Run-Down Forums

[Dan]

I and others have joked about learing to hold one's breath for the length of 100m, and you typically produce more power coming out of the blocks if holding your breath, but I've never thought of making that an actual training tool... Was the idea to similuate oxygen debt, but over distances short enough to still emphasize speed?

Dan

[Distance_Guru]

I've heard that Zatopek used to do 200's and 400's holding his breath. Of coarse there are all kinds of crazy rumors about Zatopeks training, running while holding his breath and hill repeats while carrying his wife on his back are the two that really stick in my mind.

I was in that race, top runner for NMHU, 27:09 the fastest time of my freshman year. Of coarse I still wasn't happy, I got like 5th or 6th in what amounted to a dual meet.
_________________
Time is the fire in which we burn

[coachd]

Dan hit it on the head--Clark said tha Oliveira emphasized maintaining form and being able to "run fast and relaxed" in a state of stress...just like the end of an 800.

Hey, DG..."Zatopek Lives!"...that was srawled on a little poster we carried around with us and taped to the window of our van during the '98 season in which DG helped us to a top ten national finish...we made freshmen do reports on great runners and present them to the team.

Krummenaker was actually the New Mexico high school cross-country champion in 1992...DG in the state meet that day (but he would have been a freshman and not even a twinkle in a college coaches eye...yet). He beat Brandon Leslie, widely considered to be the greatest distance runner to ever come out of NM, with a hellacious kick over the last 400 meters...he wasn't that well known in the northern part of the state at that time and a lot of jaws dropped that morning.

Leslie went on to be a national JC champion and All-American at Adams State...DG chased him to our still standing school-record for 8k, but couldn't quite get him. As far as I know Leslie is not training right now.

And that race at UNLV...I remember DG's best friend collapsed in a pool of puke, but I laid into the men for running like...well, it wasn't pretty.

I know this isn't a thread about reminiscing...but these names and events all triggered some connections and memories.

[Distance_Guru]

I did run like a wiene that day (along with much of that team), of coarse if I was following coaches orders to run relaxed early, I just followed them to well and for too long.

I remeber Krummenacker beating Leslie by a large margin and well before they entered the sadium for the final 300 (of coarse I had just finished my own race and being a freshman I was simply amazed that the guy from Gallup lost!) but hey, you were probably paying more attention than I was. You also forgot to mention that Leslie won a national title in D2, 10,000 in 2000. It's not often you get to catch coachd missing a detail like that so I'll do it while I have the chance.
_________________
Time is the fire in which we burn

[coachd]

DG is right about the distance Krummenaker put on Leslie. They were close coming out of the park...about 500 meters from the finish, K then began to literally sprint away from Leslie (who hadn't lost in a long time, if ever, in NM)...the 250 meters on the track were pretty anti-climatic except for those who sat in the stadium expecting to see Leslie come in and win.

[Conway]

Back ot Krummenaker today, I was doing some reading this past weekend and cam across the follwoing formula for determineing mile potential based on 800 times: 800 time x 2 + 19 = mile potential

Based on that formula, Krummenaker should be able to run a 3:46.6 mile ... That would give him an American record if he cold pull it off

Conway

[Dan]

I've never seen that equation before (the 800 -> 1500/mile always seemed harder to nicely convert than the shorter adjacent events), but it looks interesting. According to that formula, my mile time should be only 3 seconds slower than my 1500m best, or about 6 seconds faster than my goal time (and the conversion is based on an 800m time that I hoped to better by 10 seconds my last year)...

Dan

[will]

I talked with Joaquim Cruz (one of de Olivera's start pupils) a few months ago about coaching. His rates were too steep for me and I ended up passing on the deal. Before I said Sianora, he sent me a basic break down of the type of training (without specifics) that we would do together. Apparently, he has his athletes do a series of 21 drills before/during workouts. The fitness that Cruz sought was to be according to the phase of training, base, fitness, pre-comp, comp. At any rate, each phase had its own set of drills to go along with the training.

As far as Krummanacker, he dropped a few hints: 1) lots of sprinting on sand, and, 2) 5*(8*100) with very short recoveries. As DG said, speed, speed, and, speed seemed to be the central focus.

One other thing, de Olivera started out as a world class SOCCER coach. No shock there, since most MD studs get sucked into that community. I think it was interesting that he reversed the trend and became a track coach.

Also, the breath holding drill is interesting. I remember Cerutty saying that proper breathing technique (along with changed movement patterns) would allow athletes to run 3:30 for the mile. That was 40+ years ago.

Maybe there's something to the breath holding workout? Anyone try it? Anyone want to?

[Dan]

Interesting, drills that vary by the training phase... It would almost be worth forking over the cash just to learn the system!

Cerutty said some pretty nutty things, as I recall.

[will]

From the little I gleaned through internet tidbits and looking at the training program Joaquim outlined along with some of Dellinger's training based on de Olivera's ideas, they would do simple things in the pre-season, burpees, pushups, kicking the moon, etc. However, as the season progressed, they started blending the drills with the running. I'm guessing here, but, it would be things like sprint a 100, do a drill, sprint a 100, drill....etc. Those are some pretty vague examples, but, it explains the difference. Most people would look at that in America as circuit training, and, in a way, it is. However, the circuit consists of high intensity running with high quality drills, emphasis on technique. Ultimately, as you noted, the volume begins to get to you. Unlike training based on longer intervals, the recoveries can be kept short and you can begin to handle larger and larger volumes of very fast work.

[Dan]

That system speaks to me!

Dan