Joe Vigil's Training Philosophy

He believes in doing the same type of workout throughout a season but giving less rest and increasing the tempo as the season progresses. Believes that the body will adapt to the increasing stresses by adapting to the ever increasing pace and shortened rest.

He had a book out, Running to the Top, I believe.

Thanks. The book is out for a ridiculous price on amazon. A price that I cannot afford! Ha.

Any specifics? Base training, High volume, etc???

know wrote:

Thanks. The book is out for a ridiculous price on amazon. A price that I cannot afford! Ha.

Any specifics? Base training, High volume, etc???

This was listed on Amazon.

Road to the Top: how to order immediately, October 11, 2003

Reviewer: A reader

Send $32.95 and your mailing address to:

Joe Vigil

292 N. Cedar Crest Dr.

Green Valley, AZ 85614

For cross country/10k type of stuff, he's big on long runs, tempo, and long intervals.

The juice gets me going.

$32.95 is a great deal for the wealth of information in this hardcover edition. He even signed my copy. I would have paid twice as much.

I don't think Dr. Vigil is in Arizona anymore, is he? That address is from 2003.

S- long run

M- 16x700m around a grass loop

T- continuous hill climb

W- recovery run of 10+

T- repeat miles, up to 8, usually 6 at max VO2 velocity

F- recovery of 10+

S- race or 10-12more miles of training pace, usually around 6flat

and there it is. the above is/was usually his CC stuff but more time than not, it went into the track season as well. one of the greatest motivators ever.

yeah, he's in Tuscon.

Long runs, tempos and mile repats. He has pace charts according to ability. A great book and the ideas I've incorporated have worked well for me. He also had a great article on Deena Kastors training for Athens on the cool running website, "Anatomy of a Medal". Very detailed info.

wvrunner wrote:He also had a great article on Deena Kastors training for Athens on the cool running website, "Anatomy of a Medal". Very detailed info.

The grass loop was probably closer to 600 meters, the Saturday workout was often a ~10 mile tempo run, much faster than 6 minute pace, and the Tuesday workout switched to rolling hills about mid-season. :) Agreed, one of the best motivators of all time. Amazing man.

So can you order the book with that address, or is it outdated?

move aside wrote:

S- long run

M- 16x700m around a grass loop

T- continuous hill climb

W- recovery run of 10+

T- repeat miles, up to 8, usually 6 at max VO2 velocity

F- recovery of 10+

S- race or 10-12more miles of training pace, usually around 6flat

and there it is. the above is/was usually his CC stuff but more time than not, it went into the track season as well. one of the greatest motivators ever.

yep, that's it in a nutshell. i run for a guy who ran on Vigil's squad (won't say his name b/c he wouldn't like it), but he's got Vigil's training figured out. i think what made vigil great, is that similar to bowerman and lanana, he is a great motivator. i've never met the 3 of them, just going of readings and reports.

Pete wrote:

wvrunner wrote:He also had a great article on Deena Kastors training for Athens on the cool running website, "Anatomy of a Medal". Very detailed info.

Yeah, google that and you'll find it no problem. Great read.

"Impeccable planning and application of 21st century sports science..." ='s Joe Vigil's plan and it's description in the above article... I loved his statements, "We expected 100+ temps...very hilly... The course in Athens presented no psychological barrier for Deena".

eric cartman wrote:

move aside wrote:

S- long run

M- 16x700m around a grass loop

T- continuous hill climb

W- recovery run of 10+

T- repeat miles, up to 8, usually 6 at max VO2 velocity

F- recovery of 10+

S- race or 10-12more miles of training pace, usually around 6flat

and there it is. the above is/was usually his CC stuff but more time than not, it went into the track season as well. one of the greatest motivators ever.

yep, that's it in a nutshell. i run for a guy who ran on Vigil's squad (won't say his name b/c he wouldn't like it), but he's got Vigil's training figured out. i think what made vigil great, is that similar to bowerman and lanana, he is a great motivator. i've never met the 3 of them, just going of readings and reports.

What does "continuous hill climb" mean?

What does "continuous hill climb" mean?

A 10+ mile run that would start at ~8500 ft. and end at ~11,000 ft. Someone with a better memory can correct my elevation estimates if they seem off.

Do any of you know of high schools whose coach follows Joe Vigil's summer training for boys 5K?

Supposedly a large number of teams at NXN use his training philosophies, but that could just be a rumor. It would be interesting to know how different high school teams implement his system while also racing every week in a cross country season.

It's a system that lays down a big base and then goes with some pretty high intensity stuff. It's not a surprise it works for high school kids. You can probably keep mileage pretty moderate and go hard during the week