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Friday 7 August, 2009
Article published on Letsrun.com website 5 August 2009
'Kill negative thoughts with fun workout'
Today, however, I ran a workout that made me forget about the negative aspects of drugs in running. Part of the reason I had such a good workout was a conversation I had yesterday with my friend Neb. Neb, half Ethiopian and half Kenyan, just got back from a three week trip to Ethiopia. He trained there with Ethiopia's only true training group. He met Haile G, Bekele, Gelete Burka, their coaches, and many other well-known runners. Most of them he just met at the track or in parking lots or on runs.
Neb - 17 years old and a runner I coached about 2 years ago - told me so many stories that made me smile. Stories that inspired me on a day when I was feeling really down. He told me how the Ethiopian group
trained. How they warmed up with a 200m walk, then a shuffle, then a jog, then within a mile or two they were flying. He told me of their Thursday workout that they do in the offseason. 6am game of handball/soccer/rugby/lacrosse that is absolutely intense, played on a field with holes in it and logs jutting out 20 yards into the field. He said these half marathoners are amazing athletes, like football players with speed and agility and moves. He told me of his pace-maker designated to him all week. 5:30 wake-up. 2 hour morning naps. 9pm bedtime without even trying. Calls from assistant coach to tell him it's important to rest. Lungs burning at 9,000 ft altitude.
He told me of showers from water in a bucket. Electricity that was on once in a while. Watching a regional championship race where 80 percent of the guys running on a dirt track (Ethiopia only has 2 synthetic tracks in the whole nation) weren't wearing shoes for a 5k. Stretching after a run with Gelete Burka, one of the world's best milers, after running into her in the woods. He told me of "Asphalt day" (that's Saturday, the one day in the week when everyone runs on pavement). You can watch a short video he made by clicking here.
For full article see: www.letsrun.com/2009/emp1workout0805.php
