Hi Runners! I was rereading an article in the Nov 09 Running Times. I thought it was an appropriate story to get us all thinking about the upcoming training session. Lorraine Moller writes,
“There’s s story told about Arthur Lydiard and his golden boys at the ’64 Olympics in Toyko. Down at the training track, with their rivals looking on, they ran an impressive interval session of 20 quarters. The next day one of these opponents, a talented interval-trained Canadian in his first Olympics, showed up at the track with his coach and proceeded to run the same session. Lydiard’s boys cheered him on as he ran each interval faster than the last. When it was all done a reporter asked Lydiard what he thought of the kid’s workout. ‘I think it was the last nail in his coffin.’ Lydiard replied.
‘But your boys ran the same session yesterday.’
‘Yes, but my boys needed it.’
Perfectly peaked, Lydiard’s protégé, Peter Snell, won two gold medals. His Teammate, John Davies, won a bronze. The Canadian who has eclipsed the Kiwis’ training run with his own failed to advance to the finals in his event – as Lydiard has predicted.”
Training season is upon us. Hopefully you have had a great off season running for fun, but giving your bodies the rest when it needed it. If you haven’t been doing that, be smart with the next month or so!
Now is time to start thinking about what races you would like to do in 2013. When will training start for you? What did you learn from racing last year? What will you do differently this year? What mileage do you want to hit? Do you want to take the distance up—5k to 10k—10k to a ½ marathon…who knows maybe this is your marathon year?….Whatever you decide to do this year, runners is up to you. Remember throughout your journey to be mindful of your bodies. Why is a workout being prescribed? Given your body condition, will you benefit from it? Remember a good running performance starts with a strong connection between your mind and body. You cannot run well if you don’t listen to how your body is responding to your workouts. Run hard, run smart, regen well, and fuel your body for the work you make it do! Here’s to a good running season in 2013!
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