 Posted by simon on 11/26/2006 Eagles circled overhead as we cruised round the Longmont high school track. Yes, it must have been A Sign. After all, we are aiming high and will need clear vision and incredible focus to succeed.
This was assessment day. For the last week, the core group runners of the Sub-5 Mile Program coached by Bobby McGee had been recording resting heart rates, acquiring heart rate monitors and figuring out the answers to Bobby’s six-page evaluation form. On this beautiful sunny morning, with snow-capped peaks in the distance and a near-empty track awaiting our pleasure, Bobby led us through what will become a standard miler’s warm-up. It’s much more than jogging, and incorporates mobility, speed and gait drills that will be a backbone of the specialist training to come. Flexibility, Bobby declared, will be perhaps the deciding factor in how fast we go. We don’t need the supra-normal range of motion of gymnasts and martial artists, but we do need enough freedom and suppleness to be able to move our legs at 4:40 per mile pace, and we have to have arms, shoulders, backs and hips that don’t slow us up by their stiffness and lack of mobility. This special type of speed and mobility training is also designed to allow us to train at target speed without getting injured. That is a key element of Bobby’s comprehensive 45-week program. It’s his view that the reason more masters – or come to that, more athletes – never manage to beat 5 minutes for the mile is that even if they manage to work out what fast-mile-specific training to do, they break down as soon as they attempt it. Our program is designed to deliver us fit enough, strong enough and flexible enough to be able to handle the extremes of speedwork and plyos, plus Bobby’s "secret" sessions, without getting injured. Basic warm-up achieved, Marci handed us target heart rates. These are not just percentages of max heart rate, but the result of a slightly more sophisticated equation; for today’s opening session, a fixed percentage -- 80% -- of our heart rate reserve. Mine was 153. The next clever bit of the session then became clear...the object of the time trial was not to hit a certain speed, or beat a certain time, but to stay within a few beats of that heart rate. So…sprinting off to get it up to 153 and then playing some sort of slow-quick-slow dance to try to get it to stay there was not going to be an option. No, we had to keep warming up until we got the heart rate up and could maintain it there without any sprints, jumps, arm-waving or breath-holding antics – then signal to Bobby and Marci we were ready, then quickly strip off and start the time trial. It was a difficult job, it turned out. For some of us, it felt just so slow. For others, notably our self-proclaimed “poster boy”, Larry – a Clydesdale who in some seven months time will be a racing thoroughbred – it was hard to keep the heart rate down. I think I ended up doing it at around 8:30 pace. Bobby also said that the majority of our base training for the next while will be even slower, at 70% of heart rate reserve. That's going to take some discipline. As soon as the test was over, I jogged 100m then took off for 200m flat out. It felt so good. The eagles screamed and I flew! Magic! I was so into the moment that it was only when Bobby walked over and asked me what time I’d done I realised I hadn’t stopped my watch. Never mind: after a 5-6-week go-slow, take-it-easy, get-repaired phase, it finally felt like I was a runner again. Our starting line-up – me, Larry, Frank, Jennifer, Kyle – currently all masters, is soon to be joined by two younger runners as we finalise the group for the assault on the 5-minute “barrier” and sundry course, American and, we hope, world records. * Check back here to this special part of the Forum for news and more progress reports. And feel free to let us have your thoughts, even if you’re not “on the program”. * If you want to form a Sub-5 Milers’ Group in your own locality, get in touch and we’ll tell you how Bobby can help. Email me, or contact Marci via Bobby's website at www.BobbyMcGee.com * Also let us know if you’re interested in promoting your own area’s Street Mile trace in combination with the Sub-5 program and YourRunning.com | |
| Forum: Sub-5 minute Miling | |
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Where Eagles Dare... |
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Their cries echoed above us as we cruised round a six-lap time trial, each of us concentrating on our individual tasks.
Chris says:
Is this an open training program? How does a person get involved? (I'm in Longmont and a rookie to running at 37)
simon says:
Hi Chris,
Yes, the program is still open and fresh blood is always welcome :)
What is your current PR for a mile? The reason I ask is that the program is not for the faint-hearted, and you will need to be within shooting distance of 5:00 or 6:00 to get your money's worth!
Having said that, it is a 45-week program, so there is time to get fit enough if you start in the next couple of weeks or so.
To proceed, contact Marci at 303-946-3087 or at bobbymcgee.admin@ comcast.net
David says:
I would like to be part of this group as well. I ran a 5:45 mile about 2 months ago and just paced a friend in a Marathon and ran 3:12. Last year I ran 2:54 (6:40 pace for 26.2 miles) at Columbus. I'd love to break 5 minutes a a Starlight Mile that takes place in August next year in Richmond, KY. What do I do in order to join this group?
David
Chris says:
Cool. Haven't done a mile test in a while. I'm guessing in the 6:00 neighborhood (ran 6:55 for 4 miles on 11/23). McMillan's calculator would suggest 6:06.
I'm more focused on long distance (Marathon to 100M) as my primary interest. Would this type of training help or hurt? I'm imagining using improved mile speed, flexibity and turnover as a help for efficiency and durability in my target races.
simon says:
Good going, Chris.
If you are into the marathon (and up), then this program probably isn't for you. Yes, you are right, it would do great things for your basic fitness, strength, flexibility and speed, but the problem is that if you try to fit it in while maintaining the higher mileage you need for a decent marathon, you will break down.
That said, I don't know what sort of mileage you are aiming at, nor how long you are giving yourself to develop. You said you are a rookie: the guys that know about these things reckon it takes around 5 years of consistent running to reach your best. So, it depends, really, on how much of a hurry you are to run a marathon or ultra, and on whether you want to "just" finish, or whether you want to do something special.
If, say, you were looking at a really good performance at the marathon in two years' time, then I would say that you might really benefit from taking a year to do our base work and speed work and get under 6 minutes for the mile. After August 2007, you could then start building up the mileage, and do a "taster" marathon at the end of the year to get the feel of the distance.
This may sound a bit over-cautious, but Bobby is very clear that most of the training we do over the next few months is purely to get us in good enough shape that we won't destroy ourselves when we start the highly mile-specific work. It is a program for runners who are really focused on one thing: running one mile as fast as they can!
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