Why most kenyan runners do high speed sessions before breakfast ?

The main effect is using fat instead of sugar as the energy being used during the run.

Because you have more energy in the morning to go harder versus having run a big one in the morning, being hot all day, and going hard at night

Elites do two sessions a day. They would be more fresh after a good night sleep than after a day which consisted of a morning easy run

Sand Dunes wrote:

The main effect is using fat instead of sugar as the energy being used during the run.

Not really, the Kenyans have more sugar in their tea than most people have for breakfast.

Because it is cooler?

What is breakfast?

For the road racers and marathoners, their competitions are in the morning.

Luv2Run wrote:

Because it is cooler?

I would guess both this and the burn fat instead of sugar reason.

Breakfast of kenayan runners usualy consists of milk tea, industrial soft bred (for exemple, 4 slices) &/or ugali (corn floor mixed with water).

You might be right. Even if it's cooler in Iten as they train at 2400m altitude, it's pretty hot during the day and de sunset very early.

pascal Fortin wrote:

Hy guys,

First of all, i'd like to apologise about my english but it's not my mother tongue.

Secondly, I'd like to know if someone amongst you could explain me why most kenyan athletes in Iten (Kenya) seem to do high speed before breakfast in the morning and recovery session in the afternoon ? Is there a physiological reason or other explanation(s) ?

Thanks for your answer !

Best regards,

Pascal FORTIN (Reunion Island - France)

Salut Pascal,

Actually the Kenyans don't do high speed before breakfast. They do high speed after breakfast, but before lunch at around 10am.

Here is a typical day, for a Kenyan 2.07-2.09 marathon runner, based on my surveys in Iten and Eldoret, including stays at the Lorna Kiplagat training center in Iten.

5.30am -5.45am, rise

5.55am - cup of tea with milk and 2-4 spoons of sugar.

6.15am -7.15am - one hour progressive speed run, starting very slow at around 6-7 mins for the first km, and then getting faster, usually finishing the last half hour at around 3.10-3.20 per km speed.

7.45am 8.15am (after some stretching and exercises for about 15 mins. ) Breakfast, bread, around 2-4 slices of white processed, with jam, no butter. 2-3 cups of tea with milk and plenty of sugar.

10am -11.30 am - main session of the day. Example, slow 20 mins jog to the track. Strides.

Session. 10 times 1000, starting out in 3.05, and working down to 2.50 or faster, jog about 1.30 between each interval. 20 mins cool down.

12 noon, lunch, ugali, vegetables. Some meat, most days. Tea, several cups, milk and sugar. Some 2.07-2.09 runners also drink coke, and at night beer! Almost no sweet food, cakes or junk food.

13.00-14.00 - sleep/siesta, or watch videos. Most of the runners look at their smartphones, and very active on social media.

16.00-17.00 - 45 mins slow jog, usually starting out around 6 mins per km, working down to 4.20-4.00. This is a regenerative run.

Some afternoons, gym session, working on core and light weights.

18.00-19.00 - evening meal, similar to lunch. Once a week, some of these guys will have a fast food meal with hamburgers and french fries in Iten or Eldoret.

21.00-22.00, lights out for most guys, after chatting with friends, and surfing their smartphone media accounts.

Ghost1 wrote:

, bread, around 2-4 slices of white processed, with jam, no butter. 2-3 cups of tea with milk and plenty of sugar.

Tea, several cups, milk and sugar. Some 2.07-2.09 runners also drink coke, and at night beer! Almost no sweet food, cakes or junk food.

evening meal, similar to lunch. Once a week, some of these guys will have a fast food meal with hamburgers and french fries in Iten or Eldoret.

.

Almost no sweet food or junk food?

They are basically living on sugar and junk food with all that white processed bread and jam and sweet tea.

White bread is cake wrote:

Ghost1 wrote:

, bread, around 2-4 slices of white processed, with jam, no butter. 2-3 cups of tea with milk and plenty of sugar.

Tea, several cups, milk and sugar. Some 2.07-2.09 runners also drink coke, and at night beer! Almost no sweet food, cakes or junk food.

evening meal, similar to lunch. Once a week, some of these guys will have a fast food meal with hamburgers and french fries in Iten or Eldoret.

.

Almost no sweet food or junk food?

They are basically living on sugar and junk food with all that white processed bread and jam and sweet tea.

What I meant was that aside white bread, jam and sweet tea, most Kenyans eat almost no junk food.

Poorer farmers and runners subsist on bread, ugali, kale, eggs and occasional meat.

One noticeable thing is that many Kenyan elites become overweight or obese soon after retirement, with the trend being a bib, voluminous pot belly. The heavy carbs based diet, with low protein probably contributes.

Although diabetes is not high in Eldoret and Iten, it is rising in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Also, as the longevity average in Kenya is not high, around 58-62 years - this might skew stats on diabetes and cancer.

The other paradox is that after retirement, most Kenyan elites are not bothered about keeping the weight off. In fact, in Kenya, as in much of Africa - a big girth tells people ""money, success, wealth."

The question is - will Kiprop become fat after retirement, like Tergat ?

In any case Kiprop is still relying on his judicial defense team to show ""no guilt" in the case against him, and there is a good chance that this will be the case.

The evidence against the genial, charismatic policeman (Asbel Kiprop) has too many holes to hold water in court, as El K. will no doubt concur.

Ghost1 wrote:

What I meant was that aside white bread, jam and sweet tea, most Kenyans eat almost no junk food.

.

Which makes it kind of irrelevant. They don't have room to cram in any extra.

Thanks for the report, Ghost1. Very interesting.

Ghost1 wrote:They are basically living on sugar and junk food with all that white processed bread and jam and sweet tea.

The question is - will Kiprop become fat after retirement, like Tergat ?[/quote]

Yikes! I didn't know Tergat got fat.

Hy Ghost1.

Thanks for your answer. Very intersting !

I know that some athletes in Kenya train sometimes 3 times a day.

But I also recently met 2 professional kenyan athletes (specialised in 10k and 21,1k road races) from Iten (members of RunCzech Racing team) who only run 10 to 12 sessions per week.

And they told me their typical day is :

Quote :

5:50

wakes up, doesn’t take anything

6:30

training

08:30

shower and breakfast, tea with milk, bread or sometimes ugali

09:30

relaxation, watching TV

12:30

lunch

13:30

relaxation

16:00

evening training

17:00

relaxation

20:00

supper

21:30

retires for the night

End of quote

In fact, il you look at the profiles on the website of RunCzech Racing team athletes, you'll see that most athletes seem to have these same typical day...

Thus, they really seam to train before the breakfast and I know they do all their speed work during this session... And I would really like to understand why !

Best regards

Re-Hi Ghost1 !

Btw, could you tell me where did you find the typical day you've posted and who are the athletes following it ?

Thanks for your answer !

Ghost1 wrote:

Also, as the longevity average in Kenya is not high, around 58-62 years - this might skew stats on diabetes and cancer.

So that's 63-67 actual years ;)

I appreciate the detailed summary. Thanks.