* Photo Credit: Dyestat
A few people have asked about Simeon Birnbaum’s training heading into his sub 4:00 Mile at the Brooks P.R. Invitational, so here it is!
Looking back, I can't think of any flashy workouts, instead there were a lot of repeating themes: threshold work, long runs, hills and short reps. The same training items you'll see in most programs.
I don’t think there are any secrets in training (at least none that have been shared with me), so I don’t mind putting any of this out there.
That being said, let's be real, it's not the training....Simeon ran 3:59.51 because he’s insanely gifted with middle-distance talent, shows up everyday and has an inner-drive and self-belief that I can’t really articulate.
Best of all, he's a really, really great kid... and I love it when good things happen to good people.
BRIEF BACKGROUND
I don't keep a daily record of what we do in training (probably should). I write a season plan and then tweak 99% of it as we go, adjusting based on race data, how kids are feeling and....*gasp* asking them what they think they need.
However, I do have Simeon’s daily training from the time period between the State T/F Meet & the Brooks PR Meet, as I had a feeling he was on the verge of doing something special.
So, here’s a brief background and then I’ll share his last 2+ weeks.
Mileage: We’re not particularly worried about mileage, but rather consistency of daily runs and especially the accumulation of work over time (consistency). I mention this because the weekly mileage numbers aren't going to look very impressive on paper, but really, who cares...no one is checking training logs at the starting line.
The basic running days are assigned in minutes and these are typical daily volumes for upperclassmen:
Endurance/Recovery Runs= 50’
Med-Long Runs= 60’
Long Runs= 75-80’
* most of these runs are at ~7:00 pace on average
2022 weekly mileage totals (no Sundays; no doubles)
35-42-45-42-47-46-46-40-35-45-28-44-41-42-27-46-46-45-34-42-45-30-47-46- Brooks
* the down weeks were big meets (New Balance Indoor/ Howard Wood/ State Track)
IN-SEASON TRAINING
A typical week looks like this:
Mon- ~20-25 minutes of Threshold work + 4-6x 80-150m @ 800/400 + Strength
Tues- Rec Run + Rope Stretch & Foam Roll
Wed- Med-Long + 4-6x5-10s Hill Sprints + Core/Stability
Thu- Short, Progressive Tempo + 6-10x150-300m Reps @ Mile/800m Rhythm + Strength
Fri- Same as Tuesday
Sat- Long Run w/ hills or progression towards the end + Core/Stability
Sun- Off
if there was a race, we’d add on some Tempo running or Threshold Fartlek afterwards + Strength
STATE MEET to the BROOKS PR MILE
Simeon did all of this on his own and some of it his teammate Alex Otten, who is running the 400m leg of the Sprint Medley at Nike Nationals (which, they just won in 3:25.12!).
Mon 5/30
75' Hilly Long Run
Tues 5/31
50’ Recovery Run
Wed 6/1
2mi WU
Progressive Tempo Run (4 miles)
5:30 > 5:00
120-100-80-60 @ 400/200m effort (Speed-End)
2mi CD
Thu 6/2
50' Recovery Run
Fri 6/3
Mile Specific
6x400m (averaged 59.8) w/ 200m walk/jog
we never do workouts like this, as we’ll always start at Threshold and work down, but...it seemed like a good idea to get in at least one workout that started out fast, since it was predictable that the Brooks race would go out quicker than he had ever gone before. Even in the Arcadia race, Simeon was only 2:07-08 or so at 800m.
I'm not sure of each 400m rep, but the average was 59.8. The first 4 were in trainers and the last 2 in spikes
Sat 6/4
50' Rec Run
Sun 6/5
Off
Mon 6/6
Threshold-VO2 “Zone” & then 1200 > 400-ish effort 200’s
5x800 @ 2:33- 2:27- 2:23- 2:19- 2:13
Spike up for the 200's
5x200m 28-28-25-25-24
Recovery= 200m walk/jog
this workout just went through the spectrum of aerobic intensities w/ the 800’s and then tacked on some faster, 400/800-ish pace 200’s. He loves running fast.
I stole this workout from Dr. Messer's D-Crew presentation because it fit really well here
Tue 6/7
50' Recovery Run
Wed 6/8
60' Med-Long Run
Thu 6/9
Threshold Maintenance
2mi E
3x (4:2) Lactate Threshold Fartlek (on portions @ ~5:20 / 5:15 /5:10 pace)
100-80-60-40m Strides @ Mile-800-400 Rhythm
1mi E
Fri 6/10
50' Recovery Run
Sat 6/11
40' Endurance Run
3x5s Hill Sprints
Sun 6/12
A little sharpening @ Race Speeds
Progressive Tempo (1mi Easy, steady back ~6:00-5:45/mi)
3x200 @ Mile (30s)
2x150 @ 800 (20s)
1x100 @ 400m (12s)
1mi E
Mon 6/13
Off/ Travel
Tues 6/14
Pre-Meet
30' E + Strides
100-80-60-40 @ 3K-Mile-800-400 Rhythm
Wed 6/15
Race Day
1mi E
Sprint Drills
1' @ LT/ 1' E
30s @ 5K/ 1' E
15s @ mile/1' E
3-4x50m @ 800 > 400 Effort
Brooks Mile (3:59.51)
