From the Archives, pt.10, Running Profile

The following is another excerpt from The Stotan News written sometime in the mid 90's. It was meant to be a good-natured jab directed at a local writer from my former hometown who published a weekly column on all things pertaining to racing,training and running. This person,whom I'll call Daniel,wrote with conviction and authority on running but really didn't possess either of those qualities as it pertained to the sport. There wasn't a running fad, a training system,gadget, piece of equipment or machine that came out which Dan didn't endorse enthusiastically. He was big on Owen Anderson when he was popular and totally bought into the Jeff Galloway,running too much is bad for you mindset preached during the 90's.Sadly,Dan was clueless when it came to training properly.He rarely linked poor training habits and injuries to the program someone was following,consequently,he believed that visiting medical practitioners was the answer instead of evaluating how one trained. I should confess that this mock interview was motivated by two things: one being that he was a no show when the legendary Arthur Lydiard came to town to do his seminar( he went to see Galloway but not Lydiard?),and secondly,while he would write at length on every local running club, he totally ignored the Stotans. This was particularly galling because we had lots of team success at the area road races as well as on the trails everywhere else.I should say before I begin that I finished the "interview" by acknowledging that Dan's running column was appreciated by most runners in W.N.Y.

Editor: First of all Dan,I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Tell us a little about your involvement with running.

Dan: Well, I sort of got interested in it after Fred Shorter's victory at the '72 Olympics-I began doing some jogging to supplement my tennis workouts.

Editor: You mean Frank Shorter.

Dan: Oh,yes,Frank,Frank Shorter.

Editor: How much were you running?

Dan: 2 to 3 miles, 4 times a week. After Fred's,I mean Frank's silver medal at the '76 Olympics my interest was really sparked. I gave up tennis which was causing me alot of elbow problems. I found that it was inevitable that if you play alot of tennis,you will eventually have that problem,my orthopedic doctor told me.

Editor: So the running started taking off?

Dan:You bet it did! I hooked up with the local Chess Running Club and started training intensely,track workouts 3 times a week plus a tempo run on Saturdays.

Editor: What about doing base work?

Dan: Huh?

Editor:You know,long easy stuff.

Dan: Oh yeah, we'd do a 12 miler on Sunday's. Tom,the team coach, said too much slow stuff makes you slow.

Editor: Any injuries?

Dan: A bunch,mostly leg and foot problems but my podiatrist said this was due to the fact I suppinate causing an imbalance when my right foot lands. Also, a chiropractor I was seeing suggested that some of the problems might be the result of my left leg being a little longer than my right. Between the two of these guys,and my orthopedist,I was able to keep running.

Editor:What's your favorite shoe?

Dan:Shoe?

Editor: You know,running shoe?

Dan:Oh, I thought you were referring to my Bruno Maglis! For running I like the Nike Air Max Lite, a great shoe that accommodates my orthotics well.

Editor: Tell us about your marathon experience.

Dan: I've had some problems with that distance, all of which seem to relate to my body's tendency to deplete of glycogen rather early in the race compared to the average runner. For a while it was quite perplexing--I mean,I was doing the work,20 milers and mile reps but I was still crashing. The Chess Club's nutritional consultant, Clark Nancie, put me on a vitamin/fluid replacement regimen that may be taking care of this problem.

Editor: So Dan,let's take it to the here and now,how has your running evolved? Tell us about your current training regimen.

Dan:About 8 months ago I was reading an article by Geoff Halliday(former elite U.S. distance runner),he was discussing his training system. He stressed the need to back off a little in our training as we age, so due to the fact that I'm 37 now, and considering all the injuries I've had,I thought I'd give his program a try.

Editor: Tell us about your program.

Dan:I'm running 3 days a week. One day is a 5k tempo run that is done at my projected per mile pace for a 5k plus 30 secs. The day after this I usually rollerblade or use my aerodyne rowing machine. Then the next day is leg speed drills, I do 50 to 100 meter floats with a 200 meter walking recovery between each. This is a 30 to 45 minute session. After this I take 2 days off and on 1 of those days I usually go to the Buffalo Athletic Club and lift weights. On the last day I do my big run which is 11 miles. When the weather's bad I'll do that one on my treadmill,in the winter I do all my runs on it.

Editor: How do you like it(the treadmill)?

Dan: For 3,000 dollars you better believe I like it! It's the same one Jennings and Brantley use.

Editor: So Dan, what results are you seeing from Geoff's program?

Dan: Well, I'm not hitting the 5k times like I once did but I attribute that to the fact that I'm older, but at least I'm staying healthy.

Editor: Did you ever think your slower 5ks might be the result of Geoff's program?

Dan: No,he's a former Olympian,he knows what he's talking about! In fact,I just got his software training program which is great! He's also got a line of vitamins and supplements he's personally developed. If anyone wants to,they can be a distributor for these products which will entitle you to big discounts. Geoff corresponds only through email,I'd like to give his address in case any of your readers might be interested.

Editor: Well,I don't think our readership is oriented that way but go ahead.

Dan:It's GHAL@pyramid.com

Editor:Thanks Dan,thanks again for taking the time to talk with us.

Dan: Anytime!