Today's workout was supposed to be :
Wednesday - recovery pace - 5 miles
Once again its a no go because of the ankle. Starting to get pissed!!!!
Listed below is the expectations for being an All Black Team member. It all boils down to the very last sentence that reads : "The key is not how fast you can run, but how fast you can run when tired."
All Black Expectations
You are a member of the All Black Team this means that more is expected from you not only as a runner but as example to the other runners.
The All Black Team is the product of those who have run before us and join us now. If you lack the passion to improve, the desire to learn, cannot take responsibility for your training, or do not possess the commitment it takes to be an All Black, then you should consider running with a different team. Others who have lacked these traits have had very short stays on the All Blacks. If you are someone for whom the above qualities ring true then welcome to the All Blacks.
- Follow the Rules of the Road – Be Safe at all times. Run Safe at all times.
- No drugs on board. If you need drugs to run, you got other issues that you need to get taken care of. It is one thing to take Aleve/Advil for inflammation or pain after a run, it is another to take them before a run so you can get thru it. If you need them before - go see a doctor - you're hurt.
- Train with a purpose. If you are going to train for an event then you must give it your best, other wise you are wasting your time & ours.
- Train within your limits. Listen to the whispers of your body.
- Each day of training has a purpose – don’t go out for a recovery run and let yourself get sucked into a tempo run. Each day has a plan – execute that plan.
- If you want to run fast, you have to run fast. However you should not run fast all the time. Long Slow Distance produces Long Slow Runners - every run is not a race. We believe in long runs done at EASY pace with a mixture of MP (marathon pace) or T (threshold pace) to mix it up. Your body must be stressed for it to get fitter - but it cannot be stressed all the time. Don't race the long runs. Don't skip the water stops to have a faster time. It proves nothing.
- Challenge yourself – the flat road is always the easy road.
- Expect the un-expected and deal with it.
- Remember to smell the roses. See the beauty in your surroundings & the folks you train with.
- Keep your ego in check. Be humble.
- You are responsible to read your emails & know the route you are running.
- If you have a question, then ask your coaches. If you post on the MTT BB you are going to get 900 responses from people with less experience than you – is that what you want?
- Your training is not limited to your legs and lungs. It is not one dimensional. Your core must be strong. Your head must be in the game. Your body must be properly nourished and hydrated. Your support team must buy-in to your goal. Other wise you will fail.
- If you are hurting – see your doctor or the trainer immediately. If you wait, it will be too late.
You achieve what you achieve by the work, the commitment, and focus you put into this training.
The All Blacks train with one fundamental principal:
Fundamental principal of training is to develop enough stamina to enable you to maintain the necessary speed over the full distance at which you plan to compete
General thoughts -take them as you will....the coaches come at this from a very different place & what we train by is how we were taught & how our coaches trained us. Sorry if it sounds preachy but you've got to understand it.
1 - Speed comes from base mileage - the bigger the base the longer you can maintain a set pace. It's all about base. Base is built over time and by consistency.
2 - If you want to be a marathoner, you need to train like a marathoner. If you want to be a 5k, 10k competitor then you train for that. They are two very different ways of training. Both are used in marathon training - but you have to decide what is important & train for the GOAL race.
3 - Speed workouts on the road will do you more good as a marathoner than speed on a track. Tracks are flat and measured - roads roll with the terrain and undulate. Speed on the road builds muscle memory and psychological memory. You race marathons on the roads. This is not to say there won’t be track specific work there will be specific work we need to accomplish on a track, but you will not be doing 800, 1000, 1600 or 3200 meter repeats on a track as a steady diet.
4 - Hard - Easy Principals apply. At most you should do 2-3 hard workouts per week and the long run is considered a hard workout.
5 - Know your paces & be honest. You must be disciplined in these paces to get the benefit of training - if you run hard everyday you will not improve because you will leave your legs on the training routes. If you think this is BS then read up on the Elites and you will find that they race in the 4 or 5 minute range, they run easy in the 7's minute range and they recover in the 8-9 minute range. See the following link for pace zone: http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm
6- Core is important - core provides the strength that keeps your form - once you form breaks down - YOU BREAK DOWN. Core also is INJURY PREVENTION. If you're not doing core you're wasting your time. A famous quote from Bernard Lagat 'running for an hour and a half every day is easy, it's the other things you have to do that make you successful.' Core training can improve your performance by up to 4%.
7 - Neuro Muscular Training (NMT) is important - just like golf - this provides muscle memory, develops speed, & form. NMT is the ability of an athlete to perform their sport in a smooth, balanced, and fluid motion. This is running efficiency or running economy. A good runner moves in a coordinated pattern without having to think about it. The way we achieve this coordinated movement is thru repetitious practice where the movement moves from conscious control to conditioned reflex. The more skilled we become at this movement pattern the less energy we expend and the more efficient we are.
The key is not how fast you can run, but how fast you can run when tired.
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