Al Lawrence Coaching

try again, anyone?

I used Lawrence books during the off season in high school. I ran great. Even though my coach was one of the best in the country at the time, I still PR'd during the off season at distances ranging from 1500 to half marathon.

another Terry Jessup. You will run fast in high school asnd then be burned out in college.

I don't use him because the drive is too far. I have been told different stories. Some runners say he works on form and others tell me that is what they are told to tell their coach and teammates. I don't know who to believe LOL but it seems like they like him. None of them go into workout details but they say he wants lots of miles.

One of the girls told me he charges almost 100/month. Thats lots of money for strides!!!!! I hope they are doing real workouts!!!!!He meets with them in two parks. Memorial is one and Spring Park is the other. I couldn't find Spring Park on the map so it must be small.

spring creek park.

he coaches,trains kids.

Spring Creek is in Tomball according to yahoo maps. That isn't too far!!!! his webpage doesnt list that park. r u sure he works out there? His webpage says he is supposd to be at Memorial every day. He cant be at two places at once LOL!!!

do we have to call him or can I just go out and bring money? I need a base program cuz my coach is in soccer now.

last ? I promise! Do u run for him? Is it worth it? Mom said I have to pay half.

I don't know about Al Lawrence the coach or the person, but I've known MANY of his athletes. Every single one that I've ever met has been would I would call "good runners" (they now run in NCAA). They all seemed to have liked him and credit much of their success to their help. Also every Al Lawrence trained kid that I know are smart kids who take their running seriously, and aren't nut jobs.

So I don't really have much to say about Al Lawrence the person, but I will say that every single one of his trained athletes I've come in contact with are good, quality human beings. I don't know what that says about Al Lawrence, or the people he trains, or his training methods, but just something that I've noticed. I've never met a screw ball athlete coached by Al Lawrence.

Al is an amazing coach and person! I trained with him all throughout hs and was very pleased. I am not sure what he is charging now but I don't think it's $100. Al does work a great deal on form but he also creates a personalized schedule for each of his runners. He is out at Memorial Park several times a week as well Spring Creek every Tuesday (or thats what it used to be). I hope this helps... let me know if you would like more specific info :)

he has published 3 great books on training i would strongly recommend, the self coached runner series.

during base training for 8-10 weeks he recommends.

1 long run of 12-20 miles

3 recovery days of around 10 miles A.M. and 5 miles P.M.

1 long endurance workout 6 x 1 mile 400 recovery, 8 x 800 400 recovery.

1 anaerobic workout 16 x 200 with 200 jog recovery.

tempo run 6-10 miles at a good, but not race pace.

every 3rd week during base, run a speed workout example 16 x 100 with 300 meter jog instead of anaerobic workout.

jog a couple of miles before and after track workouts.

these are the basics, but the books will go into much further detail and list optimum schedules for all ability levels as well as actual schedules of people who used his schedules.

OK so one thing I don't get is how u do his program during ur cross or track season if ur coach is also doing a program.

Do u run 2x the workouts or do u skip the school workouts or just only run with Al when u can?

Im worried bout this cuz my coach does long runs and tempo runs and reps and then works in intervals as we get closer to midseson. I dont think I can do a long run as long as the one above and do my school long run the next day.

LG,

It sounds like your HS coach has a good sense of what's going on. Why not just trust their program? The problem with seeking outside coaching, especially in cc, it causes a rift with you and your team and coach. The great thing about cross is the unity. Then you have different philosophies etc. Then you have to lie or skip your team stuff....and what coach will let you miss practice and still be on the team?

Just get with your cross country coach (even if they won't coach you in track) or track coach and design a training plan for now until January. Follow it, have fun, trust it, and you will run well.

Best of luck.

hey lydiard gal, ease up on the "LOL" usage, m'kay?

Al Roker is SUCH an inspiration!!!

haha sorry i Meant to type better but it depends on if I am using my laptop or desktop. It is too hard to type on the laptop so I shortn it. i wont LOL anymorre.

I like my hs coach bu65t I want to run with some of the girls in his group because I was told that if my daily runs are faster pace like below 7 minutes that I will be better and the girls on my hs team only run 8-9 and my coach lets them cuz he says it is recovery day but I dont think I should be recovering that slow.

oh one more thing!!!!

when does he run at Spring Creek? My mom says i cant go to the memorial runs cuz their too far but she told me this morning that i probably cant do tuesday runs because I have confirmation class at 8:00 every Tuesday until May. my classes are in nw houston about 10 miles from the park. do they run in the dark? my mom said i can't do that either cuz there werent any lights in the park when i ran a meet there and she doesnt want me in a dark park running in the woods.

What school are you at?

you don't need to be running below 7min for easy days...

I was coached by Al Lawrence, and he is absolutely wonderful. One of the greatest men and coaches I have ever met in my life. He coached me throughout high school, and he is an excellent coach and mentor. He really helped me both physically and mentally, and I would not be where I am today without him. I can only say positive things about my experiences with him... He has done so much for the Houston running community and young runners here. He is awesome, and I am truly grateful for his guidance.

To those who have used him

Why did you start going to him in the first place?

I know about the area he coaches in and there are a good number of high school coaches that know their stuff in Katy, Spring Branch, Klein, and Cy-Fair. Why not take what has been producing talent for over a decade?