Mike Smith lifts the veil on Galen Rupp's training and talks about what makes him great

Mike Smith said:

I respect that, because we’re not getting him ready for the Fourth of July Firecracker 5K. This is important stuff.

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^^QOTD

Did you ask about Galen's L-Carnitine infusion use?

People want to know if that is the secret to his marathon greatness as Salazar believes and Mo did too when he lied about it.

Nice work, Jonathan.

rojo wrote:

The first of our two-part interview with Smith is now up.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2020/03/mike-smith-qa-part-i-on-galen-rupps-commitment-restructuring-his-training-that-24x400-workout/

Rojo posting something about Running! Good job Rojo! Keep it up

Never did a fartlek before working with Mike? Mind blown.

Also, all his workouts used a 400m jog recovery interval? All of them?? Sounds like Smith used some Tinman training with Rupp this cycle and the results speak for themselves:

"A big difference would just be everything he did was on 400-meter jog recovery. I use workouts like that sometimes too when I don’t want the velocity limited by the recovery and I want the athlete to just go when they’re ready to go. But 400 jog, that could be two minutes, it could be six minutes, I don’t know. And so a lot of my workout structures have organized recovery.

Particularly when we’re working on the aerobic system, we’re building volume and things, I use high volume, short rest. He’d never done that in his life. We missed on a couple of those workouts. And they were probably some of the most frustrating periods for him because he never had to be back on the line in 60 seconds [before]."

mileage and mileage wrote:

Never did a fartlek before working with Mike? Mind blown.

The one knock on Rupp has always been his change of pace. He's got endurance, he's got speed, he's got tactics, and he's got grit. But he's never had that sharp kick that others have got. I wonder if the lack of fartleks, and maybe broader patterns in Salazar's workouts, are the reason.

zoomx83 wrote:

Nice work, Jonathan.

What work? he asked a bunch of fluff questions...probably by email

He is just an avg writer on his best day.

automorphic wrote:

mileage and mileage wrote:

Never did a fartlek before working with Mike? Mind blown.

The one knock on Rupp has always been his change of pace. He's got endurance, he's got speed, he's got tactics, and he's got grit. But he's never had that sharp kick that others have got. I wonder if the lack of fartleks, and maybe broader patterns in Salazar's workouts, are the reason.

Somehow he magically developed that world-class kick from 2012-2013, though. Can't imagine how that happened.

automorphic wrote:

mileage and mileage wrote:

Never did a fartlek before working with Mike? Mind blown.

The one knock on Rupp has always been his change of pace. He's got endurance, he's got speed, he's got tactics, and he's got grit. But he's never had that sharp kick that others have got. I wonder if the lack of fartleks, and maybe broader patterns in Salazar's workouts, are the reason.

Somehow he magically developed that world-class kick from 2012-2013, though. Can't imagine how that happened.

He and Mo Farah did the right drills and training. Nothing more.

Smith is saying that his previous workouts used to be all 400m jog recovery when he was working with Salazar. He then addresses the problems with that.

Smith might be the best coach in the world but I just can't listen to him talk or read his quotes. He's always trying too hard to say something deep and meaningful. Gives me a headache.

I enjoyed the article and looking forward to part 2. I think Rupp is the embodiment of what it takes to succeed. I've said it before here, he is just more disciplined than the rest. There is no social media or anything like that. The guy runs and has a family. That seems to be it.

Sure, it sucks for us fans who want to "know" him better, but the results speak for themselves. And I do not believe Rupp has ever cheated.

Salazar may have crossed lines, but I think it was only to make sure that Rupp did not.

Oh Please wrote:

Sure, it sucks for us fans who want to "know" him better, but the results speak for themselves. And I do not believe Rupp has ever cheated.

I agree, although I think Rupp is opening up a bit now. Not sure if Salazar instructed him to keep quiet, but Rupp is doing interviews and Q&As like this are coming out. Even after the finish in Atlanta, Rupp waited for the other guys, which I've never seen him do.

Great interview. Looking forward to part 2.

This is great content. Thanks.

automorphic wrote:

mileage and mileage wrote:

Never did a fartlek before working with Mike? Mind blown.

The one knock on Rupp has always been his change of pace. He's got endurance, he's got speed, he's got tactics, and he's got grit. But he's never had that sharp kick that others have got. I wonder if the lack of fartleks, and maybe broader patterns in Salazar's workouts, are the reason.

Don't wonder that. That's not why.

Intervals with shorter recovery have been around for age and isn’t “Tinman Training”. And Mike Smith is much more accomplished as a coach than Tinman.

Rupp did Mike Smith based training based on what Smith saw Rupp needed. No magical formulas.

It appears that the greatest, most dedicated and focused distance runner in US history has found one of the more talented, thoughtful and insightful coaches available in the US today. Good fit and good interview.