Sub 30 MINUTE 10k guys- your training??

when I was training for the marathon, I made sure that my long run was for 2 hours or 18 miles, depending on how I measured that particular run and course. For 10k competition, it is not, near as important to have so many 18-20 milers.

Ghost

Runners with a lot of TALENT can achieve good results on 30-40 minutes running per day.

yeah....a LOT of natural talent.

Whats a 10-....K? I don't run any of those man.

but I could surely break 28 minutes for nine thousand nine hundred ninty nine meters easy fo-sheesy!

Ahhh talent....what's that?

My best 400 was :58, 800 was 2:05, so I was slow.

I got close to 31:00 for 10K on:

Doubles 5 or 6 days a week.

3 evenings were easy 10 milers (7:00 pace)

1 evening, 12 x 400 in :72 (jog 100m between)

1 evening, 10 miler with 3 3/4mi hills (6:00 pace)

1 evening, fartlek or 8 to 10 tempo (5:30 pace)

1 long EASY run, 22 miles (6:30 to 6:45 pace)

Mileage was 80 to 100

I doubt that I could have improved a great deal more...

Ghost,

where are you getting all of these stories?

Those are not stories. I lived through all that, when I lived and trained in Wimbledon from 1975-1987. I saw countless National class athletes training at Lauriston Cottage, Wimbledon, and that is where the World Class runners (Frank Shorter, Franco Fava, Massimo Magnani, Steve Ovett, Tim Johnston) and others would train from.

I observed everything and listened to all those runners, and took note of everything. It was a fascinating human distance running laboratory, and sadly it is not the same these days. Now it is mostly joggers who go there. The quality has diminished.

Pete Mulholland, who sometimes posts here (under Pete M.) and Dave Beard (an amateur historian and former runner for HW) will confirm the veracity of my reports.

Ghost in Korea

www.gifle.go.kr

Ghost,

I don't doubt these stories are true, but why don't you post similar profiles of guys who didn't run low mileage? Do a similar post running down Frank Shorter's training to contrast the select few you've encountered that have gotten great results from low mileage.

There were many, "How they train" books back in the 70's and 80's... It probably from one of those books.

Its a new website which went live last week but check out:-

www.runnerslife.co.uk

don't expect a reply from Teg, he doesn't even RUN the 10k.

i could do but they hide behind stupid names, i konw stormin as i run for the same club and took his club 10k road record

John Sheridan

Club: London Irish

Height: 5.6

weight: 118

Occupation: Painter and Decorator

Best years: Mid 70's

Times: 5000- 14:17, 10,000 29:20, 10 miles road - 49;00,

marathon - 2:17

Diet: Sandwiches for lunch, and cafe food for evening meal, as John did not have a wife to cook for him. He had a pretty efficient metabolism, and could eat fish and chips and other fast foods without problems of gaining weight.

Training: Monday - 8 mile run home from work along the canal to the Shepards Bush area where John (a lifelong bachelor) lived in Lodgings

Tuesday to Thursday - 4 miles to work, and 4 miles home

Friday - 5 miles steady

Saturday - cross country league race, or 50 minutes steady

Sunday - 15-20 mile run with other London Irish runners from the West London Stadium out to Wimbledon Common, Richmond Park and back. Total miles for the week 60-70 miles. This was his usual routine for most of the year. Other runners in the group, included Gerry Staunton (29:30/2:16) an Irish International in the marathon.

The start of the run would be steady, but the last few miles would be run at 6 minutes per mile or faster, with John always at the front or close to the front. This was a progressive long run, in the Kenyan or Khannnouchi tradition, and gave John the strength to run well in the marathon and shorter road races.

The Irish are as tough as nails, and I have seen many of them come over from Ireland and join London Irish and do well in road races (48:00-49:00 for 10 mile road races). They tend to have high threshold for pain. In those days (the 60's and 70's) the background of the 'Paddies' was similar to Kenyan kids of today in that they were very active in Ireland as youngsters, always playing outside - all kinds of games - soccer, Gaelic and hurling, and that type of continuous aerobic activity, interspersed with anaerobic sprints in those sports gave those athletes a good point to move to distance running. The transition was rapid, just as it was for Geoff Smith, the former Fire Service guy from Liverpool who came from a soccer background.

Ghost in Korea

Geoff Smith was the real deal. When I was 15 and a member of Liverpool Harriers we looked up to Geoff. Tough as nails he was. A favourite session of his was 25 x 400 on the University track on Mather Avenue with 1 min recovery(cinder - the Harriers are not there now) together with solid mileage. The 400's were not that fast (70 I recall). I think at that time Geoff was coached by Ernie Gallagher and he was running low 29's for 10000 regularly about a lap behind Brendan Foster. On one occasion at Crystal Palace on a Friday night a mates dad was telling us he watched the race and fell asleep only to wake up to see Geoff cross the line at the finish before Foster - he couldn't believe it, but Geoff had another lap to go!

Geoff then had an injury and when he had some rehab he went with another coach (Eddie Soames - can't quite remember, maybe someone else can help out) who had been involved in cycling. Eddie asked to see Geoff's diary and then said to him there was no speed work whereupon Geoff pointed to the 400's!! Eddie told me this story at Kirkby Stadium where I was doing a session and he was then coaching Rob Harrison. He said he had Geoff doing 150 and down fast as he could - he said Geoff didn't want to do these sessions but Eddie persisted and suggested doing them after his 25 x 400 if he preferred. Geoff went on to run 3.55 for the mile essentially while he was building up to his fantastic marathon debut in New York.

Geoff Smith:

Mile - 3.55.8 (1981 - a little earlier than I thought)

5000 - 13.22.17 (1983)

10000 - 27.43.76 (1983)

HM - 61.39 (1983)

M - 2.09.08 (1983)

Geoff surprised many people when he became a student at Providence College in the early 80's and did very well there, under the guidance of Bob Amato, at the time, if my memory is correct. He was a bit older than the average freshman but still fit right in, despite some Americans thinking he was a foreigner because of his Liverpudlian accent.

Despite not really being academically inclined, Geoff then went on to get his degree in business, and to cap it off, stayed on to get his M.B.A. at Providence.

He then obtained a green card, thanks to his American wife, and a few years later, became an American citizen. The last time I met him, at the Boston Marathon in 2004, Geoff mentioned that he was coaching High School somewhere on Rhode Island, but pointed out that he did not run much anymore, because he had recently had a hip replacement operation, and now Geoff has an artificial hip. But he still looks trim and fit, despite the lower level of activity, and is very popular in running circles on Rhode Island.

One of Geoff's sons is quite active and might turn into a useful runner.

Unfortunately he supports Everton, otherwise he's a good guy (LOL!)

Those times Geoff posted over 20 years ago are way above what most of the top Brits are running these days.

Ghost in Korea

i'm a 15low, 31 guy at the moment. the most mileage i've done (prolonged) is roughly 70mpw.

i am nearing the end of xc this year, am redshirting indoors, and won't have an official race until mid outdoor season. (although i have planned on running a couple indoor races and a half marathon during our indoor season).

the one thing that is different from my program right now is i have one full day off... my coach, who has coached some national record holders, swears by this day of rest... (but with a normal easy day i'd be sitting 85ish mpw.) my workouts are similar, my mileage pattern is very similar (different in the rest day as mentioned, and slightly less mileage in my 'longer' easy day run, on my doubles)

my questions are

1. in my next mileage bout (roughly 13 weeks), what is the consensus on what i should hit, and

2. should i be nixing this rest day and add a run... or two?

great thread.