SILAS KIPLAGAT Who is coaching him now?

I want to know this too. I started a thread about it last night but it was inexplicably deleted.

Bump

Silas lost in the past several opportunities because made confusion between my training plan, the training plan of Moses Kiptanui and some personal choice.

For that reason, at the end of last year I told him to chose what he wanted, but not to mix different types of training.

During the winter, he tried to understand how to put together different informations.

He had the plan from Moses, and asked me some advice.

I gave him some advice of specific interest for different period of his training, but never a detailed plan again.

For example, to reduce the number of sessions for speed, and to reduce the max speed used, but at the same time to increase the "volume" of the specific speed endurance, for being able to maintain for longer time a high level of shape.

Another advice was to remember where he comes from. He is an "aerobic animal", able running 28:00 in 10 km in 2009, and never must lose this ability. But last year he lost, because never trained this quality.

This year he started again to run some fast "medium-long run", increasing his aerobic level (also if, under my point of view, is not yet like in 2009).

The last advice was about the tactic of the race. But under this situation we are still working. Just today we sent some email each other about this target, and his future choices.

At the end of the discussion, we can say now Silas is a typical example of "self-coached" athlete, with two advisers (myself and Moses Kiptanui) who give him the orientation in training, but not a detailed plan.

This is a common situation of many other top Kenyan runners : for example Asbel Kiprop, or in Marathon Wilson Kipsang and Geoffrey Mutai. With their experience, of course after long time under a coach teaching them what they had to do and the mean of every kind of training, they don't need anymore a coach with them every time.

This situation has an advantage : to increase the interest of the athlete in his activity, because becomes the first responsible for his choices, and his professionalism.

The disadvantage there is when the athlete has to face some problem (injury, sickness, bad shape without understanding the reason). In this case, the technical Advisor becomes again a coach for every day, till when the problem is not over.... and this is the real role of a coach of African Champions !

Renato,

Glad to see your post. We know you are busy but your comments are always welcome (by me anyway).

If Silas is an "aerobic animal" with 28:00, what was Alan Webb with 27:34 ?

As for Silas' coaching, his kissing his own name on his singlet after his race says it all!

Renato thank you very much for the informative post, you are an incredibly humble coach! Very admirable.

Kiplacat wrote:

If Silas is an "aerobic animal" with 28:00, what was Alan Webb with 27:34?

The same thing. Silas probably ran that time in Kenya

Thank you for your post, Renato.

Kiplacat wrote:

If Silas is an "aerobic animal" with 28:00, what was Alan Webb with 27:34 ?

That 28:00 was back in 2009 in Tilburg - in a road race.

Makes more sense. Still, AW 3:30 v. SK 3:27....

Mo Ron wrote:

Thank you for your post, Renato.

Kiplacat wrote:

If Silas is an "aerobic animal" with 28:00, what was Alan Webb with 27:34 ?

That 28:00 was back in 2009 in Tilburg - in a road race.

Kiplacat wrote:

If Silas is an "aerobic animal" with 28:00, what was Alan Webb with 27:34 ?

As for Silas' coaching, his kissing his own name on his singlet after his race says it all!

Exactly what I thought. Silas was indicating it was all down to his own hard work. Comforting, though, to know he's not completely on his own and coaches Canova and Kiptanui are available with their sage advice and guidance.

Renato,

Could you provide us with examples of specific speed endurance for a 3:27/3:28 guy?

What would a fast medium-long run look like? Pace and distnace?

Thanks for the informative post and update

Kiplacat wrote:

Makes more sense. Still, AW 3:30 v. SK 3:27....

Alan Webb's problem was, just as Renato says, that he forgot that he was an aerobic beast and lost that ability.

don't lose anything, just add wrote:

Kiplacat wrote:

Makes more sense. Still, AW 3:30 v. SK 3:27....

Alan Webb's problem was, just as Renato says, that he forgot that he was an aerobic beast and lost that ability.

Yes. If you watch or had watched the Flotrack interview of Alan Webb, right after he set his American mile record 3:46, right there on the track, Webb, with electric energy and excitement, talks about how many steps led him to that performance, particularly, that fast 10k and the strength/aerobic component.

Hard to believe that Salazar would have neglected AW's endurance.

Renato Canova on Alan Webb:

I give you some example of Silas' workouts during the last period.

SPECIFIC SPEED ENDURANCE :

example 1 : 7 x 600m increasing speed and opening recovery : 1'33" (rec. 1') - 1'31" (1'30") - 1'29" (2') - 1'27" (3') - 1'25" (4') - 1'23" (6') - 1'21" (in the real training, the first was already 1'29", and the 6th 1'24", but the last was 1'19"8).

example 2 : 5 sets of 3 x 400m (recovery about 3' jogging about every set) : 3 x 400 in 62" (rec. 20") - 3 x 400 in 60" (rec. 40") - 3 x 400 in 58" (rec. 1') - 3 x 400 in 56" (rec. 2') - 3 x 400 in 54" (rec. 3') - After these sets, rest between 8' and 10', and 1 x 500m in 1'05"

SPECIFIC AEROBIC POWER / LACTIC RESISTANCE :

example 1 : 8 km in 23'30" in progression (first km in 3'05", last km in 2'44")

example 2 : 1200 / 1000 / 800 / 600m (recovery 6') in 2'54" (58" per lap) - 2'24" - 1'53" - 1'22"

SPECIFIC TRAINING FOR FINAL SPRINT :

3 x 1200m (recovery 8' / 10') in about 3' / 3'03".

Silas has to run every 1200m with 6 x 150m under 19" (normally between 18"5 and 19") reducing his speed for 50m before the next 150m. When he was able to understand what to do during the 50m following every 150m (not braking, but "floating"), the time for these 50m was Always between 10" and 12", and this gives the final time of 3' / 3'03".

Silas put these type of workouts (which I give him) inside his personal plan, deciding when he's ready for doing them, also looking at the competition plan, frequently changed because the goals are many and he needs, sometims, to change his choices looking at the situation at the moment.

Grazie Renato

Renato, Thanks for your insights. I have a question. You said Silas forgot he was an aerobic animal. Do you mean that he reduced his mileage or did no steady running anymore?

He reduced his mileage, but this is not too much important. His main mistake was to cancel every training with continuous run at high intensity (from 8 to 15 km during winter, from 5 to 8 km during the track season), which is the support of some long test on track (also 3000 and 2000m during winter, instead no longer than 1200m during the track season).

The biggest mistake happened in 2012, during the training camp for preparing Olympic Games. This mistake involved all the 3 kenyan athletes (Asbel Kiprop, Silas and Nixon Chepseba). During 4 weeks of training, NEVER they run longer than 40' jogging, NEVER had a test longer than 400m, using Always speed and lactic workouts.

This idiotic type of training provoked problems under physical side (hamstring for Asbel) and under nervous side. The athletes were completely nervously exhausted in London, practically they didn't compete.

But in this case, their big mistake was a lack of personality when the head coach changed completely the plan they had from their personal coach (for Nixon Chepseba, Patrick Sang and of course my plan for Silas, and me and Patrick met together in order to decide a common technical strategy for both our athletes), because they didn't refuse his proposal (same mistake from the athletes of 10000m).

Who showed personality, instead, were the athletes of 5000m. Longosiwa and Soi went to the camp with my program (including several "tempo" runs between 8 and 12 km, and long tests on track), and when Julius Kirwa told them "here there is too much endurance and few speed, 5000m are not Marathon", they answered "with this Marathon plan we already won bronze medal in Olympic 2008, we continue to qualify in Trials for WCh and OG, and when it's important to peak we are able to do, so we follow our plan".

Everybody can see the Olympic results....