Eliud Kipchoge: how he trains, how he lives and his typical week

taketonews

Coach Rondelli reveals what is behind the successes of the marathon world record holder

George Rondelli

Few will believe it but 85% of Eliud Kipchoge’s workouts are slow running. Also very slow. Which in terms of speed means running between 4 and 5 minutes per kilometre. What good is it for him if the Kenyan champion is able to maintain an average of 2.55 per kilometer in the race? Simply to recover the maximal effort produced in quality training. True to the equation that if you are muscularly fresh then you can push to the max. Otherwise you will have to reduce the pace of work and run the risk of injury.

Zone 1

—

This type of session can be identified as the “zone one” of the workout. Low running intensity, low heart rate, low muscle effort. All at a pace that you can confidently talk to your training partner. As important appendages, Kipchoge, always in recovery, twice a week sdips for ten minutes in ice water. As well as twice a week ago a 60-minute outing on the mountain bike at a leisurely pace after the most demanding workouts. A logical choice too. Running causes a concentric lengthening contraction on the muscles, cycling an eccentric shortening contraction. The mistake to avoid is to force the pace of the race thus entering the next zone 2 ending up not completing the recovery process in the best possible way.

Zone 2

—

Of course, the intensity of Kipchoge’s run increases in the so-called “zone two”. In this type of effort, which is called in jargon “time run”, the speed per kilometer drops to levels between 3.15/3.20 per kilometre. The duration of these sessions varies between 30 km but can even reach 45 km. That is, be longer than the same marathon distance. It is the long classic of the marathon runner. With speeds that are not exaggerated on a physiological and muscular level but certainly very useful also for getting the mind used to it and stimulating concentration in view of a long race like the marathon which always lasts more than two hours. The mistake to avoid is not to approach the pace of the race by not training for the intended purposes.

Zone three

—

In “zone three” here it all comes out the former world-class pistard talent of Eliud Kipchoge able to beat two giants of the track such as Hicham El Guerrouj and Kenenisa Bekele in the 5000m at the Paris 2003 World Championships before even turning 19 years of age. The main training sessions in zone three are those on the track on Tuesdays with a long series of average repeated tests over the distances of 2000/1200/800 meters or the classic short trials on 400 meters. With a recovery time divided 50% between a brisk walk and the rest with a stretch of jogging. In these workouts, Kipchoge practically runs at least 2.55 per kilometre, i.e. at race pace, with a small detail: these workouts are made in Kaptagat, his training center at 2400 meters quotto. So much more tiring than at sea level. His second quality workout of the week is the fartlek. That is, an alternation of fast rhythms and slow recoveries. See also 30 times one minute slow and one minute fast. Really challenging workout above all because performed on very demanding routes on the muscular level.

Kipchoge the robot marathon runner

—

Regardless of how he trains, Kipchoge is a kind of robot applied to the marathon. He sleeps nine hours a night and an hour in the early afternoon. He takes between 100 and 130 grams of protein per day as indicated by nutritionists. Above all, he never lets himself be misled by moods when he has to train. He knows very well that to make it 100% he must remain faithful to his “three zones” of work, without ever encroaching on one from the other. Otherwise her iron psychological balance would suffer. Spartan lifestyle from the point of view of “mindalfulness”, i.e. the ability of the mind to estrange itself from everything and everyone during the most demanding training sessions and in big races, focusing only on one’s breathing and heart rate. A method that seems simple yet it is not. After all, the characteristic of the great marathon performers is that they always manage to keep all the details of their bodies under control. A bit like Formula 1 drivers manage their racing cars. Kipchoge’s typical week of training it consists of 13 workouts, while he doesn’t train on Sunday afternoon. The weekly kilometers fluctuate between 300 and 320, with a daily average just above or below 30 km.

Eliud Kipchoge’s training week

  1. 16 km/ 12 km of slow-country skiing (zone1)
  2. repeated fast tests on medium and short tracks on 2000/1200/1000/800/400 meters. (zone 2) 10 km slow surface (zone 1)
  3. 21km/12km slow-country (zone 1)
  4. tempo run of 30/45 km of medium cross-country skiing (zone 2)/ 10 km of slow cross-country skiing (zone 1)
  5. 21km/12km slow-country (zone 1)
  6. fartlek 1/1 minutes x 60 minutes (zone 3) 10 km slow-country (zone 1)
  7. 20 km of slow-country skiing (zone 1)

© REPRODUCTION RESERVED



ttn-14