Jealousy of the pioneers of training

Training Advice/Discussion General

14 years ago 08/05/2009 12:38am EDT

I am a college runner, and I have been told the last 5 years of my life what type of training is good and what type of training is bad. If I wanted to do workouts for 1 week straight, I would be laughed at and told that my training is wrong. back in the day, guys like Emil Zatopek, Gerry Lindgren, Roger Bannister were doing whatever the hell they wanted and just making stuff up and experimenting. that whole elements of creativity of training is now gone. It is all about science now and others experiences. Oh how I wish I could go try some crazy bold method of training and see how I turn out. Unfortunately I am too far into my career and I would much rather keep on my path of gradual improvements then take the risk of injury and burnout. Anyone else ever get jealous of those pioneers? What kind of stuff would you want to try?

I would want to alternate weeks of ONLY workouts and ONLY really long runs.

Everything is done as a progression. A normal run starts at 8 min pace and ends at 5 min pace. A workout of 10x400 is getting faster from 100-400 and from the first interval to the 10th. Imagine how well you could neg split?!

14 years ago 08/05/2009 12:46am EDT

re: Fred Durst

Emil Zatopek did 20x200, 40x400, 20x200 with 200m jog.

Stuff like that today would be laughed at if a college program did that. Did some of these guys run so efficiently that they were basically invincible?

14 years ago 08/05/2009 5:39am EDT

re: YES!!!!!

YES!!!!! wrote:
Emil Zatopek did 20x200, 40x400, 20x200 with 200m jog.
Stuff like that today would be laughed at if a college program did that. Did some of these guys run so efficiently that they were basically invincible?

You have to remember that his pace on the intervals were very slow for being intervals. When we hear the word "intervals" we think of going to the track and bust 10x400 or 4xmile really hard but the original, Gerschler-style interval training was nothing like that. Basically interval training was their distance training. You ran a little harder for a few hundred meters, then you jogged a few hundred meters etc. for an hour or more.

14 years ago 08/05/2009 7:53am EDT

re: well..

We know more about the science of training these days thanks to Daniels and all the exercise physiologists working in the field. So if Zatopek knew of a better way to train, maybe he would not have run around with his wife on his shoulders. Maybe he would have run faster times. Then again maybe the competition would have been better trained and beat him. Whatever, it's an exercise in intellectual masterbation.

14 years ago 08/05/2009 11:18am EDT

re: Fred Durst

Fred Durst wrote:
I am a college runner, and I have been told the last 5 years of my life what type of training is good and what type of training is bad. If I wanted to do workouts for 1 week straight, I would be laughed at and told that my training is wrong. back in the day, guys like Emil Zatopek, Gerry Lindgren, Roger Bannister were doing whatever the hell they wanted and just making stuff up and experimenting. that whole elements of creativity of training is now gone. It is all about science now and others experiences. Oh how I wish I could go try some crazy bold method of training and see how I turn out. Unfortunately I am too far into my career and I would much rather keep on my path of gradual improvements then take the risk of injury and burnout. Anyone else ever get jealous of those pioneers? What kind of stuff would you want to try?
I would want to alternate weeks of ONLY workouts and ONLY really long runs.
or
Everything is done as a progression. A normal run starts at 8 min pace and ends at 5 min pace. A workout of 10x400 is getting faster from 100-400 and from the first interval to the 10th. Imagine how well you could neg split?!

Don't be jealous, experiment. Other than the real fundamentals (which were around way before Daniels etc.) there is plenty of room for trial & error.

We are all an experiment of one. You are a college runner and you believe that you are "too far into your career" say it ain't so.

Whatever motivates you to work diligently at athletics, do it.

Burnout is a myth and injuries will happen. Distinguish the minor injury from the major and find good physical therapy and massage for maintenance.

The physical therapy is one area that has improved tremendously since especially Zatopek time and that has had as much impact as the "science"

http://www.bunnhill.com/BobHodge/belief.htm

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