Kenya Rift Valley Training and Q&A

heffsarmy · 27-01-2011 12:10PM

Great log kiwirunner, do they do much racing? Are there many local races?

TFBubendorfer · 01-02-2011 02:14PM

If you're interested in all this (and I'm sure you are), you might also want to check out Reid Coolsaet's blog. He is an elite runner from Canada and just happens to spend a few weeks in Iten right now (you never know, he might have bumped into Jase at times).

Interesting quote:
"I can stumble upon guys with faster marathon PB’s than myself whereas in Canada I have the fastest time in 24 years."

Racman · 01-02-2011 10:33PM

Well Kiwirunner is back in town. I saw him with my very own eyes this evening at training. He is looking well. Congratulated him on this thread. Some great information provided. No doubt he will see the fruits of his efforts in PBs in the near future.

kiwirunner · 02-02-2011 06:22PM

Yes I'm back in Dublin, and I'm very much enjoying the oxygen that is on offer at sea level! :-)

I have a couple more pieces to post on the thread, based on notes that I took over my last few days in Iten. Over the next day or two I will endeavor to wrap up the thread with a summary of lessons learned from the runners in Iten (to whom I am very grateful).

Have you ever wondered why 12,000 participants turn up to run/jog/walk the Dublin marathon each year, yet only about 200 runners show up to run the National Cross Country Championships?

Many of us run marathons because we have a point to prove to ourselves, and to others. We are fixated on running marathons, and convinced that the marathon (or the half marathon) is the ultimate way to test our hardness and dedication. I am the first to admit that I fell for the allure of the marathon / half marathon event. I subscribed to the notion that there was a certain glory reserved for those who compete over extreme distances, and I made it my business for a couple of years to race ultra marathons and adventure races. But witnessing the Kenyan training methodology in practice has lead me to believe that the western obsession with ‘the marathon’ is somewhat misguided.

I don’t want to come across as belittling the achievement of running a marathon. It is well known that for many people, finishing a marathon is a massive achievement and requires a high degree of effort and dedication. Nor would I dispute that jogging a marathon, even just to finish it, is a good thing. Any person that can jog a marathon has shown themselves to have a good level of aerobic fitness, and that is something to be proud of. So just to be clear that the following observations are written from the perspective of an aspiring competitive runner. Meaning that I want to improve my running performance.

I believe that the Kenyans have the right idea. Kenyans realise that the challenge is not in jogging for 26.2 miles. Completing a marathon, in itself, is obviously not something that would impress their friends and family. And simply finishing a marathon wouldn’t leave them with an immense sense of achievement. Jogging is not particularly difficult for many Kenyans, not even for long distances. What IS difficult, is running fast.

As I sat crammed up in the back of a matatu from Eldoret last week, I began chatting with a charismatic and bubbly character who was sitting next to me. His name was Emanuel. He was on his way home from pacing the Dubai Marathon. He wore a tracksuit, and travelled very light, with only a small backpack which had his running gear and race pack inside it (he showed me everything in his bag). He had received a handsome fee for his pacing efforts in Dubai, and had gone on to finish the marathon in a time of 2 hours and 10 minutes (7th place). As we discussed his experience abroad, and our respective running CVs. I explained to him that I am also a marathon runner. He replied, in broken English with a big smile that was permanently etched onto his face – ‘Mzungu is not running, Mzungu is jogging’.

His comment was more profound than it seemed. That morning I had been lucky enough to watch the ‘Discover Kenya Cross Country Championships’ in Eldoret. Watching four hundred Kenyan men run laps around a rough grass park at 3 minute km pace (under 5 minute miles) is quite something to behold. The sheer pace of the massive pack of runners was difficult to fathom. The event had summed up in my mind the most important piece of wisdom that I have taken from the experience of training in Kenya.

Kenyan runners teach themselves to run extremely fast. They start by running this fast for 400m, 800m and/or 1500m on the track as teenagers. Then they step up to 3000m and 5000m events, and cross country. They still run the speed that they initially ran for the 800 metres i.e. very fast. But with a few seasons of training under the belt, they can now maintain that speed for longer. This process continues for years, as they step up the ‘distance ladder’. As I watched these men and women SPRINTING around the x country course, it occurred to me that many of them are either a) already running marathons or b) destined to be marathon runners. And they’ll be running marathons at speeds that most of us can’t sustain for more than a few desperate minutes.

The concept of focusing on developing speed before stepping up to long-distance running seems obvious, once you think about it. Yet it is at odds with the approach that many of us take to running, including the majority of the 40,000 participants that turn up to the London marathon every April (the same can be said of most of the great marathons). The reality is that most people who complete marathons have never even set a goal for 5km or 10km events. Most likely because in the eyes of many, these events are less prestigious (absurdly, a 4 hour marathon holds more kudos than a sub 16 minute 5km in the eyes of most of our friends and family).

Obviously most of us have different goals and circumstances from the Kenyan runners. We started running later in our lives, applied less effort (after all, we have day jobs and other things to do), and never laid down the foundations of track-running to begin with. But in any case, it seems to me that the approach whereby one starts by building speed and reaching our potential in shorter races, before stepping up to longer distance races, is equally valid for all runners. I think that any ‘marathon-centric’ runner who seriously wants to improve, would likely benefit from setting some solid goals for shorter distance races, and working towards achieving them.

Here is my new philosophy: Be patient. Teach your legs how to run faster. That way, when you step back up to the marathon, your natural pace will be faster and you can then build your endurance to match the new-found pace!

donothoponpop · 02-02-2011 06:30PM

One of the best posts yet on this forum. On one of the best ever threads. Great reading, Jase.

TFBubendorfer · 02-02-2011 08:03PM

Yes, I think we have an early candidate for post of the year/thread of the year!

TheRoadRunner · 02-02-2011 09:08PM

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Yes, I think we have an early candidate for post of the year/thread of the year!

I second that and hopefully people will heed some of the great advice given. If you want to run fast for long distances running fast for short distances is a must.

gerard65 · 02-02-2011 09:46PM

I agree that this had been one of the best threads on this forum.
One question kiwirunner - why don't we ever see any Kenyan master's runners?

groovyg · 02-02-2011 09:49PM

Agreed great post, In terms of goals for this year are you going to put London on hold for the moment and just work at improving your speed over shorter distances?

seanynova · 02-02-2011 10:09PM

excellent last post jase, excellent reading and excellent advice!

if dublin didnt fall on my 30th birthday this year, id drop it as a goal....but ill remember what you have said and will try it next year!

thanks

G-Money · 03-02-2011 07:31AM

Don't take this the wrong way KiwiRunner but I kind of wish you'd stayed in Iten. Just because I enjoy reading your posts about your time there

Krusty_Clown · 03-02-2011 10:05AM

G-Money wrote: »

Don't take this the wrong way KiwiRunner but I kind of wish you'd stayed in Iten. Just because I enjoy reading your posts about your time there

+1. Go back to Iten. I'm starting an online petition.

FitFeet · 03-02-2011 11:38AM

woodchopper wrote: »

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

I'm going to have to try this Ugali stuff! Anyone have any feedback on it? Or is it the same as Potatoes :rolleyes:

MisterDrak · 03-02-2011 12:19PM

Kiwirunner,

Great log and greater (almost) final post...

Solid advice, clear and well written posts, inspiring stuff, fantastic insight...

I second Krustys sentiment, back you go... I want more...

RayCun · 03-02-2011 12:25PM

though obviously not up to the same standard, some bloke from the Grauniad is running in Kenya too

kiwirunner · 03-02-2011 01:12PM

First I just would like to thank you all for taking the time to follow this thread. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who takes an interest in the Kenyan athletes, and the experience of training in Kenya. I would especially like to thank those people who posted questions and encouraging comments along the way. These were insightful and contributed significantly to the discussion and the subject matter on the thread. And a big thank you to Donothoponpop for setting up the thread, and for his contributions along the way.

Iten was a bit of a roller coaster for me in some ways. At times I was on top of the world, racing through the forest with the lungs burning, surrounded by monkeys, with a big smile on my face. Though at other times the confidence was taking a hammering. I would sometimes find myself out of my comfort zone, or hankering for a slice of pizza and a pint of Guinness. So I found that reading and writing on the thread was a welcome ‘reality check’ for me along the way.

I would be happy to stay in Iten and continue training and writing about it, if only I could find an ‘agent’ to bank roll the project for me

Though I must say, I am happy to be back in Dublin. Where under-appreciated luxuries like a hot shower, a toilet with a seat, and a variety of nutritious and delicious food options are all readily available to me! I now plan to apply some of the tricks of the trade into my training, and get stuck into the racing.

Here is a summary of the main lessons I took from training in Iten:

Learn to run fast, before you run far. Once you have reached your potential over the shorter distances, then this is a good time to step up to the half marathon and marathon. At that point, give yourself ample time to build the endurance. Remember that there are no shortcuts when training for a marathon: it’s an unforgiving event.

The hard/easy principle. Run your hard runs VERY HARD and your easy runs VERY EASY. I cannot emphasise this enough.

Flexibility and core strength is important. It helps you to run fast, and stay injury free.

Establish clear and measurable goals for your running – both short term and long term goals. Long term goals set the ultimate direction that your running will take. Short term (interim) goals are an important motivator, prevent you from ‘procrastinating’ in your training, and steer you towards the long term goal. For example, a long term goal might be to run the Dublin marathon in under 3 hours next year. A short term goal might be to run 5km in under 18 minutes this summer, as well as 5 miles in under 30 minutes, 10km in under 38 minutes etc. Plot out race dates on a calendar and work towards them. Visualising the achievement of these short term goals at actual races will motivate you during those tough training sessions.

Identify the weaknesses (and strengths) in your running, then address them. Examples of weaknesses may be: speed, endurance, ascending hills, descending hills. Design your training program to address those weaknesses. Plug away at the weaknesses. I used to hate speed work, but now that I’m used to it (and getting a bit better) I actually enjoy it.

Vary your training. Every week’s actual training sessions need not, and should not, be exactly the same (detail below). Outside of training, keep your schedule as structured, constant, and uncluttered as possible when you’re in peak training.

A simple diet is all that you need. Not too much meat, plenty of carbohydrates and sugar is ok if you are running high mileage. Rice, potato, porridge, and bread are a good base for your diet (think the bottom ‘shelf’ of the food pyramid). Unprocessed foods are better. Fruit instead of chocolate for the sugar kick, if you’re able to resist (they don’t eat chocolate). The value of vegetables goes without saying really.

Get plenty of sleep. Sleep is the most effective way of resting your body. I am now aiming to sleep for nine hours per night, and I feel so much better for it. I feel stronger at training, leading to better quality sessions. And it’s easier to get through the working day too. Getting more sleep is one of the easiest ways to improve your running.

Rest and recovery after a hard training session is almost as important as the session itself. I am told that by failing to rest adequately after a hard training session, you are undoing the good work you have done. Rest and recovery means down-time, eating healthy food and replacing sugars (actually several Kenyans recommended energy drinks to me, otherwise chai or water is fine too), and preferably time off your feet in a relaxed environment (i.e. not Whelans or Rody Bolands)

Receive regular sports massage therapy if you can afford it (or can get it for cheap). Effective massage is recovery in fast forward mode.

Here are some sessions I plan to incorporate into my training:

Interval sessions on the track or at a park. My favourite sessions are 5x2km of 2 minutes rest, 8x1km off 2 min, 10x800 with 400 jog recover, 8x600m off 90 seconds, 10x400 off 60 seconds, 10x200 jog backs. Pyramid sessions are popular in Kenya. For example: 1000m – 800m – 600m – 400m - 200m – 400m – 600m – 800m – 1000m. You can tailor intervals to your own needs, but it is good to vary the sessions.

Hill repeats. Find a steep hill. Run hard up the hill for 30 seconds, 60 seconds or 90 seconds, jog back down. Repeat for 40 minutes.

Diagonals (see earlier illustrated post for details)

Fartleck sessions: There are so many ways you can run a fartleck session. 1 min hard/1 min easy x 15 or x 20, 2 min hard/2 min easy etc x 10. Hilly terrain can be good. One marathon coach recommended the following session to me for marathon training: (2km at half marathon target pace, 3km at marathon pace plus 15 seconds) x 3. Sounds hard.

Tempo runs. 30 minute tempo is a favourite for x country and 10km race training. 50 minute tempo (or perhaps that would be ‘steady-state’, you want to avoid going lactic) is good for marathon training.

Long pace runs. 20km run at marathon pace plus 15 seconds. This is good for building an endurance base for marathon.

I’ll probably run three sessions per week, then plenty of easy recovery runs in between, and a long run on Sundays (up to 24 miles). Note that the design and frequency of sessions in a program should be specific to the individual's level of fitness and strength.

What works for you will depend on your fitness and required recovery time. So if you have (up until now) been a jogger, but would like to introduce some speed work or hills into your program, you should probably start with just one or two sessions per week. And begin with less demanding sessions like 5x800 or 10x400, short hill repeats or even diagonals.

There are so many types of sessions to be incorporated into the training schedule, so you can’t run every type of session every week. That’s why each week looks different (my housemates in Iten would plan their sessions on a day by day basis). You CAN however, prioritise certain types of sessions depending on the suitability of that session to your goal/weakness.

@groovyg: I’m signed up for London Marathon in April, and there is no way I’m missing it! (I’m already five weeks into my training program) I’m still going to work on speed over the next 8 weeks, but within the context of a marathon program. Unlike the last couple of years, I don’t intend to run a marathon in the autumn. So starting from May, my training will be more tailored towards 5km to 10km races e.g. shorter intervals, long run will be reduced to 90 minutes.

@gerard65: Why don’t we see Kenyans running masters division? Probably because there is no (or little) financial reward on offer for masters runners. For the Kenyans, running is not a hobby. It’s a job, and it’s a very demanding one at that. When the money runs out, it is probably not worth training like crazy any longer. If you’re not training hard, then what is the point in racing? It is probably not worth the high cost of travelling to international (or even national) events. I suppose there is no demand, though I did see two older fellas in the senior x country in Eldoret last week. Not enough to justify a separate masters division mind you!

Finally I would just add that it’s fantastic running at sea level after 25 days of hard training at altitude. I had a good session of 8x600m on Tuesday night with my club mates. I felt much stronger than before I left, and my interval split times were probably about 3 seconds quicker.

I will post some more photos on my blog in the weekend.

Jason
www.adventuresofjase.blogspot.com
jason.anthony.reid@gmail.com

Krusty_Clown · 03-02-2011 01:47PM

Hi Kiwirunner, any plans to run a shorter race in the next couple of weeks to take advantage of the immediate/short-term benefits of the high altitude training?

dna_leri · 03-02-2011 01:56PM

Great stuff - all threads about improving distance running should be redirected here.

@kiwirunner - will you go back or was this trip enough to learn what you needed to know? Any chance of doing a series where you go to various 'hotbeds' of running and compare the lifestyles and training methods?

kiwirunner · 09-02-2011 05:48PM

@Krusty Clown: Yes, I ran the National Intermediate X Country on Saturday with my club (Rathfarnham W.S.A.F). I felt very good, considering the tough conditions (underfoot) and the strong field. It felt less painful than it should have done.

It is a bizarre feeling to be hanging on to guys who would have left you behind only a few weeks ago, and at the same time feeling reasonably comfortable with the pace. I suspect that this is as much to do with all of the hard training, as it is the altitude effect.

My team mates also ran well, and we were rewarded with a team silver medal!

My next important race is the Ballycotton 10 (6 March), which I consider to be one of the best races on the Irish calendar. This is where I will be tested against the clock (assuming that the weather behaves itself).

@ DNA: Yes I would like to return to Iten in the future to train. I think it would be cool to go back there with my girlfriend and my running club mates.

There are some other good spots to go for altitude training. Parts of Columbia and Mexico come to mind. Also Ethiopia. But before I start plotting another adventure, I first need to start accumulating annual leave.

Either that, or I could try to follow the lead of the guy who has just started writing about Iten in The Guardian (he has secured himself a book deal!)

liamo123 · 09-02-2011 06:23PM

kiwirunner wrote: »

There are some other good spots to go for altitude training. Parts of Columbia and Mexico come to mind. Also Ethiopia. But before I start plotting another adventure, I first need to start accumulating annual leave.

Either that, or I could try to follow the lead of the guy who has just started writing about Iten in The Guardian (he has secured himself a book deal!)

Na u should wait until u get to Columbia or Mexico and then write ur book... Thats presuming u live to tell the tale :pac:

seanynova · 10-02-2011 08:11AM

kiwirunner wrote: »

There are some other good spots to go for altitude training. Parts of Columbia and Mexico come to mind.

first off, best of luck in ballycotton, im hopeing to make it to the start line for that one also.

secondly, what have you heard regarding training in Colombia? is there a set up there for high altitude training & where?
i was in Colombia last summer for 3weeks and from what i gathered it wasnt the safest, esp if you are up in the hills(jungle), but i could be totally wrong on that as we didnt spend time out in remote hilltop villages etc....i did try to run a little in bogota, every sunday they close off a few of the main streets to traffic and loads of people just run, walk and cycle around them, but i found the running a little harder, was at 2600m

TheRoadRunner · 10-02-2011 04:15PM

seanynova wrote: »

first off, best of luck in ballycotton, im hopeing to make it to the start line for that one also.

secondly, what have you heard regarding training in Colombia? is there a set up there for high altitude training & where?
i was in Colombia last summer for 3weeks and from what i gathered it wasnt the safest, esp if you are up in the hills(jungle), but i could be totally wrong on that as we didnt spend time out in remote hilltop villages etc....i did try to run a little in bogota, every sunday they close off a few of the main streets to traffic and loads of people just run, walk and cycle around them, but i found the running a little harder, was at 2600m

Bazman has done some great training there lately but he was moving around rather than staying in the one spot (according to his blog anyway).

I was also in Columbia a while back and our hosts wouldn't let me head out for a run as they said it was unsafe. They were hyper sensitive however and reading Bazman's post I reckon if you talk to the locals first they can tell you were to avoid. Having said that I have a Columbian student whose 2 friends were killed in the jungle a little while back and only last week he was badly attacked himself.

G-Money · 10-02-2011 04:53PM

I guess the safety thing was one thing that popped into my mind about Kenya. Would Iten be considered safe and what were the crime levels like?

Just wondering if KiwiRunner felt unsafe at any stage.

airscotty · 15-02-2011 05:59PM

Iten kenya - artical

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/15/kenyan-runners-rest

donothoponpop · 14-04-2011 09:35PM

So after giving us one of the most interesting threads on the forum, Kiwirunner is going for 2:32 in London this weekend.
It's been a blast to see how you started of your training schedule- a month in Iten- and you've raced some very impressive times since. Can't wait to see what you're capable of- best of luck this weekend Jase!

ecoli · 14-04-2011 10:29PM

donothoponpop wrote: »

So after giving us one of the most interesting threads on the forum, Kiwirunner is going for 2:32 in London this weekend.
It's been a blast to see how you started of your training schedule- a month in Iten- and you've raced some very impressive times since. Can't wait to see what you're capable of- best of luck this weekend Jase!

Met him on the line of the BHAA race last weekend he was taking it as a time trial and after seeing how well and how easy he looked in pictures can see him being well in line for his target.

Best of luck

Dubgal72 · 06-11-2015 10:14PM

I am bumping this thread up following a link on another thread. Fantastic read! Where are you now kiwirunner?

happygoose · 07-11-2015 07:47AM

Great thread, some great posters of the past and some great posts, #65 & #77 in particular.

Kenya Rift Valley Training and Q&A

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