Is this correct about the Training of Carlos Lopes

Portuguese Method

http://www.mariusbakken.com/forum2000/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=188&FORUM_ID=7&CAT_ID=4&Topic_Title=PORTUGUESE+METHOD&Forum_Title=Questions+%26+Answers%2E%2E%2E

Carlos Lopes Running Career

http://www.mariusbakken.com/forum2000/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=484&FORUM_ID=7&CAT_ID=4&Topic_Title=CARLOS+LOPES+RUNNING+CAREER&Forum_Title=Questions+%26+Answers%2E%2E%2E

The Portuguese Method

http://www.mariusbakken.com/portuguese_success.htm

You forgot:

M. Visit lab for blood re-infusion for upcoming marathon.

Mr. Lopes was mentally tough and wanted to make money.

Sounds likes a plan.

bump

Since Carlos Lopes did a so long career and start from average regional class standard to national class and later on to world top class to WCCChamp and OChamp and marathon WR; from an amateur to a professional, you imagine that to define a training schedule pattern for each target goal event that´s impossible.

I don´t say that the both 10000m and marathon standard schedules that they are wrong. But they don´t show what´s more "individual" and unique in the Lopes training.

Well, did a "german type/incomplete intervals" track workout once a week (10-20X200m/300m/400m) with more than 1 min recover; and also a track workout weekly consisted of long reps race Pace Target Distance(5X1000m or 4X1500m or 3X2000m or 2X3000m) with 3min recover.

All the rest are LT continuous runs mainly (never in repetitions formats)- that he did lots of outdoor LT runs, but "by his feeling" not in accurate or determined paces. That kind of training that´s what defines best Lopes in his uniqueness.

Of course this is not mentined in a coach schedule cause you don´t mention training sessions "out of plan" but that are really an essencial element of sucess.

Yes, he did a few hills reps, a few fartleks but that aren´t regular workouts, more occasional workouts.

My own opinion what defines Lopes in his uniqueness that are:

- he takes 1 day rest every week.

- That´s very very rare that he did more than 90 min runs, even in a marathon plan, i think that for all 6 all carrer marathons he competes he did 2 sessions longer than 90min.

- That he is a low mileage, relate to what i see people doing actually. Butbif you ask him or the coach they will say that they do more than 100 miles weekly but that´s not true! Lopes really don´t know and the coach ignores what he really did - the coach was present only in track workouts.

-Finnaly i would say that his peak/taper for the target goal event that´s not based in a sensible low mileage, but more in stopping the short intervals and replace that by outdoor LT runs.

thanx a lot, you mentioned in some other thread that he prefered running only once a day, does that mean no doubles at all or just on hard-distance-run days?

No morning/recovery runs?

Two more details:

- Lopes best talent/quality that´s his self determination. He was an instinct killer, and very motivate, no matter what´s the race. He hated to loose

- What i said about Lopes peak/tapper, is the same that Tinman says often: the peaking - tapering method:

Tinman says that it is better to reduce the hard intervals from the schedule and go back to endurance and threhsold type running in the last 2-4 weeks before a big competition.

And i add: He didn´t reduce too much the mileage volume but did keep the intense aerobic runs mainly and give up from anaerobic runs close/near a big competition.

to Mr.Cabral wrote:

thanx a lot, you mentioned in some other thread that he prefered running only once a day, does that mean no doubles at all or just on hard-distance-run days?

No morning/recovery runs?

Once again you need to know what´s Lope career moment you are taling about. When he was young up to 1975 he works daily full time, so he did only a single session training; later on when he got more time to train he did double sessions. But even in that period a few days he prefers to run an AM intense LT continuous run and take a sleep in the evening than to double with just easy runs. Rest and recover and always a need, particularly if we train hard. People tends to forget that.

Gracías por la informacíon, Antonio.

Ayer, yo fuí sentada con Tinman en los trials en Sacromento, y nosotros hablábamos sobre tú y tu informacíon de Carlos Lopes, y esta informacíon exactamente.

Muchos personos no saben que la mayoría de esos corredores eran corriendo no menos de 90 minutos cada día usualamente, y usando dos corres por día.

Corríjame si estoy incorrecto.

Tenga una buena semana.

Trackhead

La ultima cosa que yo atendia era qui tu hablabas castellano. Tu me parecias muy "gringo" en tus messages (que you lo hace mui attencion !)

Pues por sopuesto ! Ellos hacien dobles por unos quarenta quarenta e cinco minutos cada séssion.

Los americanos son muy cerca de 1000 millas de Lydiard - mucho más que lo devian. No es mallo pero ay outras alternativas.

Bueno voy traducir pues no justo hablar en espanol. No es my lingua pero yo entiendo quasi tudo.

Tinman es veramente fantastico !

------------------------------

translate:

Trackhead:

Last thing i imagine that´s you speek castellian (spanish) language. By reading your posts (that i pay attention !) i imagine that you are a very typical american.

Effectively, that´s true ! Most of portuguese runners they do double with 40-45min maximum in each session.

American runners they are too much addicted to 1000 miles Lydiard than they should - that´s my opinion. That´s not wrong, but there are other options/alternatives.

Tinman he is really fantastic !

last question:

what about weights, plyos, stretching, sprinttraining?

to Mr.Cabral wrote:

last question:

what about weights, plyos, stretching, sprinttraining?

Nothing at all, except a few stretching/flexibility exerecises before and after running. We portuguese we don´t have that king of training culture for middle and distance runners - weights, plyos. We believe in "natural" running style. Ther´s nothing as Ernest Van Aaken said some decades ago: "we learn/improve the run mainly by running" and also that "the exerecise gimnastics for the runner - that´s run".

¿No me recuerdas?

Matt @

r_daws22021@yahoo.com

Lo siento que mis mensajes son muy gringo estes días.

Adios.

Antonio can you tell us something about the portugese runner who actually beat Rui Silva at 1500 in Madrid this weekend? Who is this guy?

Recently Rui Silva did stop an altitude stay because he gets problems with a past injury in the stomach. Rui tries at all coast to continue to delay his training up to Athenes, but this injury that´s the cause of the poor Madrid performance.

The guy that´s Manuel Damião, a 3:35 1500m runner that come from the same village than earlier 4 times european winner Paulo Guerra - Barrancos - near the south east spanish border. depite that small village that´s portuguese the people speaks castellian language.

Well the guy Damião he is a fireworker by profession, and he is an unlucky guy because he did try to make the 2002 M European champs and he miss the qualifying performance by a few thenth of a second, and the same for Paris last year world champs, and now also the same did a few tries but despite he wins over rui he miss the qualifying peformance once again by a very short margin.

I apeak with him last Wednesday, and to encouarge him i told him that in 1976 that a portuguese runner did just the qualifying performance in the last day permited by IAAF - i need to say that we have no trials - just a performance and our federation selection, if ther´s more than 2 runners to made the qualifyings.

Thx for the information Antonio!

Are there any good juniors in Portugal running 800-10k? Someone who could actually become world-class like Rui in a couple of years, can you see any potential in the portugese running for the moment?

ramzi wrote:

Thx for the information Antonio!

Are there any good juniors in Portugal running 800-10k? Someone who could actually become world-class like Rui in a couple of years, can you see any potential in the portugese running for the moment?

I don´t think so.

3 kinds of reasons, among other.

1/european running crisis - despite one or another top runner, europeans aren´t what they were 20-30-40 years ago.

Socio and economic welfare that europe reach after the 70s and 80s, contributes in a larger scale for that problems. 20-30 years ago that´s proud and joy to be selected for the team country. Poeple are lazzy and lazzy and the young generations have no really interest for a "hard effort culture" that´s running.

2/african dominance - if you are a unkown guy but if you see that you have talent and potencial to win, then you go and try hard. But if you see that you will never reach that, you don´t have motivation to try. The african dominance in running distnce events made us to give up.

3/Portugal is so small- what we portuguese we achieve in the 70s and 80s that´s fantastic really. For a small country with small population to have 3 olympic gold medals (Rosa Mota; Carlos Lopes and Fernanda Ribeiro) that´s a big, big achievement. We win in the road, on the cross and on track events. We did world recods and olimpic records and european receords. That´s impossible to think that will last forever. A talent as Fernando Mamede or Antonio Pinto they born one among 1 billion people. Buy Portugal we are just 10 million.

In the future Portugal will never achieve no more what they did in past 3 decades. Ther´s a guy like Rui, but that´s just out of the scale/rule, which that´s not bad, if we think that Portugal that´s 1/100 less population that USA, that´s very good to have a runner like Rui. And well...a good training method it helps a lot, i guess !

I posted the below on another thread. I got it from a ask Carlos Lopes section that Runner's World (or Running Times, I can't remember for certain and I don't have the magazine if front of me now) used to have. When asked about how he trained, below is the answer he gave.