OldSub4
I am just now reading the Canova regimen, and it is scary how close it is since we were doing this in '91-'97 as it was a basic blend of the Oregon system with a bit of Peter Coe thrown in but perhaps my coach was a bit before his time.
I think the difference between the 800/1500 guys and the 5k and up group was just that we tried to maintain some short top end speed through the year so that you didnt completely lose it. The other difference was cutting down on intervals so that you were getting in the LT work (5*800m) but you were also "finishing" well with a half in the 1:56-2min range so I guess we did work down to mile speed. The 5k guys would appropriately just try to hold repeat pace through their intervals.
The 200s and 300s would end up near goal 800 pace, but average something slower.
Drills were important....got your legs moving fast, and through the range of motion that you just wouldnt get running the mileage. high knees, butt-kicks, kickouts, bounding, skipping, and running backwards 4*50m worth of each...you would really feel it in your hips, core muscles, etc and all done on your toes--HIGH on your toes. In the fall your legs would wobble when you did them and by mid year your form started to hold together. Do on the grass or infield, not on the track. I saw where Jeremy Wariner does the drills for 400m continuously at a time!
We would occassionally cross over during the strength phase and do 2 sets of mile work like 400-600-400-200 at a constant pace which would be challenging, but no more than once every 2 weeks.
My last year running full time I moved up to the 1500m, and the sharpening phase changed to be more specific -- I can remember a session of 3 * 800m with 800 jog recovery in 2:00, 1:56, 1:52 that really hurt.
One thing that I think would have been interesting that Peter Coe engineered was the 6 * 800m on a slight downhill. Seb's famous "6 * 800m in 1:50" workout, as seen on his video "Born to Run" --what you can't tell is that he is running a bit downhill. It is an interesting switch since you are running at fast pace, and instead of having the resistence of an uphill, you feel like your turnover isnt fast enough which trains you to stay "fast" through a long interval sessions. I never tried it but I think it may have been one of the "special sauce" ingredients in his regime that was counter-intuitive. Just ranting now of course....
My older boys are now 14 and 12 and getting interested in running so I am geeking out on training methods to help coach them and their friends...its a blast.