2017 HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals Fall Cross Country Training Program, Week 26, Day 7, final day of season, let’s end with a long run

I recall a story on Bill Bowerman where he noted training a sub 4 minute miler off less than 25 miles a week. I was always impressed with Lasse Viren doing hill repeats and short speed burst around a football pitch to prepare for Montreal. The great John Walker, for a period, had to relegate his workouts to 30 minutes at a time as the pain from his legs was too intense. One must work with what one has. The 1952 Olympic champion Horace Ashenfelter worked out for an hour a day, after he said good night to his kids in a local park, hurdling park benches during his repeats of 6 times an 880. How does one know what will work for your personal needs?

While at Bellarmine, I took great solace in reading coaching texts from the 1940s and 1950s in the library. Dear Mrs. Lundgard, the librarian, had a collection of coaching texts that really influenced me. I recall reading about Paavo Nurmi breaking 9 minutes for the first time. But it was the guys like Gunder Haag and Arne Andersen and their racing in the war years that really influenced me. Fartlek was part of each coach I worked with’s training regimens.

At Santa Clara, I experimented with mileage, gradually moving from 70 miles a week to 120-140 miles during the summer buildup. I had a coach, Dan Durante, who was possessed, as Kenny Moore said of Ron Hill, by the scientific method. Dan had horse sense too, as he would soak our legs with cold water after a bout of 20 times 400 uphill, as he watched horse trainers do. Our legs felt great afterwards and the next day, we were without soreness or pain. Thanks for following our workouts this season and if we helped you, so much the better.

Coaches are always learning, coaches are always experimenting. That is what great coaches would tell you, at each and every age. The late JIm Bush, after retiring from college coaching, volunteered at a local high school. Neither his AD nor his athletes had any clue that they were being coached by one of the finest in our sport. Jim loved that, as it was the act of coaching, the interaction that kept him happy and alive.

More stories to come in 2017, and many more in 2018. Thanks once again for following our programs. Thanks to Brian Eder at runblogrun, and A.J. Felice, Mike Deering and Adam Johnson-Eder, of the shoe addicts, who put together 34 videos on coaching from Tom Nohilly, John Trautmann and Coach Gags for this season (watch for a special page for all the videos to be posted shortly). Again, that work was supported by HOKA ONE ONE.

Please consider competing in the HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals next season. It is a fine program, and great way to be part of a long tradition with the sport of cross country.

Before your Spring season, please consider HOKA ONE ONE training shoes. They have great product and they support the sport 24/7.

To learn about our sponsor, please go to 2017 HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals, which opened August 15 and ends at 11:59 P.M. on December 12, 2017.

Want some inspiration? Then, check out the video below, which highlights the 2016 HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals. It should inspire you to ask coach if your team can compete in it. All teams are welcome and it is free! See how your team ranks across the U.S! Here’s the video: http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?video_id=190549#ooid=E2OHhiODE6d19qhv14SIqSXQX088IklV