Kenya Rift Valley Training and Q&A

donothoponpop · 01-01-2011 3:04pm #1

Kiwirunner, who is well known to many here from the race circuit, and helped pace the sub3 group in the Dublin '10, is staying in Iten, Kenya, for a month of high-altitude training. His goal is to improve his marathon pb (currently 2:39), by a significant amount in the upcoming London event.

Knowing the interest this would have to many on the forum, I twisted his arm to write a diary of sorts for Boards, and he has kindly agreed. He specifically asked that it be pointed out this wasn't a vanity project, or any pretense that he is an elite athlete, more that he has a huge love of running, and has dramatically improved his times over the past few years, by applying more dedicated methods to his training structure, something very similar to many on the forum here. There will no doubt be a large number of readers on Boards who will have a huge interest in the type of training schedules and set-up that Iten offers, so the format will be Jase writing a bit every few days on what his training consists of.

Internet connection isn't so accessible in Iten, so updates may only occur every two or three days, but you can post any questions or queries here, and he'll try and answer as many of them as he can during his stay, he arrives there on Jan 3rd. Thanks to Jase for agreeing to share this experience with the forum, it will no doubt be a very interesting and useful read.

Magnet · 03-01-2011 4:59pm

That`s great, outside of that actual training schedules I`d love to know what a week`s worth of food looks like.....;):D
Thanks and Good luck with the training

seanynova · 03-01-2011 9:32pm

fair play to ya Kiwirunner!

i tried to run 5miles in Bogota last june at 2600m ASL and i was knackered after it, but i bet it really makes a difference after a month!

hope we have a 2:45 pacer for DCM '11

looking forward to the updates...best of luck with the training for London.

Slogger Jogger · 03-01-2011 10:57pm

Good luck Jase. I look forward to seeing some of the Kenyans coming over to try the Wicklow Round and the like that I'm sure you'll be telling them about

kiwirunner · 06-01-2011 2:54pm

In the summer of 2010 I was browsing through a copy of the Irish Times when I saw an article about an Irish Brother (of the Catholic church) who lives in a small town called Iten in the Rift Valley of Kenya. The article explained that Brother Colm O'Connell had moved to Iten in the early 1980s to fill the role of principle at a Catholic high school called Saint Patrick's. During Brother Colm's time at the school he developed an enthusiasm for the sport of running, and began coaching students. Brother Colm was very successful in this role, and the school developed a reputation for producing some of Kenya's (and the worlds) top runners. This article sparked my interest in the area, but further investigation revealed a bigger picture. I decided to spend a few weeks training in this remote village in January 2011.

Iten has developed a fierce reputation as a centre of excellence in the international running community, because the area has produced a raft of world beaters in the last three decades. As a result, the small village has become something of a Mecca for the running community of Kenya, as well as globally. Kenyan runners come here (or are recruited by training camps/agents here) as a stepping stone to entering the professional running arena. Curious runners like me come here to investigate the mystery that surrounds the success of Kenyan running, and hopefully improve our own running.

The environment here is perfect for running. It is located right on the equator, and is perched on the edge of an expansive plateau that looms over the Rift Valley, at an altitude of 2600m. The altitude means a cooler air temperature is conducive to training year round (though it gets hot between 11am and 4pm), and that the athletes here are teaching their bodies to operate on oxygen deprived air. After training up here for an extended period of time, running at sea level is like attaching a turbo charger to your engine.

The Eldoret Road is the only tarmac road that passes by the village. Which means that most runners use the extensive network of red dusty trails that span the area. There is no need to negotiate peak hour traffic here, and the soft underfood conditions means less injuries for runners. The undulating fire trails twist through forests and between small farms, providing an excellent training ground for runners. There is also a popular cinder track here, though you might want to give your lungs some time to adjust before hitting the speed work! Plenty of hills too for those nasty hill repeats.

Iten's location, with impressive views over the Kerio National Park from far above, also means that runners are greeted with an impressive sunrise while they're out jogging every morning.

Kerio District is full of world class runners, and all of them are sharing the same trails, tracks and hills for their training (up to three times a day). For a visiting runner, the experience of going out for a morning-run and stretching in the company of these athletes is a huge buzz: imagine a Leinster fan throwing a ball around with O'Driscoll and Sexton, or a tennis player having a hit around with Roger Federer. A visitor to Iten will find themselves in the company of their running heroes.

But perhaps more noticable for the visiting runner, is that you find yourself in a world where you are surrounded by other runners, wherever you go. The dusty trails are packed with other runners. The difference is that here, you become the (relatively) stocky slow guy gasping for breath, while the locals jog past effortlessly. Nobody is impressed that you woke at 6am and ran 12k before sunrise, because they were all there too.

There are several running camps in Iten that house elite Kenyan and other East African athletes. I am fortunate enough to be staying with Kenyan runners in a running camp that is affiliated with Saint Patrick's High School (through a friend). But most international visitors stay in either the Kerio View Hotel or Lornah Kiplagat's High Altitude training camp, which are nice hotels. These hotels are popular with individuals as well as international running squads (presently hosting the British Olympic running team, and a team of elite runners from Sweden). Beds cost between $30 and $60 (food included) per person per night, which is expensive given that lunch costs about $1 in a local restaurant in the village. But they have good facilities, and are probably good value on the whole.

Photos will follow if I can figure out how to turn them into a URL address, but in any case you can check out pictures on my blog at www.adventuresofjase.blogspot.com

woodchopper · 07-01-2011 10:31pm

Kenya brings back many graet memories. Say hello to my good friend Martin Lel if you see him out 'jogging', I hope he has recovered well from his setback before New York

Hard Worker · 07-01-2011 10:51pm

Magnet wrote: »

That`s great, outside of that actual training schedules I`d love to know what a week`s worth of food looks like.....;):D
Thanks and Good luck with the training

You are cordially invited to the Dublin Marathon ugali party 2011

--amadeus-- · 07-01-2011 10:57pm

Hard Worker wrote: »

You are cordially invited to the Dublin Marathon ugali party 2011

Ooooh, we'll be gatecrashing that if you're not careful. MrsA grew up in Zimbabwe where Ugali is called Sadza and she's got lots of happy memories of eating it as a kid, I've tried to get it for her in African shops over here but no joy.

woodchopper · 07-01-2011 11:48pm

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Ooooh, we'll be gatecrashing that if you're not careful. MrsA grew up in Zimbabwe where Ugali is called Sadza and she's got lots of happy memories of eating it as a kid, I've tried to get it for her in African shops over here but no joy.

Ugali is indeed very tasty, although we have our own ugali at home, namely potatoes.

earlyevening · 08-01-2011 8:31am

I'm in Ethiopia at the moment. Maybe I should bring home a load of the local delights so we can start a Boards African runner's nutrition programme?? :rolleyes:

PS Plenty of people out running at 5am. They've even named one of their main streets after Haile GS.

Blueskye · 08-01-2011 9:19am

Sounds fantastic. Was living in a remote village in Kenya a few years ago...no running unfortunately but loved it. Brings me right back.

Slogger Jogger · 08-01-2011 9:39am

An ugali party on your return Jason? Are there specific training ideas that you would immediately apply to your own training regime? Are there things you were doing that you would stop?

kiwirunner · 08-01-2011 1:46pm

Don't get me started on Ugali! They eat it by the bucket load, and as a consequence so (now) do I. I would have to say that I prefer Irish ugali (potato), but Ugali is a good source of energy so I'm happy to keep eating it!

@ slogger jogger: There are so many ideas that I'm picking up by the day here. I'm conscious of not jumping the gun and writing about things before I fully understand them.

But the obvious things that I have immediately applied to my training regime are stretching and core work. I'm told that as athletes get older (I guess over 25) and have more mileage in the legs they are coached to spend more time stretching and building core strength and perhaps a bit less time running (even at elite level).

Everyone seems to spend a lot of time stretching. Probably partly because you can't get away with running 2/3 times a day without it, and also because stretching seems to be 'social time' here. The Kenyan runners don't normally speak to each other when they run/jog together. Complete silence, so much so that I feel guilty when my garmin bleeps every kilometre! But they stretch for at least half an hour together after the run and chat away. It helps that they can be outside in the fresh warm air at a park, rather than sitting in snow at bushy park freezing cold.

So far this experience is a massive learning curve. My next post is about adjusting to the altitude (how it affects training), then I'm thinking to write some observations about the lifestyle of the elite runners here, training programs and examples of sessions, diet, and any other things that come up along the way.

Just watched Emanuel Matai (2nd place Rotterdam marathon 2010, 2nd place Berlin marathon 2010) beat a strong field in a rough-as-nails 12k x-country race in the large scrubby and hilly field next to our house! Meanwhile, a 2:15 marathoner from the UK got completely hammered by the field. Crazy stuff! I'm thinking of racing x country in Eldoret next week, just for the craic :-)

G-Money · 08-01-2011 3:50pm

I don't normally thank posts but I had to thank the original one. Looking forward to reading the reports from KiwiRunner.

Here's a short video from the BBC about running in Iten, including Brother Colm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/world_olympic_dreams/9338210.stm

nutzzz123 · 09-01-2011 12:18am

any chance of making this a sticky

G-Money · 09-01-2011 2:12pm

I have to admit that even though I'm a novice and newbie runner, there is something appealing about going to Iten and training. I think it's the idea of sort of being somewhere remote stripping back a lot of the trappings of modern day life and just eating well and exercising.

Keep the reports coming KiwiRunner.

ecoli · 09-01-2011 2:12pm

kiwirunner wrote: »

Just watched Emanuel Matai (2nd place Rotterdam marathon 2010, 2nd place Berlin marathon 2010) beat a strong field in a rough-as-nails 12k x-country race in the large scrubby and hilly field next to our house! Meanwhile, a 2:15 marathoner from the UK got completely hammered by the field. Crazy stuff! I'm thinking of racing x country in Eldoret next week, just for the craic :-)

This wouldnt be the race you were watchin by any chance?

http://www.iaaf.org/WXC11/news/kind=100/newsid=59019.html

Must be great to be surrounded by the running atmosphere not just in your training but World class races as well as what you said that some of the components of training are seen from a social perspective (like stretching)

Will watch with interest your posts regarding training and the effects of altitude

How have you felt your arrival has been received, have the people been welcoming? Other than training how have you spent your time over there?

ecoli · 09-01-2011 2:14pm

nutzzz123 wrote: »

any chance of making this a sticky

With the nature of this thread and the regular updates I dont see the need for making it a sticky as I cant see it falling off the first page

kiwirunner · 09-01-2011 5:47pm

@ecoli: Yes that was the race. It was brilliant! I knew a few people racing too (easy to meet people here) so I was on the sideline cheering like a mad thing! Here are some pics:

People are generally very friendly and interested. In terms of joining random groups of runners, it can be difficult to know whether you're welcome or not. Since people don't chat when they run, the vibe can seem a bit hostile, even if for them it's just how they roll. We joined some lads today part way into a long run, and got blown off the back on a windy uphill trail in a forest. Then you have to find your own way back home :-) Which brings me to my next point:

Running at this altitude is quite difficult - particularly for the first week or two. Most of the benefit will be accrued after you've been there a while, at which time you'll be better able to train properly. For this reason, there isn't much to be gained (fitness-wise) from going somewhere to train at altitude unless you have a few weeks to spend.

According to legendary running coach, Author Lydiard:

Quite simply, the moment you get off a plane at a high altitude, your steady state, that fine point of balance between aerobic and anaerobic effort, becomes lower. What was previously high aerobic training becomes low anaerobic effort, and it is well established that you cannot do a lot of training anaerobically.

To put it another way, your lungs are working much harder even just to jog up here. Your muscles are demanding as much oxygen from your engine, but your engine is receiving less oxygen from each breath. So even jogging up a small hill can send you into an oxygen deprived state (anaerobic) – where you're breathing hard and your muscles start hurting. This effect is most prominent over the first few days at altitude, but it could take months to adjust (even then you will still be slower running up here compared with at sea level).

So at the moment I feel fairly unfit when I go out jogging (even though I'm in reasonable shape), as if I was new to the sport. It's rather discouraging, especially since the top guys here can still run sets of 2k intervals up here in 5:45 on the cinder track. One of the marathon coaches (who runs a 63 minute half marathon himself) told me I should probably stick around 6:20 pace for 2k intervals until I adjust to the altitude... Erm...:-)

I was told when I arrived on Tuesday morning that I should not run at all on my first day here. And then I should only run slowly for the first week. Going against this advice would be like attempting a tempo run whilst breathing through a straw.

I'm told that I probably won't be able to run any intensive speed work in the first two weeks, and even then I'll be slow compared to what I would be down at Bushy Park in Dublin (I'm slow enough there too!). But I already tried a session of 20x150 metres strides last night, and I felt better than expected. Some people adjust more quickly than others, maybe I'm lucky (or maybe I'm deluded).

Author Lydiard is somewhat skeptical of altitude training as an 'across the board' approach to building up to races (though he admits that this view goes against conventional thinking). Lydiard argues that it is only beneficial if the athlete has a highly efficient cardiovascular system. I suppose his point is that if you are unable to train hard up here i.e. get stuck into speed work, track, hill repeats etc, then being at altitude is unlikely to yield significant benefits.

The altitude does not prevent you from putting in decent mileage, but it does affect your pace. The thin air is especially noticeable on the undulating trails around Iten, because every little climb gets the heart going and the legs hurting. My easy pace here has been around 5 minutes per kilometre. Accounting for the hills and uneven trails, I estimate that at the moment my pace at this altitude is about 30 to 40 seconds per kilometre slower than it would be at sea level for the equivalent effort level. But for other runners I gather that the effect can be far more significant.

If it's this difficult for normal runners to run up here, then imagine how easy it is for one of these elite guys or girls to run down with the rest of us. It's no surprise that lads like Rudisha and Choge and Songok dominate when they come down to race at sea level – they must feel like they have a turbo charger attached.

kiwirunner · 09-01-2011 5:56pm

I'm staying in a house that is beside Saint Patrick's High School. I'm sharing a basic house with three 18/19 year old girls located right next to the school (separate sleeping quarters). My house-mates are world class junior runners. Two of the girls have represented Kenya and one of them has a World Championship title on the track (three of them were top 10 in the x country yesterday). The girls are not originally from Iten. They were identified by talent scouts and brought here to train. The girls represent the next generation of Kenyan Olympic hopes, and it is a privilege to be staying here with them.

Many of the athletes based in and around the high school use its grounds to stretch, warm down, and run intervals. So are in the luxurious position of being able to see some of Kenya's top international middle-distance runners going about their day.

The camp attached to the high school is just one of a number of high-performance running camps in Iten. While this camp is geared towards middle-distance running, others are marathon focused. There are also a lot of individual athletes living and training here outside of a camp environment. There are plenty of people around town who are happy to chat about training.

One question that has been on my mind for some time is 'how do these top athletes in Kenya live?'. Because perhaps if we understand that, then we are a step closer to understanding how the East Africans have been so dominant on the global running scene over the last few decades.

I don't pretend to know much about it after being up here for only a few days, but you can't help but notice what's going on around you, because the runners are everywhere from the moment you leave your front gate! Keep in mind that my observations here are anecdotal and preliminary, as I haven't been here for long.

The first, and perhaps most import observation I made is that the approach applied by athletes here is not rocket science. To the contrary, it is quite simple. You won't see fancy compression socks and expensive GPS watches. The successful runners here simply train smart and hard.

Professional athletes obviously don't have to work other jobs, so they can be much more flexible about training throughout the day and week. The athletes flex their training according to how they feel on the day, and will skip (or pull out of) a session if they are struggling. For the same reason, athletes have plenty of time to stretch and look after their bodies.

It seems like there is by no means a 'one size fits all' approach to training. Programs are perhaps less rigid than we are used to, and are tailored for each athlete. For example, a program will depend on the goals of the athlete, how the athlete is feeling on a given day, and what works for the individual. But there is a general daily structure that seems to be common for many runners. The day seems to be based around either two or three runs..

The day starts early. At 6am runners emerge from their homes en mass and take to the trails for the first run of the day, which seems to normally be an easy jog. From my limited observations, the pace starts off very slow, and speeds up gradually throughout. It can be fairly strenuous in the last couple of miles. Then a long stretching session after the run, then breakfast and rest time.

The second run, if there is one, is normally mid/late morning. This is the hard session of the day, meaning hill repeats/intervals/tempo etc. But athletes might skip the late morning session and instead run the session early in the morning or in the afternoon either.

Then the streets are filled with runners again at about 4:30pm when the sun is low in the sky and the temperature is dropping to an agreeable level. It seems like the evening run is normally easy pace.

The time in between runs is spent mainly resting, sleeping, and eating. Kenyans are generally pretty laid back, so sitting around like this is quite conducive with their culture anyway. You won't see many runners out and about during the hot period of the day between 11am and 4pm. Best to stay indoors and off your feet, as it is energy sapping to be moving and out in the sun.

Meals a very simple and unprocessed. Very little meat or saturated fat. For breakfast we've been eating plain white bread (no spread) and maybe fruit, with tea. For lunch, ugali or rice with lettuce or spinach, and tea. Then the same thing for dinner. I've been buying pineapple and mangoes for the house as a treat, but otherwise I doubt it would feature on the menu. You would think that the lack of variety of food would leave people deficient in certain vitamins and nutrients, but it doesn't seem to affect their running performance.

I haven't seen treats like chocolate or ice cream in the village. The food that people normally eat here is healthy but not particularly tasty, so people are not tempted to eat too much. I've been eating just enough at each meal that I'm not hungry any more, and not more.

By 8pm the village is quiet (except for the sound of barking dogs all around), and so it's off to bed early (before 10pm).

The key tenet of the approach seems to be a structured repetitive lifestyle. When you live in a running centric world like Iten, it seems to be easier to block out distractions and temptations that 'hinder' the rest of us in happening places like Dublin. Aside from the obvious work duties that get in the way of our training, I'm mostly talking about good distractions like meeting friends for coffee or a pint, going to movies or out for dinner, weekend excursions. Missing out on these things is a sacrifice that I think is made by many athletes here, though I don't think they have any desire for these types of things anyway.

There is no reason to break from this structured day, and certainly no reason to leave the house after your evening session. There is no reason to drink alcohol in this town. The 'pubs' are not an attractive option, so you're better off just going to bed after dinner.

woodchopper · 09-01-2011 7:30pm

The topic of food is very intersting regarding the attitudes of the elite athletes. In the days leading up to the New York marathon Gabriele Rosa was concerned by the food consumption of James Kwambai his lead athlete in this race over the last two years.

Im afraid when James saw the free buffet for breakfast lunch and dinner, his discipline was not what it should have been, eating muffins, scambled eggs etc something his body was not used to living and training in Iten.

Rosa was therefore not that surprised when he dropped out in 2009 due to stomach problems. Last November James was watched very carefully at the dining table which led to an improved performance, his 4.20 mile off the bridge on mile 16 was the reason for his demise not the food in the days leading up to the race.

The moral of this story is the Kenyans do not eat junk food when they are training because it is not so freely available, however once they move over to Europe, Hamburgers in McDs seems to be popular much to Claudio's concern hense his constant monitoring of athletes such as Kwambai, Yego and the others he coaches.

kiwirunner · 10-01-2011 4:28pm

Have you ever found yourself standing on the side of a football pitch and wondering how you could best turn it into a session?

Well the runners in Iten have come up with a handy solution. Probably because (other than the perfect natural features and landscape of the area) it seems like their only 'facility' is an crowded cinder track tucked away at one end of the town, and a couple of paddocks at Saint Patrick's high school. Not that anyone is complaining mind you!

The solution is symptomatic of the Kenyan approach – simple and effective. It's called 'Diagonals'. It looks like this:

[IMG]http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oEcvTzEYVmA/TSsvUzNiECI/AAAAAAAAAT0/ns_P4OfBOSc/s400/diagonals image.jpg" height="400" width="300"[/IMG]

I'm not sure that this session needs much explaining. Just start at one corner, run hard on the diagonals, and then VERY easy along the goal lines at either end. It's essentially an interval session: approximately 130 metres of hard running broken by 60 metres of VERY easy jogging. Pace the diagonals so that you can run them steadily for 40 minutes (at least, that's what I've seen runners do here).

I tried it and thought it was a great way to get the legs turning over and the lungs working. The red dusty diagonal lines worn into the football paddocks speaks to the popularity this workout.

G-Money · 10-01-2011 4:53pm

Can you tell us how you got to Iten? I think you went from Dublin originally? Just wondering how you got to the actual camp from Ireland. How much did it cost and how did you organise your accommodation?

kiwirunner · 10-01-2011 5:12pm

@grandmaster:

Sure. I flew with Aerlingus to London and then to Nairobi with Virgin. From Nairobi you can take a Matatu (van) to Eldoret for about 10 dollars (takes five hours), or a flight with Fly540 for about 70 dollars. Then taxi to Iten.

I'm staying with a friend, but there are three good places to stay in the village that I've seen.

This place looks good:

http://tooguesthouse.com/

I dropped in their yesterday for a look, and it seemed good in a low key kind of way.

http://www.kerioview.com/ has mint views, and is quite fancy.

And the infamous 'Lornah's High Altitute Training Camp' is supposed to be nice:

http://www.lornah.com/

I hope this helps.

ecoli · 10-01-2011 6:32pm

kiwirunner wrote: »

Have you ever found yourself standing on the side of a football pitch and wondering how you could best turn it into a session?

Well the runners in Iten have come up with a handy solution. Probably because (other than the perfect natural features and landscape of the area) it seems like their only 'facility' is an crowded cinder track tucked away at one end of the town, and a couple of paddocks at Saint Patrick's high school. Not that anyone is complaining mind you!

The solution is symptomatic of the Kenyan approach – simple and effective. It's called 'Diagonals'. It looks like this:

[IMG]http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oEcvTzEYVmA/TSsvUzNiECI/AAAAAAAAAT0/ns_P4OfBOSc/s400/diagonals image.jpg" height="400" width="300"[/IMG]

I'm not sure that this session needs much explaining. Just start at one corner, run hard on the diagonals, and then VERY easy along the goal lines at either end. It's essentially an interval session: approximately 130 metres of hard running broken by 60 metres of VERY easy jogging. Pace the diagonals so that you can run them steadily for 40 minutes (at least, that's what I've seen runners do here).

I tried it and thought it was a great way to get the legs turning over and the lungs working. The red dusty diagonal lines worn into the football paddocks speaks to the popularity this workout.

Very interesting

Have seen a similar session being preached (I think it was by Lydiard cant remember though). It took place on the track where the straights were hard and the bends easy. Funnily enough when i mentioned this session to alot of people it was dis regarded.

I have been a victim of science over the last few years and have been looking to sports science to explain and optimize training but there can be alot to be said about keeping things simple.

How did you get on in the session? was this the first quality work done since the coming to altitude? HOw did you find running at the quicker paces?

woodchopper · 10-01-2011 6:49pm

ecoli wrote: »

Very interesting

Have seen a similar session being preached (I think it was by Lydiard cant remember though). It took place on the track where the straights were hard and the bends easy. Funnily enough when i mentioned this session to alot of people it was dis regarded.

I have been a victim of science over the last few years and have been looking to sports science to explain and optimize training but there can be alot to be said about keeping things simple.

How did you get on in the session? was this the first quality work done since the coming to altitude? HOw did you find running at the quicker paces?

I wouldnt worry about those who disregarded these training methods. Its all about leg turnover and been comfortable and efficent running at fast speeds. Over in this neck of the wood we call these strides, yet many have been fooled by Western training methods who advocate only six strides after a run. Greg McMillan advocated building up to 20 strides with jog recovery which adds up to about 40 minutes of work.

Garmins are great for monitoring pace on a marathon simulation run or a half or even mile reps on grass, road where access to a track is not available. Too many athletes get caught up on the pace on thier easy runs, Oh no Im running 7.05 pace when I could be running 6.50 Id better get a move on!

donothoponpop · 13-01-2011 11:21am

kiwirunner wrote: »

The first, and perhaps most import observation I made is that the approach applied by athletes here is not rocket science. To the contrary, it is quite simple. You won't see fancy compression socks and expensive GPS watches. The successful runners here simply train smart and hard.

What have you seen regarding running shoes? One of the big arguments of the "barefoot running" craze is that we (heavy Westerners) are running in over-engineered shoes. Have you tried any barefoot running in Iten, (or do you see many of the runners going barefoot?).

G-Money · 13-01-2011 12:58pm

donothoponpop wrote: »

What have you seen regarding running shoes? One of the big arguments of the "barefoot running" craze is that we (heavy Westerners) are running in over-engineered shoes. Have you tried any barefoot running in Iten, (or do you see many of the runners going barefoot?).

This was something that pique'd my interest too, however when I watched that clip on the BBC News about Iten, all the people I could see were wearing runners. Obviously it was just a snapshot, but the group it showed were all wearing normal running shoes.

donothoponpop · 14-01-2011 4:20pm

(Sent by email from KiwiRunner, who has a broken computer. Anyone know a good repair shop in Kenya's Rift Valley?;))

**Edit- I managed to post this under KiwiRunners name- ocnocs replies should be read after his post- sorry for the confusion!**

ocnoc · 14-01-2011 4:24pm

Sounds pretty epic!
40mins of going up and down the Maulin ride!

I have no idea how this idea never occurred to me before

. . . . oh yeah - because its more sick and twisted than even my mind can comprehend!

ocnoc · 14-01-2011 4:32pm

For those people not in the know... the Maulin Ride is a 600m run with 150m of climb.

kiwirunner · 14-01-2011 5:24pm

Hill repeats

After getting through the diagonals successfully on Saturday, and a 2 hour run on Sunday, I decided that it was time to test myself with a tough session. On Sunday night, my housemates mentioned that they would run hill repeats the following morning at 9:30am. That meant up at 6am for a 13k 'easy' jog, then we'd get two hours for a short rest and breakfast. Then we'd run 5k to the forest for a 40 minute hill repeats session.

I wasn't sure how big or steep the hill was, but either way I knew that it was going to be difficult keeping up with the girls. After all, the each weigh about 40kg (6 stone), and run up hills for a living. Power to weight ratio was not on my side. Given that mountain running is supposedly my forte, I was a little bit nervous about experiencing destruction of the ego.

When we arrived at the forest, there were four guys already running repeats on the hill. The first thought that crossed my mind was bad memories of climbing 'the ride' in Crone Wood, Co. Wicklow, three times during the 2009 World Mountain running team trial. The gradient was similar, if not slightly steeper. The lads running repeats were flying up the hill, as though it wasn't a hill at all. I immediately felt deflated, and wished that we were running down-hill repeats. That way I might have had a chance.

We got started, and I surprised myself by managing to hang on to the group. We were joined by their coach (a 63 minute half marathoner), and a couple of other lads who came out of nowhere (this tends to happen a lot here).

The climb was 150 metres long (thanks Garmin) on a steep narrow dirt trail worn into the grass. The repeat was directly up and back. Pushing hard on the climb and then floating down very slowly. The climb told about 1 minute, as did the descent. The firs half of each ascent felt fine, then each time I passed the tree stump at half way my lungs would start burning and my legs would follow suit. Every time I reached the top I felt wrecked, and thought I would have to stop. But then I recovered well by the time we got back to the bottom, and was ready for another.

We ran repeats for 40 minutes, and happily I was able to stick with my training buddies. This may sound a bit sad (because the pace was set by 18 year old girls), but I was pretty satisfied with myself and considered it quite an achievement!:-)

Once the session was over, we started jogging the trails back tithe village. It was mostly uphill, but that was ok because I had my confidence intact. After about 5 minutes of jogging the coach gave a soft whistle out of the blue, and the group took off at an explosive pace. I was mortified, because I had invested all of my energy in the session, which I thought had finished! All of a sudden it was game on.

I accelerated after the group with as much gusto as I could muster up. Fortunately we went over a verge and began descending. Now i was in my element! After 2 minutes the coach gave another whistle and the pace subsided. The group all turned around to see if I was still with them - I was. The coach had a wry smile on his face, which I interpreted as 'that's round one, let's see how many rounds it takes to drop the Mzungu'.

This continued for another 3k. By the end of the final push, I was fading big time. I knew I was a goner, and I started falling back. But before anyone noticed, the coach called the session over. Everyone started walking the remaining 2k back to base.

What a relief.

Krusty_Clown · 14-01-2011 5:34pm

Awesome post kiwirunner! A great achievement sticking with them too. Hope it doesn't burn you out for the next day!

A quick question for you (if you manage to get your pc repaired and are reading this): Your next big goal is London Marathon in a couple of months time. Is the timing right for this altitude training, or will the benefits of your harder training and well oxygenated blood by somewhat diminished by the time London comes around?

G-Money · 14-01-2011 6:26pm

Well done KiwiRunner. I can imagine your heart sinking alright when he blew the whistle and they all took off like a bullet. Class that you kept up with them.

kiwirunner · 14-01-2011 7:26pm

@grandmaster: my false sense of confidence was short-lived, because Tuesday was track session day. More to come on that.

@donothoponpop: most athletes wear shoes in training.

The trails are fairly rocky and rutted, shared with cars and motorbikes. *So it would be hard to run hard without shoes here. Trainers are the most important piece of kit. In fact, yesterday a guy I've been running with a few times asked me to give him my shoes. He said that his shoes are almost finished, and he has no money for new shoes.

Trainers cost about 35 euro here. Many aspiring runners struggle to get by, because they only come upon cash when they win a race. As you can imagine, it's hard to win a race here.

Some people can't afford spikes, so may race x country races in bare feet. this is because x country is often on grass.

Funnily enough, a 9 year old boy ran beside me in bare feet this morning for 10 minutes. He was on his way to school.

@ Krusty clown: my understanding is that at high altitude, the body adapts to the lack of oxygen by increasing red blood cell and haemoglobin count. *Therefor the body becomes better at delivering the scarce oxygen to wherever it is needed.

I've heard that after returning to sea level, the blood cell count remains at an inflated level for up to two weeks. So by the time I run London marathon in April, my red blood cell count will have long been back to normal.

The benefit that I hope to gain is to build a strong base here. I ran 160km in my first week here, and the next couple of weeks should be similar. It is much easier tackling that sort of mileage when i can rest in between runs. I doubt I'll be able to maintain that mileage when I return to Dublin.

The training is hard work because it's hilly and I'm operating off less oxygen. There is less 'cruise control' running. This means that I'm getting fitter.

The risk is that I may get injured. But I'm finding the dirt trails very easy on the legs. The other risk is that sessions are slower up here. For example, my tempo run yesterday was much slower than my target marathon pace. I think that's why they're big on running fartlek up here (because they can get the legs turning over faster).

kiwirunner · 14-01-2011 9:23pm

Ugali and lettuce for dinner every night. It tastes like nothing, but it keeps us charged up for the 6am session!

[IMG]http://lh6.ggpht.com/_oEcvTzEYVmA/TTCwG1FGNOI/AAAAAAAAAT8/ZAQsa8-TcUI/s640/Ugali Feast.jpg" height="640" width="480"[/IMG]

Magnet · 15-01-2011 10:14pm

Where`s your VEG....??

Abhainn · 16-01-2011 6:39pm

kiwirunner very impressive stuff. I am in total envy
But I know your marathon pb is 2:38, and hopefully not intrusive in asking but what is your target for London ?

kiwirunner · 17-01-2011 8:13am

After holding my own on the hills (with the junior girls), I was eager to try out a session on the track. Ahh... the track - well known destroyer of self-confidence for long distance runners. No better place to bring yourself back down to earth after experiencing the satisfaction of a good session.

There is one red dusty track in Iten, which is shared by hundreds of aspiring Kenyan runners. We arrived at 9:30am, on the second run of the day. The track was rammed with athletes. Most of them were running in packs at a pace probably equivalent to my sprint speed. I immediately felt out of place, which was a perfectly reasonable assessment of the situation. But that wasn't going to stop me from giving it a crack.

At initial count from the side-line, there were forty nine ripped athletes already circling the inside lane of the track. Finding a gap in the fast-moving foot traffic was going to be a challenge.

There seemed to be an anarchic system in place for sharing the track. Rather than allocating a lane to each group, everyone was using the inside lane, which was the width of two normal lanes. The idea is that when you're not actually running, you stand on the outer track. When you are starting an interval, you get a running start from the outside lanes and then hit the inside lane at pace in a gap between runners. It is like the runners version of the 'Arc de Triumph' roundabout. It works very well.

The plan was to run a pyramid session - starting with a 1200m interval, descending to 200m, then back up the ladder again (interim distances were not specified).

I managed to hold on to tail end of the group for the descending intervals. But by the time we'd run 1200m, 800m, 600m, 400m, and 200m, I was gasping for air.

I would be the first to admit that I'm seriously lacking speed, and this is something that I'm hoping to address in 2011. But it quickly became clear to me that, seven days into my altitude acclimatisation, I had not yet produced the extra red blood cells that I need to run a decent speed session at this altitude.

The problem is that it takes so long to catch your breath back between intervals. I have since read that runners embarking on altitude training often extend the rest period significantly for the first few weeks, so that they can hit the desired pace for the session.

I was well off my usual modest pace for this type of session, and I was hurting more than usual. I finished the session (because i'm very stubborn) but I was losing about 15 metres per lap on the group by the final 1200m interval.

It was inspirational to watch the athletes display their raw strength and speed on the track. Yet at the same time I felt incredibly discouraged. All of the hard work and time invested over the last couple of years, and I get hammered for my trouble. It's something of a motivation/demotivation paradox.

The comforting thing though, is when you see first hand how hard these athletes work to reach this level of performance. It makes you realise how much potential we all have, if we push ourselves beyond what we thought was possible.

I think the important thing for motivation, is to keep your own goals in perspective. It's easy to compare yourself to those people around you. But in this environment, it's not particularly helpful to do so.

kiwirunner · 17-01-2011 8:52am

@abhainn: Fair question. My immediate goal is to run under 2:35 in London Marathon on 17 April. But I havent raced since Berlin Marathon in September (2:39) so I have no proper gauge of fitness yet.

I can't test myself up here because my times are not comparable due to altitude. So I'll firm up my goals once I have raced back at sea level. I hope to race over 5 miles or 10km in February. Then Ballycotton 10 in early March will be telling.

Based on what i'm learning here (reading, listening, observing), I'm thinking fairly hard about refocusing my goals entirely after London. It's fairly obvious to me now that I'm never going to run a very fast marathon unless I first run 5000m under 15 minutes. Both track speed + endurance are the building blocks for a high performing distance runner. Coming from and ultra marathon / hill running background, I am missing the required speed. This means I might have to be patient and put marathon running to the side for a while.

Obviously there is nothing groundbreaking in this epiphany. I've been told this many times before. But sometimes it takes a specific event (like a trip to Iten) to drive the point home.

figs · 17-01-2011 9:26am

kiwirunner wrote: »

The comforting thing though, is when you see first hand how hard these athletes work to reach this level of performance. It makes you realise how much potential we all have, if we push ourselves beyond what we thought was possible.

^ A nugget of wisdom that has struck a cord with me.

Fantastic reading, kiwirunner. Thoroughly enjoying your reports.

lfp · 17-01-2011 11:00am

kiwirunner wrote: »

The comforting thing though, is when you see first hand how hard these athletes work to reach this level of performance. It makes you realise how much potential we all have, if we push ourselves beyond what we thought was possible.

Reminds me of a quote I read from some top coach or athlete that any "normal" reasonable well co-ordinated man could be trained to run a sub 4 minute mile. They did concede that many people would have to train more intensley than some olympic champions, but it was possible. I think the quote above kinda backs up that point!

By the way - fascinating log - just brilliant.

forestgump123 · 17-01-2011 11:51pm

Great read.. I was just wondering Kiwi runner, is there any chance of getting your name so I can follow your 10k, 10mile and marathon performances following your stint in Kenya? Aswell as hills of course. I am a keen hill runner myself.. How do you think your marathon training will help you for the hill running? Would marathon training be better for hills than say 10k training? i.e. more speed work?

Slogger Jogger · 18-01-2011 11:22pm

forestgump123 wrote: »

Great read.. I was just wondering Kiwi runner, is there any chance of getting your name so I can follow your 10k, 10mile and marathon performances following your stint in Kenya? Aswell as hills of course. I am a keen hill runner myself.. How do you think your marathon training will help you for the hill running? Would marathon training be better for hills than say 10k training? i.e. more speed work?

Jason is pretty good at hill running as it is. A couple of imra wins under his belt to date. Looking forward to seeing him back on the hills.

Peterx · 18-01-2011 11:38pm

Whilst we're waiting on Jase to get back -

Brian McMahon runs very well on the hills and as far as I know he uses marathon training plans all the time.

kiwirunner · 20-01-2011 10:39am

forestgump123: If you look far enough down the results lists you might see my name - Jason Reid. All of a sudden I feel pressure to perform!

I also feel compelled to point out that 24 days training here is not some sort of magic pill. Though hopefully it will bring me on a bit.*

I intended this trip to be an educational and motivational experience. As we all know, building speed and endurance is a *slow process. I would like to apply elements of the training methods and philosophy that i have observed here to my own training once I return to Dublin. I anticipate that the benefits will be realised over time, rather than immediately.*

How do I think marathon training would help for hill running?

Another interesting question. Though difficult to answer in a post, and I have
no doubt that others are better qualified to answer it.

Nobody in Iten is training to be a hill runner, because I gather that it is not very lucrative by comparison with international road and track running. So I would imagine that the legends of hill running back home (guys like John Lenihan and Paul Nolan) are probably better placed overall than the runners here to comment on what would be ideal training for hill races. Keep in mind that the Kenyans don't race up or down steep craggy/scrubby mountains like carrauntoohil! They mostly race on track or undulating paddocks/trail or road.

Having said that, optimal hill running training may not be all that different. For example, one thing I have noticed here is how similar the training is for middle distance runners, cross country runners, and long distance runners.*

All of these athletes run hill repeats and long hill runs. This is to build strength. They also all run intervals and fartlek for speed and acceleration. And tempo to increase their anaerobic threshold. They all run long runs, though a long run for a middle distance runner is not as long (more like 90 minutes).

The frequency at which they run each type of session, and the detail (i.e. length of interval etc) is different for each runner.*

If I was focused on hill running, I would run hill repeats more often (because I normally lose ground on the climb). If I was a strong climber but a bad descender, I would work on technical descents and run more regular speed sessions (depending on what was the precise weakness).

Similarly, if I was losing places towards the end of any type of race, then i would focus on endurance work and perhaps increased mileage.

Either way I would incorporate all of these types of sessions into my training. Though I would adjust the mix depending on what works for me, and my specific goal (the athletes here have individually tailored flexible programs)

In terms of the level of intensity, a standard winter or Leinster league race is more akin to a 10km road race than it is with a marathon. 10k road races are hard and fast, and so are these hill races i.e. lungs and legs burning throughout. Marathons are long and steady, so endurance is a bigger factor and speed/kick are less important.

Given the amount of training these guys do in the hills (from the track runners to the marathoners), I'd say most of them would make mean hill runners. Though I don't think they'd like the descent off Croagh Patrick much!

kiwirunner · 21-01-2011 1:02pm

After 20 minutes of jogging from the house, the girls and I arrived at a junction between two main trails. As per the usual, I had little idea of what was on the cards for the morning.

The conversation over dinner the night before had gone something like this:

"What are you running tomorrow morning?"

"We run 1 minute fast, 1 minute easy, for 20 times."

"Is it ok if I come with you?"

"We run with a group. Yes. Maybe you can run behind with the ladies if you have energy." (not helping my already diminished confidence level)

But the girls hadn't explained that 'the group' consisted of half of the population of Iten! At best guess, there were two hundred local runners gathered at the corner, rearing to go. And then there was me - questioning whether I should have instead done my own thing on this particular morning.

One guy stood on a fence and unhelpfully (from my perspective) gave instructions to the 'group' in Kiswahili. The smiley curious guy standing beside me quietly greeted me and asked me whether I was feeling strong today. I told him that I was feeling unnerved.

After a countdown from the apparent leader, the group took off. Happily, it was 'easy' first. After 60 seconds, the sound of footsteps got louder, and a gap started building between me and the runners in front of me. I quickly found my place in the pack - near the back, where there was much more space, fewer fellas, and most people around me looked like they had eaten something dodgy for breakfast. It wasn't so bad.

I took it steady, pacing myself carefully because the mid-morning sun was beating down and I had a long way to go. The good thing was, that there were a few people behind me.

After twenty minutes, I had that comforting thought of knowing that I was closer to the end than I was to the beginning. I had run 5.2km on undulating trail. Half of it hard, half easy.

At this point I started picking people off! It was just like the second half of Berlin Marathon, except this time I was only passing women, and it wasn't lashing with rain. I kept pushing until eventually I could see my housemates about a hundred metres ahead. Then all of a sudden after 37 minutes, everyone within sight of me stopped and started walking home.

In fact, we walked four kilometres back to camp. They seem to like walking home here.

Product diversification in Eldoret
[IMG]http://lh4.ggpht.com/_oEcvTzEYVmA/TTmA2TChorI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/PcD7isXSOUA/s800/diverse.jpg" height="800" width="600"[/IMG]

donothoponpop · 21-01-2011 2:38pm

Have you done any time trials, or intervals, where you could compare your sea-level times with altitude? Are you dealing with the lack of oxygen relatively well, after two weeks?

(By the way, you've a great writing style, one can almost see the packs of runners going about their training).

kiwirunner · 21-01-2011 9:39pm

Iten is for Kenyan runners what Los Angeles is for aspiring actors and actresses - a chance to make the big time.

If you are good enough to make it as a professional runner, then you stand to be rewarded with the glory, fame and cash that comes with success. But very few will succeed.

There are a select few runners here who have lucrative sponsorship deals and/or make big money from winning races in Europe and the US. These athletes are heroes in Kenya. Their photos and stories dominate the main sports page of the Sunday newspaper.

Many of these successful athletes have bought property and built nice houses in the area. Their lives differ significantly from the average Kenyan. You can tell who they are, because they wear the latest Adidas kit and drive a motor
vehicle (while the regular punters ride the matatu). The successful professional runners occupy a high social standing in the community.

Lornah Kipligat is one example of an athlete who has invested her winnings in a business venture (Lornah's high altitude training camp). Another example is the former Dublin Marathon winner, Lezan Kumutai, who has invested in residential property and has also built a school in a small village close to Iten.

But most runners that you meet on the street in Iten have very little money or income, and are just getting by day by day (not that they need much money to support their regimented lifestyles). They live in basic rented shared houses with groups of other runners, all sharing the same goal. These runners are vying to be noticed by someone who might launch their career.

In order to make a living out of running, an athlete needs to either gain a spot on the Kenyan international squad (and hopefully pick up a big sponsor); or find a way to get to races in Europe. Specifically, those races that offer an attractive prize package and ideally an appearance fee.

However, runners face a catch-22 because they need to train full time in order to get good enough. Yet if they train full time, then they have no income to cover their cost of living in the meantime.

This is where talent scouts, agents, and training camps come into the picture. Some athletes are good enough and lucky enough to be scouted as juniors. Those who show the most promise (i.e. by winning national medals), may be noticed by scouts and coaches and offered places in training camps, where they are given food and accommodation. This means that they can focus entirely on training, from the time they finish school.

But very few are so lucky. And those who do find themselves in that privileged position are expected to continue performing in order to justify their place. For every one of these supported runners, there are many who are largely unsupported. Perhaps relying on their families for assistance. Let's call these the 'tier two' runners.

These tier two runners are battling to perform well enough to capture the attention of agents. For example, I have spoken to a 2:15 marathoner living in Iten who is struggling to get by because he can't find an agent who will fund his travel to races (because he's not quick enough to guarantee a good commission for a prospective agent). Like many others, he doesn't have the cash to get there himself. And he needs someone to organise transport and negotiate appearance fee with the race organiser.

By way of another example, I am told that a male 5000m runner won't be noticed unless he runs under 13:15. That gives you an idea of the standard required to make it as a professional.

The cost of failure is massive for these runners. Not only does it mean giving up the dream of fame and fortune, but also swallowing one's pride and returning to your hometown with your tail between your legs and perhaps being branded as a 'failure'. It is quite likely that you'll end up working on the family farm, operating a kiosk, or driving a matatu for a modest living. For an aspiring runner here, these prospects are fairly grim.

Most people here live very simple lives, particularly compared with the lifestyle of a successful professional runner. For example, the appearance fee earned by successful Kenyan runners in some European races would easily exceed the average annual wage in Kenya.

There is clearly an affinity between the people of Kenya and the sport of running. After all, it's not often in Dublin that groups of laughing children will sprint across a field to greet you and then run along beside you for several minutes (let alone the man dressed in a business suit who ran with me for ten minutes after I jogged past him the other night).

However, the reality is that, unlike the millions of amateur adult runners in western countries who run purely for the love of it, many of the runners here are simply trying to achieve a higher standard of living than what is available through other avenues.

Perhaps people read too much into the 'genetic advantage of African runners' theory. It seems to me that the financial motive for Kenyan athletes, combined with the undesirable alternative (a subsistence lifestyle), is part of the driving force behind the success of Kenyan running. With the sheer number of athletes dedicating their lives to running, it's little surprise that countries like Kenya and Ethiopia keep churning out champions.

Just a thought: imagine if your next pay-check (and indeed your livelihood) depended on your race performance. Now that is an incentive to train hard!

misty floyd · 21-01-2011 9:55pm

donothoponpop wrote: »

(By the way, you've a great writing style, one can almost see the packs of runners going about their training).

+1. Excellent writing, I'm really enjoying these updates. Thanks KiwiRunner.

woodchopper · 21-01-2011 10:20pm

Its a wonder that soccer clubs dont set up camps in Kenya given the vast array of athletes who would play the game in order to make real big money. Then perhaps the Europeans could nick a few medals in the Olympics.

Kenya Rift Valley Training and Q&A

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