RUNNING is the most aggressive sport

actually the ironman triathlon is!!!

A bit over the top, yes, but what's wrong with the concepts and ideas he puts out there?

What is wrong is he has no clue about periodization in sucessful training implimentation.

Gerry the Jogger can go on ridiculous runs starting in 5th gear and ending in reverse... and I'll stick to what's scientifically proven and we'll see who is laughing when it counts.

in the words of South Park "why don't you go help yourself to a f***ing science textbook, because you're talking like a retard"

Physiologist... wrote:

What is wrong is he has no clue about periodization in sucessful training implimentation.

Gerry the Jogger can go on ridiculous runs starting in 5th gear and ending in reverse... and I'll stick to what's scientifically proven and we'll see who is laughing when it counts.

in the words of South Park "why don't you go help yourself to a f***ing science textbook, because you're talking like a retard"

Yup. That's why you're so much more successful than he was.

Physiologist... wrote:

What is wrong is he has no clue about periodization in sucessful training implimentation.

Gerry the Jogger can go on ridiculous runs starting in 5th gear and ending in reverse... and I'll stick to what's scientifically proven and we'll see who is laughing when it counts.

in the words of South Park "why don't you go help yourself to a f***ing science textbook, because you're talking like a retard"

Who's laughing? Gerry because he was probably way faster than you'll ever be.

damn HRE, you beat me to it. The we'll see who's laughing line doesn't work when the guy you're insulting is a living legent.

How could you argue with Gerry's success?

HS times:

1500 meters - 3:44.6 (1964)

1 mile - 4:01.5 (1964) (2nd fastest in history in 1964; #7 all time among American high schoolers as of 2007)

3000 meters - 8:06.3i (1964) High School Record (3rd best of all time as of 2007)

2 mile - 8:40.0i (1964) High School Record (as of 2007 is still the 2nd All-time American High School time: and 1st all-time indoors)

3 miles - 13:17.0 (1964)

5000 meters - 13:44.0 (1964) High School Record (2nd All-time American High School time as of 2007)

10000 meters - 29:17.6 (1964) High School Record (5th best all time as of 2007)

Colege:

3 miles - 12:53.0 (1966) Collegiate Record

6 miles - 27:11.6 (1965) Collegiate and World Record

3000 meters - 7:58 (1965) Collegiate Record

5000 meters - 13:33.8 (1968) Collegiate Record

10000 meters - 28:40.2 (1967) Collegiate Record

NCAA Championships:

Cross Country - 1966 (29:01.4), 1967 (30:45.6), 1969 (28:59.2)

3 miles outdoor track - 1966 (13:33.7), 1967 (13:47.8), 5000 m 1968 (13:47.2)

6 mile outdoor track - 1966 (28:07.0), 1967 (28:44.0), 10000 m 1968 (29:41.0)

2 miles indoor track - 1966 (8:41.3), 1967 (8:34.7)

And who sounds like the retard Physiologist?

HRE wrote:

Yup. That's why you're so much more successful than he was.

Being a great athlete doesn't make one an expert in training. I'm not going to take either side of this particular argument, I'm just saying that the fact that a guy has great success doesn't mean that he has any more insight into training methods than anyone else. I could train by hopping on one foot for an hour a day and still beat most of the runners in the local scene (some of whom have doctorates in ex phys). This doesn't mean that my methods are better or that I know more than them. Likewise, many of the people who kick my ass in track could do so on a similarly assinine training regimine.

Agreed.

Jack Daniels isn't a running legend but I would take his advice over most anybody that could beat him in a foot race.

Haji wrote:

Agreed.

Jack Daniels isn't a running legend but I would take his advice over most anybody that could beat him in a foot race.

ok, i'm not sure if i would. Think of Gerry, he was a very slow freshman. He did not listen to the conventional wisdom of the time, he did what he thought was best, improvising many of his workouts... and it worked. If Gerry had done jack daniels training or any conventional type none of us would have a clue who he was

He made himself very successful, much more than really anyone who ever posts here has done. Typically when really successful runners post here with thoughts about training they get responses from someone who has a physiology book handy who wants to say, "I know more than you because I've read such and such and it's different from what you're saying." Ok, we all have to find our own way. But we also need to respect what those who have done better than we have can tell us and to have little snot nose get on here and call Gerry Lindgren a retard is way over the edge.

How many people here have actually tried anything like Gerry's suggesting? How many people read it and think, "Ooh, that would be really hard. I'd better find some authority who'll tell me I shouldn't push myself that hard?" And how many of those people really look at what that "authority" has accomplished.

Herb Elliot once said that runners frequently use science as an excuse to avoid doing the training they know they need to do. Gerry's trying to tell you that there is a lot more to successful running than finding some physiological formula.

Like any other piece of advice that comes along, you need to analyze it and decide how applicable it is to you and if so, how much of it you can accept or how much you need to modify. But someone who just rejects advice from a runner who coach who has accomplished a tremedous amount is just showing themselves as arrogant and stupid.

Harry Kooter wrote:

Being a great athlete doesn't make one an expert in training. I'm not going to take either side of this particular argument, I'm just saying that the fact that a guy has great success doesn't mean that he has any more insight into training methods than anyone else.

You might be surprised by how much insight is gained in the process of forging the scrawny little body of a dorky high-school kid into a ferociously tough world-class athlete.

Please understand that I don't mean this as an attack on your message, but it is infuriating to see 16-minute 5K runners get on this site and -- on the basis of reading Runner's World articles or third-hand interpretations of crude exercise physiology experiments -- criticize the training knowledge of true running geniuses like Gerry Lindgren and Henry Rono. We are tremendously privileged to have these legends share their insights with us.

Alright, then who has Gerry coached to similar improvements besides himself?

You are asking the wrong question?

HRE wrote:

How many people here have actually tried anything like Gerry's suggesting?

The results speak for themselves. He had an incredible career in high school and college. But Gerry's post-collegiate career is a story of decline. Like Jim Ryun, he wasn't the same runner after graduation. Do you ever wonder how great he might have been if only he had held back a little on those "easy" days?

As much as I hate to say this I actually believe Motorcross or Competitive Rock Climbing are more aggressive. They force you to put your life at risk each and every time you compete.

Gerry,

Is this really you? I haven't seen you since that Olympic Training Camp in Pullman... 1970. If it is really you then you'll remember the punch line to the joke you told then. It went like this. "Hey, I've got and idea let's both get brooms...ok, will the real Gerry Lindgren fill in the punch line?

Tom

IRONMAN TRIATHLON

2.4 mile (3.86 kilometre) ocean swim

Followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometre) bike ride,

then a 26 7/32 mile (42.195 kilometre) marathon.

this sounds so easy :)

I imagine that all the runners from the 1970s know Gerry's punch line. The question is whether the punch line really worked.