marathon WR’s based on his threshold training…
I don’t trust Almgren, or Jakob, or anyone else for that matter -I only trust performances,
I think this is the case: Jakob and Andreas (Almgren) have both thought when a guy (Jakob) hasn’t the best of 800m speed, but still excels in the 1500/3000/5000m and some European long xc’s, yes, then he has to be better the longer the distance. And that his high mileage training only supports this even more….
But the reality is that we don’t know! And the reality is that Jakob is full of contradictory sayings and superficial “explanation” (in between a wall of too spares information -f.x did Jakob in his own view have a really really off day in Copenhagen or not…!) So we don’t know the background at all for Jakob’s history of really bad distance races, and can only guess (f.x that the hills was the problem in Euros 2022 and U20 xc WC, and not the length, and that he was too young in his 10k in 2019, and that Copenhagen hit him in the face because of his sickness one weak earlier or too little rest, or too much track focus, and that his Euros xc 2024 proves that he would beat 26.50 +/- guys, despite the race being only 7.82 k long, and with a slowish first part that made it to a 5k lookalike…).
Jakob was better in Euros 2024 xc than I had feared. And now Almgren says that the Norwegian is significantly better than himself in the sprint training (said by a guy that had 48.33/1.45.5 as a teenager, even 48.38 indoors in addition) and in the middle part, and in the endurance training. And in an other interview the Swede tells that Jakob is so strong in the 200m hills repeats that he himself has to give a gap not to be burnt…
OK -Almgren claims that Jakob is significantly better than himself also in the endurance parts. -I don’t know what that exactly means; maybe f.x 5x2000m or 5/6x6min with short rest at the longest. And yes, I believe Almgren if he would stress that Jakob also here got less lactate and heart rate than himself. But is this enough to point to Jakob as a supreme 10000m runner (or even HM)..?! -I think not; of course a 7.17 guy won’t struggle in this training together with a 7.34 guy (Almgren)! But what if they did specific training that suited the 26.52/ 59.23 guy better…?!
Saying all this I will not rule out that Jakob has it in him to become a splendid distance runner (aside of the 3k/2 mile). But we just haven’t seen it yet; in no of his 5000m wins has number two had a pb better than 12.45 -no test if you ask me….
This post was edited 7 minutes after it was posted.
I love how people can talk about the "latest" evolution of training principles or even details and yet here we have one of the world's very best and he's happy to go with 15 x 400m and 10 x 1k. I know this isn't the full story but it does imo prove a point.
Almgren is also a proponent of the traditional "double threshold" mindset. Remember that Ingebrigtsen deviates away from the double days as the season gets underway- ie 10x300m, 6x800m, etc As this was post Euros xc, I'd venture to guess that this was what Almgren was doing.
Indeed. Hence my comment on it not being the full story. Almgren clearly wasn't intending the classic 15 x 400 to be at full effort hence the lactate reading seems as important an indicator as the actual splits over the sess. Whatever, it's exciting that a bunch of sea level runners are heading into the East African dominance at 5k/10k , not just 1500 which was never truly dominated by them. Wonder if it will in due course occur at marathon too.
All this talk about DT+hills and this guy is doing two of the most traditional track sessions OF ALL TIMES!!!
You guys really havent looked into the double treshold way of training? Neither Almgren nor Jakob deviates from that philosophy.
Hills is mostly during fall-spring. Then its track workouts. And, track workouts happen occasionally during those months as well.
Also, Jakob basically never does anything complicated or "innovating" in terms of workouts. Its all simple stuff.
15x400m is just one of the treshold workouts with fewer reps and higher intensity, same with the 1k workout. Nothing unusual. Both athletes do DT all year. But not hills.
I hope CuriousDude notices this post, especially Almgren´s statements regarding Jakob.
CuriousDude has many times expressed his uncertainty about Jakob´s 10k ability.
Yes, I have listened to this Swedish pod cast (“Maratonlabbet, ep 205”) and Nordic R’s translation of what Almgren was saying is good.
Andreas Almgren is a friend and admirer of Jakob, and sometimes (not very often I think) they have trained together in the altitude in Sierra Nevada, Spain. Almgren does, as far as I know, his training in accordance to the “Norwegian model”, but with some adjustments (e.g cycling). And in 2023/2024 he said that he thought Jakob could break both the HM and the marathon WR’s based on his threshold training…
I don’t trust Almgren, or Jakob, or anyone else for that matter -I only trust performances,
I think this is the case: Jakob and Andreas (Almgren) have both thought when a guy (Jakob) hasn’t the best of 800m speed, but still excels in the 1500/3000/5000m and some European long xc’s, yes, then he has to be better the longer the distance. And that his high mileage training only supports this even more….
But the reality is that we don’t know! And the reality is that Jakob is full of contradictory sayings and superficial “explanation” (in between a wall of too spares information -f.x did Jakob in his own view have a really really off day in Copenhagen or not…!) So we don’t know the background at all for Jakob’s history of really bad distance races, and can only guess (f.x that the hills was the problem in Euros 2022 and U20 xc WC, and not the length, and that he was too young in his 10k in 2019, and that Copenhagen hit him in the face because of his sickness one weak earlier or too little rest, or too much track focus, and that his Euros xc 2024 proves that he would beat 26.50 +/- guys, despite the race being only 7.82 k long, and with a slowish first part that made it to a 5k lookalike…).
Jakob was better in Euros 2024 xc than I had feared. And now Almgren says that the Norwegian is significantly better than himself in the sprint training (said by a guy that had 48.33/1.45.5 as a teenager, even 48.38 indoors in addition) and in the middle part, and in the endurance training. And in an other interview the Swede tells that Jakob is so strong in the 200m hills repeats that he himself has to give a gap not to be burnt…
OK -Almgren claims that Jakob is significantly better than himself also in the endurance parts. -I don’t know what that exactly means; maybe f.x 5x2000m or 5/6x6min with short rest at the longest. And yes, I believe Almgren if he would stress that Jakob also here got less lactate and heart rate than himself. But is this enough to point to Jakob as a supreme 10000m runner (or even HM)..?! -I think not; of course a 7.17 guy won’t struggle in this training together with a 7.34 guy (Almgren)! But what if they did specific training that suited the 26.52/ 59.23 guy better…?!
Saying all this I will not rule out that Jakob has it in him to become a splendid distance runner (aside of the 3k/2 mile). But we just haven’t seen it yet; in no of his 5000m wins has number two had a pb better than 12.45 -no test if you ask me….
1. 7:34 does obviously not reflect Almgrens current level.
2. Weird definition of splendid distance runner considering he is the double world and olympic champion and is undefeted since 2019 in 5000m
3. In the Olympic final Jakob toyed with world number two in history 12:36 man Hagos Gebrhiwet