I'm so digging this post. I ran for a high school coach that came from this system. Coach Jack Marden at Mission San Jose. I ran just after the time that the program had like 5 guys under 9:15 for two miles, but I still ran pretty well. This was back in the mid 1980s, so it will tell you my old age...
This type of training is awsome, and in fact I never knew at the time "why" we did what we did, but I sure do now. I think this system is GREAT, especially for a high school program. We NEVER knew what was next. Coach Marden would say, "go run 4 x 400s good, then come back and see me." You never killed yourself in workouts, because you truly never knew if you were done. It also helped by not allowing you to think about the workout, thus becoming scared of the workout.
Many workouts were, "build to good." So we would run 300s build to good. Next thing we knew, we just ran 12 x 300s in sets of three, and with "build-to-good," we again, didn't kill ourselves. We never lacked speed. We did get base type steady states in, but that was always Mill Creek Road. Every kid who ran at Mission San Jose knows this road. Four and a half miles uphill!
I love this post because as I have gotten older, I can't tell you how many workouts I have done in my lifetime, that the thought of going back to this type of system excites me. No more 4x miles....In fact, when Coach Marden was working with his son Jay back in 1988, Jay ran 28:00 for 10,000 and NEVER ran mile repeats...Marden felt that you got your stregth from just plain running.
Thanks for this post. It brings a smile to my face as I remember how Coach Marden used this system.