by Larry EderLong runs have been part of our running vernacular for most of the last century. It took, however, a New Zealand milkman, and a band of local Kiwis to make long runs much more popular. The late Arthur Lydiard smacked distance running on its head, testing 200 miles a week on himself, going from a mere jogger to a New Zealand Marathon champion. His athletes, however, changed the world: Peter Snell, 800m/1,500m gold, Murray Halberg, 5000m gold, John Davies, 1,500m bronze, Bill Magee, Marathon bronze. And then, the next generation, John Walker, Rod Dixon, Dick Quax, all who had coaches influenced by the eccentric Arthur Lydiard.
HOKA ONE ONE, photo by Mike Deering for The Shoe Addicts. For more on this fine brand, please go to www.hokaoneone.com.
Does it work? On pure Lydiard training, I took five minutes off my 10,000m PB, a minute off my two mile and 42 minutes off my marathon PB. The hill work, long runs, speed work and racing.
I was lucky enough to spend time with Arthur in the 80s and 90s. One of my favorite memories is from Madison, Wisconsin in 1999 when Arthur visited, and he was speaking with Pascal Dobert, then, a steeple champion, now a coach with Jerry Schumacher at Bowerman TC.
Enjoy your long run today, google Arthur Lydiard and learn about the man who knocked distance running on its butt.
Sunday, April 8, 2018: Relaxed Long run, 70 minutes with friends, at pace you can talk. Long runs are all about the socializing and building endurance.
Week 12, time to race
Monday: warm up, 40 minute run, 8 x 200 meters, at 800m pace, cooldown
Tuesday: warm up, two sets of 4x 400 meters, 4 x 300 meters, 4 x 200 meters, jog half distance, paced at 800m pace, cooldown
Wednesday: warm up, Easy 55-60 minutes, cooldown, on soft ground, 4 x 150 meter stride outs
Thursday: warm up, two mile run, sprint straights, jog turns, 4 x 800 meters, jog 400 meters in between, at mile pace, cooldown
Friday: warm up, 4 -5 miles easy, 4 times 150 meters stride outs, cooldown
Saturday: warm up, race your primary distance, and run a 4×400 meter, cooldown
Sunday: Relaxed Long run, 70 minutes with friends, at pace you can talk. Long runs are all about the socializing and building endurance.
