Further to my post above on the Beijing distance events, once more the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart points to the way Western runners must begin training if they ever hope to again become competitive in global distance finals.
The final time in Stuttgart (13:22) is certainly within the reach of a number of Western runners, but unfortunately to be capable of such a time they require a steady pace from gun till tape. Today's E. African led finals are not run that way at all.
So forget aiming to break 13:00, because winning times in finals are rarely that quick. Instead train to be able to race the 5,000m final in something like the following manner ...
The first four kilometres of the 5,000m final were covered in 10:55, and an average pace of 2:43/km, something around the 10,000m PR pace of most of the finalists.
Of course the Western TV commentators were bemoaning the "slow pace" but this is just lack of understanding on their part. The pace of the first chunk of the race is not fast these days, and it is an acknowledgement by all the main protagonists that they are not going to be able to "run away" from their rivals.
The "relatively slow" pace is an acknowledgement that whatever the pace, it is understood that the main protagonists would all still be present near the front with 1km to go. So why race the first 4km? The real race is going to come down to the final 1,000m. Purely and simply it is all going to come down to who can reach that point of the race with the most "juice" still in the tank, because that is the point at which the racing begins.
The first 4km were run in 10:55, which is 27:17 pace for 10,000m. Well within the compass of all the finalists...
But the final 1,000m were run in 2:27, which is roughly 3,000m WR pace or 3:40 pace for 1500m!
The race was won by Edwin Soi (KEN) who was not in the lead at 4km - so we can assume he ran the final 1km at faster than his 1500m PR, which is 3:44 according to the iaaf website. His 10,000m PR is listed as 27:14.
Second went to Moses Kipsiro (UGA) with a 1500m PR of 3:37. Third and fourth were Micah Kogo and Mark Kiptoo (KEN) no 1500m PRs listed.
The way seems clear: if any Western runner wishes to become competitive in a global final ever again, he must train to be able to run the first 4km of the race at his best 10,000m pace and then race the last 1km at his best 1500m pace!
Running 4k at 10k pace is not the problem. The problem is then kicking off that pace and running another 1k at 1500m pace. Races are not run this way in the West ... it's most usually gun-to-tape steady pace. So when Western runners go to global events they get thrust into situations for which they are completely unprepared.
Splits:
1,000m Moses Ndiema Masai - 2:44
2,000m Moses Ndiema Masai - 5:28
3,000m Moses Ndiema Masai - 8:16
4,000m Micah Kogo - 10:55
5,000m Edwin Soi - 13:22
Taken from the Cabral & Hadd thread "2 kinds of runners: Which are you?" Subject: "More than one approach to running and racing".
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=2375989&thread=2375989
This is a private thread and is developing into a wide-ranging discussion on various aspects of training. It is suggested you save it as a Favourite, because it drops off the front page quickly since only Cabral & Hadd can