How does Eliud Kipchoge not get injured?

Tell It Like It Is wrote:

Markmiles wrote:

The obsession with doping on here is so unbelievably boring.

Well...have the sport clean up it's act and we won't be obsessed. ?

How about you focus your obsession on why everyone talks so much stupid sh!t about doping?

EK like most east africans do not train until they are physically prepared train, unlike americans. this looks likeone month o strength training drills etc..... this makes strong ligaments tendons and bones...also most running on soft surface, new shoes whenever he wants, full rest and recovery every day .do the math

He says he usually stays at 80% effort, rarely 90%. Part of it is mental, it’s exhausting psychologically to dig super deep. He saves the hammer for race day. Plus like he says it’s much easier to train in groups. Leaving aside any drafting, we know a guy at the front expends more energy and part of it is psychological. I’d be interested in any studies of the psychological toll that front running takes on a guy, and how it’s to a guy’s physical breakdown. At the same time I don’t think he buys into the Ritz approach, saying that his accumulated miles mean he can decrease as he gets older. He’s definitely doing the work.

Markmiles wrote:

The obsession with doping on here is so unbelievably boring.

Maybe educate. Education is never boring; uninformed sensationalism is.

letstalkbollocks.com wrote:

Markmiles wrote:

The obsession with doping on here is so unbelievably boring.

Along with genetics, it's the perfect excuse for failure amongst the also rans.

I think it actually reflects how they approach they're own lives. People who aren't squeaky clean always look for scapegoats.

Not having read the whole thread, I have a few things I want to say:

1) I have no idea if Rupp and Farah are clean. Yes, the thyroid thing gives me pause, too. On the other hand, no, I don't think Rupp's progression is suspicious. He ran 3:34 last year, so this mile PR was a big jump on paper only. As for running sub-13 and sub-27, well, I think those breakthroughs were overdue. They certainly didn't come after years of "struggling." Rupp's college years saw huge consistent development, and now I think he's showing the strength that comes from years and years of uninterrupted training.

2) I think it's one thing to "ask the question" about an athlete's cleanliness. Making vague accusations based on your personal inability to believe a time without any real credible evidence is bullsh*t, however. Looking an athlete like Solomon and saying "He had a breakthrough season, what's he on?" is the same thing Glenn Beck does when he says "Oh, well I'm not SAYING Obama is a Manchurian candidate out to destroy us all, I'm just ASKING what if he Is?" "Asking the question" can be a veiled personal attack and any adult should know that.

Are there suspicious things about athletes? Maggie Vessey tested positive for a banned diuretic- was it an innocent mistake or something more sinister? That's a good question to ask. I don't have any insight. When Tegenkamp, a few years ago, mentioned he was having blood-spinning done to help a tendon heal, was he doing something that's banned? Good question. Does Rupp's asthma/thyroid medication have an effect similar to banned substances, allowing his TUE to cover his use? I don't know either, but it's a good question.

Saying "Rupp couldn't run sub4 in the mile until 2009, now in 2013, he's faster. WHAT'S HE ON?!?!" is not asking a valid question, it's nothing more than an attack.

3) These boards are disgusting. The Brojos do a horrible job moderating, and seem to think elite athletes and coaches quitting the board in disgust is fine, and even evidence of "real dialogue" or something. Jack Daniels used to post all the time and answer questions and foster substantive debate. He was open about his research and his experiences with athletes most of us only got to read about. He also got run out of town on a rail. Lots of other great posters dealt with the same poisonous atmosphere and got shouted down by a mob of trolls. I don't know why the Brojos don't at least try to do a better job, instead of lauding anonymous people launching personal attacks and justifying it by saying so-and-so is a "public figure." As much as I find Jamin personally annoying, I largely agree with his points about this board being less and less civil and useful.

4) I don't think the Brojos understand that being a jerk and fostering "controversy" isn't doing squat for the sport. TMZ and Entertainment Television doesn't elevate journalism, the Sunday pundit bitchfests don't elevate political discourse, and the bunch of mean posts and pseudo articles meant to attack athletes (I'm thinking the feature on Webb being mad after a race) certainly don't elevate running as a sport here.

Anyway, those are my 4 cents. Troll me as you will

Kipchoge does not go all out in workouts. He saves that for competition.

As someone who has had a multitude of injuries, I can say that when I learned a lot more about my body and where strains were starting and preventive massage (even self massage) and preventive strengthening to combat weakness and imbalance I hit some of the longest periods of injury-free running in my life.

So all doping aside, I could see how Kipchoge keeps it together. Is he going high volume and high effort? Sure.

I also remember meeting a guy in his 50s who didn’t run competitively but just ran “a lot” and was never injured. Was sporting heinously over-worn Reebok generics (this was the early 90s) and was quite fit looking. Does this prove he was never injured or how much he ran, no, but outliers do exist.

Talent/genetics

Ivan Drago said:

He’s not human, he’s like a piece of iron

WAKEUP wrote:

Blood doping, epo, testosterone are all great at preventing injury.

^^^ THIS ^^^

+ a gazillion

JustGetOutThere wrote:

He doesn't overthink things.

He runs hard, and recovers easy.

Exactly, they don't over think it. We in the USA like to kid ourselves into thinking we know more than we do. They use common sense and real world results to guide their actions.

We use theories about what "should" work based on our "understanding" of the insanely complex human body and all of the various systems that work tougher. In reality we don't know s#it. Not because we are stupid, but because the subject matter is insanely complex. We know bits and pieces, but refuse to acknowledge how complex and interrelated everything is in the whole. We are reductionists in everything. Chasing our tails down the rabbit hole.