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Dan
Chief Pontificator
Joined: 22 Mar 1999
Posts: 9334
Location: Salem, OR
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 Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2002 10:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Most runners who say they want to get better get in a rut. They train the same way week in and week out. Every week runners can up their mileage around 5% ... If this is done over a period of months pretty soon a runner is kranking out 70 mile weeks. |
And that's not training the same way week in and week out? If anything will get you in a rut, I'd say it's constant mileage.
I've never been that impressed with what I've read of Lydiard's system (big surprise). My impression is that he got lucky with a brilliant system applied to the wrong people that just happened to be such good athletes it worked for them... The system really doesn't make much sense for the mid distances that made it famous, but it makes perfect sense for 5k and up. Sure, Snell and co. ran great, but lots of others have run even better since under much more "logical" systems.
Dan |
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Distance_Guru
World Class
Joined: 09 Mar 2002
Posts: 1280
Location: Nebraska
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| Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2002 9:26 am Post subject: |
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If anything will get you in a rut, I'd say it's constant mileage. |
Or a grove. Training at constantly high mileage is a great way to get really fit. When I say that I mean for somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-20 (depending on your level of experince and the time table you have to work with) weeks leading up to the compotion that is being focused on. And that the intensity with in that mileage amount varies from week to week and day to day. Sure it's a grind but if you want to be good the grind is a fact of life.
| Quote: |
I've never been that impressed with what I've read of Lydiard's system (big surprise). |
I've found his system quite impressive and it makes a lot of sense. Instead of focusing on improving the anaerobic components of physical fitness which change realativly little when trained. Focus on the aerobic component which can be greatly improved through training. Although I to am not completly sold on this method for training runners for an event shorter than 1500 meters. I think it might work with an athlete that is approaching the 800 from above (a runner better at racing a mile than a 400) but I doubt that it would work with an athlete approaching the 800 from the short side (better at the 400 than at the mile).
So it would appear that we are in at least partial agreement 
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Hammer
Varsity
Joined: 17 Jan 2002
Posts: 385
Location: New Mexico
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| Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2002 10:28 am Post subject: |
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One thing that I have found in athletes that are training in a Lydiard's system is that they tend to run more consistantly. (talking about running well week in and week out for a series of weeks) Runners that concentrate on speed without establishing a large aerobic base seem to have "hollow" speed. (I stole that term from a friend of mine)
I would not use a Lydiard system in training for 800m.... |
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Distance_Guru
World Class
Joined: 09 Mar 2002
Posts: 1280
Location: Nebraska
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| Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2002 10:38 am Post subject: |
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Hammer I've actually found the same thing. I think the reason for this is that the Lydiard system is a kind of slow cook type. By that I mean that you need time to let it work. Where as with speed based systems people will some times try (or be forced to) microwave a runner. In other world they will just try to get the athlete as fast a possible in as short a time period as possible. This can be do to the athlete doing another sport that cuts into training time or just not doing the proper amount of base peperation. Either way doing this kind of rush job with speed at least gives the athlete with a small training window a prayer of running a fast time in the big race although it does breed inconsistancy, just like that spot in the TV dinner that never gets thawed in the micro wave. 
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Conway
Olympic Medalist
Joined: 25 Aug 2001
Posts: 3570
Location: Northen California
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| Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2002 10:46 am Post subject: |
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| Wow .. Looks like we are all in agreement .. As I said before I have mixed feelings about Lydiard . And th basic problem I have is the lack of speed involved in his training ... Its primarily based in developing one's endurance ... Which is definintely not conducive to the 800 .. And I would question it for the mile as at the top level one must be able to kick in 51 - 53 in order to truly have a shot ... |
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