Eliud Kipchoge's workout this morning, 9 weeks before London Marathon. Stronger than prior to Berlin?

Mzungu in Iten wrote:

Thu, 21.03.2019

AM : 40km long progression run in 2h16min. ( very tough cross country course) + 1km wu/cd in around 5min each

10km splits: 37'14 / 35'40 / 33'03 / 30'43

Big thanks for your posts Mzungu!

So, would you say that progression was more or less 80, 85, 90, 95%MP?

Anything slower than 2:02 would be a disappointment.

henrik wrote:

Mzungu in Iten wrote:

Thu, 21.03.2019

AM : 40km long progression run in 2h16min. ( very tough cross country course) + 1km wu/cd in around 5min each

10km splits: 37'14 / 35'40 / 33'03 / 30'43

Big thanks for your posts Mzungu!

So, would you say that progression was more or less 80, 85, 90, 95%MP?

Factoring the altitude/course, then yes, definitely, maybe 2-3% faster than those percentages.

Saturday they'll have a key workout, as this week has been a little less demanding, if you can say that anyway. Will update this thread then.

Thanks so much for posting these, Mzungu. This is brilliant.

Mzungu in Iten wrote:

henrik wrote:

Big thanks for your posts Mzungu!

So, would you say that progression was more or less 80, 85, 90, 95%MP?

Factoring the altitude/course, then yes, definitely, maybe 2-3% faster than those percentages.

Saturday they'll have a key workout, as this week has been a little less demanding, if you can say that anyway. Will update this thread then.

Should be about now...looking forward to it!!!!

Twende Twende wrote:

Mzungu in Iten wrote:

Factoring the altitude/course, then yes, definitely, maybe 2-3% faster than those percentages.

Saturday they'll have a key workout, as this week has been a little less demanding, if you can say that anyway. Will update this thread then.

Should be about now...looking forward to it!!!!

Me too, very curious what constitutes a "key workout".

Sat, 23.03.2019

AM Track: 3km warm-up(15min) + 20x1k w/4'-3'-2'-1' recovery + 3km cool-down(16min) . Total : 36km in 2h17min

Splits: 2'51 / 2'49 / 2'49 / 2'52 / 2'54 / 2'51 / 2'49 / 2'49 / 2'48 / 2'52 / 2'49 / 2'51 / 2'48 / 2'50 / 2'47 / 2'48 / 2'45 / 2'50 / 2'45 / 2'40

4' - 3' - 2' - 1' recovery after each km repetition (first 5 repetitions with 4' rest, next 5 with 3' and so on, at around 5'/km pace)

PM : Rest

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

Day's total 36km, altitude 2200m . Weather : AM +17C, sunny

Mzungu in Iten wrote:

Sat, 23.03.2019

AM Track: 3km warm-up(15min) + 20x1k w/4'-3'-2'-1' recovery + 3km cool-down(16min) . Total : 36km in 2h17min

Splits: 2'51 / 2'49 / 2'49 / 2'52 / 2'54 / 2'51 / 2'49 / 2'49 / 2'48 / 2'52 / 2'49 / 2'51 / 2'48 / 2'50 / 2'47 / 2'48 / 2'45 / 2'50 / 2'45 / 2'40

4' - 3' - 2' - 1' recovery after each km repetition (first 5 repetitions with 4' rest, next 5 with 3' and so on, at around 5'/km pace)

PM : Rest

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

Day's total 36km, altitude 2200m . Weather : AM +17C, sunny

Why so much recovery? They are only running about 60 min half marathon pace for most of it.

the real deal wrote:

Why so much recovery? They are only running about 60 min half marathon pace for most of it.

Go run HM pace at 7200 ft. and tell us how it feels.

The workout was hard to very hard actually, it was a key workout to assess fitness, without pushing to the limit in it.

Also it was hotter than ideal, and out of around 25 world class athletes, nobody could hang on until the end, Kipchoge did the last 2 repetitions alone. The workout was meant to feel easy at the beginning and get gradually harder with less rest at the end.

Comparing it to the hardest workout before Berlin 2018, this one had 5 more km reps, 30"-45" more rest/repetition and 5"/km slower. Overall i would rank it inferior to that but not that much, also, still plenty of time to improve. I would say 2:02 shape at the moment for Eliud.

Anoxia BB wrote:

the real deal wrote:

Why so much recovery? They are only running about 60 min half marathon pace for most of it.

Go run HM pace at 7200 ft. and tell us how it feels.

With 60 sec rest between on the last 5! Perhaps he didn't read through the post entirely?

Mzungu in Iten wrote:

Sat, 23.03.2019

AM Track: 3km warm-up(15min) + 20x1k w/4'-3'-2'-1' recovery + 3km cool-down(16min) . Total : 36km in 2h17min

Splits: 2'51 / 2'49 / 2'49 / 2'52 / 2'54 / 2'51 / 2'49 / 2'49 / 2'48 / 2'52 / 2'49 / 2'51 / 2'48 / 2'50 / 2'47 / 2'48 / 2'45 / 2'50 / 2'45 / 2'40

4' - 3' - 2' - 1' recovery after each km repetition (first 5 repetitions with 4' rest, next 5 with 3' and so on, at around 5'/km pace)

PM : Rest

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

Day's total 36km, altitude 2200m . Weather : AM +17C, sunny

Well, that defies comprehension. I'm pretty interested in the modulation of recovery - I've never really heard tell of something like that before, cutting the rest as the workout goes on and the speed increases.

Looks like 20x1k @ 2:49 avg, which is just under 1:59 pace. Seems pretty spectacular, I'm glad to hear Kipchoge was the only one who could manage the whole thing because it does seem like an incredible effort.

Just gonna give this a bump considering we're now only 5 weeks out.

I've gotta say I'm (obviously) looking forward to London.

Of course these days every race is a coronation for Kipchoge, but I really think there's reason to regard a victory here as another win in London in a few weeks would make Kipchoge the most decorated athlete in London marathon history (4 victories in 4 competitions), and just a few months after obliterating the WR he would be reaching his 10th consecutive victory, an unprecedented win streak that already includes 7 WMM titles and an olympic gold (1x Chicago, 3xBerlin, 3xLondon, Rio OG).

A truly stunning resume. I just think it's incredible that we are almost certainly witnessing the greatest of all time. It seems entirely possible that no one will ever approach his WR, but as records inevitably fall I think we can say with more confidence that his (almost literally) impeccable competition record will never, ever be replicated, so anomalous it is in the modern era. I feel that the only conceivable way that another athlete would surpass his achievements in the marathon or else be considered seriously as a contender would be by breaking 2. And even then, it seems he would forever be credited as the man who made it possible, even if not the first to do it.

Quick question -- when they're doing so many laps of the track, do they change direction every now and then for their bodies? Or do they do the whole thing counterclockwise?

youth.in.revolt wrote:

Quick question -- when they're doing so many laps of the track, do they change direction every now and then for their bodies? Or do they do the whole thing counterclockwise?

This is just a fallacy propagated by weak athletes, along with breathe right strips, roller stretching, medicine balls, and feeling the need to post "we out here" and ending up with mediocre results.

Has anyone compiled the workouts on this thread yet?

If there is one, I would love to see it.

Also, can Mzungu in Iten or someone else summarize what Kipchoge does on his easy days.

he alternates 18k moderate 10k easy (doubles), and single days like 22k moderate

Tue, 26.03.2019

AM Track: 3km warm-up(15min) + 30x400m w/1'30 recovery + 3km cool-down(15min) . Total : 27km in 1h47min

Splits: Avg(64s/400m), Fastest(60s/400m)

1'30 recovery after each 400m repetition (around 300m each time)

PM : Rest

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

Day's total 27km, altitude 2200m . Weather : AM +18C, partly cloudy

As for his easy days, there is never a script, they run by feel, at an easy/moderate pace.

On mondays they usually do a moderate run, 20-23km long, on roads, where they keep an honest pace, 3:20-3:30/km.

Apart from that it's just easy running 3:50/km-4:10/km, once or twice a day. The first session is usually longer 16-18km and the afternoon one shorter, 10-12km.

In total they target around 200km/week, with 2 quality sessions and a long run.