At 35 years Bernard Lagat is a man still at the top of his game. Watching him win 3000m gold at 2010 world indoor championship I was left feeling this guy is special.Consider that his former rival such as Moraccan Hicham E Guerrouj has since retired bogged down by injuries and age.
Is there a Secret?
I tried googling for information about Bernard Lagat, Hoping to find some secret workout but I didnt find any. If his coach has discovered the secret to athlete longevity and he has refused to share with the world, You cant blame him!
The closest I came to a secret has to be an interview Bernard Lagat gave back in 2007 to a small group of American and international media at Nike’s Osaka hotel.
Two questions stood out because they explained the mans approach to training, diet and discipline.
Take us through a season. When are you in Tuscon; when are you in Flagstaff, and when are you in Europe?
After the season, I go back to Tuscon, eat a lot, play with my son, and on November 1st, I begin the base training. I’ll start with no more than 20-25 miles per week, then increase it until January 1st, when we get serious because of the indoor season. After the indoor season, we take a few weeks off, then hit it again in Tuscon until April when we go to Flagstaff for eight weeks of hard training.
In Flagstaff, that’s the time when I start training in the morning and afternoon. Once that’s done, there are several races, including Mt. SAC, Prefontaine, New York, and the US nationals. After the US nationals, I go to Germany and stay there for three months until the final Grand Prix meet of the season. Once the season is over, the cycle starts again,
Where is your European training base?
I’m based in Tubingen, Germany. It’s about 20 minutes south of Stuttgart. Stuttgart is easily accessible for us (especially when traveling to meets in Europe); all we have to do is take a short drive up to the airport. Tubingen has a lot of good forests in which you can run; you can run north, south, east, west. It’s good for a runner like me, who likes to run long distances. I stay away from cement. The good thing about Tubingen is that there are a lot of different trails. I can do tempo runs, hill work, I can run on the flat if I want to.
Read the full interview at Paul Merca Blog
Bernard Lagat plans to run at 2010 Summer Games in London and I hope and pray he wins the Gold.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: 35 Years, Athlete, Bernard Lagat, Flagstaff, Forests, Grand Prix, Guerrouj, Interview Training, January 1st, Longevity, Mt Sac, Nike, November 1st, Osaka, Prefontaine, Small Group, Three Months, Tubingen Germany, Us Nationals, Workout
The firstl Dallas Rock N Roll Half Marathon happened last Sunday.
The organisers made a big statement : They can compete with any half marathon out there. Over 9,400 athletes began the 13.1-mile run from Dallas City Hall. The starting line was flanked by Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders dancing to speaker-thumping music echoing off glass office towers while thousands watched wave after wave of hundreds begin their run. The entire race, from start to finish in Fair Park, had a festive flair. Live bands entertained the runners each mile of the course, including the still sleeping neighborhoods of Highland Park, Lakewood, and Swiss Avenue.
Pictures : Photos : Images from 2010 Dallas Rock n Roll Half Marathon
 Picture Courtesy of Alex Gonzalez See More Dallas Marathon photos : Pictures at Gonzalez Flickr Page
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Alex Gonzalez, Dallas Cheerleaders, Dallas City Hall, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Dallas Marathon, Dallas Rock, Fair Park, Flickr, Highland Park, Last Sunday, Live Bands, Marathon Photos, Marathon Pictures, Office Towers, Organisers, Photos Images, Rock N Roll, Rock N Roll Half Marathon, Starting Line, Wave After Wave
It was a cold Disney Princess Half Marathon 2010. Evidence of a cold morning could be seen all along the race route, with jackets and blankets spread all over.
I found some amazing photos from Disney half marathon, some of them would be perfect for sports photo galleries & libraries.
 Hi Mickey! See more Disney Princess Half Marathon 2010 pictures / photos at Disunplugged
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Amazing Photos, Amp, Blankets, Cold Morning, Disney, Disney Half Marathon, Disney Marathon, Disney Photos, Disney Pictures, Disney Princess, Libraries, Marathon Photos, Marathon Pictures, Mickey, Photo Galleries, Pictures Photos, Princess Pictures, Sports Photo
I was reading the latest US president Barack Obama Health report, the doctors certified him “fit to rule” but one item that caught my knee was this one : Obama suffers from occasional pain in his left knee. Medics call it chronic tendinitis.
Left knee pain is a very common injury in people who run. I remember my first year of marathon training, the left knee pain dogged me right to the day of the race. I still remember turning up at the start line holding an anti inflammation gel on one hand and the other hand rubbing the gel on the knee.
Why Left knee and not right knee?
My guess as to why the left knee and not the right knee is affected has to do with the fact that majority of humans are right handed. We use the right leg to kick stuff around and that effort makes it stronger. On the other hand, the left leg is never used seriously, leaving it a weak partner. Have you heard of the statement “USE IT OR LOSE IT!”? It makes sense to me.
Cause of Left Knee pain while running
Apart from my theory of “neglected left knee” medics say the cause of knee pain is due to excessive training; running too much. Another cause is when you suddenly switch from running flat routes to running hilly routes.
Prevention of knee pain
I believe prevention is better than cure. One way to prevent a sudden attack of knee pain is switch your running speed gradually. A sudden change of pace will be a shock to the system leading to injury.
Four step Treatment of knee pain.
- Icing – The first line of treatment, sometimes this alone is enough to fix it!
- If the pain is too much take a pain killer
- Rest – take a break from running.
- Strength training exercise, see my video demonstration of how to strengthen your knees
If you don’t get well soon (one to two weeks), see your Doctor/ physician.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Barack Obama, Change Of Pace, Doctor Physician, Doctors, Exercise, Guese, Guess, Health Report, How To Strengthen Your Knees, Inflammation, Knee pain, Left Knee, Left Leg, Marathon Training, Medics, Pain Killer, Prevention Is Better Than Cure, Shock To The System, Strength Training, Sudden Attack, Sudden Change, Video Demonstration
2010 Cowtown half and full marathon provided the largest running field over the weekend, 21000 runners turned up. With such a large field I was disappointed to see the winning time was in the low 2.30s. This picture tells you why?
See more great pictures of 2010 cowtown marathon at steelbyte photostream at flickr
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Cowtown Marathon, half marathon, Marathon Photos, Marathon Pictures, Photos Pictures, Photostream, Runners, Winning Time
It was a great weekend of marathon running, I found pictures from some of marathon races that happened over the weekend.
2010 Hyannis Marathon Race photos & Pictures
The local paper had a great photo taken at the start of the race : a picture of Dad with his wheel chair bound son just ahead of the leading pack. See photo at cod times site
2010 Gasparilla Half & Full Marathon photos & Pictures
The notable thing about thsi race was the 41 year old winner, Terri Rejimbai won the womens half in a time of 1 hr 22 mins. See pictures at st petersburg website
2010 Cowtown marathon photos & pictures
The largest running field over the weekend, 21000 runners turned up. I wondered why the winner had a slow finish time in the low 2:30s. This picture tells it all
See more pictures at flickr
2010 Standard Chartered Hong Kong marathon photos & pictures
See photo of the winner at peoples website
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Amp, Cod Times, Cowtown Marathon, Dad, Finish Time, Flickr, half marathon, Hong Kong Marathon, Hyannis Marathon, Marathon Photos, Marathon Pictures, Marathon Race, Marathon Races, Marathon Running, Race Photos, Runners, St Petersburg, Standard Chartered Hong Kong, Wheel, Wheel Chair
The Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Full & Half Marathon took to the streets of New Orleans on Sunday morning.
Forty-five bands rocked on 24 stages across the entire half-marathon and marathon courses.
16,000 runners came up dressed in the best marathon costumes that made it a good day for stock photos, sports photo galleries & sports photo library.
Special mention goes to Philip Lawrence, who made Sunday’s run his 107th marathon in 24 years.
One great photo from Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Marathon was this one!
See More Mardi Gras race photos at Deessnke flickr photostream
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: 24 Years, Amp, Costumes, Flickr Photostream, half marathon, Marathon Photos, Marathon Pictures, Mardi Gras, Mardi Gras Marathon, Philip Lawrence, Photo Galleries, Photo Library, Photos Sports, Race Photos, Rock N Roll, Runners, Sports Photo, Stock Photo, Stock Photos, Sunday Morning
Every amateur runner is ever seeking the answer to how many miles he should run per week. The answer to that question depend a lot on sex, age, years of training and a runners tolerance to pain.
The best answer I found was from a physical therapist and biomechanist Irene Davis, Ph.D., from the University of Delaware’s Running Injury Clinic. This was her take on the question when asked in a runners world article.10 laws of injury prevention.
“Your threshold could be at 10 miles a week, or 100, but once you exceed it, you get injured.” Various studies have identified injury-thresholds at 11, 25, and 40 miles per week.
To know how many miles you should run per week, just clock the miles and the level at which you start experiencing injury, thats your level. Your threshold is waiting for you to discover it!
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Amateur, Clock, Discover, Injury Prevention, Irene Davis, Mileage, Physical Therapist, Runners World, running injury, Sex Age, Threshold, Thresholds, Tolerance, University Of Delaware, World Article
The more you train the stronger you get, but when training gets too much it leads to fatigue. When fatigue builds up you experience reduced performance and risk sudden training injury. It is important to take breaks from your regular training to allow muscle recovery.
Tips for speedy muscle recovery
- Take a complete rest from training – missing one or two days cant hurt?
- Massage
- Hot baths with bath salts,
- Stretching properly
- Stay hydrated day in day out
All the above will all add to the big picture of good recovery and reducing injury.
The tips can also be followed by runners who want a speedy recovery from a half marathon or a full marathon.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Bath Salts, Baths, Big Picture, fatigue, half marathon, Injury Massage, Marathon, Massage, Muscle Massage, Muscle Recovery, Recovery Tips, Runners, Running, running injury, Speedy, Speedy Recovery, Sports Massage
I was looking for some awesome photos from 2010 Pasadena marathon and I found them at flickr.
A marathon finisher of note was Carlos Saturno of Culver City, CA. At 60, Saturno finished 16th overall with a time of 3:08:04.
This picture is from a half marathon runner. I don’t know how he managed to take some great photos on the run and still managed a finish time of 1.41.
See more 2010 Pasadena Pictures
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Culver City Ca, Finish Time, half marathon, Marathon Photos, Marathon Pictures, Marathon Runner, Photos Pictures, Saturno
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