I just scored a copy of Runner's World from 1974, and in an article on Boston that year there is discussion about Tom Fleming's training for that year's race. Try this, kids:
Thursday: 25 miles at 2:25 marathon pace.
Friday: morning, 20 miles. Evening, Indoor meet, run 2 miler in 9:04, then come back 5 minutes later and run 2 miles in 9:33 in a slower heat.
A Saturday in February 1974: Win a 20 miler over a certified course in 1:40, then run another 10 miles fast later that same night.
Whew....
Tom trained very hard, and very long, may have exaggerated on occasion, but he trained with an 'urgency to perform' well now, not three years down the road.
tom's worn running shoes
buried in a cold closet
whispering the truth
Give us some more, this guy was an animal.
With all the stuff I've read about Tom Fleming over the years, I've come away with the same impression I got from reading about Ron Hill: The man just trained too hard. He never gave himself a chance to rest and, in the end ground himself down. That famous slogan he had over his bed (about the "other guy" out there training when you are not) seems to have driven him too far. I think it kept him from running as fast as he was capable. This excerpt above (if even remotely true) would be a good example.
From my memory, I once had a copy of how the best road racers would train and Tom Fleming always stood out:
Mon- AM: 10 miles steady
PM: 10 miles steady
Tue- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
PM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
Wed- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:30 pace
PM: 10 mile fartlek
Thu- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
PM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
Fri- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
PM: 10 miles steady at 6:30 pace
Sat- AM: Race or 10 miles hard at 5:00 pace
PM: 10 miles steady at 6:30 pace
Sun- AM: 20 miles steady at 6:00 pace
He said something like, "it's boring, but it works for me."
Average_Joe wrote:
With all the stuff I've read about Tom Fleming over the years, I've come away with the same impression I got from reading about Ron Hill: The man just trained too hard. He never gave himself a chance to rest and, in the end ground himself down. That famous slogan he had over his bed (about the "other guy" out there training when you are not) seems to have driven him too far. I think it kept him from running as fast as he was capable. This excerpt above (if even remotely true) would be a good example.
Right. Trained too hard. That's why there are so many guys these days who run so much faster than he did, especially guys who showed so little promise in high school that they ended up running for D II or D III schools.
The quote, byt he way, was "there's someone in the world who's training when you;re not. When you race him, he'll win."
,
Trained too hard???????
Pah! I didn't train hard enough!!!!!!
2:09 in 1970. That's right, 34 years ago.
I despair sometimes, I really do.
another gem from fleming:
"If I had known New York (City Marathon) was going to be such a big deal, I would've tried to win it more than twice."
attitude is everything rich.
attitude is EVERYTHING.
these guys don't understand it at all.
tom fleming is one of the alltime top self-made runners.
HRE wrote:
Right. Trained too hard. That's why there are so many guys these days who run so much faster than he did, especially guys who showed so little promise in high school that they ended up running for D II or D III schools.
The quote, byt he way, was "there's someone in the world who's training when you;re not. When you race him, he'll win."
Sorry, thought my meaning was clear: Too hard doesm't just mean "too fast". It can also mean "too much". That's why I don't think that quote was very helpful to him.
It just seems the man rarely gave himself enough of a chance to rest and recover from his hard efforts. I get that impression every time I read about him or how he trained.
Ronald Hill wrote:
Trained too hard???????
Pah! I didn't train hard enough!!!!!!
2:09 in 1970. That's right, 34 years ago.
I despair sometimes, I really do.
That's right, 2:09 age age 31. You were one of the greats, no doubt. Then, when you should have been coming into your prime in the marathon, you kept training harder and harder and getting slower and slower.
--
Making this point is not at all a criticism of the man or of training very hard. It is hardly as if I am the first person ever to suggest this about him.
HRE wrote:
The quote, byt he way, was "there's someone in the world who's training when you're not. When you race him, he'll win."
The ubiquitous quote of unknown origin went, "while you are sleeping, someone else is training."
So many still miss the message in their hypnogogic stupor.
Hyper-consistent Tom Fleming is proof that good road racers come in all shapes and sizes. Led the 1979 Boston race through 15 miles, setting a torrid pace, yet still hung on for a near-PR 2:12:56.
TOM FLEMING: Bloomfield, New Jersey. 6'0", 154. Born July 23, 1951 at Long Branch, New Jersey. Running store owner working 40 hours per week. Married. Tom started competing and road racing at age 17. He plans to continue competitive road racing for many years to come. His favorite distance is 30k and he doesn't have a coach.
BEST MARKS: 1500m, 3:51.6, 2-mile, 8:41.6; 3 mile, 13:41.4; Road: 15k, 45:48; 20k, 1:00:55; 25k, 1:17:22; 30k, 1:30:58; marathon, 2:12:05(75).
TRAINING: Tom's longest training run was 35 miles; he prefers to race every two weeks. He has been doing the following routine for six years.
Mon--AM, 10 miles at 7:00 pace. PM, 10 miles @ 6:00 pace.
Tues-- AM, 10 miles @ 7:00 pace. PM, 14 miles @ 6:00 pace.
Wed-- AM, 10 miles @ 7:00 pace. PM, 10 miles hard fartlek.
Thurs-- AM, 10 miles @ 7:00 pace. PM, 10 miles @ 7:00 pace.
Fri-- AM, 10 miles @ 7:00 pace. PM, 14 miles @ 6:00 pace.
Sat-- AM, 10 miles @ 7:00 pace. PM, 10 miles @ 7:00 pace.
Sun-- long run 21-23 miles or race.
Tom's training is... "always the same; some people can't believe how boring the whole routine is, but I have had success so I will keep it the same.
Right now, my main motivation for running is: 1. I want to be the best marathon runner I possibly can be and 2. I like all the great trips I get around the world for nothing--all I have to do is run, and I really love to run.
This is how I train , just add 20% more miles and 25% faster on each run. I also run in race flats for all my dailies.
Mon- AM: 10 miles steady
PM: 10 miles steady
Tue- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
PM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
Wed- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:30 pace
PM: 10 mile fartlek
Thu- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
PM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
Fri- AM: 10 miles steady at 6:00 pace
PM: 10 miles steady at 6:30 pace
Sat- AM: Race or 10 miles hard at 5:00 pace
PM: 10 miles steady at 6:30 pace
Sun- AM: 20 miles steady at 6:00 pace
malmo wrote:
The ubiquitous quote of unknown origin went, "while you are sleeping, someone else is training."
So many still miss the message in their hypnogogic stupor.
hypnogogic stupor? is that good or bad?
Go back to sleep Jonny, you won't know the difference.
malmo, Paula Radcliffe sleeps up to 13 hours a day is she hynogocically stupified too?
The quote may have originated with George Young who, I've been told, used to motivate himself to get out for his early AM runs by thinking about the time difference between the US and USSR and think, "Dammit, those Russians have been training for hours."