Reflecting on the Rift Valley
Three months later...
I didn't release an article immediately after returning from Iten, the reason, Iten is a place that is close to my heart. We have history. Whether it was my dad going out there in the '70s and shaping the athlete in me or retracing his footstep three and a half years ago and connecting with a place I'd grown up hearing so much about. I went on this most recent trip as a coach, willing and ready to be coached.
Marcus, Tom, and I all set out with very few expectations and were blown away by what we had learned. The consequences of what we experienced have been profound and personal.
I have been open about our trip, with my personal stories and anecdotes, a podcast or two, and more importantly, my athletes, who have seen some changes in my coaching approach. Now I am ready to share what I have learned from a place that truly is the 'home of the champions.'
A Coaching Methodology
I witnessed a different coaching style while I was in Iten, and it made me question a lot of my practices. I have summarized in four parts the coaching methodology that I thought about the most and that I have implemented into my coaching practices.
The Simplicity
What we witnessed there was incredible and honestly eye-opening. Just imagine this, as an athlete, you have no idea what you're doing. You do what you're told. As a coach, the group you coach turns up to where you are and tells them what they are going to do in very vague detail. No real explanation of why, simply what. This requires a deep level of trust and confidence in each other.
In some ways, I feel it is important to make sure an athlete understands the why to sessions. However, I am now far less concerned about giving 'boring' sessions or repeated sessions because I know their value, and my athletes trust that I am programming sessions that will enable them to reach their goals. The theory of the training is solid, and repetition breeds success. Repetition doesn't have to be complex for the athlete. They simply have to get on and do it.
If you look at Kenyan athletes and how their training is structured, you'll find a very simplistic structure; hard run, easy run, tempo, fartlek, hill efforts, long-run. All at specific paces, and that's it. In fact, when I openly ask 'Is that it?' when given the instruction 1;1;20, the person who answered 'Yes.' had just won the Kenyan national cross country title.
The Mind Game
Our coach, Ian Kiprono, stated that coaching is 80% tending to an athlete's mental game and 20% physical training. I wouldn't say I 100% agree with this. Still, I agree that the building of discipline, respect between coach and athlete, and athlete behaviors and attitudes are essential to developing a trusting relationship. As coaches, we need to appreciate, nurture and respect this aspect of our job.
Since coming back from Iten, I've been looking beyond training as physiological. I often think, how is this session going to test the athlete? By purposefully making it hard or pushing someone beyond what they believe they are capable of, you can unlock potential they never knew was in them. Equally as important, teaching them how to accept failure and respond to it will benefit the pursuit of a goal and other situations in life. I am also giving more ownership to the athletes I coach, creating a more self-reliant athlete. This makes more productive communication, as the focus of dialog moves away from micro aspects of a session to a much broader macro perspective.
The Community
I don't just mean knocking about each other daily over great coffee and chat. I mean a strong athletic community. Surrounding yourself with people who have an honest and positive attitude and who understand your situation is super important. I have reflected on some of the most successful athletes I have trained. The strong network was with them throughout their athletic journey.
I recently attended a talk with leaders who have excelled in their field, and one of the points raised was the importance of a solid support network that supports your ambition and inspires you to do more than you ever thought you could. As an athlete, your community also keeps you accountable, they lift you and will not shy away from giving you a kicking if you lose perspective.
In Iten, runners always run together, eat together and succeed together.
The Big Picture
Considering the bigger picture is something I've really tried to implement in my coaching process and is one of the lessons that hold the most significant value for me. As a coach, I'm winning if I can get across the implications of a session, where it holds value in the week, and what it's helping to build over the months. In this way, a session is rarely a failure. I embody the bigger picture, and the trust that I have built with my athletes means that they trust me and, subsequently, the process. The athlete can simply focus on doing each session with the knowledge that all the puzzle pieces will come together.
Iten is an incredible place, and being there reinforced my love of running, the beauty of a good running stride, the power of focus, the love of my job as an endurance coach, and the Innerfight Endurance community.
Everything I have discussed in this article was highlighted to me while we were in Iten. If you want to hear some more anecdotes, join this muzungu over a coffee, we will have a great chat!
ENGINE
Working on holding our MIKKOS score calories for longer blocks of time.
GYMNASTICS
This week, we will focus on rope climbing, doubleunders, and handstand push-ups in gymnastics. We will focus on the skill elements to help you with these movements! Whether you have these movements down or not, this class will help you improve in all these movements so you're ready to attack classes!
HYROX
We start to put together the pieces and do a mini HYROX
MOBILITY
We will go over full-body flow routines focusing on flexibility for full-body alignment.
PURE STRENGTH
In Pure Strength, we start the week with some percentage work on the close grip bench press, followed by heavy rows and a shoulder pump to finish. Wednesday, we worked up to a heavy single on the deadlift, with some tough drop sets followed by some heavy single leg work.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Snatch Focus this week, and we get into over-head squats before working into some Snatch High Pulls and Hang Snatch and then finish with some heavy Snatch singles!
Track Tuesday
Week two of our over/unders block, this week we move to 1km efforts.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
Wednesday ride* 5.59am BOTS. << use links/details from a few months back
4 X 8min at your best effort, what have you got?
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
Our classic builders set this week, 5min builds based on effort! A great tempo run.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Ride
Back to a long ride today, 105km in the group with some structured intervals to follow.
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
Sunday long run
Team IFE on Tour are 3 weeks out from the marathon in Munich, so they need to run long. Why not come along and support with some miles to? Message sh@innerfight.com to find out more.
Start time: 05:29am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: From InnerFight
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
Today we will hold tempo for 2 long blocks and one shorter block. Keep asking yourself if you are running a 7/10 effort during this session.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
This week our over/unders have increased from 800m to 1000m. Paces are the same as last week. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
We will be running our intervals around the Olivia apartments this week for 1 loop and then in the park for a shorter loop. Try and pick up the pace on the shorter park loops.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week our efforts will build from 4/10 to 7/10 over 3 blocks of builders. You therefore have 3 attempts to hit that 7/10 feeling. We recommend that you do not start off too fast on this one.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: InnerFight
Session: Long Run
We will be running from InnerFight this Sunday. There are various options from 15km to 35km depending on which races you have coming up. If you would rather run for time, that is also fine! Routes will be shared in WhatsApp and on TrainingPeaks.
We will kick the week off on Monday with heavy single-leg work and move on to a fast interval workout. Tuesday is about the sandbags with a tough set of EMOMs followed by a partner workout. Wednesday, we have more focus on our strict pull-ups and then a gymnastics and running-based workout. Thursday, we will hit some technical work on a clean complex and follow it up with some heavy clean singles, followed by a tough and fast-paced workout with rowing cleans and wall balls. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Jerks in the skill and then a gruelling chipper.
Monday:
Strength:
Walking Dumbell Lunges
Conditioning:
In a 2 min window
25 KB Sumo deadlift (2x24/16)
Amrap DU
rest 2 mins
In a 2 min window
16 Weighted Box Step Ups 1 x KB 24/16
AMRAP Cals Bike
rest 2 mins
x3
Tuesday:
Strength:
Building Weight Sandbag To Shoulder
Conditioning:
In Pairs
100 sandbags to shoulder (80/50)
Every 4 mins
1 car park lap farmers carry 2 x 32/24
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B) KB Push Press + Pull Ups + Side Plank
Conditioning:
16 min amrap
Pool Run
10 burpee pull-ups
3 wall walks
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Pull + Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat
B) Squat Clean
Conditioning:
For time:
500/400m row
30 squat clean (60/40)
50 WallBalls
Friday:
Strength:
A) Push Jerk
Conditioning:
It's an awesome triplet to end the week! Therapyyyyy!
Three months later...
I didn't release an article immediately after returning from Iten, the reason, Iten is a place that is close to my heart. We have history. Whether it was my dad going out there in the '70s and shaping the athlete in me or retracing his footstep three and a half years ago and connecting with a place I'd grown up hearing so much about. I went on this most recent trip as a coach, willing and ready to be coached.
Marcus, Tom, and I all set out with very few expectations and were blown away by what we had learned. The consequences of what we experienced have been profound and personal.
I have been open about our trip, with my personal stories and anecdotes, a podcast or two, and more importantly, my athletes, who have seen some changes in my coaching approach. Now I am ready to share what I have learned from a place that truly is the 'home of the champions.'
A Coaching Methodology
I witnessed a different coaching style while I was in Iten, and it made me question a lot of my practices. I have summarized in four parts the coaching methodology that I thought about the most and that I have implemented into my coaching practices.
The Simplicity
What we witnessed there was incredible and honestly eye-opening. Just imagine this, as an athlete, you have no idea what you're doing. You do what you're told. As a coach, the group you coach turns up to where you are and tells them what they are going to do in very vague detail. No real explanation of why, simply what. This requires a deep level of trust and confidence in each other.
In some ways, I feel it is important to make sure an athlete understands the why to sessions. However, I am now far less concerned about giving 'boring' sessions or repeated sessions because I know their value, and my athletes trust that I am programming sessions that will enable them to reach their goals. The theory of the training is solid, and repetition breeds success. Repetition doesn't have to be complex for the athlete. They simply have to get on and do it.
If you look at Kenyan athletes and how their training is structured, you'll find a very simplistic structure; hard run, easy run, tempo, fartlek, hill efforts, long-run. All at specific paces, and that's it. In fact, when I openly ask 'Is that it?' when given the instruction 1;1;20, the person who answered 'Yes.' had just won the Kenyan national cross country title.
The Mind Game
Our coach, Ian Kiprono, stated that coaching is 80% tending to an athlete's mental game and 20% physical training. I wouldn't say I 100% agree with this. Still, I agree that the building of discipline, respect between coach and athlete, and athlete behaviors and attitudes are essential to developing a trusting relationship. As coaches, we need to appreciate, nurture and respect this aspect of our job.
Since coming back from Iten, I've been looking beyond training as physiological. I often think, how is this session going to test the athlete? By purposefully making it hard or pushing someone beyond what they believe they are capable of, you can unlock potential they never knew was in them. Equally as important, teaching them how to accept failure and respond to it will benefit the pursuit of a goal and other situations in life. I am also giving more ownership to the athletes I coach, creating a more self-reliant athlete. This makes more productive communication, as the focus of dialog moves away from micro aspects of a session to a much broader macro perspective.
The Community
I don't just mean knocking about each other daily over great coffee and chat. I mean a strong athletic community. Surrounding yourself with people who have an honest and positive attitude and who understand your situation is super important. I have reflected on some of the most successful athletes I have trained. The strong network was with them throughout their athletic journey.
I recently attended a talk with leaders who have excelled in their field, and one of the points raised was the importance of a solid support network that supports your ambition and inspires you to do more than you ever thought you could. As an athlete, your community also keeps you accountable, they lift you and will not shy away from giving you a kicking if you lose perspective.
In Iten, runners always run together, eat together and succeed together.
The Big Picture
Considering the bigger picture is something I've really tried to implement in my coaching process and is one of the lessons that hold the most significant value for me. As a coach, I'm winning if I can get across the implications of a session, where it holds value in the week, and what it's helping to build over the months. In this way, a session is rarely a failure. I embody the bigger picture, and the trust that I have built with my athletes means that they trust me and, subsequently, the process. The athlete can simply focus on doing each session with the knowledge that all the puzzle pieces will come together.
Iten is an incredible place, and being there reinforced my love of running, the beauty of a good running stride, the power of focus, the love of my job as an endurance coach, and the Innerfight Endurance community.
Everything I have discussed in this article was highlighted to me while we were in Iten. If you want to hear some more anecdotes, join this muzungu over a coffee, we will have a great chat!
Track Tuesday
Week two of our over/unders block, this week we move to 1km efforts.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
Wednesday ride* 5.59am BOTS. << use links/details from a few months back
4 X 8min at your best effort, what have you got?
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
Our classic builders set this week, 5min builds based on effort! A great tempo run.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Ride
Back to a long ride today, 105km in the group with some structured intervals to follow.
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
Sunday long run
Team IFE on Tour are 3 weeks out from the marathon in Munich, so they need to run long. Why not come along and support with some miles to? Message sh@innerfight.com to find out more.
Start time: 05:29am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: From InnerFight
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
Today we will hold tempo for 2 long blocks and one shorter block. Keep asking yourself if you are running a 7/10 effort during this session.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
This week our over/unders have increased from 800m to 1000m. Paces are the same as last week. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
We will be running our intervals around the Olivia apartments this week for 1 loop and then in the park for a shorter loop. Try and pick up the pace on the shorter park loops.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week our efforts will build from 4/10 to 7/10 over 3 blocks of builders. You therefore have 3 attempts to hit that 7/10 feeling. We recommend that you do not start off too fast on this one.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: InnerFight
Session: Long Run
We will be running from InnerFight this Sunday. There are various options from 15km to 35km depending on which races you have coming up. If you would rather run for time, that is also fine! Routes will be shared in WhatsApp and on TrainingPeaks.
We will kick the week off on Monday with heavy single-leg work and move on to a fast interval workout. Tuesday is about the sandbags with a tough set of EMOMs followed by a partner workout. Wednesday, we have more focus on our strict pull-ups and then a gymnastics and running-based workout. Thursday, we will hit some technical work on a clean complex and follow it up with some heavy clean singles, followed by a tough and fast-paced workout with rowing cleans and wall balls. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Jerks in the skill and then a gruelling chipper.
Monday:
Strength:
Walking Dumbell Lunges
Conditioning:
In a 2 min window
25 KB Sumo deadlift (2x24/16)
Amrap DU
rest 2 mins
In a 2 min window
16 Weighted Box Step Ups 1 x KB 24/16
AMRAP Cals Bike
rest 2 mins
x3
Tuesday:
Strength:
Building Weight Sandbag To Shoulder
Conditioning:
In Pairs
100 sandbags to shoulder (80/50)
Every 4 mins
1 car park lap farmers carry 2 x 32/24
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B) KB Push Press + Pull Ups + Side Plank
Conditioning:
16 min amrap
Pool Run
10 burpee pull-ups
3 wall walks
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Pull + Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat
B) Squat Clean
Conditioning:
For time:
500/400m row
30 squat clean (60/40)
50 WallBalls
Friday:
Strength:
A) Push Jerk
Conditioning:
It's an awesome triplet to end the week! Therapyyyyy!
ENGINE
Working on holding our MIKKOS score calories for longer blocks of time.
GYMNASTICS
This week, we will focus on rope climbing, doubleunders, and handstand push-ups in gymnastics. We will focus on the skill elements to help you with these movements! Whether you have these movements down or not, this class will help you improve in all these movements so you're ready to attack classes!
HYROX
We start to put together the pieces and do a mini HYROX
MOBILITY
We will go over full-body flow routines focusing on flexibility for full-body alignment.
PURE STRENGTH
In Pure Strength, we start the week with some percentage work on the close grip bench press, followed by heavy rows and a shoulder pump to finish. Wednesday, we worked up to a heavy single on the deadlift, with some tough drop sets followed by some heavy single leg work.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Snatch Focus this week, and we get into over-head squats before working into some Snatch High Pulls and Hang Snatch and then finish with some heavy Snatch singles!
Three months later...
I didn't release an article immediately after returning from Iten, the reason, Iten is a place that is close to my heart. We have history. Whether it was my dad going out there in the '70s and shaping the athlete in me or retracing his footstep three and a half years ago and connecting with a place I'd grown up hearing so much about. I went on this most recent trip as a coach, willing and ready to be coached.
Marcus, Tom, and I all set out with very few expectations and were blown away by what we had learned. The consequences of what we experienced have been profound and personal.
I have been open about our trip, with my personal stories and anecdotes, a podcast or two, and more importantly, my athletes, who have seen some changes in my coaching approach. Now I am ready to share what I have learned from a place that truly is the 'home of the champions.'
A Coaching Methodology
I witnessed a different coaching style while I was in Iten, and it made me question a lot of my practices. I have summarized in four parts the coaching methodology that I thought about the most and that I have implemented into my coaching practices.
The Simplicity
What we witnessed there was incredible and honestly eye-opening. Just imagine this, as an athlete, you have no idea what you're doing. You do what you're told. As a coach, the group you coach turns up to where you are and tells them what they are going to do in very vague detail. No real explanation of why, simply what. This requires a deep level of trust and confidence in each other.
In some ways, I feel it is important to make sure an athlete understands the why to sessions. However, I am now far less concerned about giving 'boring' sessions or repeated sessions because I know their value, and my athletes trust that I am programming sessions that will enable them to reach their goals. The theory of the training is solid, and repetition breeds success. Repetition doesn't have to be complex for the athlete. They simply have to get on and do it.
If you look at Kenyan athletes and how their training is structured, you'll find a very simplistic structure; hard run, easy run, tempo, fartlek, hill efforts, long-run. All at specific paces, and that's it. In fact, when I openly ask 'Is that it?' when given the instruction 1;1;20, the person who answered 'Yes.' had just won the Kenyan national cross country title.
The Mind Game
Our coach, Ian Kiprono, stated that coaching is 80% tending to an athlete's mental game and 20% physical training. I wouldn't say I 100% agree with this. Still, I agree that the building of discipline, respect between coach and athlete, and athlete behaviors and attitudes are essential to developing a trusting relationship. As coaches, we need to appreciate, nurture and respect this aspect of our job.
Since coming back from Iten, I've been looking beyond training as physiological. I often think, how is this session going to test the athlete? By purposefully making it hard or pushing someone beyond what they believe they are capable of, you can unlock potential they never knew was in them. Equally as important, teaching them how to accept failure and respond to it will benefit the pursuit of a goal and other situations in life. I am also giving more ownership to the athletes I coach, creating a more self-reliant athlete. This makes more productive communication, as the focus of dialog moves away from micro aspects of a session to a much broader macro perspective.
The Community
I don't just mean knocking about each other daily over great coffee and chat. I mean a strong athletic community. Surrounding yourself with people who have an honest and positive attitude and who understand your situation is super important. I have reflected on some of the most successful athletes I have trained. The strong network was with them throughout their athletic journey.
I recently attended a talk with leaders who have excelled in their field, and one of the points raised was the importance of a solid support network that supports your ambition and inspires you to do more than you ever thought you could. As an athlete, your community also keeps you accountable, they lift you and will not shy away from giving you a kicking if you lose perspective.
In Iten, runners always run together, eat together and succeed together.
The Big Picture
Considering the bigger picture is something I've really tried to implement in my coaching process and is one of the lessons that hold the most significant value for me. As a coach, I'm winning if I can get across the implications of a session, where it holds value in the week, and what it's helping to build over the months. In this way, a session is rarely a failure. I embody the bigger picture, and the trust that I have built with my athletes means that they trust me and, subsequently, the process. The athlete can simply focus on doing each session with the knowledge that all the puzzle pieces will come together.
Iten is an incredible place, and being there reinforced my love of running, the beauty of a good running stride, the power of focus, the love of my job as an endurance coach, and the Innerfight Endurance community.
Everything I have discussed in this article was highlighted to me while we were in Iten. If you want to hear some more anecdotes, join this muzungu over a coffee, we will have a great chat!
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
Today we will hold tempo for 2 long blocks and one shorter block. Keep asking yourself if you are running a 7/10 effort during this session.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
This week our over/unders have increased from 800m to 1000m. Paces are the same as last week. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
We will be running our intervals around the Olivia apartments this week for 1 loop and then in the park for a shorter loop. Try and pick up the pace on the shorter park loops.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week our efforts will build from 4/10 to 7/10 over 3 blocks of builders. You therefore have 3 attempts to hit that 7/10 feeling. We recommend that you do not start off too fast on this one.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: InnerFight
Session: Long Run
We will be running from InnerFight this Sunday. There are various options from 15km to 35km depending on which races you have coming up. If you would rather run for time, that is also fine! Routes will be shared in WhatsApp and on TrainingPeaks.
We will kick the week off on Monday with heavy single-leg work and move on to a fast interval workout. Tuesday is about the sandbags with a tough set of EMOMs followed by a partner workout. Wednesday, we have more focus on our strict pull-ups and then a gymnastics and running-based workout. Thursday, we will hit some technical work on a clean complex and follow it up with some heavy clean singles, followed by a tough and fast-paced workout with rowing cleans and wall balls. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Jerks in the skill and then a gruelling chipper.
Monday:
Strength:
Walking Dumbell Lunges
Conditioning:
In a 2 min window
25 KB Sumo deadlift (2x24/16)
Amrap DU
rest 2 mins
In a 2 min window
16 Weighted Box Step Ups 1 x KB 24/16
AMRAP Cals Bike
rest 2 mins
x3
Tuesday:
Strength:
Building Weight Sandbag To Shoulder
Conditioning:
In Pairs
100 sandbags to shoulder (80/50)
Every 4 mins
1 car park lap farmers carry 2 x 32/24
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B) KB Push Press + Pull Ups + Side Plank
Conditioning:
16 min amrap
Pool Run
10 burpee pull-ups
3 wall walks
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Pull + Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat
B) Squat Clean
Conditioning:
For time:
500/400m row
30 squat clean (60/40)
50 WallBalls
Friday:
Strength:
A) Push Jerk
Conditioning:
It's an awesome triplet to end the week! Therapyyyyy!
ENGINE
Working on holding our MIKKOS score calories for longer blocks of time.
GYMNASTICS
This week, we will focus on rope climbing, doubleunders, and handstand push-ups in gymnastics. We will focus on the skill elements to help you with these movements! Whether you have these movements down or not, this class will help you improve in all these movements so you're ready to attack classes!
HYROX
We start to put together the pieces and do a mini HYROX
MOBILITY
We will go over full-body flow routines focusing on flexibility for full-body alignment.
PURE STRENGTH
In Pure Strength, we start the week with some percentage work on the close grip bench press, followed by heavy rows and a shoulder pump to finish. Wednesday, we worked up to a heavy single on the deadlift, with some tough drop sets followed by some heavy single leg work.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Snatch Focus this week, and we get into over-head squats before working into some Snatch High Pulls and Hang Snatch and then finish with some heavy Snatch singles!
Track Tuesday
Week two of our over/unders block, this week we move to 1km efforts.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
Wednesday ride* 5.59am BOTS. << use links/details from a few months back
4 X 8min at your best effort, what have you got?
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
Our classic builders set this week, 5min builds based on effort! A great tempo run.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Ride
Back to a long ride today, 105km in the group with some structured intervals to follow.
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
Sunday long run
Team IFE on Tour are 3 weeks out from the marathon in Munich, so they need to run long. Why not come along and support with some miles to? Message sh@innerfight.com to find out more.
Start time: 05:29am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: From InnerFight
Three months later...
I didn't release an article immediately after returning from Iten, the reason, Iten is a place that is close to my heart. We have history. Whether it was my dad going out there in the '70s and shaping the athlete in me or retracing his footstep three and a half years ago and connecting with a place I'd grown up hearing so much about. I went on this most recent trip as a coach, willing and ready to be coached.
Marcus, Tom, and I all set out with very few expectations and were blown away by what we had learned. The consequences of what we experienced have been profound and personal.
I have been open about our trip, with my personal stories and anecdotes, a podcast or two, and more importantly, my athletes, who have seen some changes in my coaching approach. Now I am ready to share what I have learned from a place that truly is the 'home of the champions.'
A Coaching Methodology
I witnessed a different coaching style while I was in Iten, and it made me question a lot of my practices. I have summarized in four parts the coaching methodology that I thought about the most and that I have implemented into my coaching practices.
The Simplicity
What we witnessed there was incredible and honestly eye-opening. Just imagine this, as an athlete, you have no idea what you're doing. You do what you're told. As a coach, the group you coach turns up to where you are and tells them what they are going to do in very vague detail. No real explanation of why, simply what. This requires a deep level of trust and confidence in each other.
In some ways, I feel it is important to make sure an athlete understands the why to sessions. However, I am now far less concerned about giving 'boring' sessions or repeated sessions because I know their value, and my athletes trust that I am programming sessions that will enable them to reach their goals. The theory of the training is solid, and repetition breeds success. Repetition doesn't have to be complex for the athlete. They simply have to get on and do it.
If you look at Kenyan athletes and how their training is structured, you'll find a very simplistic structure; hard run, easy run, tempo, fartlek, hill efforts, long-run. All at specific paces, and that's it. In fact, when I openly ask 'Is that it?' when given the instruction 1;1;20, the person who answered 'Yes.' had just won the Kenyan national cross country title.
The Mind Game
Our coach, Ian Kiprono, stated that coaching is 80% tending to an athlete's mental game and 20% physical training. I wouldn't say I 100% agree with this. Still, I agree that the building of discipline, respect between coach and athlete, and athlete behaviors and attitudes are essential to developing a trusting relationship. As coaches, we need to appreciate, nurture and respect this aspect of our job.
Since coming back from Iten, I've been looking beyond training as physiological. I often think, how is this session going to test the athlete? By purposefully making it hard or pushing someone beyond what they believe they are capable of, you can unlock potential they never knew was in them. Equally as important, teaching them how to accept failure and respond to it will benefit the pursuit of a goal and other situations in life. I am also giving more ownership to the athletes I coach, creating a more self-reliant athlete. This makes more productive communication, as the focus of dialog moves away from micro aspects of a session to a much broader macro perspective.
The Community
I don't just mean knocking about each other daily over great coffee and chat. I mean a strong athletic community. Surrounding yourself with people who have an honest and positive attitude and who understand your situation is super important. I have reflected on some of the most successful athletes I have trained. The strong network was with them throughout their athletic journey.
I recently attended a talk with leaders who have excelled in their field, and one of the points raised was the importance of a solid support network that supports your ambition and inspires you to do more than you ever thought you could. As an athlete, your community also keeps you accountable, they lift you and will not shy away from giving you a kicking if you lose perspective.
In Iten, runners always run together, eat together and succeed together.
The Big Picture
Considering the bigger picture is something I've really tried to implement in my coaching process and is one of the lessons that hold the most significant value for me. As a coach, I'm winning if I can get across the implications of a session, where it holds value in the week, and what it's helping to build over the months. In this way, a session is rarely a failure. I embody the bigger picture, and the trust that I have built with my athletes means that they trust me and, subsequently, the process. The athlete can simply focus on doing each session with the knowledge that all the puzzle pieces will come together.
Iten is an incredible place, and being there reinforced my love of running, the beauty of a good running stride, the power of focus, the love of my job as an endurance coach, and the Innerfight Endurance community.
Everything I have discussed in this article was highlighted to me while we were in Iten. If you want to hear some more anecdotes, join this muzungu over a coffee, we will have a great chat!
Three months later...
I didn't release an article immediately after returning from Iten, the reason, Iten is a place that is close to my heart. We have history. Whether it was my dad going out there in the '70s and shaping the athlete in me or retracing his footstep three and a half years ago and connecting with a place I'd grown up hearing so much about. I went on this most recent trip as a coach, willing and ready to be coached.
Marcus, Tom, and I all set out with very few expectations and were blown away by what we had learned. The consequences of what we experienced have been profound and personal.
I have been open about our trip, with my personal stories and anecdotes, a podcast or two, and more importantly, my athletes, who have seen some changes in my coaching approach. Now I am ready to share what I have learned from a place that truly is the 'home of the champions.'
A Coaching Methodology
I witnessed a different coaching style while I was in Iten, and it made me question a lot of my practices. I have summarized in four parts the coaching methodology that I thought about the most and that I have implemented into my coaching practices.
The Simplicity
What we witnessed there was incredible and honestly eye-opening. Just imagine this, as an athlete, you have no idea what you're doing. You do what you're told. As a coach, the group you coach turns up to where you are and tells them what they are going to do in very vague detail. No real explanation of why, simply what. This requires a deep level of trust and confidence in each other.
In some ways, I feel it is important to make sure an athlete understands the why to sessions. However, I am now far less concerned about giving 'boring' sessions or repeated sessions because I know their value, and my athletes trust that I am programming sessions that will enable them to reach their goals. The theory of the training is solid, and repetition breeds success. Repetition doesn't have to be complex for the athlete. They simply have to get on and do it.
If you look at Kenyan athletes and how their training is structured, you'll find a very simplistic structure; hard run, easy run, tempo, fartlek, hill efforts, long-run. All at specific paces, and that's it. In fact, when I openly ask 'Is that it?' when given the instruction 1;1;20, the person who answered 'Yes.' had just won the Kenyan national cross country title.
The Mind Game
Our coach, Ian Kiprono, stated that coaching is 80% tending to an athlete's mental game and 20% physical training. I wouldn't say I 100% agree with this. Still, I agree that the building of discipline, respect between coach and athlete, and athlete behaviors and attitudes are essential to developing a trusting relationship. As coaches, we need to appreciate, nurture and respect this aspect of our job.
Since coming back from Iten, I've been looking beyond training as physiological. I often think, how is this session going to test the athlete? By purposefully making it hard or pushing someone beyond what they believe they are capable of, you can unlock potential they never knew was in them. Equally as important, teaching them how to accept failure and respond to it will benefit the pursuit of a goal and other situations in life. I am also giving more ownership to the athletes I coach, creating a more self-reliant athlete. This makes more productive communication, as the focus of dialog moves away from micro aspects of a session to a much broader macro perspective.
The Community
I don't just mean knocking about each other daily over great coffee and chat. I mean a strong athletic community. Surrounding yourself with people who have an honest and positive attitude and who understand your situation is super important. I have reflected on some of the most successful athletes I have trained. The strong network was with them throughout their athletic journey.
I recently attended a talk with leaders who have excelled in their field, and one of the points raised was the importance of a solid support network that supports your ambition and inspires you to do more than you ever thought you could. As an athlete, your community also keeps you accountable, they lift you and will not shy away from giving you a kicking if you lose perspective.
In Iten, runners always run together, eat together and succeed together.
The Big Picture
Considering the bigger picture is something I've really tried to implement in my coaching process and is one of the lessons that hold the most significant value for me. As a coach, I'm winning if I can get across the implications of a session, where it holds value in the week, and what it's helping to build over the months. In this way, a session is rarely a failure. I embody the bigger picture, and the trust that I have built with my athletes means that they trust me and, subsequently, the process. The athlete can simply focus on doing each session with the knowledge that all the puzzle pieces will come together.
Iten is an incredible place, and being there reinforced my love of running, the beauty of a good running stride, the power of focus, the love of my job as an endurance coach, and the Innerfight Endurance community.
Everything I have discussed in this article was highlighted to me while we were in Iten. If you want to hear some more anecdotes, join this muzungu over a coffee, we will have a great chat!